[mdfoy]

I received my new pair of bubinga HT1s last Thursday.    These speakers are just flat out beautiful, and I will try and post pictures later.  They are very difficult to photograph.  I gave them a quick listen and while they were good right out of the box, very clean, I immediately put them on the Isotek burn-in CD.  On Saturday I gave them a good listen, and was impressed with the ease of presentation.  The bass was tight, mids very clear, and highs extended nicely.  The sound stage was pretty localized around the speakers, but opened up with nice depth as time went on, more burn in is necessary. One thing I did notice about the bass. Though very tight, when present, it does kick.  An example is Manu Katche, Neighborhood, Number One.  I turned it up and felt the kick in my chest and stomach.  I know this cut, and the HT1s are red circle "I am so there".  I will update this post as more time is logged on them. 

System:
amp:Odyssey Khartago+
pre: Mapletree 2A SE,
CD: Underwood modded Onix CD-5
IC and SP: Soundstring, Virtual Dynamics

[Nuance]

That's fantastic news!  I am glad you're enjoying your new Salk's.  Speaking of which, time to go listen to mine. 

Enjoy and I'm looking forward to your pics!

[Rocket]

Hi,

Any photos of your speakers.  I would have loved to go for the bubinga but I just didn't have enough cash to pony for them.

Regards

Rod

[mdfoy]

Rocket,

I am trying to upload images, and could on get 1 to upload to my gallery. Here are Flickr images
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18675444@N00/2954153201/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18675444@N00/2954153773/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18675444@N00/2954998806/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18675444@N00/2955162388/

[fsimms]

Congratulations on the HT1's.  They are beautiful! 

I went to RMAF again this year.  Out of 150+ speakers, I didn't find any speakers that I thought were clearly better than my own HT1's for my midsized room.  I must have a few screws loose! 

[jd3]

Mdfoy,
Awesome finish!  Another masterpiece from Jim...and I'll wager they sound as great as they look!

[JerryM]

Here ya' go...   









Very Nice!
Jerry

[Nuance]

   Wow wow wow!  Those are amazing looking!   

[funkmonkey]

Those look great.  That bubinga veneer has some really interesting grain to it.  Nice choice, and once again, nice build Jim.

Are you planning to run a sub with them?  That looks like a very nice 2 channel system you have set up!

I hope you enjoy your HT1s.

[mpaulsen]

Very nice speakers mdfoy and great work Jim.  That is a gorgeous veneer.

What speakers stands are those and how do you like them?

I hope you enjoy your HT1s as much as I enjoy mine!

-Mitchell

[mdfoy]

All,

Thanks to JerryM for the assist on the images.  The sound quality of these speakers is exceptional.  The clarity that they express is off the hook.  They were coming along well and the right channel on my amp goes out.  It is off for repair, but gave me the opportunity to see how really good the speakers are.  I have them hooked up to a $99.00 receiver connected to zip cord, and the sound while diminished in scale and dynamics is still very good.  A friend came over to deliver the sound anchor stands yesterday.  He didn't have a chance to hear them with the Odyssey amp and, Mapletree pre amp combination, and was very impressed with them, hooked up to the receiver. I can't wait to get my amp back.

[jsalk]

mdfoy -

I have them hooked up to a $99.00 receiver connected to zip cord, and the sound while diminished in scale and dynamics is still very good.  A friend came over to deliver the sound anchor stands yesterday.  He didn't have a chance to hear them with the Odyssey amp and, Mapletree pre amp combination, and was very impressed with them, hooked up to the receiver. I can't wait to get my amp back.

This is something that I always try to explain to people when the issue of amps/receivers comes up.  The most important component (by a wide margin) is the speakers.  I often demo my speakers with a $300 receiver.  Sure, I have better amps I could demo with.  But it is a strong demonstration of just how good the speakers are.  They sound great no matter what you hook them up to.

People often ask me what amp/receiver they should upgrade to when purchasing our speakers.  My recommendation is to stick with the amp/receiver they have for at least a while.  If they are happy with the sound quality, there is no reason to upgrade.  If they desire increased performance, they will at least have a benchmark for comparison purposes (something you will not have if you replace both the amp and speakers at the same time).

At any rate, its nice to hear you are still getting sound that is quite good with a $99 receiver.

- Jim

[mdfoy]

Jim,

Thanks for chiming in. The HT1s are a beautiful thing, and I am very happy with them.  The use use of the receiver was really a revelation, but brings up another question.  The are so revealing, that any changes in the system are immediately noticeable.  I noted the changes in scale, clarity, and dynamics when going from the amp/pre to the receiver. Changes in cables are also readily apparent.  I had Virtual Dynamics David IC on the CD to pre, and changed to SoundString. It was easy to identify that the David has a more pronounced midrange than the SoundString, and that the SoundString easy just more even in its presentation.  With all that said, the sound quality with the receiver is very good, and I could stay with it, and not worry about swapping More laterout this, and tweaking that.  All because of the quality of these most excellent speakers. More at a later time.

[Rocket]

Hi Jim,

I totally agree with your statement.

This is something that I always try to explain to people when the issue of amps/receivers comes up.  The most important component (by a wide margin) is the speakers.

The speaker is the most important component imo.  It really determines the sound quality in your system. 

I've been swapping between my Son of Ampzilla, ps audio hca-2 (modified) and 2 x N.E.W. 20.1's.  The difference in sound from these amplifiers is a lot easier to pick than when I was using my nuforce s9 speakers.

I really like the look of bubinga.

Regards

Rod