[Rapt]

Barry, any thoughts on how they sound? any pics of the setup? Inquiring minds want to know 

     I agree please don't leave us like this: 

 

[AliG]

Rydenfan,
  I'm really sorry for the delay, I am so busy packing my other stuff and only until tonight I managed to open one of the boxes. Oh, boy, this open baffle speaker is bigger than I expected, the HT3 looks a little 'underwhelmed' along side 


I have to apologise for this bad picture, taken under extreme low light with a cheap point-and-shoot camera.

[lonewolfny42]

Looks good Barry.....

So....lets get them "hooked up"....have to make sure their working OK after their trip from Jim's....

[Captain Humble]

Barry,
Congratulations on the new gig!

Those new open baffles are simply stunning.
Love the wood.

Best of luck in your new digs.

Jeff

[AliG]

Finally finally, I got both speakers hooked up, I didn't bother to put 'spikes' on the speakers because I was just going to listen briefly to make sure that everything sound 'alright' before I ship it home.

As it turned out, not only did everything sounded 'alright', the damned thing sounded "BRILLIANT"!!!!!   

The open-baffle sounded very very similar to the HT3, granted, the bass doesn't go as low as the 10" TC Sound woofer of the HT3, but I'm not a bass-guy, when I play my favourite Jazz/Vocal/classical, the open-baffle sounded every bit just as good as the HT3. There's a little bit more 'ambience' due to the reflection off the front wall from the midrange driver, the image is more 'diffused' and 3D, as a result the location of each instrument is not as precise as the HT3 - this is a trade-off that potential buyers have to consider before making the final decision.

All in all, I really like the open baffle, I thank Jim for creating such a wonder speakers. Fsimms is coming right now to take a listen, he is a better writer than me, so I'll get him to share his opinion too.

Associated equipments:

Audio Research CD7
Dodd Battery Preamp
McIntosh MC275

[fsimms]

the open-baffle sounded every bit just as good as the HT3

Wow! That is very high praise indeed!  I agree with all Barry’s objective comments.  The voice seemed to be smoother than with my HT1’s.   Barry said that that was due to his McIntosh 2275 tube amps.  We played Dave Brubeck’s Time Out CD.  When the piano played, Barry and I were floored by the excellent reproduction.  I felt that I could touch and smell the piano.  The piano and sax sounded fantastic!  They were better than with my HT1’s in my own system.  The McIntosh may have had a lot to do with the great improvement.  My McCormack amp isn’t bad though.  The drums were excellent too.   The bass was not that good but that might be due to the tube amp. 

The Aura’s didn’t seem to suffer from compression, which I really liked.  The excitement in the music wasn’t as much as with my HT1’s.  When I play music like the Eagle’s Hell Freezes Over LP on the HT1’s, I am sweating and breathless from the excitement.  When Barry played the XRCD version, I didn’t get the feeling that I was on stage with the musicians.

All and all, it was a stellar performance from the Aura’s.  They are a welcome addition to the Salk dynasty.

Bob

PS Jim I bet you didn't know you had a dynasty! 

[Nuance]

Rydenfan,
  I'm really sorry for the delay, I am so busy packing my other stuff and only until tonight I managed to open one of the boxes. Oh, boy, this open baffle speaker is bigger than I expected, the HT3 looks a little 'underwhelmed' along side 


I have to apologise for this bad picture, taken under extreme low light with a cheap point-and-shoot camera.

That picture puts a big 'ol smile on my face.  Enjoy bud!