Todd wanted a pair of Supercharged SongTowers with the Seas W16's rather than the W15's. We had had a few inquiries about this possibility in the past year, but I dismissed them because it seemed we were developing too many speakers that were too similar. But because that is what Todd wanted, that's what we did.
As for finish, he wanted us to find some nice quilted maple and do our double-dye finish in a deep rose-red. So we did that too.
Here are the results...
And a close-up...
So, how do they sound? Well, first you have to realize that these are the same width and depth as a pair of standard SongTowers. As for height, they are 2" shorter. So the cabinets are actually smaller than SongTowers. So looking at them, you would not expect them to put out the kind of bass reminiscent of the Veracity HT2-TL's.
When we first fired them up, I was quite amazed by the wound quality. They sounded very smooth top to bottom and the bass extension exceeded my expectations. Since we had a pair of HT2-TL's here, we hooked them up and used our ABX switch to switch back and forth. All I can say is that I was unable to detect any difference in the quality of the bass.
Based on what I heard so far, I think this design is a real winner. But I have some problems.
First, I don't know what to call them. Performance-wise, they are closer to the HT2-TL's than the Supercharged SongTowers. And the sound quality is consistent with what one would expect from a Veracity-series speaker.
The second issue is cost. The W16's actually cost more than the W18's in the HT2-TL's. So this model will be priced closer to the HT2-TL's than the Supercharged SongTowers.
But those are very pleasant issues to have to deal with. (Any feedback in either area is welcomed.)
We are currently working on a few more pairs of these and will be shipping another pair tomorrow. So we should get some owner feedback soon.
Until then, happy listening Todd!
- Jim