SalkSound HT2-TL and HT2C

[sarge_in]

Received my custom-made Salk HT2-TL and HT2C speakers last week. In summary, these speakers are truly phenomenal and strongly recommended for anyone looking in this - or higher - price range. Here is a link to my short review, as well as comparison to the Salk SongTowers:

And life is good again... HT2-TL vs ST

 

[audiodelic]

Nice review .... enjoy those salk's, truly one of the best speakers sold online as per the review at least. :clapping:

 

[ssf]

Congrats, Sarge. Great looking speakers (Did you choose the color to match the flooring ? ) and a very clean setup. Nice review too. What are those panels behind the speakers ? Acoustic treatments ? If so, they blend in very well.

Enjoy !!!

Edit: What custom upgrades did you ask for ?

 

[captrajesh]

Congrats Sarge, your setup looks gorgeous. How much did it cost you. Wish Jim sells his speakers as kits.

 

[sarge_in]

Thanks guys!

@audiodelic - Completely agree with you

@ssf - Actually I chose the color to kinda match the AV cabinet, but still wanted it a bit different so they would stand out some. Delighted with the results!

Yes, the panels (well they are really triangular columns, not panels - technically speaking) behind the speakers are bass traps - the GIK Tri-Traps:

GIK Tri-Trap. GIK Acoustics. Acoustic Panels and Bass Traps.

I did get the cloth from another acoustic treatment place so I could match the color closer to walls. Wanted them to be as minimally noticeable as possible, being a living room.

The 'painiting' over the couch is also an acoustic panel - GIK Art Panel:

http://www.gikacoustics.com/gik_artpanel.html

The 3 panels on the left wall are from acoustimac:

http://www.acoustimac.com/index.php/decorative-pattern-acoustics/classical-collection.html

Speaker custom upgrades - the veneer and color was a custom request. Also had magnets put in the rear of the speakers so I can stick the grills on the back when I am not using them (got the idea from someone lese who did it....neat!). No customization for sound really, they sound great as is.

@captrajesh - thanks! The speakers, all 3, came to about $6,400. Were you looking for prices for other components as well? Hope you get a response to your email to Jim someday!

 

[ssf]

Love the art panels, especially the ones with the musical instruments on them.

 

[anm]

great looking setup. Sorry I have not seen many bass traps, but these look like I can convince my wife about.

 

[sarge_in]

great looking setup. Sorry I have not seen many bass traps, but these look like I can convince my wife about.

Yep, covered with cloth matching close to wall colors, they blend pretty well if you put them in corners. And take lesser space jutting out than traditional 4-6" thick rectangular bass traps.

 

[godsdevil]

great setup...I'm jealous

 

[sarge_in]

great setup...I'm jealous

You will have an awesome one yourself very soon! Let us know how you like your Salks once you get them!

 

[ajay124]

sarge_in

The speakers, all 3, came to about $6,400.

The speakers look very nicely built and I'm sure they sound very good. Congratulations. The room and the equipment looks really great. Is the set up more for viewing films or listening to music? What amplification and cables are you using?

In the price range you have mentioned, there are many great options. If we add the cost of shipping and customs to India, these speakers would become more expensive than a Theil CS 2.4, Sonus Faber Liuto's, ATC SCM 40, Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Concert Grand, bought from an Indian dealer.

How would the HT2's compare with speakers I have mentioned?

 

[sarge_in]

sarge_in

The speakers, all 3, came to about $6,400.

The speakers look very nicely built and I'm sure they sound very good. Congratulations. The room and the equipment looks really great. Is the set up more for viewing films or listening to music? What amplification and cables are you using?

In the price range you have mentioned, there are many great options. If we add the cost of shipping and customs to India, these speakers would become more expensive than a Theil CS 2.4, Sonus Faber Liuto's, ATC SCM 40, Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Concert Grand, bought from an Indian dealer.

How would the HT2's compare with speakers I have mentioned?

Thanks ajay.
It is really a dual setup (as well as for Spongebob, Dora and Mickey Mouse ). It used to be way more movies in the past, but has shifted significantly towards music ever since I got the Salk SongTowers first, and now the HT2-TL's. Amp is Parasound A52 for the mains and center, using the Onkyo receiver for surrounds and rears. Cables are all Blue Jeans - LC1 for interconnects and the Belden 5000UE (12 ga) for speaker cables.

Regarding the other speakers you mentioned, to be upfront, I have not heard any of them myself, so cannot offer a direct comparison. Having said that, I believe (most) good ID brands have better performance than dealer-stocked brands at similar price point just because a good chunk of it goes for dealer margins. This became apparent to me when I had hunted for speakers in $2-3K range over 3 months visiting various dealers in and around my area, and was affirmed once I received the SongTowers (priced about $2K for fronts). None of the dealer-stocked brands I had heard came even close to it.

Btw, Thiel CS 2.4 are priced $6.2K for a pair at Critchfield - 50% more than HT2-TL pair. Still, at least one person found the HT2-TLs in "a completely different league" than the Thiels: Anyone go from Thiel to Salk?. He thought that they may be closer to SongTowers performance-wise. YMMV, of course. Perhaps if you posted your question about comparison to other speakers in the Salk forum, you may get responses from folks who may have compared them directly.

Of course, the shipping and importing cost to India would surely take away some of the advantage of being an ID brand, but I will be very surprised if they still did not beat dealer-stocked brands at equivalent price range.

 

[ShaQ.Blogs]

these speakers are highly regarded as some of the best sounding ones

 

[square_wave]

@Ajay,

You will be surprised when you start auditioning some of these small niche brands.

With biggie name brands, you need to go quite high in the model range to get great sound. The trick is to identify the really talented designers from the box stuffers from among the dozens of small manufacturers out there. Salk is one of the best among them. There are of course many others out there.

 

[audiodelic]

I'm thinking salk and ascend have a top class reputation/reviews in online speaker manufacturers then the second tier of aperion, emotiva, svs, hsu make decent speakers also.

 

[Spidey]

I got a quote from Jim for song tower : base price ~2k and shipping ~500 USD.

SO landed cost minus customs is 2.5k USD or 1.2lacs INR.
( so that beats Thiel etc here in cost )

regards

 

[Gijo George]

In case you are are charged duty (which in all probability you will be) thats another $600 or so extra.
Its a real pity we cant savour these ID company products considering freight and customs costs.

 

[sarge_in]

I'm thinking salk and ascend have a top class reputation/reviews in online speaker manufacturers then the second tier of aperion, emotiva, svs, hsu make decent speakers also.

This is exactly right!

 

[sarge_in]

In case you are are charged duty (which in all probability you will be) thats another $600 or so extra.
Its a real pity we cant savour these ID company products considering freight and customs costs.

While that obviously makes them more expensive in India, I have still not heard speakers that sell for $3K and that can beat the SongTowers. The prime suspects - B&W CM9, Focal 836V and Paradigm 100 - were nowhere close to the ST. I did compare the ST to CM9 at home over a whole weekend - Audio bliss at last!.

I have read a few people state that ST are quite close to B&W 805 Diamonds (more expensive, I forget the exact price though), though the 805 were a bit brighter (not a good thing, at least from my perspective).

As square_wave indicated, you have to go much higher in these brands to get good comparable sound.

 

[reignofchaos]

^^Please try the Usher Be-718/Mini Dancer1 or Dynaudio Contour s1.4/Special 25 or ATC SCM19 or Proac Response D1. You can also try the Emerald Physics CS3. All of the above should be close or potentially better. I think all of them are around 3000$. Of course they'll need better amplification than an Onkyo Receiver since all the above are very very power hungry.

I have very high regard for Jim Salk's speakers since many experienced folks seem to love them. However, the list of speakers you seem to have compared them with are all very run of the mill/mediocre sounding.