Well, it wasn't too long ago that DM hailed the Orion as the best sounding speaker that he had ever heard. Perhaps his perception has been altered since his involvement with Salk designs, but he'd need to comment to clear that up.
Given that a good dose of the Orions sound can be contributed to its dipole nature, I don't know know one could go about comparing any current Salk design to the Orion w/o taking that into consideration.
Hi I think that quote came long after my assoication with Jim, and may have been made on this board. Maybe not. Linkwitz wrote the book on crossovers. I've used the Linkwitz-Riley 4th order or 2nd order crossover slopes in all of my designs. I've also heard the Orions on many occasions, in many settings. To my ears, they are neutral, very wide range, and present a very deep soundstage, no doubt due to their open back midrange.
I have never compared them A-B with one of my designs. And I don't think they compete all that much with Jim's offerings in the sense that most are sold as kits, they're fully active, requiring a specific set of electronics, and they have minimal cabinetry.
I would be very interested in a head-on sound off with the HT4, since the soundstage perspective would be much more comparable. I suspect the HT4 would have a bit more air on the top end because of the Raal ribbon driver vs. 1.25" dome on the Orion, and might go a little deeper. But in between --I would just have to compare them.
