Rob Curtis' (Marbles) new Veracity HT3's

jsalk · « **on:** 17 Jul 2005, 04:55 pm »

Zybar and others have requested I post some pictures of Rob Curtis' new Veracity HT3's. They were completed yesterday morning and he picked them up in the afternoon.

Here are some options Rob added to his HT3's:

Here is a picture of the binding post arrangement. The Ridge Street Audio wiring runs exit the cabinet just below the binding posts (not visible). They are not connected to the binding posts internally. The cables that are shown are jumpers connecting the woofer and midrange/tweeter bi-wired sections.

Rob also ordered a matching Veracity HTC center channel:

This speaker utilized regular Cardas posts with Cardas jumpers:

I didn't get much listening time in before Rob came to pick them up. In fact, he was there when they were fired up for the first time. But what I heard was literally flawless. I have no idea what I would do to top this pair in terms of performance.

- Jim

Marbles · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 05:04 pm »

The pictures do not do the mirror like finish justice....

Some have asked how the upgrades effect the sound of the speakers. What are your thoughts on the upgrades Jim?

edit: Looks like Jim answered the question above....

Bingenito · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 05:27 pm »

Unbelievable work Jim.

Rob you are a lucky man!

jsalk · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 05:44 pm »

Quote from: Marbles

The pictures do not do the mirror like finish justice....

A glass-like finish is very hard to photograph. Like a mirror, it reflects everything. So we used blankets to cut down on reflections. But, of course, that also makes it impossible to see how reflective the surface is.

On the side view of the front baffle, there is a reflection in the chamfered edge. It is impossible to tell what it is (or perhaps even tell it is a reflection), but just so you know, it was a reflection of Rob when I was taking the picture.

Quote

Some have asked how the upgrades effect the sound of the speakers. What are your thoughts on the upgrades Jim?

Rob, you added so many upgrades it is impossible to know which changes are responsible for what. But I can say without a doubt that these are the highest performing speakers I have built to date. And I have no idea what I would even consider doing to top them. In the short time I had to listen, I could not find a single, subtle nuance that could use improvement. They were so utterly tansparent, all I could hear is the music.

That said, the most significant improvements were probably made by the base Sonicap upgrade. I had heard this about a week ago in a previous pair and the additional transparency was subtle, but audible.

With these speakers, I heard the same thing.

I only wish I had both pairs to do an A/B comparison. But even then, if I were able to hear a difference, I could not really say what was responsible.

The teflon bypass caps would certainly top things off in the cap area. And my guess is that much of the transparency difference was due to the cap change.

But I had heard your RSA speaker cables previously and thought I noticed a performance improvement at that time. If I was correct back then, certainly the RSA internal wiring and binding posts made a contribution. (Just for the record, Rob brought his RSA speaker cables when he came to pick up the speakers. So it was RSA from the amp to the crossovers and from the crossovers to the drivers - RSA all the way.)

The Blackhole, of course, had no effect on the mids or highs since the top portion of the cabinet is sealed and filled. And although we did not specifically concentrate on the bass performance, I assume it would be slightly tighter as well since the already low cabinet resonances should have been even more slightly reduced.

In the end, are the upgrades cost justifiable? Well, I guess it depends on a person's budget and desires. As of this moment, I certainly can't build anything that sounds any better.

I will finish a pair in the next two weeks that will not have the RSA wiring or the Cardas "Patented" binding posts. I will have at least some idea of the differences associated with the internal wiring. All else will be the same. But, again, I will not have your speakers to do an A/B comparison.

I guess, in the end, it is like insurance. I don't know specifically what each upgrade contributed (except the base Sonicap upgrade which I had an opportunity to A/B with the stock crossovers in my personal pair). But if my goal was to build the ultimate speaker in terms of performance, I don't know that I would leave out anything. I may be putting in more than is required, but I certainly don't have to worry about getting anything less than the best in terms of performance.

That's my $.02 worth. Your milege may vary.

- Jim

koiman · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 06:05 pm »

OK you guy's it my turn, Jim is in the process of building my pair of HT3. From all I have read and pictures I have seen these are fantastic speakers I just can't wait . Keep up the good work Jim.

MaxCast · « **Reply #5 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 06:35 pm »

Very be-utiful Marbles Signiture Edition speakers

Congrats, Marbles.

brj · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 06:59 pm »

Beautiful speakers, Jim!

Quick questions:

Do the woofer grills on this pair extend further down the cabinet than your previous pairs? If so, was there a specific reason?

Do you have a closeup of the binding post implementaiton? If I recall correctly, Rob said that the internal wires came out through a slot underneath the binding posts and made a 90 degree turn so that the spades could sit flush against the spades from the speaker cables. (Rob maybe this is at least one picture you could consider posting if Jim doesn't have one?)

Thanks!

jsalk · « **Reply #7 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 07:29 pm »

koiman -

I am really looking forward to putting the finish on your speakers. They will be stunning to say the least. And it won't be long now!

By the way, the pictures I promised will start arriving shortly. I have just been too swamped lately to get them out to you.

brj -

Quote

Do the woofer grills on this pair extend further down the cabinet than your previous pairs? If so, was there a specific reason?

If they are different, there is no specific reason. I just created a new template and may have used a different distance. All future grills will be the same as Rob's (unless you would like them shorter, that is).

Quote

Do you have a closeup of the binding post implementaiton? If I recall correctly, Rob said that the internal wires came out through a slot underneath the binding posts and made a 90 degree turn so that the spades could sit flush against the spades from the speaker cables. (Rob maybe this is at least one picture you could consider posting if Jim doesn't have one?)

I posted a picture above.

- Jim

ekovalsky · « **Reply #8 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 07:33 pm »

Gorgeous!

brj · « **Reply #9 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 07:43 pm »

Quote from: jsalk

I posted a picture above.

I saw your picture, Jim - thanks. It just wasn't really zoomed in enough to see the slot underneath the posts and the internal wires exiting the speaker. It maybe that the binding posts obscure this, but I thought an even tighter view would show this unique configuration.

Thanks!

jsalk · « **Reply #10 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 07:55 pm »

brj -

Quote

I saw your picture, Jim - thanks. It just wasn't really zoomed in enough to see the slot underneath the posts and the internal wires exiting the speaker. It maybe that the binding posts obscure this, but I thought an even tighter view would show this unique configuration.

They do obscure it from that angle. I would have had to take a close-up from below. The wires exit holes right under the posts and the holes are only as wide and deep as the ribbon cables. So there really isn't much to see.

- Jim

nature boy · « **Reply #11 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 09:38 pm »

Rob,

Congratulations on your new speakers. Enjoy them!

Jim,

I am not sure we are worthy of your incredible talents. Your are a true Maestro in your chosen profession, I mean passion.

NB

Marbles · « **Reply #12 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 10:03 pm »

A BIG public THANK YOU goes to Jim.

When I first ordered the speakers, I knew I wanted the High Gloss on the HT3's, but I was too cheap to order it on the HTC. Jim replied no problem...I can just hit the HTC's baffle with high gloss and leave the rest of the cabinet in the normal lustre finish.

When I picked them up, Jim had done the whole HTC cabinet in High Gloss laquer. He said he thought they should all match!!

I first saw it from the back on Jim's kitchen island. At first I thought it was a VERY high grade, very large humidor.

Then I walked around to the front of it and saw it was my HTC.

It is every bit as nice looking as the HT3's, and it seems about 3 DB's more effecient.

Thanks again for that Jim.

While I'm giving thanks, I should give Robert Schult of Ridge Street Audio his props. He was very easy to work with on this project, and although I never saw the internal wire harness's (he did want to send them to me and have me send them to Jim, but knowing his high standards I declined) Jim was impressed with them.

Finally Dennis Murphy has designed XO's for a lot of speakers, the Ellis 1801, the Salk HT1's, and my column nOrh 9.0's to name a few that I have heard...including the HT3's. I don't think the HT3's would be as special without his work. Thanks for your contribution Dennis..

jermmd · « **Reply #13 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 10:31 pm »

I have a few questions.

1. How much extra did the high gloss cost? Were the other upgrades just the cost of materials or was there other costs?

2. How well does the HTC match up with the HT3's? I am planning on getting an HT1 for my center because I think it should match the HT3 better. In my very limited experience with center channels, I liked the vertical driver array better than the horizontal array. What do you think?

Marbles · « **Reply #14 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 11:05 pm »

Quote from: jermmd

I have a few questions.

1. How much extra did the high gloss cost? Were the other upgrades just the cost of materials or was there other costs?

2. How well does the HTC match up with the HT3's? I am planning on getting an HT1 for my center because I think it should match the HT3 better. In my very limited experience with center channels, I liked the vertical driver array better than the horizontal array. What do you think?

1a. $750
1.b $ I was not charged for anything but the cost of the materials

2. The HTC matches up very well once the speakers were matched for output by my HT receiver. If I had, say a Front projector, I would get the HT1 as a center though, as that would blend about perfectly. Having an RPTV, my options were limited.

jermmd · « **Reply #15 on:** 17 Jul 2005, 11:29 pm »

Thanks Marbles.

Those are fair prices. In fact, a steal IMHO. Congratulations on your new speakers and congratulations to Jim Salk on another masterpiece.

mgalusha · « **Reply #16 on:** 18 Jul 2005, 01:24 am »

Rob,

Wow those are magnificent. I've never had the pleasure of hearing any of Jim's speakers but if they sound even half as good as they look I'm sure they sound fabulous.

Very very nice!

jsalk · « **Reply #17 on:** 18 Jul 2005, 03:20 am »

Since there have been questions regarding upgrade options, and since we strive to provide complete customization when requested, I created a web page with the upgrades customers have requested to date. I will try to keep this page updated as time goes on.

Here is the link:
http://www.salksound.com/ht3-upgrades.html

- Jim

CajunMike · « **Reply #18 on:** 18 Jul 2005, 04:36 am »

Jim, have you ever considered building a three-way center channel that has a small mid-range in the mix?

jsalk · « **Reply #19 on:** 18 Jul 2005, 12:24 pm »

Quote from: CajunMike

Jim, have you ever considered building a three-way center channel that has a small mid-range in the mix?

As a matter of fact, I have. But the question is what would be gained in the trade-off for increased cost and complexity? A very good 3-way with proper integration of all the drivers is quite difficult to achieve. In fact, great 3-ways are actually quite rare.

Since the G2 is very comfortable playing as low as it needs to in the Veracity series and the W18 is very comfortalbe playing as high as it needs to, there is really no compelling reason to add unnecessary complexity.

The voicing of either the HTC or HT1, when used as a center channel, is currently a very good match with either the HT1's or HT3's used as left and right mains. There is no guarantee that a 3-way center would be as good a match.

So, as of now, I would rather concentrate development efforts on other designs to address other needs (like the EXT (Extensis 6.8/LCY) floor-standing MTM I will introduce soon).

But I will never say never...

- Jim