New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs

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dakulis

New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« on: 4 Dec 2010, 07:17 am »








Yes, I have pictures of the speakers in boxes coming off the truck and into my living room.  But, given the incredible problems with delivery, I'm not real excited about giving the shipper any free publicity but that's a whole other story.  Well, the pictures don't do the speakers justice. The veneer is actually a little more red than shown and comes pretty dang close in color to the cherry wood on the center stack where the amp and CDP are located. These are some of the most beautiful speakers that I have ever seen but then you guys already know that.  Jim and company just do an incredible job in that department.  So, the bigger question, how do they sound?

I have been puzzled up to now why anyone was impressed with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". (Recogize that I have brand new Blue Jeans speaker cables and a new interconnect and I'm told that they need a little play to run in so I'm not sure if I am getting the full impact of what these speakers can do yet.)

In the first song on the CD; the first thing I notice with the new speakers is that I was slammed with rhytmic bass drums punching me in the stomach . . . bam . . . bam. . . bam . . . bam . . . and then a cacophony of voice and instruments that presented on a sound stage that was wide, deep and real. These voices and instruments moved around the sound stage, appearing and disappearing like fireflies in a Midwestern night. The "speakers disappeared" and the music took over and I was mesmerized with the sounds that seemed to emanate from far outside the width of my speaker placement. When Jim advertises that the "speakers just disappear", he isn't blowing smoke, they truly do.

Then, at about 45 seconds into the first song, softly, faintly, in the background are footsteps. I'd never heard them before. (If you've never heard them before, you need new speakers.) If you can tell me what the footsteps do on your soundstage, you already own Jim's speakers. I can tell you what they did; in fact, I have a mental image of every step of every heel and toe. BTW, it happens again about 3:45 into the same track.

In the second track, the synthesizer seems to create sound, light and darkness in space, jumping around the stage while voices and a very faint guitar can be heard in the distance. Then, skip ahead to "Money" and the clang of the cash register stage left and the old style calculator at stage right alternating until his voice cuts in. Very impressive.

Frankly, it's not the kind of music I would normally get all worked up about because it is so overly processed with instruments and voice that it isn't "real" as many aficianados would likely say. But, for the pure joy of listening to these speakers reproduce the sounds and movements, it was pretty magical and more than once I had shivers going down my back.

Then, I went for a couple albums I know inside out. Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me." My old Altecs actually did jazz pretty well or at least I thought so until now. Listening to this album again, it was like I had purchased a new CD. Her voice was smokier, breath sounds were present that were never there before and passages where her voice had disappeared before found her simply carrying out a note that hadn't been heard.

The piano, bass and guitar were as real as I heard this evening at a concert at our church. Each key strike had just the right note, timbre and delay. The bass was deep and tight and felt right, better than the high school bass player I listened to tonight but give the kid 10 years and who knows.

Finally, I put on Cowboy Junkies, "The Trinity Session" and listened to the first short track. It's a 1:30 of a pure female soprano in an old church. For the first time, I could hear the faint echo of her voice in the background created by the old church walls catching and releasing it again.

In the 4th track I believe it is, she and her brother carry out a haunting duet of an interesting take on "Blue Moon"; I believe the whole album was recorded with a single microphone so you may not get quite the sound stage you would on most modern recordings but her voice and the instruments are so perfect and the pitch and pureness of her voice with the absence of sibilance was impressive.

Needless to say, after about 10 hours of listening so far, I could not be happier. This is an incredible upgrade for me in sound. Moreover, I seem to be able to play music louder without any listener fatigue and get goosebumps much more often. To answer the big question, "is it real?" Well, this is without question the closest I've ever come to feeling like I'm in the middle of live music. I played a little Miles Davis today and the haunting sound of his trumpet was amazing and the quintet just blazed through a number of tunes that had my eyes closed, my head bobbing and my foot tapping, while I could imagine a haze of smoke in the air and the smell of gin - I don't drink so imagining is all I'm going to get anyway.

I'm sure I could have paid more for speakers but I'm not sure I could have gotten any better sound at this point. The speakers have also made me appreciate the real quality of the Arcam CDP and my Unison Research Unico. It is incredibly detailed and very precise with just a little warmth from its hybrid tubes that keeps things from getting too bright up top.

With the Altecs, there were times that I thought that the new amp made some of the treble "bright" but with the HT2-TLs and the ribbon tweeter, it simply shows how right on and pure those high notes can be. The proof is in the fact that I've been listening for hours and the only pain i've had is in my butt and my back - I'm getting old.


Meicheng

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Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #1 on: 4 Dec 2010, 07:39 am »
Really nice job matching the wood color of your entertainment center.  I have long thought the HT2-TL is the crown jewel in the Salk lineup in terms of bang for the buck.  The Songtowers, which I own, are a great value without doubt, but you get more of everything with the HT2-TLs. 

Big Red Machine

Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #2 on: 4 Dec 2010, 12:44 pm »
Nice!  Awesome speakers, aren't they?! :drool:

Kinger

Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #3 on: 4 Dec 2010, 12:55 pm »
Great write up!  Thanks for sharing.......

Bill Baker

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Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #4 on: 4 Dec 2010, 02:17 pm »
Hmmm....those look familiar :lol: Glad to see they made it without harm. I can confirm that they do sound as good as they look and it is hard to capture the fit and finish that Jim and his team accomplish. Enjoy!

dakulis

Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #5 on: 4 Dec 2010, 06:10 pm »
Thanks all.  Bill they should look familiar and I really have to compliment you on the extra time you took in wrapping and packaging.  As I explained to Jim, after almost 2 weeks on the truck, the boxes were wet when they arrived and one bottom almost didn't hold up.  When I unpackaged them, the 2" foam on the front side of the right speaker was pulverized and I was pretty concerned but they came through without  a scratch.  So, again, thanks for the extra effort, it helped mucho.

Big Red, that is an incredible understatement.  I could go with "awesome" or "awestruck"; most of the time, the latter is closer to the truth.  Meichang, like you, I have to wonder just how much "more" you can get from speakers.  So, no complaints here but some time I'm just going to have to hear the Soundscapes just to find out what I'm "missing". 

Saturn94

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Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #6 on: 4 Dec 2010, 07:45 pm »
.....some time I'm just going to have to hear the Soundscapes just to find out what I'm "missing".

Unless they are affordable to you, I don't recommend it. :green:

The first time I visited Dennis to hear the HT-2TL I figured I go ahead and hear the SoundScapes while there.  Richard S, who was also there, said he does not recommend listening to speakers you cannot afford.  Well, he was right.  Now every speaker I can afford, including the HT2-TL, sounds like a compromise compared to the SoundScapes. :duh:

So just enjoy your HT2-TLs and forget about the others. :)


dakulis

Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #7 on: 6 Dec 2010, 06:35 am »
Saturn,

Probably good advice because I can't afford them.  But, it can't hurt to listen, right???

floresjc

Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #8 on: 6 Dec 2010, 03:30 pm »
Ahh, give them a listen.

I heard the Soundscapes at Dennis' place at they are wonderful. But the HT2-TL is no slouch and I enjoy mine thoroughly.

Maybe in another 20 years I can move up to Soundscapes.

dakulis

Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #9 on: 13 Dec 2010, 09:16 pm »
Well guys,

No surprise here but the longer I run them, the better the HT2-TLs sound.  What has really impressed me is how good classical music sounds.  I have a number of classical albums that I just refused to listen to because everything sounded washed out and the instruments were all slurred. 

It is incredibly fun to hear individual instruments suddenly spring to life and hear a chorus of violins that sound like a chorus of violins instead of one huge violin muddying up everything in the middle of the orchestra. 

I continue to find new joy in Mozart, Bach, Stravinsky and Holst's "Planets", a German recording that continues to amaze and impress.  Jim and Company, thanks for what you guys do, it is truly amazing and the results are simply spectacular. 

Dave

Kinger

Re: New Pau Rosewood HT2-TLs
« Reply #10 on: 13 Dec 2010, 09:29 pm »
Funny you mention the instrument separation.  I was just commenting to mchuckp this past weekend how easy it is to pick out individual instruments on recordings via my ST/RT's.  Really is amazing the detail these speakers can produce.