Owner Impressions, Delivery Times and Things to Do While You Wait

Srgtfury · « **Reply #60 on:** 7 Jul 2009, 04:59 am »

I talked to Jim about upgrading to HT3s so I guess there's no end to upgrade fever. I decided to stick with the HT2-TLs mostly for the WAF between the two models.
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I had the same upgrade pathway, but what sold the Ht3's WAS the WAF. As Jim suggested, just ask her to select the best veneer/hue. etc. for the new "furniture." Worked like a charm or the Nt3's. The form factor on the Ht4 didn't fly-yet. I would have the Gallery page open and ready to go with something close to what she already likes.

Thank you very much

Fury

floresjc · « **Reply #61 on:** 7 Jul 2009, 07:58 am »

Overall, with WAF, I'm pretty lucky. My wife has a natural dislike of monitors, so towers were a go from the beginning (which is usually the first fight). Two, she likes the HT3 shape better than a plain old box. When they arrived, she was concerned they were too wide for the home theater, but I explained the much smaller SongTower were going down there, and she was completely cool. The only thing she protested against was the guitar burst finishes I liked (red fading to black etc), she thought it was too bachelor/70's. So I had to stick to natural wood, which isn't that much of a limitation given Jim's unlimited selection.

Srgtfury · « **Reply #62 on:** 7 Jul 2009, 10:24 pm »

Interesting...just goes to show ya "bout taste. She favours the guitar burst pattern on my Ht3 sapele's, whileI am for the solid look, rubbed out. he photo that is on the ARCHos open baffle, sapele wood, is the pattern that seemed to "fit" out furniture...

Thank you very much

Fury

vintagebob · « **Reply #63 on:** 8 Jul 2009, 01:28 am »

Some pics. Imagine it with HT2-TLs...

rahimlee54 · « **Reply #64 on:** 8 Jul 2009, 01:30 am »

Quote from: vintagebob on 8 Jul 2009, 01:28 am

Some pics. Imagine it with HT2-TLs...

The upgrades are coming, they will be good.

vintagebob · « **Reply #65 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 03:09 pm »

Thanks rahimlee54. I need some encouragement since this was such a difficult decision, especially getting a complete 5.0 set.

Your HT2-TLs are beautiful by the way!

Nuance · « **Reply #66 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 05:53 pm »

Quote from: vintagebob on 9 Jul 2009, 03:09 pm

Your HT2-TLs are beautiful by the way!

Err...umm...??? I assume you were kidding? If not, those are Swan's, I believe. hehe

vintagebob · « **Reply #67 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 07:12 pm »

I was talking about rahimlee54's HT2-TLs...

vintagebob · « **Reply #68 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 07:22 pm »

floresjc,

Maybe you'll end up with my SongTowers in your order, especially since you're not here to enjoy them yet? Stay safe out there!

Nuance · « **Reply #69 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 07:46 pm »

Oh, okay. haha

vintagebob · « **Reply #70 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 09:24 pm »

So Nuance,

I know you listened to some Swan Diva 6.2s during your search...care to guess what the differences will be between the Swans and the Salks? I know my 4.1s don't have the bass extension and impact of the 6.2s and I do sometimes find the TN28 tweeters to be a bit harsh or bright but that can be recording related. I do think that the 4.1s image very well.

Nuance · « **Reply #71 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 09:46 pm »

I can guess based on what the 6.2's sounded like, but it's just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.

The SongTower's won't sound as thin throughout the upper bass and lower mids as the Diva's do. Though the ST's voices sound more full and natural, and the tweeter will have that detailed airy sound, but without the added harshness of the Diva tweet (to my ears, of course). Finally, the bass will be tighter and quicker, but will still surprise you concerning depth and punchy impact...definitely surprised me considering the size of the drivers.

Concerning imaging, for me (in my crappy, cramped and temporary listening space), the SongTower's create a wall of sound. It depends on the recording, of course, but I am still blown away many a time with how large the sound stage is and how pinpoint the imaging is. Sometimes it literally sounds like I am listening in surround sound.

You may not hear anything that I described, but I hope you do. I really do think the midrange is the area that you'll noticed the largest change (for the good). It's been a long time since I heard the stock ST's, so this is based on my RT's. I hope that's okay. Oh, and the timbre accuracy of instruments (especially horns and stings) is leagues above the Diva's IMO. I know some people say the dome on the standard ST isn't quite as accurate throughout the timbre as the ribbon, but it's been so long that I can't honestly comment about that. All I know is that the ribbon does a superb job, especially for how much of a financial bargain the ST RT's are.

I hope that helps.

vintagebob · « **Reply #72 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 09:57 pm »

Thanks Nuance. That is basically what I'm expecting. The upper bass impact was part of my reason for switching to the HT2-TLs over the dome STs. Since my Swans only have 4 inch drivers there is potential for my upper bass to vastly improve with the HT2-TLs based on your comments.

I'm also looking forward to that ribbon tweeter.

Nuance · « **Reply #73 on:** 9 Jul 2009, 10:44 pm »

Oh, I think you'll drop your jaw when you hear those HT2 TL's!

I forgot you were getting TL's - so I will say that the bass is AMAZING for drivers only a little bigger than the SongTower units. Wowy, I was impressed, and in a large room no less. TJHUB can testify that myself and Patrick (warpdrv) thought the subwoofer was on. I may never be able to afford the HT3's or 4's, but if I get some extra cash I'll upgrade to the HT2 TL's just for the sake of knowing I've got that extra extension (even though I am running dual 15" subs) and added midrange resolution.

Again, I think you'll love them! When are they due to arrive?

vintagebob · « **Reply #74 on:** 10 Jul 2009, 12:48 pm »

Quote from: Nuance on 9 Jul 2009, 10:44 pm

Oh, I think you'll drop your jaw when you hear those HT2 TL's!

When are they due to arrive?

LOL, rub it in. It was painful starting the clock over again. I'm guessing early September (60 days) since there are five speakers? I was never actually given a timeframe.

floresjc · « **Reply #75 on:** 10 Jul 2009, 03:42 pm »

vintagebob -

Not sure if your ST will be mine or not. Its not going to matter much to me if the process speeds up, only if it slows down

I ordered those 2 pair ST, a SongCenter, and a 15" Rythmik custom sub (dual passive radiators) and Jim thought 60 days would be sufficient, even though he didn't quote an exact date. I can't remember what day I ordered, but its been a bit, maybe a week or two, not sure.

Nuance · « **Reply #76 on:** 10 Jul 2009, 07:05 pm »

Trust me fellas, the wait is worth it. I cannot wait till S-Day for you guys (Salk-Day).

mathgeek97 · « **Reply #77 on:** 10 Jul 2009, 07:34 pm »

Quote from: Nuance on 10 Jul 2009, 07:05 pm

Trust me fellas, the wait is worth it. I cannot wait till S-Day for you guys (Salk-Day).

Sure, easy for you to say from the other side! I guess it's good that it's summer and I'm not stuck in the house all day...

vintagebob · « **Reply #78 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 02:57 pm »

So I had a fun and romantic evening last night with my girlfriend...

I told her I was taking her to a concert (k.d. lang Live in London with the BBC orchestra, Blu-ray disc) at my place, I picked her up in a limo (my good car) with flowers and chocolates in the back seat, brought her home and showed her to her "Reserved" seating. Of course I had a bottle of French Champagne on ice.

The "concert" was fun and the music was great in DTS-HD. I convinced her that we saved $4000 by not flying to London to see the concert and that this money could be well spent on a set of Salk speakers.

But what really scored points that night...

She had told me a story about buying an old turntable and some old records for her dad when he was in ill heath, before he passed away, and she was wondering what to do with the stuff. I asked her to bring it over to my house last night.

The turntable was a Technics SL-2000 Direct Drive and she had an inexpensive Grado cartridge (MTE+1) brand new in a box. It took me a little bit to figure out the cartridge installation but I finally got it. Lucky for me that my Pioneer SC-05 has a reasonable phono pre-amp. We listened to classical records for the rest of the evening. She was SO happy! It brought back some good memories. Music is really good at that.

This can really be a fun hobby! It was interesting to compare the current technology to the twenty year old technology and realize that both can move you emotionally in a very good way.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Nuance · « **Reply #79 on:** 11 Jul 2009, 06:47 pm »

Great story, Bob. You're a sly dog, buddy.

I hope it won you some points.