[bahorn1]

I'm going out on a limb here, but pretty sure you'll be astounded by the bass these produce.  Heard a pair in the shop Tuesday.

Hey BRM.  Since you have/had (not sure if you sold them yet) the HT3s, what are your impressions of how the HT2 TL compares to the HT3?  I realize the listening environments could be very different  (unless you have heard both at Jim's).

Thanks,
Doug

[Big Red Machine]

I'm not qualified to comment on that.

[bahorn1]

I'm not qualified to comment on that.

Sorry.   I've heard the HT3 before.  And I'd love to hear the HT3 and the HT2 TL in the same room (like RMAF or the Oregon GTG?).  Short of that, I'm looking forward to the reviews from others.  As much as I love my SongTowers, I'm thinking about my next speakers.

--Doug

[Art_Chicago]

 As much as I love my SongTowers, I'm thinking about my next speakers.

--Doug

+1!  Just let us know where one can get a loan for HT2's these days 

[OgOgilby]

Terry's are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.  Booya!

As of right now, they are in Chicago.  So close, yet so far away.  Looks like I'll definitely have them tomorrow. 

I took the day off to receive them and spend as much quality time with them as I can.  Should be a really great day!

Then today's the day 

[TJHUB]

Terry's are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.  Booya!

As of right now, they are in Chicago.  So close, yet so far away.  Looks like I'll definitely have them tomorrow. 

I took the day off to receive them and spend as much quality time with them as I can.  Should be a really great day!

Then today's the day 

12:30 pm and still not here...   

[Nuance]

Mine didn't come until closer to 3:00 p.m.  Are they in the "out for delivery" status?  Also, did you track all the packages?

[TJHUB]

Mine didn't come until closer to 3:00 p.m.  Are they in the "out for delivery" status?  Also, did you track all the packages?

Come on dude...   Of course they are "out for delivery" and yes I did verify both packages have the same status.  Are you trying to jinx me?   

Just kidding with you!   

Wait...  THEY ARE HERE!!!!!!  Gotta go!

[Nuance]

^ YEAH BABY!  Now I am all hot and bothered. 

[bahorn1]

Mine didn't come until closer to 3:00 p.m.  Are they in the "out for delivery" status?  Also, did you track all the packages?

Come on dude...   Of course they are "out for delivery" and yes I did verify both packages have the same status.  Are you trying to jinx me?   

Just kidding with you!   

Wait...  THEY ARE HERE!!!!!!  Gotta go!

Woohoo!  Anxiously awaiting your impression!

[OgOgilby]

Mine didn't come until closer to 3:00 p.m.  Are they in the "out for delivery" status?  Also, did you track all the packages?

Come on dude...   Of course they are "out for delivery" and yes I did verify both packages have the same status.  Are you trying to jinx me?   

Just kidding with you!   

Wait...  THEY ARE HERE!!!!!!  Gotta go!

Congrats! Dang, this is almost as hard as waiting for ours! How 'bout a play by play with photos... Maybe Brandon will come over to help you set them up faster

[TJHUB]

I have no idea why I'm wasting my time posting to you guys instead of finishing the unboxing process...   

Jim, if you read this thread, please note that your struggle with my speakers was worth it.  They are PERFECT!  Thanks so much for your efforts getting them just right per my request.  I cannot wait to give them a listen.

Brandon:  Just a side note.  I sold ALL of my Emo gear this morning!  It took 3 hours.      The Parasound gear is arriving tomorrow.  Now I have to find a receiver...

I'll post my impressions in a few hours.  I know it's going to take the better part of week to really figure things out, but I'm certain I'll have comments.  Oh yeah, here's the first:  "they're HEAVY". 

Later...

[rahimlee54]

You should try the emo gear on them and give an impression for those of us that blew the whole speaker budget on two speakers 

[guptaas]

Hi Everyone: I must be one of the first owners of HT2 TL's. First of all, for new customers, this was unlike any other purchase I've ever made. Jim took a call himself and patiently listened to my needs. I followed with pictures of my awkward listewning location and we talked again. Jim persuaded me to go with these speakers instead of his own more expensive products because they fit my need better. I followed with a sample of my flooor, which he matched perfectly in Brazilian cherry. The projected production time was accurate and delivery was prompt.

I've never owned high end speakers before but always tweaked my budget buys to the maximum. Audiophile, I may not be, but music lover I certainly am and do hear a lot more subtle stuff than ordinary people.

This is my setup: Lossless FLAC's from a silent PC  > Benchmark DAC1 USB  providing volume control > XLR balanced outputs > PS Audio HCA-2 power amplifier > 12G speaker cables > HT2's

I have them about 18" from the rear and about 22" from the side walls toed-in to a couple of feet behind the listening position. They work okay at closer distances too but imaging seems a bit better with some room. More experimentation required on that. The present postion is quite good for now. With well recorded tracks, the speakers fuse into a sharp sound stage as if the artists have moved into my living room and the speakers almost disappear.

Jim's demo CD of course is made up of well recorded tracks and they show off these attributes well as well as the amazing bass these speakers can produce. I was using Polk RT35i speakers with a subwoofer before and you can imagine how easy it is to get used to a lot of bass with a subwoofer. Mind you, I always resisted turning it up so high that one became conscious of the sub-woofer.

But I hadn't purchased them to listen to Jim's CD. So I threw all sorts of music both old and new at it - acoustic and electric blues, traditional Jazz, Bop, cool, soul-jazz, soul, funk, the usual classic rock standards as well as newer Indie Rock, vocal traditional pop as well as jazz vocals, essentially everything except hip-hop and classical which were played a little but I won't trust my ears with them.

These speakers did an incredible job with all of the above. Lionel Hampton from the 30's to Pink Martini and Sharon Jones from today all sounded great. My special loves are 70's Memphis soul from the Stax Studios and Latin Jazz, both of which require a very clear punchy bass line dancing with the melody. Sam and Dave as well as Poncho sanchez came out fantastic. The only time I felt the bass lacking a little was with some classic rock tracks - "Who's Next" for example. My system doesn't allow anything but a volume control and an Equalizer somewhere in the path would have taken care of it easily. Its not the speakers, its the recording I feel. All recordings are different and one does need a way to adjust the playback to one's liking. I might have gotten used to listening to that album with bass turned up high.

So my verdict is that you are unlikely to find a better looking pair of speakers which give a great bang for the buck performance. They can work well close to walls and no subwoofer is required for stereo music playback. For home theters, you might need that but I don't mix my music and movie playback, so can't comment.

I live on the south shore of Long Island in the town of Sayville and would be happy to let you audition them. Just ask Jim to get in touch with me.

[TJHUB]

I shouldn't be doing this as I just have them unboxed and set roughly in place.  They are about 12.5' apart, 12" from the front wall, and 14' to my listening position.  I'm running them bi-amped with my Emotiva IPS-1 amp and MMC-1 prepro.  I listen to FLAC files through a Roku M2000 connected optically to the MMC-1.

First impressions:

The imaging is just spectacular.  I thought my B&W 805S's imaged really well, these are equal in every way.  The music just seems to come from the entire front wall.  I have a lot of testing to do with placement, but so far so good.  I have the toe-in set so that the speakers are aimed about 5' behind my listening position.

Overall, the tonality is VERY smooth.  I'm having a hard time detecting any peaks or dips in the frequency response by ear.  I'll do some room measurements later tonight or tomorrow.  The bright sound my B&W's had is gone.  The HT2's are incredibly detailed with no hint of brightness.  I have to rethink my thoughts on a new DAC.  No need to warm things up now.

I had a tremendous lack of midbass with my B&W's paired with my SVS PB13-Ultra sub.  That seems to be gone.  The transient response of these speakers is wowing to say the least.  Extremely transparent.  I can hear EVERY detail in the midrange.  The ribbon tweeter sounds much better than I remember from Nuance's ST RT's.  I'm certain it's the same, but I know my room sounds better than his basement did. 

The bass... The bass is far more than I expected.  Very balanced, very transparent, and there is A LOT of it.  Even at modest levels (85db), they have shaken my floor a couple of times.  They seemingly reach pretty deep.  Again, I'll measure that later.  They honestly sound like they have very capable 12" bass drivers in them.  I don't know if I'd want a sub for music or not.  The bass range seems very balanced with few peaks and dips (although I think I hear a 30 something Hz peak).  The bass is EXTREMELY capable!

I have to admit that I'm a little floored by the sound.  So smooth, so detailed, tremendous transient attack, and deep transparent bass.  Another thing I just noticed is that my sweet spot is rather large.  Moving my head side-to-side 4-6" doesn't seem to change much.  My sweet spot with my B&W's was VERY small.  I'll have to pay more attention to this. 

Things are going to be extremely busy for me this weekend.  I sold my Emotiva gear today and my new Parasound 2100 and 2250 combo are to arrive tomorrow.  I'm going to attempt a comparison between them if possible.

Gotta go pick the kids up from school.  Later...   

[Nuance]

Yeah TERRY!!  I am psyched bro!  Don't be surprised if when you get home from picking up the kids I am sitting in your chairing listening to your HT2 TL's.  HAHA! 

You need to call me and tell me just how good these speakers are!    I am very happy for you bud!

P.S.  PICS MAN, PICS!

[TJHUB]

Yeah TERRY!!  I am psyched bro!  Don't be surprised if when you get home from picking up the kids I am sitting in your chairing listening to your HT2 TL's.  HAHA! 

You need to call me and tell me just how good these speakers are!    I am very happy for you bud!

P.S.  PICS MAN, PICS!

I wish you were here.    Call me when you get a chance, I'll try to explain the best I can.

I'll take a few pics soon.  They are basically very black, so pics are going to be tough as I'm no photographer.  I have to clean off all those stupid white foam balls that are EVERYWHERE!! 

One thing is for certain.  My SVS sub and TV look a lot smaller now.  These are BIG speakers. 

[Nuance]

I will call you after dinner buddy.  Now go listen to those magical speakers! 

[TJHUB]

Since you guys are so cool about being happy for me, here are some pics: (sorry if they are awful)

Here's the FedEx truck:



My route is apparently "new" so they are using rented trucks for now...

The packaging:





The packaging was very good, but speakers should come out of it faster.  It's very frustrating to unpack the speakers when you are so anxious!

Here is what I've been listening to since selling my B&W's a couple of weeks ago:



Feel sorry for me?  Actually the Klipsch Promedia's weren't terrible.

Here they are, Smokey Silver Guitar Finish English Fiddleback Sycamore HT2 TL's:

















All I can say is that I remain floored by the sound of these speakers.  I have played NOTHING that doesn't sound great.  Anyone that has these on order, they are so worth the wait and you are really in for something very special. 

Right now I'm spinning Jim's CD.  WOW, just WOW...

[Big Red Machine]

Did the finish come out as you hoped?