We've built a small recording studio and have decided to outfit it with a pair of HT2's.
After owning a pair of the fantastic HT8's for a while, it became very tempting to try a smaller version of them for monitor use in a home studio.
Since the HT2's are rear firing, and the previous monitors were front firing, we had to make some modifications. There was a little bit of a bass issue, a lump in the 90-140 Hz region, which was cleared up by putting some bass traps in behind the speakers (not shown in photo) and by taming the ports a little with some long hair wool. That was all that was needed to tighten things up and balance the room out.
Imaging, clarity and lack of fatigue are the major achievements of these HT2's. You can literally listen to them all day, which we do! They reveal so much more than the previous monitors, which were 'industry standard' self powered units. Separation, distortion, EQ, little bits of dirt and grime in the mix, over compression - all are fully unveiled now.
The only bad thing i can say, is that because the HT2's are so clear and accurate, it's even more imperative now to check mixes on crappy speakers to make sure you've got all the bases covered. The standard 'Auratone check' is now a vital step (an Auratone is a single driver speaker designed to mimic low-end playback speakers like in older cars, or boom boxes, etc.)
I've had a few interesting discussions on recording forums, about using high-end monitors VS somewhat bad monitors. There's two camps out there - ones who monitor with good speakers, and do mix checks on Low-fi Auratone types, and those who mix on 'bad' monitors - like the famous white-woofer'd Yamaha NS10M's. The logic with the latter is 'If it sounds good on these, it will sound GREAT on good speakers'. Unbelievably, that logic has prevailed at many large recording studios, for over almost two decades. Fortunately such logic is fading out. The NS10M's have a lot of 'character' being a huge lump in the vocal range and very crispy highs - often tamed with a sheet of tissue paper hung over the tweeter! Not everyone follows this logic.. Abbey Road studios has used a set of B&W 801 Nautilus's for years as their main monitors. Still, when many people thing recording studio, they expect to see those little white NS10M's..
Here's another reason the HT2's are a cracking monitor - the fantastic off-axis frequency response. Considerable sound reaching your ears is from early reflections, which is mainly spray from the off-axis. Typically, the frequency response of this material is severely different from the on-axis, resulting in smear and coloration. Not so with the HT2's - their exceptionally flat off-axis is a real bonus in critical listening environments. The bounce is nearly the same as the direct.
You have to laugh - getting any name brand commercial monitor this good would be 3x the price
Cheers,
/A
