[texas steve]

For those who have not seen what my new speakers (HT3s and HTC) look like, see Jim's post "Steve's new speaks".

As I just received them yesterday, this post will be a early one on the receipt and original listening session.  As the days or week(s) go by I will continue to post my observations.

The units (4 boxes) came in cardboard boxes, and looked pretty beat up (no holes, just well road worn).  However, the way Jim packed them inside it would take a nuclear bomb to damage them.  From the inside out - speaker, padded foam wrap, 1/2" foam board and then 1/4" plywood on all 6 sides, then banded, then a heavy cardboard box, then a outer box.  So, no problems when I final got all that open and exposed my "babies".

Partial assembly is required (grills and Plinths), and since I bi-wired, I removed the outer post brackets to wire accordingly.  So here we go!
I could hardly wait to set them upright (after assembling the Plintshs), dust of the foam and finger prints and fire them up.

They LOOK great (see pictures in previous post).  I must admit they are physically smaller than I envisioned (yes I saw the size etc before ordering), but the wood work and finish are beautiful.   Here's one for you my WIFE said they look beautiful (note; she could not tell the sound difference - I think all wives come deaf, but she can tell good "furniture" )

Moving them around is not that difficult as you can " bear hug" up to them from the side and place accordingly.  I now have them about 26" from the back wall and 36" from the side wall, toed in toward the primary listening area about 14.2' away.  My associate equipment is; Meridan 568.22 processor, Meridan 598DVD/CD, Proceed 3 channel balance front amp, surround channel/and speaks, DVDO HD+ Scalier, Optoma H79 HD projector and 106" in ceiling screen.

First Sound Impression:
Jim ship's a CD with his speaker ( and a personalized wonderful thank you letter).  This CD has GREAT acoustic, female voice, brass, etc on it.  Jim recommends you listen to this FIRST to hear the capabilities of your new speaks.  Well - WOW!

Absolutely astounding - (remember I have not really "tweaked" the position yet).  Open, very detailed, deep base (I have a Muse sub 18" woofer, and I turned it OFF!, I think now I will keep it for 5.1 base effect only).  The female voice is breathless, guitar strings sound so live you could reach out and use your own pick to pluck the strings.

On DVDs movies the center (HT3s as well) made a SIGINIFICANT difference in sound quality, detail and clarity.  "The Rock" (N. Cage etc) absolutely blew me away.  So much better than I have ever heard before (I had Mirage M3si's before)

Anyway that's my first night (wife went to bed HOURS before me). In the next week I will tweak the position etc and keep you all posted.

For those in the Houston area who wanted to listen, give me a week, call my cell # I gave you (if you need it again, email me) and I will gladly set up a listening session (oh, BYOB).  later!

[zybar]

Here are a  few pictures of Steve's very nice looking media room:









George

[95bcwh]

Nice!!

Now I really can't wait to pay Steve a visit!

[jermmd]

That room looks great. Where is the center speaker? Is it mounted in the top of the front wall? Does the screen drop down in front of the speaker?

[texas steve]

That room looks great. Where is the center speaker? Is it mounted in the top of the front wall? Does the screen drop down in front of the speaker?

Yes the HTC is above the statue of Shakespeare (you can kind of see it if you look close.  When the 106" screen comes down out of the ceiling,  the top of the screen (black material) is perforated for sound penetration.  

The room is about 18X24' and the equipment in to the left and right of the TV is as follows:
Meridian 568.2MM processor, Meridian 598 CD/DVD, DVDO HD+ Scaler, Motorola HD Satellite receiver, Proceed 3 channel balanced front amp (200wpc), Rear channel amp 150Ws per channel, rear speakers are Definitive Techs, HD projector is Optoma H79.

I have now done some additional listinening and will post my updated comment latter today.

[Bill Baker]

Very nice setup there Steve. I really like the cozy style of the room. Looks like the kind of room that us Northerners would love to have during our cold winters. How often do you really use that fireplace?

[texas steve]

Very nice setup there Steve. I really like the cozy style of the room. Looks like the kind of room that us Northerners would love to have during our cold winters. How often do you really use that fireplace?

In Texas we use it only about 5 times during the winter.  Mostly because it adds "atmosphere".   What we REALY use is the AC!!  In fact on some Christmases, we turn up the AC so we can light the fire!  Brilliant isn't it!

[Papajin]

Ya know... I used to live in Texas and during the 4 years my family lived there, I swear to god they had record snows and cold temperatures the entire time (Dallas/Ft. Worth area).

[CornellAlum]

Your room is gorgeous

[texas steve]

Your room is gorgeous

Cornell, thanks for the kind words about my room.  Its my "haven" fromt he rat race of life.

Ok, so after one week of use and familiarization I promised you all a review update of my HT3s and HTC pictured above.

Cabinets and wood work;
I now notice that one HT3 is not as glossy (had them both hand rubbed) as the other.  Additionally the other HT3 has a "wrinkle/blemish" on the back left top corner.   It appears the wood vainer had some dips or dent and Jim filled it.  Its smooth ok, but you can see it.   Both issues are minor, but you notice things more as you spend time with them ( I notice that my wife's body now has some "dips" that they didn't before, but that another story).   With the above said the appearance of the dye/color, style and overall finish is excellent.  I did not have the HTC hand rubbed as it sits up inside a cabinet above Shakespeare (see pictures above).  But the woodwork overall is excellent!

Sound in Stereo mode:
The good: Excellent!  
The bad:  You can tell that 80% of your Cds suck in quality. So now I have to buy better sounding CDs.!  

In pure stereo the sound is excellent - with good recordings you can easily hear the different air and space between instruments, and the very detail sounds in each instrument and voice.  The male and female voices are extremely accurate.  I took some time with toeing in and distance against back/side wall etc.  I ended up 20" from the back wall, and 35" from each side will.  Toed in at a angle that hit each ear.  The listening distance from the HT3s are 13'.    

What really strikes me is the detail of the ribbon speaker.  The mid an bass is also excellent, (in fact I now only use my Muse 18" sub you can see it in the picture to the hard right for 5.1 LFE effect the sub you see in the picture to the hard left is used for the surround speakers in movie mode).  Listening to Aaron Nevel (sp?) his voice is reproduced with absolutely perfect timber etc.   On jazz recordings the detail of cymbals is extraordinary, you can not only hear the smallest wave of sound as the sound travels from one side of the cymbal to the other, you can also hear the distance in air between the snare and the cymbal!

Movies 5:1 etc
The dynamics required for theater of a speaker is powerful.  The HT3 and HTC absolutely stand up to it.   In movie after movie the speaker handled the excessive drive required by pounding base with ease.  The HTC blended seamlessly in sound and although cant handle the same amount of base at the HT3s (I'm considering adding a subwoofer to the HTC for theater only), it did really well.  The HTC handles the detail (ribbon again I'm sure) of voice and other sounds as well as the HT3s.

The music in DVDs is astounding!  Again the small details that I did not hear before are now there.  Ruffling of leaves on trees, small things I did not notice before that now appears.  No question, this is a major improvement.

Conclusion:
When you spend this kind of money I have to believe you WANT them to sound and look good.  And truthfully you will LOOK for only good things!  After all YOU spent all that money sight and sound unheard, a blind leap of faith deep into the cravats of your wallet!    And if it did NOT prove out to be a wise choice............................

In my opinion, I found some faults (cabinet mentioned above, also remember my speakers were the first or second that Jim did with the new "procedure") but the sound, fit and overall finish is a 9.0 out of 10.  I would give them a 10 if it were not for the few cabinet items mentioned.   The CD that Jim sends with the speakers has absolutely excellent material and reproduces the best of the HT3s ability.  

They say the "road is paved with good intentions",  in this case blind faith has paved and remapped the boundaries to what wonderful listening that is possible with these speakers.

Happy listening to those who have them, and to those waiting - Keep the faith!  

[jermmd]

That's a lot of toe in. I didn't need nearly that much with my speakers similarly placed away from the front and side walls. How is off axis listening with that toe in? I found that speaker transparency and imaging improved with break in so you might not need so much toe in later.

Conratulations on a really superb home theater.

[texas steve]

That's a lot of toe in. I didn't need nearly that much with my speakers similarly placed away from the front and side walls. How is off axis listening with that toe in? I found that speaker transparency and imaging improved with break in so you might not need so much toe in later.

Conratulations on a really superb home theater.

You can see the toe in, in the picture.  Honestly I'm still playing with toe in a little.   It takes time - which I appear to never have enough of.

[jsalk]

Steve -

You can see the toe in, in the picture.  Honestly I'm still playing with toe in a little.   It takes time - which I appear to never have enough of.

I think you will find that with less toe-in, the soudnstage will be quite a bit wider and imaging will still be good.  The G2 horizontal dispersion is excellent, so you shouldn't need that much toe-in.

- Jim

[texas steve]

Steve -

You can see the toe in, in the picture.  Honestly I'm still playing with toe in a little.   It takes time - which I appear to never have enough of.

I think you will find that with less toe-in, the soundstage will be quite a bit wider and imaging will still be good.  The G2 horizontal dispersion is excellent, so you shouldn't need that much toe-in.

- Jim

I'm at home listening now on wireless, Ill give it a try.  Thanks for the input, as I mentioned I'm still working on the toe in.  Its a trial and error.    hold on let me adjust them................................... ..

OK just changed it to where the speakers are only about 10/12 degree and sounds great.  I was concerned with the imaging so I have been moving them around - +/- from side/back wall, toe in etc, looking for the correct all around point.

What amount of toe in have most of you found ideal?

Thanks for the input and experience Jim.

Ill hold them here for a while

[lonewolfny42]

Thanks Steve for the shot...looks great, as does your room !!! Enjoy !!!! [/list:u]
Chris[/list:u]

[texas steve]

Thanks Steve for the shot...looks great, as does your room !!! Enjoy !!!! [/list:u]
Chris[/list:u]

Chris, your welcome, I have seen several posts that ask for a rear shot to see the connections.   Jim takes GREAT pictures of his speaks but none from the rear (maybe he hes a "T" man and not a "T &A" man)?!!!!!

[texas steve]

For those who have not seen what my new speakers (HT3s and HTC) look like, see Jim's post "Steve's new speaks".

As I just received them yesterday, this post will be a early one on the receipt and original listening session.  As the days or week(s) go by I will continue to post my observations.

UPDATE Jun 1 2006
Well its been over a month, and it keeps getting better!  I can tell you this, you will probably through away half of your CD collection!   You can tell instantly if it is a good solid recoding or not with these speakers!   JIM, WILL YOU BUY ME SOME NEW Cd's?

I have found that with time the change is settle, but slightly noticeable.  The sound has mellowed, not that they were bright at all, but it just "blends" now so well.  I have had a couple of people come to listen during the first few weeks and perhaps they can chime in on their opinion.

I find now that, compared to before, with movies ( I also listen critically to direct 2 channel) that I have turned down the surround channels because the front sounds so dam good (HT3s and HTC)!

Jim, I remain a SOLID fan!!

[jsalk]

Steve -

Glad to hear your speakers are aging gracefully and that you conitnue to enjoy them.

We are currently in Minnesota.  I played a few songs with the old group at the HOF induction ceremonies last Saturday evening.  It was great to see a bunch of guys I traveled with for a few years. A few of them did not age as gracefullyl as your speakers.  But it was fun none the less.

I'll be delivering some new HT3's to Frank Van Alstine's "girl Friday" tomorrow.  I'll post some pics when I return home.

- Jim

[texas steve]

Steve -

Glad to hear your speakers are aging gracefully and that you conitnue to enjoy them.

We are currently in Minnesota.  I played a few songs with the old group at the HOF induction ceremonies last Saturday evening.  It was great to see a bunch of guys I traveled with for a few years. A few of them did not age as gracefullyl as your speakers.  But it was fun none the less.

I'll be delivering some new HT3's to Frank Van Alstine's "girl Friday" tomorrow.  I'll post some pics when I return home.

- Jim

Hope some one has a recording of your "event" I would LOVE to hear the "old gang" !  Last night I put on the 45 record - YES a 45 - and listened to our record from "The Golden Tones".    Re living your youth is great!!