Disclaimer – I am not a reviewer nor do I consider myself an audiophile. I enjoy music. I play it and mix it live, and listen to it extensively at home.
Short version for those in a hurry:
1. Auditioning speakers can be misleading if you are not familiar with the room and electronics in front of them.
2. The HT2-TL’s are a great sounding speaker with amazing low end for two tiny drivers. This is the closest sound to ribbon/panel speakers I have heard coming from cones in a box. Match up a sub and you’re ready for
anything. I believe I have found my last speaker. Mr. Salk and Co. are quite easy to contact and very helpful on this and other forums.
3. I cannot fall for the HT2C. Is anyone else hearing a BIG dip in high mids when moving even just one seat off axis? Even on center it sounds “off” to me, like a box speaker.
4. The RAAL is “all that”, but as everything at this level, it’s a matter of taste.
Long version:
In my search for “something new” I ran across Salk as well as some other interesting companies. I had several questions and concerns to which Jim replied quickly and gave his insight on. With that I started my search for some Supercharged ST’s or HT2’s. I had to go used as my budget was limited and I was quite skeptical and assumed I’d be going back to dipoles or planers in the near future.
I found several HT2-TL’s and a pair of HT3’s all within a day of going to audition the initial pair I found earlier in the week! I probably would’ve gone with the HT3’s sight unseen/unheard & possibly regretted if it wasn’t for all the information provided by all the fine people here. Thanks to all that have posted regarding their experiences and research!
I went and auditioned the closest pair of HT2-TL’s (which happened to include a HT2C) as I was going to be in the area anyway. Walked in and put in some familiar music and my heart sank. These sounded like a pair of cheap mini monitors with the exception of astounding bass for such a small box w/small drivers. Certainly all the reviews and measurements couldn’t be wrong. If they were, were all the other models and brands going to disappoint in such a huge way? What was I missing?
Still scratching my head I asked to hear the HTC and the only way to get it recognized was to run the “auto mode” of the receiver of which I was not familiar with nor did I want to become so at this time either. Sure enough the HTC matched the sonic signature of the HT2’s, zero at the very top end but yet bright in a strange way. At that point a light bulb appeared. There had to be something in the set up and/or room making what was supposed to be an above average set up sound like it did, some kind of night mode or room eq/correction on the receiver.
I thanked David then went back to where I was spending the weekend and convinced myself there was an issue with the receiver settings and or room and not the speakers. I also talked myself into going with David’s pair although the finish was not even near what I was looking for, however they had the bonus of a matching center. So the next morning I took a blind leap and handed over the cash and boxed them up and drove home with a slightly sick feeling in my stomach.
I got home and my VERY tolerant wife helped me get them set up (stereo only, I didn’t bother with the center at this point). I did a quick placement to get a decent center image and ran a quick, but manual eq with an SMS1 (my room has a ridiculous and wide peak at 40hz and must be eq’d ). I do not use Audessy or the like, just eq for 100hz & below with the sms and some help from REQ which is sent to a sub. Started with an x-over at 80hz as that is where I usually seem to wind up in this room.
Now for the moment of truth, I popped in one of the same discs I auditioned them with the day before and crossed my fingers. What a relief, these were in fact the real deal! I spent the rest of the day listening and playing with placement a bit enjoying what I heard the whole time.
Day two - I did a bit more in depth eq to the sub region and some serious listening and placement tweaking. Although the sound stage was very wide and center imaging was good, there was something strange about it. I noticed everything imaging a bit lower than I was used to as well, especially vocals. I took the spikes off the bases and BAM! I now had an image that exceeded what I was used to which was pretty darn good.
At this point I am not missing the dipole effect or ribbons at all. It’s hard to believe this music is coming from boxes with little cones in them. It’s like mixing outdoors with no room interactions. I LIKE IT! I now have a speaker that at worst, I can live with for awhile.
Next – the RAAL and a “flat” speaker. Full disclosure here – my hearing is surprisingly good all things considered but it drops like a rock at 14k. I also never set up a rig flat on the bottom end. I’m not a bass junkie, but I usually put in a curve stating @ 80hz down to whatever the limits of the system are. Above that, flat is good (for me anyway). I’m guessing what I’m hearing now is a pretty damn flat response at listening position and very little room interaction. As previously mentioned, not a bad thing so far. The RAAL? I guess there is a tweeter in this box. However it does not draw attention to itself nor does it miss anything. Pretty much what I was accustomed to with my Carvers. For me, the RAAL is a good thing.
So for now, I’ll stop and listen for a while, hook up the center, and report back later.
Day three – Center channel hooked up. Hmm, this box sounds, well, boxy. Very similar to the HT2’s but something is going on that I’m not liking at all. Movie dialog, music, all is questionable.
Day 5 – A couple days later and still something funny with the HT2C. I need to take a day and play with placement, stand swap, etc. I have made micro adjustments to the HT2TL’s. I thought box speakers were easier to position!!!!! UHHHG!!! BUT I’ve got it nailed down now. Hard panned guitar and drum effects appear outside the speakers as they should. From Edie Brickell to A Perfect Circle, music is sounding great. The HT2’s have found another fan!
Day 7 – Still not feelin’ the love for the HT2C. It has seen use every night for the last 4 days, DTS music, b-ray, HDTV. It has resided on a heavy stand under the monitor with no enclosure around it and protruding 2” from the shelf above it and about 10” off the floor. I took it out and put it on a taller stand with no change. Maybe I’m not used to a sealed box, but it sounds like a box me. Nowhere near the HT2TL’s. One seat to the side of the sweet spot and it loses something. Two seats over and I’ve got to turn up the center, high mids disappear. Inherent to the MTM design? Any input on this would be appreciated.
So I break out the old VMPS LRC and ahhhhh. I’m sure it’s not as accurate/flat as the HT2C, but it’s consistent from seat to seat. To be fair, this thing is twice as big and probably twice as heavy and it’s a ported box. Surprisingly it blends pretty well with the HT2TL’s. On Lyle Lovett’s Joshua Judges Ruth DTS recording, there are vocals that are imaged in the center via L/R only and then switch to a center image via the center channel only and back. I could not tell which was which until my ears were within inches of the center channel. I’m perfectly happy with that match!
So here I sit, a new fan of the HT2-TL, Mr. Salk, and his team. The only thing left now is to decide what to do with this center. Maybe I’ll sell the whole set and order a new pair of HT2-TL’s with a more appropriate finish for my room.
Now for some more music!
