PLEASE READ: Riled up about the title of this video? Don't be! Thomas and I are friends. This is just us having a bit of fun. Some backround info: Years ago he made a video titled "Zero Fidelity was WRONG" for a Doge amp review. I decided to repay him in todays video. I made him aware of my plan months ago and he's 100% on board with it! So don't get riled up. It's all good! Meanwhile, check out the description box for further info relating to this review/the speakers!

Hi Sean, I have been reading some of the comments and felt inspired to want to come back on one point in particular but firstly, I just want to say on behalf of the Pearl Acoustics team, 'thanks for your splendid review, it means a lot to us'. Now to my point ;-). I noticed in the comments that one person could not believe that it took us so long to develop the Sibelius (saying it only takes a couple of days with a computer to design an enclosure) and of course, in a way, he is right. Even when you use Mathlab and other acoustic modelling tools, the real work begins after you have a kind of theoretical design footprint. Let me explain. The challenge for us with the Sibelius was that I came up with the basic enclosure design first and then I looked for a suitable driver which could be manufactured by a company we could 100% rely on. Every manufacturer and every individual driver we tried (and there were many) needed quite significant enclosure and damping adjustments to make them work at their best. For example; the paper version of the Mark Audio unit was very similar to the metal cone version but it had different performance properties (such as Q - Qmes, Qes, Qts and Vas) and these required adaptations to our enclosure and dampening design. With each re-design requiring a full re-build of a pair of enclosures, so we could compare like with like. And that was between just two rather similar drivers from one supplier. We had many, many more. I think you can imagine the number of enclosures and prototypes we had in the factory and at test locations! In the end, we found the paper cone was not for us (it's a great driver but you really would not have liked it in our enclosure). When we finally settled on a driver manufacturer and driver, and demonstrated to its owner Mark Fenlon, that we were totally committed to going to the next level, he then agreed to design for us the Pearl Acoustics variant we use today. (We needed it to solve some small but challenging acoustic performance issues we were experiencing with our design, and also to improve high transient capabilities). At that point, we had to make a serious financial commitment to the manufacturer, Mark Audio, so that they could go into production and ship the first batch to us. All this takes time! (By the way, they were and still are, a great company to work with)! These were exciting times. But only when the first 'production' batch arrived could we begin the final tuning, which still took us longer than we expected. We adjusted, debated, listened, and demoed them to our highly critical listening panel, and then adjusted the enclosure and its dampening again and then worked out how to manufacture the Sibelius on a larger scale. Making one pair is one thing, making a hundred pairs is something totally different. Even the packaging proved time consuming and challenging (I remember deliberately dropping a double boxed Sibelius down a flight of metal stairs in the factory to see if the packaging could hold up)! Hoping this helps explain things? My very best wishes to you and all your viewers. Enjoy the music Harley.

Man, I almost forgot how straight forward and full of details your reviews can be.

Well worth the wait, not only for the comprehensive excellence of your review, but for so fully characterizing how by being a "niche" speaker it brings a unique set of qualities and limitations not present in most speakers. I feel like I understand what I would be getting if I were to try it out for myself. Thank you for all the effort you put in.

Excellent review Sean! Now I can understand why it took you so long to finish this detailed and the most professional review of the Pearl Sibelius. I'm so happy to see more reviews from you pretty soon Sir.

I have been a huge fan of single driver speakers for a very long time. Once you get used to them it is hard to go back to multi driver speakers. I have a short list of speakers that if I hit the lottery I will snag right off the bat. The Pearl Sibelius has been at the top of the list since the beginning. I admire the aesthetics, the passion that Harley brings to them table and from what I hear from all reviewers seems to match what I have conjured up in my mind. I have had a lot of experience with the Mark Audio drivers and really appreciate what they have achieved. I have a pair of the MAOP-11's that i have been experimenting with and find them amazing for their size. So I can only imagine how good the bespoke drivers in the Sibelius must be. Plus the whole idea of real wood vs. MDF or plywood has been something I totally agree with. I have made a cabinet myself from poplar and oak that I use the MAOP's in that work like a charm. So it would be easy to think that a professionally made real wood cabinet with a driver tailored for it should be exceptional. If you don't follow Harley on his channel you should. Very enlightening and passion filled content. Well worth your time. Look up Pearl Acoustics.

Great review, and more importantly, thank you for providing the proper context. I hope that you continue to provide content, as your voice in this space is greatly appreciated.

Well done! Glad you finally had time to get this review online.

Excellent, detailed review. Thank you. Really nice touch adding extra amplification notes in the description 👍

When I made my first speakers, back in the 1960s, I bought a pair of (British) Richard Allen 10 inch wide range speakers. They had a small secondary cone (called, I think, a "whizzer") that extended the treble. They did not need a crossover and at the time I loved them, so I can appreciate where the Sibelius designer is coming from. Thanks so much for your very well balanced review, it is constructive, helpful and illuminating.

I love Harley's videos, not just those about gear but also the ones where he talks about great albums. For recordings that seem to lack something, he recommends using the filters (voices) in the Lyngdorf streamers/amps, like the Lyngdorf TDAI 1120.

One of your best reviews ever! Worth the wait. Clear, interesting, informative, answered all my questions. Thanks Sean

I have really missed your straight forward reviews... Good to see you back.

Hi Sean great to see you! Man that was a thorough review, I really enjoyed it. I watched is all the way to the end! Have a Great one. Glad you and Thomas are having fun!

Glad to see you back in action!!!

This is a great review coming from a very happy Sibelius owner for 2 years now. They are now in my second system, however the clarity, transparency and tonality are so good I use them as a reference when I am tweaking my primary system which easily costs about 3 times as much. The only reason these are not my primary system is room size. They currently excel in a family room that is 15 x 30 ft with the speakers on the 15 ft wall. In the grand room upstairs, not as much, in fact I almost returned them; but I’m so happy I didn’t. Harley was incredibly accommodating and worked with me through this. I listen primarily to rock, jazz, and pop. Voices draw me in and are rendered beautifully. In its current location, there is absolutely no desire for a sub. The bass is full with a warm tone. I have driven them with a 4.5 wpc tube amp (45s) as well as a 200wpc ss amp. Both sound great. It’s still sometimes hard to reconcile the sound with the driver size. As long as you are not looking for loud, party music I would highly recommend giving them a try. Just my experience and opinion.

I appreciate your outlook on audio equipment and enjoyed the review. Thank you for your honesty and effort.

I doubt I’ll ever be able to afford these speakers, but happy to hear that Harley got it right. It takes guts to go for something that isn’t mass-marketable. Great review. Worth the wait.

Always enjoy your take on things. You don’t have much content but what you do produce is great value. Thanks

The Sibelius review! Holy crap! 😁 Nicely done. It gave me a very clear impression of their sound ( as your reviews generally do).

I have had my Sibelius "cherry wood" for about 4 years driving them with a Hegel 390 and a Rogue Tube amp and a Gesheli labs! I use lossless music streaming from from Amazon and Spotify I listen most to Jazz and some classical. I also own a Set of Magnepans 1.7i and high end Zu 'not dirty weekends" I am in my 18 my mid80s I have been listening discriminately since age 7 or 8. I currently live in the New Orleans area but initially have lived in Nebraska

Awesome review. Nobody can touch you for equipment reviews.

Great and informative review, I do like the detailed story of their production and the owner of the company. Really appreciate the explanation of what the speakers are, how they should be used and the candidness about the speakers, so that everyone has a clear picture 👍🏽👍🏽✌🏽

Beautiful. I would just love to get these in my room! Thanks Sean, worth the wait!

Great review and definitive summary. It is a niche solution for the people that can afford it. Would love to hear how it sounds in person one day

Missed your reviews man, you’re the best in the business! It’s funny, because your set up tips are exactly how I have to have my speakers in my new living room. Close to the wall and far apart lol

This is how a product review should be ! Explain to the viewers what it does not just how it sounds. You just gained my subscribership with this video.

Great review. I have owned a pair for a good year and very much like them, fall into your identified target audience. I play baroque viola d'amore and for baroque music: phenomenal. I also listen to x-wave (new, cold, dark), synth pop, electronica, even punk. I was also first wondering about their performance but am thrilled how clean the sound comes across. In fact, some I hear how good some of my punk records actually are, e.g. The Ex "Blue Prints for a Blackout", or also Indie music such as Nice Strong Arm "Reality Bath". The coherence from that single driver is fantastic; tried adding a REL T9 sub, but disconnected it again because I got some weird time delay and lack of cohesion. I pair mine with a PrimaLune EVO 300 pre and a PassLabs XA25 class A power amp. Like that combo quite a bit. Re price, given that they sell direct (no distributor mark-up/commission) they are actually rather cheap. And discussing things with Harley over email is fantastic. Best customer service ever. Even better than Dan Clark or Woo Audio. Thanks again for a great review of a very much deserving product.

A review! Hope you're feeling better man. Looking forward to the next one.

Hope this is the beginning of a great run of reviews 😊 LFG Sean! ✌🏼

Very detailed long awaited review! I have been living with a pair of Sibelius speakers for over a year now and really love them. Strangely enough I have not experienced them being unforgiving with poorly recorded 0:02 material. Actually the Sibelius made them sound acceptable! It's probably to do with the components you pair them with. I'm driving them with Convergent Audio Technology tube pre / power amps and Denafrips Terminator Plus Dac.These speakers will show up any change you make to your upstream components. I actually ordered the stands with the speakers but found the Townshend podiums to be a huge improvement. 'For some people, this speaker will become a lifelong music making partner' - They certainly are for me! Thanks for the excellent review.

Very detailed and profesional review. Thanks for honesty man 😊

A review from Sean??? Is it my birthday already??? Praise the maker!! Thank you Sean. Great to see you! Don't be such a stranger.

Brilliant review btw….very thorough. Well worth the wait.❤

Finally a video of yours in my timeline 🙌

Even though it’s out of my budget, I still watched the whole review. Great review as always!

Wow. Great review Sean. Not sure if this is your best review but it is definitely one of the best audio review out there on KZfaq.

Great review! Very interesting, this single driver concept.

Great review. All the details one needs in order to make an informed decision .

A review! Our patience was rewarded! As long as this isn't a random one-off...

Very well explained what these speakers will give you. Nice presentation as well.

Awesome review. Thanks Sean.

With absolutely no idea of how or why I might enjoy this type of speaker I can now claim to have a sense of their value and exactly why I may enjoy them. The creator of these speakers has an end product that he sought after and doesn’t really care what I may think at all. That in itself is a desirable trait. He also is fortunate to have this particular review as well. A quality product using quality materials that produce a particular sound. Who isn’t interested in that ?

Great review, and well deserved for these speakers

My god! The amount of time and effort spent on this report and my intense interest in an item I will never hear. Good show my man.

Finally! I’ve waited months and months…so hard to find the review of those speaker named after my favourite composer…

Great review. Brought to you by Double-Expresso. Fortunately, I can listen fast. 😁 I am intrigued by both your and Thomas' review.

Cool review. Makes me want to listen to single driver speakers like this, you peaked my curiosity with how good they sound. (never really gave speakers like this much thought before)

wow......pretty polished review there buddy. Thorough and practical. You probably don't need a live chat to answer any more questions. LOL

This was a great, in-depth review.

About time! I have to admit I'm in love with the concept of this design and totally charmed by Harley Lovegrove ❤ Thanks for the more detailed summary of performance with various amps in the video description text. Did you try your Musical Fidelity amp too? Harley uses one. I was looking forward to this review. Maybe you couldn't get the lowest bass due to that 9x13 listening room? Next time I visit London, I'll be visiting Pearl's demo room. 🎶😁🎶

Not that I can or would pop for a speaker in this price range, but I’ve been curious about these for a while now. Thanks for the helpful info!

Amazing review thank you

Great explanation of their cost structure... Love Harley's channel too !

It's interesting to see how audiophilia is probably one of the human activities that comes closest to ecological diversity in nature in terms of evolution to survive, in this case, sell products and make money. There is not exactly a best solution, there is an adaptation to a certain environment - by that I mean the satisfaction and customer pleasure. In this "environment" complex monstrosities can coexist like the Wison Chronosonic XVX with 7 drivers, and those wonderful Pearl Sibelius with just one, all maching with every imaginable and available variety of powers and sources. But it is important to think about the men who imagine and create these marvels and their reasons and passions. Harley Lovegrove at Pearl Acoustics has undoubtedly earned her place in the pantheon of heroes of the best home music performance. Greetings from Brazil.

Nice to see something different. Good review.

I would love to hear them, but, they are so rare that that will be impossible. I love the concept. I love the look. I know they are quality with the build. Price. Well I would buy them in a minute if I had the disposable cash, but I’m old and just couldn’t swing it. I love and listen to jazz, especially piano. I know, in my heart, they would be perfect. Oh well, maybe in my next life. Great review.

Luv the comparison portion!

Great review. Knocked it out of the park!

Amazing review !

Your reviews are the most informative in the industry. Thanks for not being an "ice cream" reviewer telling us how amazing the sparker is. The comparisons you make provide perspective. Yes, others have said that the Sibelius is great. Well compared to what? Comparisons require a lot of work and skill. Also, I got an idea of what you think about the Dynaudio Heritage Special which I have. Of course, I would be further interested in a full review and pairing suggestions. Thanks again for the review!

good video and good review. you explained this very well including the owner of the Sibelius's situation in regards to its development and manufacture. What Harley has done isn't totally unusual in that there have been some individuals in Japan that have gone for this small model of development and distribution. Yes, prices go up, but so does the quality! These speakers are slightly out of my price range, but I hope someone near me buys them and I can then hear them that way.

I like your description of sounding of acoustic instruments... Not too many have that comment... UHF magazine always used music descriptions in their reviews, they make comments about how the instruments sounded... Cheers

Nice review 👌 This speaker reminds me of the Icon Parsec speaker from sometime ago

Great review Sean. Good to have you back. A correction : Danish manufactures pay 22% in tax, not 50%

Finally! ZF is back x… klh model 7 was shown at axpona .. can’t wait for them to send it to our boy!

Love the review!!!!

Great review! In my home, no woofers are allowed over 5.25", and most of the speakers in my collection are 4.5" or smaller. I have a small house, so big speakers are pretty much out of the question for me. But the nice thing about small speakers is now nicely they image, and how clear the midrange is. For getting down low, I always pair them with a sub. This has been my way for over 30 years, and I don't regret it for a minute. So the small full-range drivers on the Pearl's would be most welcome in my home. I'm far more interested in transparency and clarity than anything else, though a good holographic sound stage is most welcome. Like you, I would have no problem using a small sub to round out the sound. Right now, the best sounding small speaker I have in my collection are the ELAC UB5's, the originals, paired with a REL sub. While they are not the most transparent speakers I own, I would say they are the most musical. Easy to listen to for hours on end. Now that you've checked the box on the Pearls, it's time to get something from Zu Audio, perhaps the Soul 6??? If I were to break my iron-clad rule about woofers, the stuff that Zu Audio makes would be the exception.

Oh, SNAP! Zero Fidelity wants ALL THE SMOKE!

Thanks Sean for a great detailed review. I have a pair of these speakes and I would generally agree with everything you say. Having got used to them, I certainly hear the shortcomings in many more expesive speeks that I have heard recently. I have found that they uncover the sound of each aplifier they are paired with and expose any probles in the source. But once you get the combination right, then they are extremely rewarding. When I first got them, I had a problem with the pairing to my amplifier, many 'experts' told me it would be the speakers - 'Single Driver speakers dont sound so great' - How wrong they were!

I bet it’s a magical little speaker. Enjoyed the review

Pearl Acoustics has one of the best audio KZfaq channels.

Great Stuff! Keep it Up!!!!

And after building a few DYI speaker kits with extremely high efficiency, drivers paired with class A amplifiers. Definitely the one thing single driver speakers excel at.. acoustic instruments. Especially solo instrument, instrumental songs if it is just a bass cello, just a Spanish guitar or a woodwind instrument, single driver speakers definitely shine in detail for this purpose.. hey solo voice of one person with no instruments just vocals. A single driver excels above most other speakers that are two way or three-way crossovers.

Thanks, good review

I’ve been building speakers for 40 plus years and one thing for sure is quality parts , cabinet material and build make all the difference. It should take time if you care to build a custom speaker . Really enjoyed the video 😁

Wow. Very well done. I appreciate the effort you are putting in. I am curious how you can tell about the sound in larger rooms? Are you testing in multiple rooms or maybe heard them elsewhere? I don’t need all details but how do you know?

This was a fantastic review!

4” driver is a mental hurdle for sure. I would love to hear them.

I would be interested to hear these and have no bias against them. The strengths and weaknesses detailed here make a lot of sense. They are also basically the dead opposite approach of my Tektons, for about the same money. These have one high quality, full range driver and a very well built, sophisticated cabinet. My Tekton Moabs have 17 drivers each, installed in what amounts to a simple, MDF walk-in closet. Spoiler alert, I love my Moabs :)

If I had a huge audio budget I'd probably own these, at least for specialty listening. I like what you say about how going back to a regular multi-driver speaker makes you notice the crossover points. I'd really like to hear a lot of music with one excellent driver like this.

Good review

Great review! Our patience has finally been rewarded. Some of the things you said reminded me of the zu audio dirty weekend speakers I bought, tried, and returned. Those do have a second driver, but that is a super tweeter that handles everything above 12K hz. In my opinion, its main flaw is that it isn't very resolving. So this sounds like an excellent alternative. Less dominating visually as well. I don't criticize the cost. It takes guts to make everything in one's home country and deal with charging that extra amount. Most companies just outsource everything to China to cut expenses. That of course avoids environmental regulations and allows one to pay a lot less for labor. I prefer to buy Hi-Fi gear manufactured where the company resides. Good for them.

Thank you, Sean. An interesting speaker.

Excellent video

Hi Sean, a very professional review. I hope you can also review the Revival Audio Atalante 3, and 5 speakers.

Thomas' channel is amazing as well

Harley has a review at his site about the Lyngdorf tdai-1120 that he liked, especially as a preamp/steamer with room correction & preset EQs. His video is what helped convince me to get the Lyngdorf. Man, I wish I could afford these speakers! Thomas' review of the Sibeius was very positive also.

Thanks Sean, this squares with my experience with a set of Super Pencils.

excellent review, thanks! sounds like a very aspirational upgrade for me, I'm very happy with my wharfedale Lintons at the moment.i wonder how they might compare to appropriate zu speakers?

A very good review

....finally a review!

Sean this is really interesting on a number of levels.First the distance one needs for the sound to gel.One would think that a single driver would not need the distance that multi driver speakers require to become coherent.Second the cabinet and what I assume are the careful resonant characteristics that result in it's sound.I Watch this guy Janos at "Real World Audio" and he has built a number of speakers mainly using single drivers.One of them is a Voight Pipe with Polish Cube drivers and he say's that he used Sycamore (I believe) because he thinks that it untreated and unbranded gives the sound of main listening fix,classical music,better tone than a damped cabinet.Then I think of the video "World's second best speaker" by Tech Ingredients where he does a Voight Pipe build and uses dual panel construction where an elastic constraining layer between the two panels to dampen any resonance.Think more of how the bracing technology of speakers (think B&W Nautilus or the torqued metal rods in Magico's) have been part of their success versus the direction that Sibelius seems to be going here.I know this all very KIT/ DIY sounding but to me the The Pearl seems from that part of audio the DIY single driver thing that has been refined and done for you at a very high level

This speaker reminds me of some of the DIY speakers using the Jordan JX 92s drivers (about 23 years ago). They were actually pretty nice sounding.

Thank you Sean for a very clear and sensible review of this speaker. I have been wanting to hear a pair but have yet to do so. My hope is that will change soon. One small issue is how you pronounce Sibelius. If you hear Harley say that name he says it correctly. While you consistently make it sound like 'Sibellius' that composers name is actually properly pronounced as 'Sibaylius'. Just hear Harley say it on one of his YT vids. A tiny quibble, so please don't take offense of this. Thanks again!

After talking to Harvey Lovejoy 5 years ago, and hearing his speakers at the Munich audio show 5 or so years ago, I bought them sight unseen. They were not broken in! After a year I finally after a year I had a true audiophile friend listen to them! He pronounced them outstanding. So I moved them to my living room and broke them in for another year. Today a few minutes ago I hooked them up to my Streamer, Giselli lab DAC, and Rogue audio pure tube amp: what a revelation. Using Spotify high end ! To my audiophile friends, I am begging you to get the Cannonball Adderley quintet "74 miles away album from the 1967" and Hang-on Ramsey from the Lighthouse in Hermosa beach from1965. I was there for the recording's both night s this is perfection! Like Harvey says it is like being there.

Thank for you review alway clear and focused. Could you consider if it’s on your hands the Gauder Akustik Arcona 40 or 60 MKII. They have stunning reviews in Germany and Asia. Thanks.

Those look a lot my custom made Hornshoppe folded horn small towers (from the '90s) with Fostex full range drivers. Thanks for the review!

Ha! I was the 420th like on 4:20! No joke. Fantastic review as usual, Sean. These speakers seem really nice, but I don’t think they’re for me. I’ll stick with my Tektons for now, but again, excellent review, Sean. Thanks, man. Appreciate it 👍🔊😊🎶

Shamelessly showing off that gorgeous Galion tube amp. The Sibelius are very high on my list of speakers I'd love just listen to once. Great review.