Are most people using the spikes with their speakers?

jermmd · « **on:** 29 Nov 2005, 07:57 pm »

I think I'm going to stand my HT3's directly on the bases without using the spikes. Any reason not to do this?

jermmd · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Nov 2005, 08:07 pm »

Also, like VMPS, Jim Salk suggests toeing the speakers in so they cross about a foot in front of the listening position. This is a starting point for placement and should be adjusted as needed. What kind of toe in have HT3 owners found to be optimal?

Marbles · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Nov 2005, 08:23 pm »

I have mine toed in a little bit, but nothing even remotely close to Xing in front of me.

You will want to play with this a lot.

jermmd · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Nov 2005, 09:29 pm »

Marbles,
How about standing the speakers directly on the floor without using the spikes? Any reason not to?

Marbles · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 Nov 2005, 09:37 pm »

Try it both ways and see what works best for you.

Mine came with spikes in, so that's the way I've always had them.

zybar · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Nov 2005, 10:42 pm »

I listened both ways and preferred the spikes.

I have a little toe in, but it is definitely not crossing over in front of me like with the RM 40's.

Did you actually get the speakers Joe?

I will do my best to come over Saturday to help with setup.

George

jermmd · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Nov 2005, 11:00 pm »

George,

I got one speaker delivered.

G_d knows where the other one is.
I'm working Saturday and Sunday but I'm off the next weekend if you want to come over. I also have a few days during the week free.

ctviggen · « **Reply #7 on:** 30 Nov 2005, 09:30 pm »

Joe,

How does the one speaker look? (I know, lonely without the other one!) Wayne says my modded SB2 will be done this week. I should have it next week. I also have two sets of Reality Cable interconnects.

jermmd · « **Reply #8 on:** 30 Nov 2005, 11:22 pm »

All right, here are some photos:

jermmd · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Nov 2005, 11:23 pm »

The speakers are actually darker looking in real life. And the sound...
fuhged aboud it!

Marbles · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Nov 2005, 11:46 pm »

VERY NICE!! Congratulations.

What options did you get on yours?

Are you happy with the finish? Are you happy with the sound?

Your room looks wonderful for music reproduction from what I see of it.

zybar · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 12:06 am »

Rob,

Joe's pair is stock without any options.

George

jermmd · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 03:11 am »

Marbles,

I'm totally ecstatic about my new speakers. I didn't get any options and I couldn't be happier. The finish speaks for itself. As George said, I haven't seen a Salk speaker that didn't look amazing.

I have acoustic foam behind the curtains at the corners and 1st reflection points. There's a 92" screen behind the front wall curtains for my projector. I wanted very dark speakers so they wouldn't distract from movie watching. If I had a dedicated 2 channel system in a well lit room, I think I would have gone for the Claro Walnut all around. At least that's how I feel this week. Every time I see something new by Jim Salk, I think "I want that one."

As for sound, I'm playing with placement and breaking them in. My initial impression is that these are very even speakers across the whole frequence range. The bass problem I had with my previous speakers is gone and the difference was immediately apparent. I started with the speakers crossed in front of me but the soundstage was too narrow that way. It seemed as though all the instruments and voices were coming from directly between the speakers. Now I have the speakers toed in so that they cross a few feet behind me and the soundstage is better. I'll keep playing with things and we'll see what's best.

jsalk · « **Reply #13 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 03:22 am »

jermmd -

I was tracking your speakers and saw that you finally got both of them. I hope it was well worth the wait.

As for the amount of toe-in, I only suggest a starting point and that will be FAR too much for most situations. The correct amount for you and your room will be between that point and no toe-in at all. But you will have to experiment to find the optimum point.

The more toe-in, the more pin-point the imaging. The less, the wider the stereo spread. The optimum lies somewhere in between.

- Jim

Marbles · « **Reply #14 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 03:29 am »

Quote from: jermmd

Marbles,

Every time I see something new by Jim Salk, I think "I want that one." ...

Me too...

Congrats again...

DMurphy · « **Reply #15 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 02:38 pm »

[
"As for the amount of toe-in, I only suggest a starting point and that will be FAR too much for most situations. The correct amount for you and your room will be between that point and no toe-in at all. But you will have to experiment to find the optimum point."

I haven't had any experience with varous toe-ins for this speaker, so I can't recommend anything specific. All I would note is that a high degree of toe-in is usually called for only if the speaker has narrow dispersion and/or the on-axis response has been designed to provide true phase coherence, i.e. is transient perfect on-axis. Neither of those conditions holds for the HT-3. I suspect I would probably end up with little or no toe-in for music reproduction. HT might be another matter.

ctviggen · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 03:57 pm »

Joe,

Those are very nice looking! Did you get the center channel, too? I think that the bass driver's being higher than most speakers (and certainly higher than VMPS) would help bass response at least from a floor-to-ceiling modal perspective. It's good that you're getting the bass response you want!

jermmd · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 04:10 pm »

I did order the center channel but I don't think it's been started yet. I'm prepared to be patient. The HT3's took more than 5 months to complete.

zybar · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 04:14 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen

... I think that the bass driver's being higher than most speakers (and certainly higher than VMPS) would help bass response at least from a floor-to-ceiling modal perspective. It's good that you're getting the bass response you want!

It is a lot more than the location of the bass driver...

Frankly, there is no comparison in this area in terms of impact, musicality, and measured response.

George

ctviggen · « **Reply #19 on:** 1 Dec 2005, 04:33 pm »

I didn't say it wasn't. I'm currently reading the following:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1882580338/qid=1133454555/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/104-4542441-5205539?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Reading this, I now understand how much is involved in speaker design. It's incredibly complex. Nonetheless, the location of the bass driver on these speakers is one design aspect that does have an effect on bass modes for ceiling-to-floor base modes, as compared to a speaker where the bass driver is almost at ground level. I stand by my statement.