I normally don't like to announce products before we have the first pair up and running. But in this case, we already know the design is solid.
As you may know, we recently launched the new HT1-TL design and are building them for customers now. One customer contacted us and asked if there was any way we could produce a slightly lower cost version of this speaker with a dome tweeter. Well, that got me to thinking...
For years, we have been building Dave Ellis' 1801's. This is a very solid design with the Seas W18E001 and the Hiquphon OW1 tweeter - both incredible drivers. And Dennis Murphy designed the crossover. The 1801 design has built quite a following over the years.
It just so happens that the W18E001 used in the 1801's is the same woofer used in the HT1-TL's. So the 1801 design would work perfectly in the HT1-TL cabinet with no modifications to the crossover.
Of course, Dave is now working on the 1801C using Accuton drivers. So I did not know how he'd feel about having us build TL versions of his 1801B's. But when I asked Dave about it, he said "go for it!" So we're now building a few pairs of 1801-TL's for customers.
Normally I would wait until the first pair was finished before posting anything. But in this case, I thought that since some people might be actively looking at the HT1-TL design, it might be nice to let them know that there is an alternative option.
The HT1-TL's base price is $2995 per pair. The base price of the 1801-TL's is $2695. While the price differential is not all that great, it may be just enough to allow someone to take advantage of this great speaker system.
- Jim