I ordered a pair of BePure2s in June but when the opportunity arose to acquire Jim's demo pair from the Pacific Audio show, I could not resist. They arrived this afternoon and are placed in a room 15 feet front to back and 16 feet side to side. Ceiling slopes from 9 feet in front to 18 feet behind. There are no room treatments. Components are Luxman D-05u SACD/CD connected to Mark Levinson No 585 Integrated (200 wpc into 8 ohms, 300-350 wpc into 4 ohms) via Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference XLR. Power cords are Anticables Level 3 to an Audioquest Niagara 1200 with an Audience Forte 3 connecting the Niagara to the wall outlet. Speaker cables are Silnote Master Reference Anniversary, 8 foot pair with spades. The BePure2s are fitted with Isoacoustics GAIA II.
First up was Xavier Rudd's Good Spirit, a live recording from concerts in 2004. The opening track, Yirra Kurl, puts you front and center with the audience but Solace (track
is the real stunner. The beryllium tweeter does a wonderful job with the range of Rudd's vocals.
Next up was the 2-disc set Nightbird, Eva Cassidy live from Blues Alley. This overlaps with Live From Blues Alley but has additional material; it's the entire concert recorded 'as-is'. I loved Eva's previous releases but just recently acquired this and can't stop listening to, and admiring, her musicianship. The BePure2s do her justice to the point that I suggest re-naming the speakers PureSongs. Naming the speaker after the drivers does not begin to convey the emotion and presence of the music.
Next, St. Stephen/The Eleven from Live Dead, followed by Estimated Prophet and Sugar Magnolia from Dick's Picks Volume 25. Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow in the Mobile Fidelity SACD format. Bruce Coburn Charity of Night. Yep, they work with old rock music, too.
On to classical, including the Telarc Slatkin 1812 Overture, the Beethoven Symphony set from the LSO (in SACD), Frederick Fennell on Telarc with Music for the Royal Fireworks and the Holst pieces, Vivaldi's 4 Seasons on SACD, Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff on RCA Red Seal. Finally, a test of the bass capabilities of these small-ish speakers, with JS Bach Six Organ Sinfonias on a Dutton Epoch SACD featuring E Power Biggs. I don't know quite whom to credit for the performance of the BePure2: Purifi, Jim Salk, Dennis Murphy. There is something alchemical about the combination. Simply put, these speakers are phenomenal. One factor contributing to the effortless reproduction of music with the BePure2s may be the 4 ohm resistance and 90 dB sensitivity. This combines with my Class A/B 585 such that it never has to leave Class A. My listening impression is that I get the same SPL at 40 that I got at 50 with my prior speakers.
My reaction after a few hours listening: These are the best (in the sense that they sound better to my ears than anything I have owned or heard), most accurate, most effortless, most musical speakers I have ever owned. Previous 'best ever' was the $20K+ Songs Faber Amati Homage I owned many years ago. The BePure2s do a better job of re-creating not just the music but the acoustics surrounding the musicians. I think of this as the 3D air around the musicians as well as the dimensions of the sound stage.
No photos but these are the same driftwood BePure2s as on Jim's website and his posting in re: the Pacific Audio show. They did come with grill covers but I think they look better without.
