[mritschdorff]

After 36 years of owning a dizzying number of speakers of all shapes, sizes and manufacturers, I finally sobered up and purchased a pair of Salk Veracity HT2 TL speakers. During my many years in a speaker stupor, I was determined to find the best sounding speaker at the most reasonable price point.
Earlier this year I was noodling around AVS speaker forum and stumbled onto Salk Speaker Owners and Discussion thread. I was struck by the amount of favorable feedback and the thousands of posts. I had to check out this Salk Sound....so I jumped on the Salk website and was immediately impressed with the speaker designs and the fact that I could buy direct. I was also was encouraged by Salk's motto: "We Hand-Craft World-class speaker systems, customized to your heart's content.
I decided to call the number on the website and after a few rings was talking with Jim Salk. I asked him several questions about his speakers and inquired about an audition. He was gracious, knowledgeable and patient with the myriad of questions I'd asked. When I finished the conversation with Jim, I felt as if I was talking to one of my friends.
I auditioned several of Jim's speakers and decided on the Veracity HT2 TL. How good did they sound?  There was an air of remarkable realism in the vocals and instruments I had never heard before. I was able to differentiate every instrument, sound and exact placement as the recording engineer intended.  Again taking a quote from Jim's website, "for those who have heard them, no explanation is necessary...for those who have not, none is possible."
As luck would have it, I live just minutes from Jim's shop and he agreed to allow me to stop by on numerous occasions to check on the progress of the HT2 TL's.  During that time I was fortunate to get to know Jim well. On each visit Jim would take precious time out of his busy day to discuss my speakers, new projects, and his Company.
Based on the thousands of positive posts on AVS and AC forums, Jim treated me the same way he treats  all of his customers, as if they were an extended part of his family. Jim, his wife Mary, and talented employees, Amar, Theresa, John, and Juan, all share the common goal of building incredible sounding speakers that are stunning in appearance all at a reasonable price.
If you're in the market for custom crafted speakers built to your heart's content, don't be like me and spend 36 years of stumbling and fumbling trying to find the right speaker. Drink a couple cups of strong, black coffee and give Jim a call.

[Nuance]

scary
just plain scary

???   

Welcome to the Salk family, Marty.  So what finish did you go with?

[stc4life]

After his previous rude comments in the Salk forum, topround said:

"Just forget I posted here
I will never again, don't post a response I will not read it"

go figure, a typical troll, just ignore him.

Welcome Marty.

[srb]

scary
just plain scary

What exactly is meant by that comment?
 

I am not here to piss you guys off, just trying to help you.

I am hoping to get the opportunity to become a Salk speaker owner myself.  So far I like the design, the cabinetry, the driver choice and the thoughtful comments posted by Jim Salk and crossover designer Dennis Murphy.
 
How can you help me?
 

Hello, my name is Marty and I'm a Salkaholic

Hello Marty!
 
Steve

[Pez]

he he he
I am not here to piss you guys off, just trying to help you.
Think what you may of me, I know of guys that critisized AV123 gear on their forum and were  ridiculed and blasted for being honest.

You guys need to have an open mind, unkowing to you, you are doing more damage than good to the brand.

Call me what you will, biased, I am not, and your bias will get you guys into the land of incredulity pretty fast.

Unless you guys are just into massaging each others ego's, of course that is another situation, and if that is the case then have at it.

But if you want to join the rest of us you are welcome, just check your bias at the door.

Some of you may understand what I mean, look what happened to AV123, they are now considered on par with Bose.  And Mark had nothing to do with that!

Topround,
The comments you are making here have no intention other than to fan flames. Not only are you being disrespectful to those who truly and rightfully enjoy Salk Speakers, but you are also disrespecting Salk Audio AND Audiocircle. Your comments add absolutely nothing to this conversation. I would suggest not commenting further in this topic.

-Pez

[zybar]

he he he
I am not here to piss you guys off, just trying to help you.
Think what you may of me, I know of guys that critisized AV123 gear on their forum and were  ridiculed and blasted for being honest.

You guys need to have an open mind, unkowing to you, you are doing more damage than good to the brand.

Call me what you will, biased, I am not, and your bias will get you guys into the land of incredulity pretty fast.

Unless you guys are just into massaging each others ego's, of course that is another situation, and if that is the case then have at it.

But if you want to join the rest of us you are welcome, just check your bias at the door.

Some of you may understand what I mean, look what happened to AV123, they are now considered on par with Bose.  And Mark had nothing to do with that!

Mike,

I don't think this is anything like the AV123 forum.

Probably best for you to either retract or not post further on this thread.

George

[Nels Ferre]

Anyone who has actually heard one of Jim's models understands the excitement. 

[Pez]

One of the many audiocircle manufacturers I really look forward to seeing/hearing! 

[DMurphy]

Welcome to the Salk family, Mary.  So what finish did you go with?
[/quote]

Now let's not drag Jim's wife into this.  I think Marty really is a guy.   

[Rocket]

Hi,

In the past I've been accused of 'shilling' for another manufacturer on audiocircle.  When you purchase a product from a manufacturer you naturally become very loyal towards that product.  In 2008 I did a lot of research looking for another pair of speakers to purchase.  I had bought a demo pair of nuforce s9's and to be honest, initially, I was very happy with their sound.  But over a period of time I could hear their faults rise to the surface.  This included a one note bass, lack of 3 dimensionality and the speaker did not provide the inner nuances that I was used to.  My search for a great speaker continued.

I have been a member of audiocircle since its inception and I've read all the great reviews that Jim Salk has received with his speakers.  I live in Perth Western Australia and the distance from here to Oregon is 14,871 kilometres.  Considering that distance it was impossible for me to demo a pair of his speakers.

I've done the usual thing and gone to all the hifi shops here in Perth and the speakers I heard were either very expensive or didn't sound any good.  Although I did hear a pair of Aurum Cantus speakers that I thought were very good.  There is a local speaker designer here in Perth who builds great sounding speakers but it takes about 1 - 2 years for a pair of custom made speakers.

Whilst researching Jim's speakers I noticed that the quality of the drivers and tweeters were very good.  Analysing how much the components cost for a pair of ht2's was about $1500US or thereabouts.  The speakers were $3600US.  I also found out that Jim uses Dennis Murphy who is a xover designer and I was able to ascertain that he has a very good reputation as a designer.  Btw I had already had a go at diy and bought a speaker kit from Zalytron and used an orca design called the phenomenal.  These speakers sounded terrible and I sank about $2500au into them.

Anyway, the aussie dollar was going up all the time compared with the US and I decided to import a pair of ht2's finished in african bosse pommele satin finish.  In total the speakers cost about $5400Au after taxes shipping etc.  During the process of deciding on my speakers I swapped several emails with Jim and
Dennis.  They were both helpful and honest in their opinions.

When the speakers arrived at my home I was very happy with the look of them.  My previous best speakers were a pair of custom mtm speakers utilising raven 1 ribbon tweeters and a pair of 7inch focal midbass driver 7k4211db.  I really missed these speakers and I was silly to sell them. 

After about half an hour of listening the speakers had settled in they just sounded better and better.  They displayed tremendous transparency, great articulate bass and the top end was very very good.  I still think that the raven 1 may be marginally better than the lcy but that tweeter is no longer manufactured.  However, I don't want to take too much away from the lcy tweeter because it does provide better dispersion characteristics than the raven.

Okay so I really like these speakers.  I still find it bemusing that there are posters on other forums who regularly recommend mass produced speakers that cost more and probably don't sound as good.  In these speakers they generally use cheaper drivers and xover components.  Anyway I guess if we all liked the same things it would be a boring old world.

I guess my only concern with these speakers is that they are that transparent a lot of my cd's sound poor but gee when I discover a good disc the speakers really come to life.  These speakers really rise to the occasion when you introduce new components in your system.  I've just bought a pair of 300 watt amplifiers because in the future I would like to upgrade my speakers to one of Jim's less efficient speakers.

It is a little unfair to compare Salk sound speakers with another company because Jim doesn't have really long lead in times and if there is a problem with his products he remedies the situation very quickly (this appears to be an issue with the company that you mention).  Waiting a few months for a pair of custom made speakers available in almost any finish that you want isn't a long time imo.

I know I sound like I'm 'shilling' for Jim but if you do a little research there really isn't much competition in the marketplace that provides this level of quality.  I still think that it is reasonable to recommend Jim's speakers but we should always respect a persons right if they wish to purchase a different product or they don't like the speakers.  Hey, if they like a big pair of JBL speakers and its what they look good for them.

Best wishes

Rod

[K Shep]

he he he
You guys need to have an open mind...
But if you want to join the rest of us you are welcome, just check your bias at the door.

Sir,

You shouldn't use such a broad brush.  "You guys" who are you addressing.  If you are addressing me I am all over this website, however, I have read a few of your posts.  No thank you topround, I don't wish to join you in anyway.  It seems to me you rub many members the wrong way.  Oh and don't ever invite me to do something and then set a condition to it. 

When you jump into a thread on the 2nd post and insult or post a questionable remark, what are members supposed to think of you? 

Dude, if you have to live your life apologizing all of the time, you may want to take a step back and look at the source of your troubles.

Kirk

[Nuance]

Now let's not drag Jim's wife into this.  I think Marty really is a guy.   

Whoops - my fault.  Sorry about the typo.  It has been fixed. 

[Nuance]

Why all the hate, Mike?  The Salk forum is no different than any other vendor forum; it's full of happy customers, many whom have spent quite the amount of time trying to find a speaker of who's flaws they can live with.  It's no different than what you did when you made your purchases, and our enthusiasm to "spread the good news" is no different than what you do on this forum when you recommend products.  If you have an issue with it and need to make false statements, well...that's what we call hypocrisy. 

Have you even heard a Salk product?  Do you have facts to back up your accusations and statements about said company?  Or do you just want to attempt to smear another thread?  You say our actions are "scary just plan scary," but I say yours are pathetic, just plain pathetic.   

[Pez]

Let's leave well enough alone. Back on topic please.

[mritschdorff]

scary
just plain scary

???   

Welcome to the Salk family, Marty.  So what finish did you go with?

Thanks to Nuance and everyone else who have posted their support. I went with Peruvian Walnut. I'll post pictures soon.

[R Swerdlow]

Marty - Welcome to a happy Salk speaker owner from another one!  Your choice of HT2-TLs is an excellent one, enjoy them .

Thanks for your comments about your new speakers and the experience of dealing with Jim Salk.  Most of us here, understand exactly what you described.

[mritschdorff]

HT2 TL's in Peruvian Walnut

[vintagebob]

Nice! 

[oneinthepipe]

Whoa, Marty, the Peruvian Walnut looks great.

[Nuance]

Whoa, Marty, the Peruvian Walnut looks great.

+1.  That's very, very nice!  I don't know why, but I didn't envision it looking that amazing when I thought of the words "Peruvian Walnut" in my head.  Shame on me, because those are stunning!