[newzooreview]

FedEx left me a note this morning informing me that I missed them and they would attempt delivery tomorrow. And then the guy showed up at 7 PM for a second delivery attempt today! 

At first I was very worried. It looked like FedEx had used the packing straps as handles, and one of them had cut like a wire all the way through to the speaker. 



But luckily it was on the side of the box where the plinth and grill are packed, so it just hit a double thick layer of styrofoam. On the other side it might have hit the speaker, so I got lucky.

Jim packed lots of goodies inside. In addition to the Veracity Demo CD, the birth certificate, assembly instructions, and some care instructions I got an official Salk Sound microfiber dusting cloth! It's the yellow blob in the bag in the photo below. I'll keep it as the dedicated duster for the HT1-TLs.



Yeah, those are little Bose speakers next to the TV--I use them just for the TV. My last two-channel speakers were NOT Bose. They were Omega Loudspeaker Aperiodic 8 single driver speakers. They were good, but the Salks are a definite upgrade.

Here are the speakers assembled. They are the curly cherry standard veneer with a custom aniline dye to match a picture that I sent Jim by e-mail. They came out just as I had hoped (I think Jim reads minds): they look terrific and as usual the photos can't do them justice.





I'm going to let them break in before I make any detailed comments on the sound, but suffice it to say I am not disappointed, and they are very refined out of the box. They've been opening up in soundstage depth and width over the first couple of hours, the bass is excellent (I'm getting usable bass at 31.5 Hz on a warble track, and I can still hear the warble tone, albeit down a few dB, at 25 Hz. I'm still deciding whether or not to hook up my Hsu subwoofer. I'll play with that when the HT1-TLs are broken in).

The first track I played (after balance and phase check tracks) was Jokerman from the Dylan album Infidels. It's not exactly an audiophile recording, but that's why I chose it. The bass lines are hard to pick out if the speaker is not excellent. Suffice it to say that I can follow the bass well with the HT1-TLs.

The HT1-TLs are balanced and smooth and highly detailed top to bottom. One thing I'm noticing at the early stage is that the detail does not come at the expense of listening fatigue or etched highs. Natural would be a good word to describe it.

I'll leave it at that for now. I'm heading out of town for a week and then out in another direction for Christmas, so I won't be able to give a listening update until after the New Year (should anyone be interested).

I do want to thank Jim for getting the speakers out to me before I started on my travels. I asked if he could hold off on shipping them, and he counter offered to get them out a day earlier than planned and checked with FedEx to make sure the delivery would work out. Talk about above and beyond! 

[PMAT]

Out of town for a week? Then away again? That's extended foreplay.  I put my main system away for x-mas decorum and it is killing me. The cloth in your photo is for petting the speakers  aa

[vintagebob]

SWEET!   

[charmerci]

Yeah, those are little Bose speakers next to the TV--I use them just for the TV.

Dude man! You should have photoshopped them out!  You're an audiophile with a LOT of self-confidence to admit that you own some.

[rahimlee54]

Yeah, those are little Bose speakers next to the TV--I use them just for the TV.

Dude man! You should have photoshopped them out!  You're an audiophile with a LOT of self-confidence to admit that you own some.

I hooked those same bose speakers up for my father in law, I ended up having to call them because I didnt understand how to hook them up.  Sweet looking HT1-TLs, I hope you enjoy them.

[newzooreview]

Comments on the Bose speakers seems to be running neck and neck with comments on the HT1-TLs.   

I will likely replace my DAC with a different one that let's me switch sources by remote control. I have a PS Audio Link DAC III with Cullen modifications, and it's great, but switching sources is not remote controlled. So, I haven't yet fed the cable box or Apple TV through it. Wyred4Sound (the folks who work with Cullen on the PS Audio mods) is working on a Sabre-based DAC that will give me more inputs and a remote (I'm pretty sure).

I'll stick with two-channel, but at least get the Bose out of the A/V setup. Aside from the mediocre sound, it tends to need resetting on a regular basis. It gets confused and static develops in the sound and sometimes it loses sync with the digital input from the FiOS box. Suffice it to say I would not go the "convenient all-in-one" route with Bose again.

[nyc_paramedic]

Congratulations on your new purchase. As an HT2-TL owner, your speakers look beautiful. Also, I can honestly agree with Jim's assessment that the speakers don't require extended "break in".

P.S. Unsolicited advice: Do more research/experimentation on speaker placement and room treatment *before* investing big bucks in sexy electronics.

P.P.S. Real Traps (no connection whatsoever besides being a supremely satisfied customer) just announced their $100 Bare Traps room treatment. I highly suggest you investigate that option.  It is my humble opinion that mid range electronics, a pair carefully placed of Salks, and a properly treated room will beats the pants off very high end gear ( > $10,000) in a bare room and haphazardly placed speakers.

Enjoy your new reference instruments.

[newzooreview]

@nyc_paramedic

Thanks--yeah they really are beautiful, even in just a "standard" veneer.

I've been looking into room treatments. I'll check into Bare Traps. I'm only thinking of changing out the DAC to get something that let's me switch sources with a remote. It might sound a bit better, but I know that room interactions will have a much bigger influence than any change in electronics from what I have.

What source electronics are you using?

[music lover]

Newzooreview, congrats on your new speakers. What type of "standard"  veneer are your speakers maade with?

[music lover]

Sorry, I see that it is a standard curly cherry with a special  custom dye, from reading above. It looks awesome!

[oneinthepipe]

Beautiful speakers that sound beautiful, too.  Congratulations.

BTW, if you merely want multiple coax and/or toslink inputs for your DAC, you can use:

http://www.inday.com/da4x/da4x.htm

[newzooreview]

@music lover

Yeah, Jim magically sent them stained exactly as I wanted. I was a little unsure that the photo that I sent him would provide sufficient guidance, but it worked out great.

It may not be apparent from the photos, but the veneers on each are a matching set, so if you put a mirror next to the left speaker you would produce the pattern of wood grain on the right speaker. That subtle symmetry is really cool in person.

[newzooreview]

@oneinthepipe

Thanks for the suggestion. My dilemma is that I want to switch between USB, optical, and coaxial sources so it needs to be switched at the DAC vs. upstream. The notion to change out the DAC is about 65% for convenience and 35% for a probably slight increase in sound quality. I mentioned it because it would make it easier for me to ditch the Bose system because the digital sources going into it could go directly to the DAC.

In any case the new HT1-TLs are a good incentive to get more sources connected into them!

[nyc_paramedic]

@nyc_paramedic

Thanks--yeah they really are beautiful, even in just a "standard" veneer.

I've been looking into room treatments. I'll check into Bare Traps. I'm only thinking of changing out the DAC to get something that let's me switch sources with a remote. It might sound a bit better, but I know that room interactions will have a much bigger influence than any change in electronics from what I have.

What source electronics are you using?

Pass Labs amp and passive pre; Wavelength Audio Brick USB DAC; custom Linux USB server. VPI scout for vinyl.