My Ht2-TL's finally arrived after four and a half months of waiting and a long trip overseas, and a long stopover in customs. But they finally arrived two days ago. Unfortunately for me I had to work until 9:30 in the evening and could barely contain myself. I then opened these gargantuous boxes and found my speakers snugly and safely tucked away inside there.
I would like to post one picture but I am confused since I don't know where to save them - the album of pictures on audiocircle has semed to disappear - maybe with the change of the server.
So first and foremost - Thanks a million to you Jim for your incredible personal service from beginning to end, as well as to both you and Dennis for creating these speakers. I am overwhelmed with them. And thanks to all of the staff at Salksound inc. A special thanks to Brandon (Nuance) for posting his personal and and really inviting description of his search for the perfect speaker - it was an essay that I am sure most of us can identify with, and it saved me personally a lot of searching.
Now for my impressions - I Can't Stop Listening. My room setup is terrible, acoustics not good, just a normal mediocre living room, and my amp is a Marantz surround receiver at 70 watts per channel. Put on 2 channel stereo they seem to be doing a very nice job of moving those amps.
I love them. Not just the incredible finish of the cabinetry which turns them into a real piece of elegant furniture in the room - but I am in love with the sound. I won't go into the issues of deep bass, authentic vocals, beautful midrange etc.- I am not very good at all of that. Diana Krall was so close in the room to me, as were Ben Webster and Stan Getz's saxophones. The singing of Joao Gilberto with Stan Getz on sax just felt soooo intimate and real. Every sound sounds so real.
But my best surprise was with classical music - a violin is a violin, oboe, clarinet, cello, piano - all sound so authentic. I just don't get tired of listening - but rather I can just sit back and relax and listen and listen and listen all day long. My 17 year old daughter friend said - you are just sitting there listening - that's it? I smiled. That's it.
It is all so clean, and natural and intimate - really intimate. That's how I can best describe my experience with these speakers without the professional jargon (which I don't understand as opposed to most of the community here).
I can only imagine what awaits as I save up for a high end amplifier.
So this has become a dream come true after about 30 years of wishing and dreaming - and I thank all of you for your posts and comments for this is what gave me the security and peace of mind to buy speakers, across the Atlantic, without ever having heard them before.
And you were all - right on.
So I might have overdone this here a bit - better stop for now.
With a smile!!
Joel
