AudioCircle
Industry Circles => Salk Signature Sound => Topic started by: funkmonkey on 12 Jan 2009, 10:13 am
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My HT3s and HTC finally arrived, just before the weekend.
Veneer is a very unique Brazilian Rosewood taken from a tree that survived a fire at some point in it's life time, giving it the dark "charred" areas. Jim thought that a guitar burst would look great with this veneer, and I agreed. The finish is hand rubbed & high gloss.
I fell for the HT3s after auditioning just over 30 other speakers and documented my search over on AVS in my Speakerquest (So far...) (http://"http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=995082") thread, which inadvertently led to a thread over here on AC The $2000 challenge (http://"http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=52247.0"). I did not come anywhere even remotely close to my original budget, but over the last year I have assembled a very nice system (at least in my eyes, and ears). These HT3s and HTC are what drove me to put together the rest of the system. If I didn't have to wait a couple of months to get them I would be trying to drive them with my old Onkyo 2 channel receiver.
Jim and company did an amazing job, and you really have to see these guys in person (and I know a few of you guys got to see them before I did :green:). It's been said many times before, but I will say it again: The pictures really do not do them justice. Excellent work Jim, they look and sound fantastic!!!!!
First up are the shots that Jim took, followed by a few that I snapped yesterday. Room arrangement is still in flux.
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17755)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17755)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17732)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17731)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17728)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17729)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17730)
I made the TV stand, and have since moved the TV up about 2" so it's not as crowded by the HTC. I'll post some more pics at a later date, when everything is settled, but I thought you guys might enjoy these. :D
Cheers, and thanks again Jim
-Greg
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Hey Funk.
These are beautiful.
I didn't like some of the symmetrial patterns on some HT3.
These are random and they look CARVED out of a Tree.
Really Nice.
Another wish would be to have all Black drivers....May not be possible but these are awesome.
Great
Regards
HP
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Wow, they look amazing :o Pull them out into the room and show them off! ;) :D
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I find with Salk creations I have only two reactions.
1 - Wow, those are beautiful speakers, and I think the owner should be proud.
2 - GOOD LORD, those are amazing. The owner should move them to the deck, or patio, so the neighbors can understand who has the coolest speakers around!
I think in this case, I am clearly experiencing #2, that starburst effect over the charred wood, with the deep gloss is just ridiculous!
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Hi Greg, congratulations you finally got them :thumb:
The veneer looks fantastic, now it's time to enjoy them.
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Great looking veneer!
That is a different looking cabinet than I'm used to seeing for the HT3.
Did Jim have to change the baffle step compensation? Do they image as well as the standard HT3?
Is it cheaper?
Thanks
I had to do a double take, as I thought it was a V3 based on the "boxy" look.
While the veneer is stunning, I really prefer the tapered body of the HT3's + the wood baffle.
Like Rob, I am also interested in how having a rectangular cabinet impacts the sound.
George
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Congrats on your speakers man. That veneer and woodwork is truly exotic and I really like the departure from the normal HT3 semi point top. You had Jim "grill" your speakers the same way he did my V3s. I like that look. Enjoy them for years to come.
PS, What are you driving the HT3s with?
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Beautiful buddy :thumb:
Dennis has graphs to show the traditional box in comparison to the tapered look. Hopefully he will chime in.
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Beautiful speakers. :thumb:
The HT3's reminded my wife of a coffin. Before we ended up buying Jim's HT3's, he and my wife got together and came up with a custom cabinet design. Jim simply said that he builds custom speakers and that he would build "our" custom speaker. Needless to say, by the end of the day, she decided she would work through her issues of the coffin because of the probable inability to find similiar veneer.
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Beautiful buddy :thumb:
Dennis has graphs to show the traditional box in comparison to the tapered look. Hopefully he will chime in.
ding dong. Jim sent me a rectangular front baffle that I could screw onto my HT3 (needless to say, my htc doesn't have a hand-rubbed high gloss burnt tree veneer). The different shape wouldn't affect the woofer's response or the lower end of the mid--the wave lenghts are just too long. So no baffle step adjustments were needed. But the larger area around the tweeter did affect the diffraction pattern at about 3 khz. Fortunately, I was able to fix that by just increasing one shunt resistor value slightly. If Nuance reads this and wants to post the HT3 plot I sent him, that would be great. There isn't any difference between the coffin and the rectangle response with the resistor adjustment.
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I love my Rosewood HT3, but those are the most beautiful speakers I have ever seen!!
Gene
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funkmonkey ........Finally after all these months of waiting....been following your saga on AVS
I must say they are Gorgeous.......congrats and I also prefer this style rather than the coffin look :thumb:
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Simply stunning funk :drool: Bet you wish there were more hours in the day for listening. Another amazing example of Jim & company's work.
Hope to get to see & hear them this fall at Lincoln, if I understood Mudslide correctly . :thumb:
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The veneer + starburst = wow! :drool: That is stunning and the grills are a crime IMO. Don't cover that up!
I actually prefer the look of this boxy version to the tapered HT3, but I am not a populist.
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:thumb: We've all been waiting for this post. Good to see everything arrived OK. They are truly gooooood lookin' loudspeakers.
Curious about the angle on the center. How far away will your primary listening postion be?
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Wow! Another masterpiece by Jim Salk. Comparing his cabinet work to most other speaker manufacturers is like comparing an original painting to a print copy. There is a depth and artistry to his work that sets it apart and far above most others. I think my envy meter is pegged again. :green:
And that center channel! It looks like it could blow you out of your seat! :drums:
Congratulations, enjoy. :beer:
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Thanks guys- The center channel angle was determined to aim it directly to seated ear height at 9ft. I figured that that is my current position, and probably as close as I will ever be seated. If my seating position changes I can simply shim the back of the HTC up to the proper angle.
My wife also felt like the standard HT3 "monkey coffin" shape was not something she could live with, so I asked Jim if he could build a rectangular version. With a little help from Dennis on the crossover, the result is a speaker that I enjoy and that my wife will let into the house :thumb:
-Greg
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Thanks guys- The center channel angle was determined to aim it directly to seated ear height at 9ft. I figured that that is my current position, and probably as close as I will ever be seated. If my seating position changes I can simply shim the back of the HTC up to the proper angle.
My wife also felt like the standard HT3 "monkey coffin" shape was not something she could live with, so I asked Jim if he could build a rectangular version. With a little help from Dennis on the crossover, the result is a speaker that I enjoy and that my wife will let into the house :thumb:
-Greg
Congrats on the new gear Greg. On the HT center does it have a natural angled front baffle, so that it is naturally angled upward? I do that with my devore center (via a book for now) too after having another center with an angle baffled. I am about 8ft away and center is fairly on the table.
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funkmonkey:
Extraordinary, incredible, mind-blowing speakers.
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Nicest ones I've seen yet. I think I like the rectangular shape versus the other shape. The grain is stunning.
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what about a little more curvy shape like this?
(http://www.kharma.com/_images/products/exquisite/midi.jpg)
How many of you still think that this looks like a 'coffin'?
I wonder how much 'extra' Jim will have to charge for it though.
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"Veneer is a very unique Brazilian Rosewood taken from a tree that survived a fire at some point in it's life time, giving it the dark "charred" areas."
Thanks for giving that tree a chance, this planet needs more caring people like you.
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Simply stunning funk :drool: Bet you wish there were more hours in the day for listening. Another amazing example of Jim & company's work.
Hope to get to see & hear them this fall at Lincoln, if I understood Mudslide correctly . :thumb:
Thanks Arthur, I'm still kickin' the idea of moving to the NW around, no solid plans yet. I have to find some source of income up there first, but I may come up for the GTG anyway. I I've made the move I would be glad to bring them, if not, well... I'll bring more pictures :wink:
-Greg
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Thanks guys- The center channel angle was determined to aim it directly to seated ear height at 9ft. I figured that that is my current position, and probably as close as I will ever be seated. If my seating position changes I can simply shim the back of the HTC up to the proper angle.
My wife also felt like the standard HT3 "monkey coffin" shape was not something she could live with, so I asked Jim if he could build a rectangular version. With a little help from Dennis on the crossover, the result is a speaker that I enjoy and that my wife will let into the house :thumb:
-Greg
Congrats on the new gear Greg. On the HT center does it have a natural angled front baffle, so that it is naturally angled upward? I do that with my devore center (via a book for now) too after having another center with an angle baffled. I am about 8ft away and center is fairly on the table.
No, the HTC is the standard box shape, I built the TV stand to accommodate it and angled the shelf a few degrees...
Worked out pretty good, I watched a movie last night and for the first time the dialogue was crystal clear.
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+1 ^^
You 've got to love that. It's the Salk signature.
I got my SongCenter a few weeks back and the difference between it and the :P Klipsh I was using is night and day.
Now you can re-visit all those flicks and hear what you missed.
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No, the HTC is the standard box shape, I built the TV stand to accommodate it and angled the shelf a few degrees...
Worked out pretty good, I watched a movie last night and for the first time the dialogue was crystal clear.
Ah.....an angled shelf! Tricky. Good thinking!
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For those that asked here are the on axis FR plots that Dennis sent me:
First for the standard angled baffle of the HT3:
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17769)
and then for the rectangular baffle:
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=17768)
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Hmmmmm Not quite sure why there's a difference in the resonse around 1.5 kHz. You're sure these were for the coffin vs. the rectangle, and not an on-axis and slightly off-axis plot for the rectangle?
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Funk: congratulations! I think it was about one year ago that you came over to my place and heard my Song Towers - Talk about delayed gratification!
I wonder if you could post details of the rest of the equipment in your system. My apologies if you've done so elsewhere.
Best, Dave
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Funk - those are glorious! It doesn't get any better than that bro! Enjoy!
Dennis, funk beat me to it, but that second plot is the same one you sent me. That small dip is there, not that it's audible, though.
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Hmmmmm Not quite sure why there's a difference in the resonse around 1.5 kHz. You're sure these were for the coffin vs. the rectangle, and not an on-axis and slightly off-axis plot for the rectangle?
Nope--checked my sent mail. My bad. I guess there's a tiny difference. Return the speakers immediately so I can reduce the midrange parallel resistor by 1/8th ohm.
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Hmmmmm Not quite sure why there's a difference in the resonse around 1.5 kHz. You're sure these were for the coffin vs. the rectangle, and not an on-axis and slightly off-axis plot for the rectangle?
Nope--checked my sent mail. My bad. I guess there's a tiny difference. Return the speakers immediately so I can reduce the midrange parallel resistor by 1/8th ohm.
Yeah, that dip has been nagging me since I first plugged them in :wink:
Actually, it looks to me as if my HT3s are slightly (1dB or so) more hot from 325Hz - 1.25kHz, before the dip.
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Funk: congratulations! I think it was about one year ago that you came over to my place and heard my Song Towers - Talk about delayed gratification!
I wonder if you could post details of the rest of the equipment in your system. My apologies if you've done so elsewhere.
Best, Dave
Hey Dave! Good to hear from you, thanks for my initiation into the Salk sound asylum, and the introduction to streaming audio.
The rest of my system consists of (from the source):
FLAC from iMac (on an external HD)->
Modwright Transporter ->
Modwright LS-36.5 ->
Parasound Halo A51 (passive bi-amp config) ->
Salk HT3.
I have an Oppo 983 hooked into the HT bypass of the LS-36.5 and center channel of the Halo for DVDs. Still waiting for a balanced HDMI 1.3 processor so I can switch everything over to balanced connections. No BluRay yet, but sometime in the future I will probably check it out.
Cheers,
Greg
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Yeah, that dip has been nagging me since I first plugged them in :wink:
Actually, it looks to me as if my HT3s are slightly (1dB or so) more hot from 325Hz - 1.25kHz, before the dip.
Arguably there's a little peak in the coffin. It's just as likely that there's a little difference in the measurement resolution in that area. Phases of the moon were a little different too. In any event, Jim will refund the purchase price immediately.
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Funk: congratulations! I think it was about one year ago that you came over to my place and heard my Song Towers - Talk about delayed gratification!
I wonder if you could post details of the rest of the equipment in your system. My apologies if you've done so elsewhere.
Best, Dave
Hey Dave! Good to hear from you, thanks for my initiation into the Salk sound asylum, and the introduction to streaming audio.
The rest of my system consists of (from the source):
FLAC from iMac (on an external HD)->
Modwright Transporter ->
Modwright LS-36.5 ->
Parasound Halo A51 (passive bi-amp config) ->
Salk HT3.
I have an Oppo 983 hooked into the HT bypass of the LS-36.5 and center channel of the Halo for DVDs. Still waiting for a balanced HDMI 1.3 processor so I can switch everything over to balanced connections. No BluRay yet, but sometime in the future I will probably check it out.
Cheers,
Greg
Brilliant Greg, simply brilliant. You gave these HT3s everything they would need to sing as majestically as only they can. Looking forward to your writeups of how it all sounds.
Dave
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Thanks Dave, I will do a write up in a few weeks or so... I really haven't had much time to listen them at all! It's a darn shame, it is!
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Simply stunning funk :drool: Bet you wish there were more hours in the day for listening. Another amazing example of Jim & company's work.
Hope to get to see & hear them this fall at Lincoln, if I understood Mudslide correctly . :thumb:
Thanks Arthur, I'm still kickin' the idea of moving to the NW around, no solid plans yet. I have to find some source of income up there first, but I may come up for the GTG anyway. I I've made the move I would be glad to bring them, if not, well... I'll bring more pictures :wink:
-Greg
Man, ya go away for a couple of weeks, come back and find people talkin' about you and there's a two page thread on my favorite HT3's. :thumb:
Congrats (now in triplicate) Greg! These HT3's are lovelier than my old sunburst Strat.
Howdy to you, too, Arthur. The posts you've been seeing from me are meant to (strongly) encourage our friend, the ultra-Funkmonkey, to get his tail up here where he belongs (and wants to be). I'll likely nag him into coming, even if he's still living down with the smog and gangs when we have the GTG. :wink: But if that's the case, I don't think he'll want to buy two extra airline seats for the Salks. (But they would make good company now that I think about it.) And regarding said GTG, I'll probably start a couple of threads about it in April. We should know more about the progress on the build at the host's site by then. (I'm also nagging him to get moving! Geez, the things a guy has to do.....)
Good cheer all.
Mud
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Thanks RJ- now triplicate as well. :D
Looking forward to info about the PacNW GTG. I still do want to move up there, with all this global warming the climate is going to be perfect. :thumb:
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^ Global warming? Yeah right! No such thing. In fact, it's the butt of jokes here in the midwest. :D The pacNW would be a pretty cool place to live, though, whether you believe in global warming or not.
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This is totally inappropriate but I would hump those speakers, ahem, sorry.
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Hmmmm, so far people have wanted to hump and lick them... I guess thats a good thing?
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Hmmmm, so far people have wanted to hump and lick them... I guess thats a good thing?
Being an older guy, I just want to drool on them. (Anyone know where I can get discounts on cases of bibs?) :icon_lol:
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Well I've heard the HT-3's and the HTC center before so I would happily settle for just hearing them again myself. :thumb: I'm also partial to the standard design myself, much more classy of a design to my eye but I surely wouldn't turn my nose up to this design either. :drool:
Cheers,
Robin
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^ Global warming? Yeah right! No such thing. In fact, it's the butt of jokes here in the midwest. :D The pacNW would be a pretty cool place to live, though, whether you believe in global warming or not.
PCNW is great! I get to go fishing, hiking, camping, hunting, kayaking, and all things outdoors in about 20 mintues from my house. And if you ski - water or snow same thing. Greg its a great place to live, you should definitely consider it!
Brandon - we only got 8 inches of snow this year which the most in like eight years...how much did you get again?
And not to derail this thread like the ones on avs - so... Greg those speakers are absolutely a sight to behold! I love the unique veneer and the normal box shape! Greg you are a very lucky man! Great Choice!
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^ Global warming? Yeah right! No such thing. In fact, it's the butt of jokes here in the midwest. :D The pacNW would be a pretty cool place to live, though, whether you believe in global warming or not.
PCNW is great! I get to go fishing, hiking, camping, hunting, kayaking, and all things outdoors in about 20 mintues from my house. And if you ski - water or snow same thing. Greg its a great place to live, you should definitely consider it!
Brandon - we only got 8 inches of snow this year which the most in like eight years...how much did you get again?
And not to derail this thread like the ones on avs - so... Greg those speakers are absolutely a sight to behold! I love the unique veneer and the normal box shape! Greg you are a very lucky man! Great Choice!
Wow - that sounds amazing, godawg! We have totaled right around 50" of snow this year so far, and we're expecting more this weekend. Yay! Wait...no, not yay. Boooo!
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Just wanted to report that for a little while there I was thinking that the sound from my HT3/HTC combo was a little veiled... not true, at all. I was listening with the grills on!!!!!! :duh: Remove the grills and the highs shine! I honestly did not expect that much of a difference grills on/off. I know that it is recommended to listen with the grills off, but somehow I forgot and left them on... I removed them today and all I can say is WOW! I seriously did not think that it would make that much of a difference, but it does. It seems to be mainly the high frequencies that are affected by the grills, the mids and bass have been excellent with them in place. The mids actually seemed a little more pronounced that I remembered, but now the highs are much more crisp and clear. I am now hearing what I have been searching for with the grills removed... Nothing harsh, just pure neutral reproduction of the original recording. Awesome!
:thumb:
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Greg, I drive my HT3's with a Musical Fidelity KW500 (2x500 watts) - it shows them the finger and spits them out, I've been very happy with the combination. I've recently had the power supply upgraded and capacitor modifications made, bottom line is that it's tightened up and extended the bass, brought out the mid-range and smoothed off any grain that existed. Bottom line is I can go louder, more bass, more detail and have more fun :guitar:
The reason for posting this is that the HT3's have the capacity to allow me to enjoy the improvements to my amp, and take the higher volume in their stride - I'm even more impressed with their capabilities and capacity to resolve this improvement. HT3's are definitely future/upgrade proofed.
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Sounds awesome Phil. I really liked the sound of the Musical Fidelity gear that I have heard, and yours is several steps above the A5 stuff that I auditioned. :wink:
I have been rolling some tubes around over the last couple of days, and I can now actually hear the differences. I am still breaking in the DR's in the 36.5 but right away I could hear the punchiness that they add. I rolled in my fat base Mullard into the 36.5 as well, and am pretty sure that that combo will stay. I had another Mullard (Valvo branded) in the TP to get some burn time, until today. I swapped the Valvo out for a Tung Sol 5U4GB in the TP and noticed a reduction in the mids, and increased detail. I think that I like this combination the best so far, two GZ34's might be too thick in the mids for my system... I am now anxious to hear what the other couple rectifiers that I have bring to the table. I have yet to get some options for signal tubes other that the RCA cleartops I have... I would like to try some Raytheons and/or TungSol black plates if I can find them but they seem pretty scarce. It's just really nice to be able to hear the changes. Rather than the stream of mediocrity, I get to hear the good stuff in all it's glory! :thumb: The HT3s are remarkably true to what they are fed.
I have been wondering about amps again, and find myself curious about the Wyred for Sound stuff. Any amp change would be much further down the road, but I like the idea of a multi channel amp that I could customize to allow me to put 500watts to each woofer, 250 to the tweet/mid section, 250 for my HTC, and a pair of 150 watt channels for surrounds... (hypothetical set up, but close to what I would do given that flexability)
So yeah, I think the HT3's are pretty future upgrade proof too. :D
Cheers,
Greg
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(http://xs435.xs.to/xs435/09016/ht3-brazrosewood819.jpg)
(http://xs435.xs.to/xs435/09016/ht3-brazrosewood-cu371.jpg)
Now that I have had them for a few weeks and had a chance to listen to a wide variety of music and movies through the HT3s, and I felt it was time to do a little write-up. I have posted some random notes as I have experienced them here and in various other threads around the net but I will try and gather some of my thoughts as I write this.
First off, the HT3s are extremely revealing. Their sound changes as I switch my source; tubes; and from recording to recording. They also show an obvious difference between net radio streamed Mp3 files (a lot of my listening lately, while waiting for my computer to get fixed) and those that have been encoded in a lossless format (FLAC in my case). Last night was the first chance that I had to listen to everything in my disc-less 2 channel system. I set the MW Transporter to play random FLAC files and sat down for a listen. I was utterly speechless. What was supposed to be a 5 minute check to make sure that everything was working again turned into a very fast hour of sitting there with a perm-a-grin stuck to my face.
Strangely enough I don't think that I had listened to any Miles Davis on my HT3s before last night (I say strangely, because he is one of my favorite artists) but Freddie Freeloader from the album Kind of Blue came up and I was blown away by the subtleties of tone, and the clarity of the bass, drums, cymbals, sax (both Tenor and Alto), piano, and trumpet... Outstanding! Everything was so clear and natural sounding that it's no wonder that Kind of Blue is the best selling Jazz album of all time.
There has been a lot of talk recently (including a dedicated thread on AudioCircle (http://"http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=64536.0")) about lousy recordings and not enjoying them anymore because your system makes them sound unbearable. I have been deliberately withholding my opinions from that thread because that is part of what I wanted to talk about here. Turns out that (once again) Nuance and I have similar views on the subject...
Now that I have the HT3s I have noticed a significant variety of recording qualities; from static filled 60's soul; to thin and under bass(ed) 80's rock; to over compressed 90's & 00's pop, rock and dance; to some sublimely recorded Jazz and electronic music; to some truly awful punk recordings (that sound like they were made from a single "condenser" mic built into a handheld cassette recorder that was designed to record dictations and lectures...) The variance is astounding, and I don't even own any "audiophile" recordings (yet), only redbook CDs. Each and every one of those recordings adds some character to the music, and none of it actually sounds any worse than it did before. What has happened is that the well recorded, and nicely mastered stuff sounds incredible! It is an absolute treat when listening to something that has has been recorded with care, and attention to detail. The stuff that is less than stellar is still enjoyable to me, though I do find myself taking note of the crappy recording quality, I try my best not to let that distract me from enjoying the music itself.
For movies/DVDs the HT3/HTC combo has been utterly fantastic. I am consistently surprised at how much information is pumped through the center channel, and the HTC handles it with grace and clarity. With no sub in my system I know that I am missing the deepest tones in the films, but the HT3s dig deep enough for me not to worry too much about it. Vocals and weird electronic sounds sound are reproduced flawlessly. The ribbon tweeters make breaking glass sounds very realistic indeed. I won't spend too much time here because my 5.1 system is only about half way there, but even in its present state the sound that I am experiencing with movies is excellent, to say the least.
I haven't gone through too much trouble with speaker placement and positioning. The HT3s currently reside flanking my TV stand and are on gliders so I slide them a little further apart and a little further from the front wall, with a bit of toe-in for more critical listening. From my minor experiments in this area imaging and soundstage seem to be the most affected, and bass response to a lesser degree because the side walls are somewhere around 6' from each speaker. When I am able to get into a more ideal room I will spend the time and effort required to optimize the placement, but for now I have no complaints.
When I first hooked up the HT3s it was with the single zip-cord that I had been using on my previous speakers, and have since switched to two pairs of Canare "star-quad" DIY cables with bare wire connections. While I can't say that I noticed a significant improvement I did notice some. More improvement when switching to a passive bi-amp configuration than when switching the wires themselves. I'm still undecided on the whole cable/IC/powercord debate but I do like the look and feel of the tailored wires. Much more familiarity with my set-up is required before I can have an honest opinion about the result of these (IMO) subtle changes. When I switched to a passive bi-amp set up the HT3s responded very well indeed. The bass became more solid and punchy with the dedicated wattage, most notable, perhaps, at lower volumes.
Speaking of lower volumes, the HT3s sound good when playing at background levels, but they really shine when they are allowed to stretch out. Goosing the volume knob allows me to feel the bass drum kick in the gut, and the rump shakin' bass that I love so much. The highs gain a bit of sparkle and penetration at just over what I would consider "low level" listening. I'm not talking about anything that you can't have an easy conversation over or anything, just at the point where the music ceases to be background and becomes the focus of your attention. It's at this volume that the HT3s really become captivating. And on the rare occasion that I am able to crank them up and rock out they reward in spades.
Even with less than ideal placement the soundstage of the HT3s gets wide and deep, extending outside the speakers themselves, and well behind them making the front wall seem to "disappear." The foreground however is somewhat limited in my current listening position, due no doubt to the close proximity of the rear wall. I am anxious to move to a new place so I can set these babies up proper!
On several occasions I have put my ear close to each individual driver to hear what the tweeter, the midrange, and the woofer are contributing. When I have done this I can hear each of the parts doing their thing, but somehow none of them sound as good individually as they do when combined. The HT3 is clearly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. This is a true testament to the quality of design, integration, and implementation by Jim and Dennis. All three drivers blend seamlessly and compliment each other making for one-hell-of-a-great loudspeaker!
Last, but by no means least, I want to comment on the appearance of my HT3s. I have the distinct pleasure of owning a truly one-of-a-kind pair of rectangular HT3s. Jim was gracious enough to consent to build these one-offs for me and I in turn scoured the internet to find a truly unique veneer to clad them in. The end result is nothing short of spectacular (in my opinion). It has become a cliche' with Salk speakers, but pictures really do not do them justice. The only thing that comes close to eclipsing their visual beauty is the way they sound. The HT3s sound as good as they look, if not even better, and they look awesome.
Thank you Jim, Dennis, and the whole crew at Salk Sound! You guys can add another happy customer to the ever growing list. :D
Cheers,
Greg
Associated gear:
iMac G5 (streaming FLAC files via ethernet connection)
Modwright Transporter
Modwright LS 36.5
Parasound Halo A51
Oppo 983 (DVD playback)
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Funk
Absolutely awesome. I'm extremely happy for you!
Mark
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Thanks Mark.
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Thanks so much for taking the time to report on your experiences. I couldn't be happier that the HT3 seems to have survived the transition from coffin to rectangle. And it's also gratifying to hear (particularly for Jim) that the new woofer seems to be working out. He could have been up deep doo doo creek if that hadn't come together. I hope it was worth the wait. Dennis
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Dennis-
definitely worth the wait. :thumb:
The new woofer is working out just fine in my opinion. It's been quite a while since I heard the old one so it's very hard to compare but I would venture a guess that the old one had a tad more output at low volumes (though this would seem counter-intuitive as I thought the efficiency was increased a little), but as stated above it kicks some serious ass when you goose it a little, and I would guess that it is a bit punchier than the old. You might say that it seems to be wound up a little tighter :wink:
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Greg - You seem like a happy guy listening to your new speakers :thumb:.
Thanks for the excellent write up - it was a great read.
Richard
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As stated at AVS:
Fantastic write-up, Greg! It's the "one" I've been waiting for. I guess I can slowly fade off these forums now.
Thanks for taking the time to do this bud. Your write-ups are like poetry, as I always relate to what you say and am captivated by the words. I am so happy for you - I don't even know what to say. ENJOY!
P.S. Those speakers are so gorgeous there just aren't words to describe them. :hyper:
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Thanks again guys.
It's my hope that others will read this and other owner reviews and use them as a springboard on their own quest.
There are lot's of speaker options out there, so the more of us that post our impressions the better information base there is for those that are still searching.
:thumb: