[quint]

I have some HT2-TL for about nine years but have beein bitten by the upgrade bug.  Has anyone listened to both the Song3 and can provide comparisons?  Any input is appreciated.

[WGH]

I haven't heard any of the Song 3 models, the Encore looks interesting. I have had the HT2-TLs for 10 years and love the clarity, they seem true to the source. The HT2-TL speakers work best with high powered traditional Class AB amps like Van Alstine. I listened to Class D loaners for weeks and they are not a good match.

One of the best upgrades I made was to get a REL subwoofer. The HT2-TLs are so good that it requires an excellent, fast sub which means one of the expensive RELs. Why?
Because the HT2-TL go down to 34 Hz. My REL Gibraltar low-pass is set at 30 Hz. If you haven't heard bass into the teens then your are missing the music's fundamentals. And it's not about bass, it's about the room. Almost everyone gets this wrong because they have subs that don't do sub frequencies.

Watch an explanation by John Hunter, CEO and Chief Designer at REL Acoustics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSHkpy2280Q

The Salk 3 Encore bass goes lower that the HT2-TL, 25 HZ or lower with room reinforcement. But then you can get into placement problems.  A sub can be placed anywhere. Perfect imaging may not be the best location for perfect bass with a all-in-one speaker. The room is just as important as the speaker.

Without a room size and electronics and photos it is almost impossible to make a suggestion.

[quint]

Thanks, i was thinking of supplementing my HT2-Tls witha sub.  This might bring everything together,  I was tempted y the Encore, bit it seems a bit large for my space.

Room size is 30 x 15 plus 20 ft ceilings, so no picnic there. Denafrips 80 watt amp. Seems sufficient.

[WGH]

Room size is 30 x 15 plus 20 ft ceilings, so no picnic there.

That's a big room, the HT2-TL's bass is probably swallowed up.

I suggest making two phone calls. One to Jim Salk to talk about speakers.
The other to REL. I have called them a couple of times, REL has excellent pre-sales support. Most people don't take advantage of this service and buy the wrong size sub for their room, which is usually one size too small.
https://rel.net/

A_shah posted his experience with REL:

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=170815.msg1808224#msg1808224

" talked to REL my heart was set on getting a REL GI Mark 11 but the good people at REL advised instead of going with a single G1 ( no way could I have two of those in my living room ) suggested try the S/812 so got a pair of these beauties, they go down  to 19Hz  I have set them at 24HZ very happy with the choice... "

A_shah also added:
"I have no idea why but I find the midrange and highs are much clearer and hearing things I did not hear before... " [with the HSU 15" in a 16'W x 24' long x 9' high room]

[Rocket]

Hi,

I currently use a pair of Song 3's and I recently sold my HT3's which use the same mid/bass drivers as the HT2's.  I also had a pair of the original HT2's a really nice speaker.  The difference with having pair of 3 way speakers is that the midrange is covering a smaller frequency and my experience was greater clarity in the midrange.  That said I don't think it would be an upgrade if you went to the entry level Song 3's. I like mine but the midrange just isn't as good as the seas in the HT2's.

Personally, I'd stick with the HT2TL's unless your going to buy the beats or one's with the accuton midrange.

Cheers Rod

[Rshorb]

I own a pair of HT2-TL's the older version. And a pair of Song 3 BeAT's and 3-A's. The Beats and the 3-A's do a better job in my room with imaging, separation of instruments and I think they have a better sound stage. With that being said the HT2 is no slouch in any of these departments and if they were my only pair I would be very happy.   

[Rocket]

Hi,

I just have the entry level Song 3's and they do sound nice but the seas mid/bass driver is very very good quality. All the best with your decision.

Cheers Rod

[quint]

Thanks for all the input.  I may try out a sub and see how that helps.  I certainly don’t want to make a lateral move (or below).  It may be worth a real upgrade to a BePure 2; the Encore seems a bit large, but the BePure might be a better move.

[RonN5]

Quint…it’s fun to upgrade… but you have to have an idea of what you want. What are your current speakers not doing that you want the next speakers to do?  And what are they doing that you don’t like and would hope to get rid of.

Jim told me the BePure2 may be his best 2 way system ever… but as he may tell you a 3 way system can sometimes do more.

So…. What sound upgrade are you wanting to achieve?

[quint]

RonN5, great question.  I love everything the TLs do, except I think their bass is, as a nother poster stated, being swallowed up by my large, weird room.  I’d really like some more bass slam, maybe even a little more mid-bass energy (though I don’t really expect to get that).  In talking to Jim, he said the nature of the bass of a transmission line is different from a ported design - the ported design being one that will generally provide more bass slam.  This was in a discussion on the TL compared to the BePure.  That’s a big expense for what I hope wouldn’t be a marginal improvement, so I really need to consider this carefully.

[RonN5]

I owned the Salk veracity st’s and my room is 12,000 cubic feet… 40x30x10… so I had a similar bass “suck out” issue for the low bass. I added a 15” sealed sub (power sound audio) and voila… problem gone.

The issue with getting new mains having more bass is they may not have more bass in the location you want to put them in relative to your listening position. A sub gives you a lot more flexibility.

In my case, after some experimenting, the best sound happened when I ran the mains full range and added the sub at about 60 hz.

Also, just my opinion, while ported speakers may have more bass, I think the bass tone from transmission line bass sounds better… and adding a sub preserves that if you keep your current speakers.

Good luck…fortunately, the sub companies have good return options if you have to make a return.

[Rocket]

Hi,

I sold my Salk Sound HT3's (well I did a swap plus some cash for the Song3's) to my friend they went into a large dedicated room with plenty of rear and side space fo the speakers.  The bass performance in his room was great with plenty of slam.

I've been a customer of Jim's since 2008 having bought 2 speakers and a subwoofer directly from him. He's the best person to advise you on which speaker to consider. Its expensive just to have a sideways improvement with your system unless you have plenty of cash.

Good luck,

Cheers Rod