[OUGrad05]

I'm moving to a new house at the end of this year beginning of next.  The plan was to put the speakers on either side of the fireplace and they would project into the living/dining/kitchen area.  This downstairs area ranges from 7,000 cubic feet to in excess of 10,000 cubic feet depending on how you want to measure it (ie what rooms to include).  I have attached drawings of both the downstairs and upstairs as well as the approximate cu ft measurements. 

I have now reconsidered my plan and as a result am seriously considering replacement of at least my two mains if not the mains and the center in my home theater setup.  At that point I’ll use it for dedicated 2 channel when I’m not watching a movie.  Here’s my reasoning…

Downstairs I’m trying to fill a HUGE space that isn’t going to lend itself particularly well to 2channel music to begin with.  Additionally, placing the speakers on either side of the fireplace could result in some funky acoustics and vibrations from the fireplace itself.  Upstairs in the game room I have ¼ the cu ft to fill and can acoustically treat the room if I choose (wife won’t allow acoustic treatments downstairs).  Additionally, I can build out the amps/dac’s etc over time.  I could go with speakers almost immediately and use my good Yamaha receiver to power them if I chose.  (V1700 for those who are curious)

I can sell my SWAN arrangement up front and go with some SALK’s, have better sound and go with a wireless setup downstairs for portability (solves my outdoor problem too), size and convenience. 

Additionally, I have the SVS PB12 for my home theater setup.  It's a great home theater sub and it does ok on music.  I'd be open to potentially replacing it if it were really necessary but it does very well on home theater.  So unless it'll destroy my 2 channel listening I'd be inclined to keep it.

Here's the downstairs layout


And the top floor game/theater room with my proposed placement of the system.


I'm really leaning towards something from SALK.  The HT2 TL's would probably give me the ability to run 95% of my music without a sub and really never miss the sub.  I would also be open to other considerations, especially from SALK based on what I heard this week at the show.  I talked with Jim at the show and he said with no sub definitely go with the HT2-TL's.  Now that I've been rethinking it, are the SCST's the way for me to go?  I would guess the midrange may be a bit better as well as the imaging on the SCST's because the drivers smaller and therefore a tiny bit quicker to respond.

Any thoughts? Recommendations?

[Austin08]

Why not SS8 ?

[srb]

Why not SS8 ?

$4500 vs. $8000 would be my guess.
 
Steve

[mark funk]

I like Cherry finish on my HT2-TLs






                                                                                                                                       

[OUGrad05]

$4500 vs. $8000 would be my guess.
 
Steve

Because going to the HT2-TL was already nearly double what my budget was (2,500ish).

Don't want to do 8k for entry, by the time I get the rest of the gear, I'd be in for 12k.  Not in the cards at this point in my life which is why I'm considering the HT2-TL or the SCST's.

Point of clarification the game room area for home theater is 10ft wide and 12ft deep.  Wanted to clarify since I didn't draw it to scale, it looks more like 12 wide and 10 deep...

[OUGrad05]

Additional clarification these are going upstairs as marked on my drawing...(mods feel free to merge this with the post above since I do not yet have "edit" capability.

[Austin08]

I think that area is big for SCST.( I could be wrong since I do not own the SCST) but if you decide go for it then I would recommend put your sub in the equation and place your sub close to your LP.

[Nuance]

2400 cu. ft?  That's actually not too large IMO.  The Super-Charged SongTower's would be fine in that sized room.  In fact, wasn't the hotel room around that size or maybe a little bigger?  What did you think of the bass and output capabilities of the SC-ST's in at RMAF?

With that said, if you can swing it the HT2-TL's will give you better bass output, slam, extension and also more headroom (larger woofers = less excursion to achieve the same or better bass).  For no subwoofer I personally would be more comfortable with the HT2-TL's, as I have heard them run full range and they had no issues (at very loud volumes no less).  I'd cross the SC-ST's to a subwoofer for music, if nothing else to provide extra headroom by taking the strain off the mid-woofers.  I love subs with music, though, so I am biased.

[OUGrad05]

2400 cu. ft?  That's actually not too large IMO.  The Super-Charged SongTower's would be fine in that sized room.  In fact, wasn't the hotel room around that size or maybe a little bigger?  What did you think of the bass and output capabilities of the SC-ST's in at RMAF?

With that said, if you can swing it the HT2-TL's will give you better bass output, slam, extension and also more headroom (larger woofers = less excursion to achieve the same or better bass).  For no subwoofer I personally would be more comfortable with the HT2-TL's, as I have heard them run full range and they had no issues (at very loud volumes no less).  I'd cross the SC-ST's to a subwoofer for music, if nothing else to provide extra headroom by taking the strain off the mid-woofers.  I love subs with music, though, so I am biased.

I think the room at RMAF was considerably bigger than 2400 cuft. 

I also like a sub, as long as my SVSound sub will do the job well enough then I'd be more than ok with crossing it in at 60 or so hz.

[Nuance]

SVS makes great stuff, as I said over AVS forum.  I wouldn't worry about crossing over, especially if your subwoofer resides in an optimal location for a smooth transition (based on in-room response).

[OUGrad05]

SVS makes great stuff, as I said over AVS forum.  I wouldn't worry about crossing over, especially if your subwoofer resides in an optimal location for a smooth transition (based on in-room response).

Yeah I'll have to see what the room acoustics are like once we get moved.  I'm thinking my sub should do a good job on music and as a result the HT2-TL's may be unnecessary given what I've been told.  This would allow me room to upgrade the center channel sooner and/or electronics.

The SCST's are getting rave reviews.  Obviously being a SALK forum I may get a biased response but is there anything else I should consider?  I just came from RMAF and heard quite a bit there and the SALK's were the class of that field IMO.

Additionally, I'll need a good SACD player, maybe OPPO?  Also I've got a Yamaha V1700 receiver that will initially power the gear but will be looking for an upgrade on the amp/pre-amp side.  Any thoughts or recommendations in this area?  I would like something that will provide a noticeable difference from my Yamaha which was reviewed as quite good back in the day.  But I can't find specifics on its 2 channel output.

[srb]

Obviously being a SALK forum I may get a biased response but is there anything else I should consider?

What about the Salk/Fried Tower?  With custom Hiquphon dome (similar to standard SongTowers) and 7" midbass drivers that might have room-filling/air-moving qualities closer to the HT2-TL - and Salk quality build - maybe they're another consideration at $3K.
 
Steve

[Austin08]

There is no bias here. You did proved it is a fact ”.... I just came from RMAF and heard quite a bit there and the SALK's were the class of that field IMO......”.

As far as SACD player, you should wait for the Oppo 105 come out in the next couple months to see if it worth a try. Keep your Yamaha for now. You may be suprise you could fall in love with it gain. If not, then it is time for a new search.

[OUGrad05]

There is no bias here. You did proved it is a fact ”.... I just came from RMAF and heard quite a bit there and the SALK's were the class of that field IMO......”.

As far as SACD player, you should wait for the Oppo 105 come out in the next couple months to see if it worth a try. Keep your Yamaha for now. You may be suprise you could fall in love with it gain. If not, then it is time for a new search.

Oh, I'm keeping the yammy no matter what for powering the other three speakers on HT duty.  I can definitely go with it for a few mos on 2 channel duty and see how it goes.  Supposedly the internals on that receiver are quite good and some dedicated amps and pre-amps may not be better from what a guy at a local audio shop told me about 18 mos ago. 


Interesting recommendation on the hybrid.  The ribbon tweeter is a must after everything I heard at RMAF. 

I can definitely wait a couple months, I've got at least 60 days till we move and I probably won't order anything until late dec or early jan.  I am trying to get my research done though so I know what I want and when.

[Saturn94]

......  Obviously being a SALK forum I may get a biased response but is there anything else I should consider?  I just came from RMAF and heard quite a bit there and the SALK's were the class of that field IMO.

......

You might also consider Dennis Murphy's Philharmonic 2 or Philharmonic 3.