Price Paid:  $16000.00 from used

Summary:
Mr.Damm above must have heard them set up wrong. I love the JM Lab Utopia line, as most people do, but the pipedreams when properly set up are the best speakers in the world. I bought my model 18s used, and the fellow that I bought them from had them too far apart, in the corners of the room, with a big fireplace and flat TV in between them. It sounded lousy there, as expected. In my room, the factory recomemded setup (away from the walls, spread further apart than the distance to the listening chair), the speakers sound wonderful! They are easy to drive, my 8 watt 211 amps drive them very loud without clipping. These speakers kick butt.

Strengths:
Bass, soundstaging, midrange quality, sounds realistic, beautiful finish, dynamic, low distortion.

Weaknesses:
Heavy, too tall to fit through doors, intimidating.

Similar Products Used:
JM Lab Mezzo Utopia, Martin Logan QuestZ, SL3, Bag End subs, Magnepan 3.3, JM Lab Daline 6.1, KEF 7, Audio Artistry Dvorak. + many hundereds of speakers heard at stores and the CES.

Summary:
The Pipedreams represent a sonic improvement so profound, it's like the step from black & white to color TV. Even with a $20,000+ price tag on the smallest models, I truly believe they represent a tremendous value.
While I cannot afford them, I am fortunate to have audiophile friends of greater means. And it's through these friendships that I've been able to enjoy extended sessions in front of the Pipedreams three times now.
Twice I've heard the seven-foot model called the reference 18s. One session was with the eight-foot model called the reference 21s. In my experience, the difference between the two models is negligible.
Each of these sessions has been in a different room and with different electronics. Regardless, the Pipedreams presented themselves (and the music) the very same. I've never heard such a stunning and perfected combination of detail, dynamics, and soundstage.
As for detail, the Pipedreams are living proof that other speakers literally shortchange you. You will be amazed at how much more music you hear – music that is indeed recorded but not reproduced due to failures in the playback chain. On some acoustic guitar tracks, for example, the Pipes deliver the subtle and beautiful harmonic resonance of strings not played. That's a treat I previously believed could only be enjoyed at a live performance in close quarters.
As for dynamics, the Pipes have changed my mind about the ability of cones and domes to deliver a cat-quick punch. I've always been a fan of dynamics, and have for years kept around a pair of horn speakers to give me an occassional "dynamic fix." But the inherent timing vulgarities of horns frequently smear impacts of broader spectrum. The Pipes, on the other hand, don't seem to care what frequency or combination of frequencies is played – the dynamics are the same. They're always powerful and perfectly linear.
As for soundstage, the Pipes are truly holographic. Not only are the images vividly three-dimensional, they are more palpable and more stable than anything I have heard before. Let's say, for example, that a female singer is front-left in the soundstage and is singing directly to your position, front row center in the audience (your sofa). Now with typical speakers, when you move your listening position to either side of the room, the soundstage makes a dramatic shift. You lose your bearing on which direction the singer is singing. Dimensionality collapses. The image disappears. With the Pipedreams, the soundstage remains fixed. The singer is still just as palpable as ever. And she's still singing to the sofa! It's the same as if you moved your position at a live performance.
Another thing I like about the Pipedreams is the size of the image. It's lifelike. So many speakers reduce an image to the point that you feel far removed from the stage. With the Pipes, you're always up front. And the image, rather than being restricted to the space between the speakers, seems to even break through the boundaries of adjacent walls.
I am saving my money for Pipedreams.

Strengths:
Superb detail, dynamics, and soundstage

Similar Products Used:
nothing compares

Summary:
These are the best I have ever heard at any price.

Strengths:
I have not purchased these speakers yet, but will in 6-8 months. They are the finest speakers I have ever heard. I listened to the Pipedream 15's (6' tall with two subs), which retail for approx. $29K. These are truly holographic in their presentation, whether country, jazz or classical. You really are front row center at "live" performances. Although high cost, I think they are the best value in high end speakers. I have heard $100,000 speakers that are not better that these. Beautiful cabinetry.

Weaknesses:
tall and heavy.

Similar Products Used:
I have spent time with Utopia's, Watt Puppies, Sound Lab A3's, and own Monitor Audio Studio 60's.

Summary:
The 7' Reference 18 I recently purchased is without doubt the best speaker I have owned. It replaced Eidolons which
are a hard act to follow.
The Pipedreams recreate on many recordings a close facsimile to real music.
The Pipedreams at one level provide all the necessary audiophile essentials, dynamics, soundstaging , timbral accuracy and a wide sweet spot. However they are at a
completely different level to all other speakers I have auditioned in their incredibile musicality. They produce
goose bumps , an emotional involvement with the music
that is unsurpassed.
The Pipedreams are remarkable in their ability to create
an enormous soundfield without any audible distortion or
room overload. My room is 13'x22'x9' brick walls and timber floor. Acoustic room treatment has tamed certain room nodes
but obtaining good bass with other speakers such as the Eidolon was always difficult. The individual electronic crossovers enable a perfect matching of the bass subs to the midrange/treble towers and to the room . Control over phase , amplitude and crossover slopes play a large part in producing tuneful, tight and natural bass.
The soundstaging and imaging is superb, better IMHO than even the superlative Eidolons.
In all areas they easily outperform the Eidolons(but at 2x
the price they ought to)
One reviewer commented that the Grand Utopias were better in soundstaging and spatial recreation. I beleive the Eidolon outperforms the Utopias in this area .
The Pipedreams are in a different leaque to these 2 fine speakers however, but then again all audiophiles have their
biases.
In a word the Pipedreams create real music, and that surely is all we are looking for.

Strengths:
Resolution,unsurpassed dynamics,musicality(after long break in). Soundstaging and recreation of spatial cues .Ability to tune bass to room .

Weaknesses:
In absolute terms expensive, otherwise none.

Similar Products Used:
Avalon Eidolons, Avalon Ascents, Rockport Sysygy.

Summary:
Compared to other "cost no object" speakers, I feel these are overrated. I compared them to the 70k JMlab Utopia Grand and found the Grand to blow them away in terms of spatial resolution and soundstaging. The soundstage of the Pipes seems contrived and the same for every recording. The imaging, as well is not on par. In fact, many 2-5k minimonitors have better imaging ability

The pipes play louder than any speaker ever created, as far as I'm concerned and have the best bass I've ever heard. I really feel that they aren't worth the money, though. On the other hand, I would be willing to take out a home quity loan to buy the JMlabs Utopia Grand.

Strengths:
Plays very loudly without any distortion, resolution is incredible, the lowest bass I have ever heard... bass that thumps you in the chest.

Weaknesses:
Images are not as distinct as many speakers, including speakers that cost thousands left, not as fast a elctrostatics. Dark sounding, Soundstage is sort of confused.

Similar Products Used:
JMlab Utopia grand, Martin-logan The Statement