The "HT4" information, rumors, discussion and suggestion thread

SoupRKnowva · « **Reply #220 on:** 1 May 2009, 12:39 am »

my first post here on AC, but damn thats a sexy looking speaker! dieing to know what the midrange is though? whats with the square woofer?

JerryM · « **Reply #221 on:** 1 May 2009, 12:43 am »

Stunning woodwork, Jim!

I wish I could be there to hear them this weekend.

I look forward to your comments of how the weekend goes.

Have fun,
Jerry

zybar · « **Reply #222 on:** 1 May 2009, 12:47 am »

Well it sure looks like it could be a driver from FAL of Japan.

Here are some examples:

or

George

zybar · « **Reply #223 on:** 1 May 2009, 12:52 am »

I think the tweeter looks like a Raven Ribbon:

George

Bill Baker · « **Reply #224 on:** 1 May 2009, 12:58 am »

Oh, It's Burgandy Bamboo

ebag4 · « **Reply #225 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:05 am »

I like the detail of that progressively larger roundover on the front of the top section. How does he do that?

Very nice design!!

Best,
Ed

edit: Nevermind, I'm sure it is completed through the wonders of the CNC!

Bill Baker · « **Reply #226 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:07 am »

zybar · « **Reply #227 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:10 am »

Quote from: Response Audio on 1 May 2009, 01:07 am

Nice work Bill.

George

bpape · « **Reply #228 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:23 am »

Very nice. Better not lean too hard Chris - that's the only pair in existence right now... Bad form the day before the show

Bryan

jsalk · « **Reply #229 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:26 am »

A few quick answers (don't have time for all the details - those will come later in a "name this speaker" thread.

Yes, the midrange is a FAL. The tweeter is a custom RAAL. This tweeter has some very unique features, but I am under a non-disclosure agreement so I can't comment too much. The woofer section has one 12" "TC" driver and two 12" passives. This particular pair of cabinets was fashioned from trans-laminated bamboo. The woofer walls are 2" thick with internal bracing. The cabinets are in two sections and weigh in at 155 pounds.

Here are more pictures...

A closer picture of the top...

And from the rear (showing the grill on the open back)...

Bill -

I received your cables yesterday. Very nice job! We'll be hooking them up tomorrow evening and applying about 1000 watts of clean Van Alstine to these puppies.

- Jim

zybar · « **Reply #230 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:30 am »

Thanks for answering Jim.

At least I guessed one right.

George

jermmd · « **Reply #231 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:33 am »

Quote from: jsalk on 1 May 2009, 01:26 am

And from the rear (showing the grill on the open back)...

- Jim

"Open back"? Any photos of the back of the speaker? Without the grill?

Bill,

Nice photo shop. They don't look that massive there but I suspect they're a bit bigger in real life.

funkmonkey · « **Reply #232 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:43 am »

Holy boomin' system Salkman! Those look great, Jim.

Definitely a lot of time went into those cabinets... The trans-lam bamboo looks really cool.

Best of luck this weekend with the big debut.

Cheers,
Greg

JP78 · « **Reply #233 on:** 1 May 2009, 01:56 am »

Quote from: fsimms on 30 Apr 2009, 08:18 pm

Wow!

What is the midrange driver?

Bob

i have no idea this is the actual midrange driver, but here's something that looks similar:

http://www.fal.gr.jp/catalog/english/

edit: george you beat me to it

.

nice work jim!

SlushPuppy · « **Reply #234 on:** 1 May 2009, 02:02 am »

Quote from: funkmonkey on 1 May 2009, 01:43 am

Holy boomin' system Salkman! Those look great, Jim.

Definitely a lot of time went into those cabinets... The trans-lam bamboo looks really cool.

Best of luck this weekend with the big debut.

Cheers,
Greg

Ha, I think you just came up with a name for the new loudspeaker - the "Trans-Lam-Boo"

intamin22 · « **Reply #235 on:** 1 May 2009, 02:11 am »

I really wish I didn't have finals on monday so that I could make it up to listen to those speakers this weekend...hot damn! Can't wait to hear how they sound!

Marbles · « **Reply #236 on:** 1 May 2009, 02:24 am »

Jim, any idea on costs yet?

Oh yeah, the new speakers look GREAT!!!

Nuance · « **Reply #237 on:** 1 May 2009, 02:51 am »

Quote from: zybar on 1 May 2009, 12:09 am

Quote from: Nuance on 30 Apr 2009, 11:49 pm
Wow - those are HUUUUUUUUUGE! Dual passive 12's...nice!

Best wishes to Jim and Frank at AK Fest tomorrow.

So when do we get to start talking about what the midrange and tweeter drivers are?

When Jim says we can! aa

Both drivers are very good and neither is cheap!

George

Yeah, had an idea of what they were, but I wasn't talking until the man did.

Nuance · « **Reply #238 on:** 1 May 2009, 03:02 am »

Oh hey, any of you Wisconsin boys want to road trip it to AK Fest in Michigan with me this weekend?

jsalk · « **Reply #239 on:** 1 May 2009, 04:11 am »

Quote from: Marbles on 1 May 2009, 02:24 am

Jim, any idea on costs yet?

Marbles -

That is the question of the day. Everything about these speakers was expensive. The bamboo in this pair alone was over $1600. The drivers are expensive. The labor to produce them was through the roof. (As an example, once the cabinets were finished, it took 3 1/2 days just to assemble them.) And then there were CAD programming and CNC machining costs. I could go on and on.

When Dennis and I started talking about this project two years ago, we decided that design decisions would be based solely on performance, not cost. With drivers, for example, we tested top-tier, cutting edge drivers from the best in the business. When we made our final selection, they just happened to be among the most expensive we tested.

The cabinet requirements were a real challenge as well. First, a very rigid set of requirements, from a minimalist tweeter enclosure to a large woofer section, made it almost impossible to design something with any degree of WAF. And once we had all that sorted out, we had to figure out how we could construct them. Nothing was easy.

Needless to say, these will be fairly expensive speakers. More than once I asked myself if it makes any sense to introduce a speaker like this in this economy. But, in the end, it is a speaker we wanted to do.

When we originally introduced the Veracity HT3's, I wondered the same thing. I had my reservations, but it was the speaker I wanted personally so we went ahead and produced it. The HT3's went on to become our largest selling speaker and, today, only the SongTowers outsell it.

Will history repeat itself? Who knows. But after completing these today and spending a few hours with them, I do know one thing: I have the speakers I want.

- Jim