Another six weeks have passed, and still awaiting my pair of main speakers... will update with room photos once they arrive.

audiofankj April 20, 2007 12:00

I have finally spent a few minutes adding some of my current gear to the system thread while stuck in a hotel on the road tonight... I hope to have the virtual system "cleaned up" and updated in full soon.

Albert, yes when building the house, I wanted to make certain there was some 'built in' items for diffraction. In addition to the rear built in shelving for vinyl, we have an exposed beam coffered ceiling in the room as well. Now that the room is dual purpose 2 Channel / Home Theater the rear shelving is now covered with heavy velvet-like draperies. (such a shame...) I hope to have some photos online after the speakers finally arrive.

Remy, thanks for the well wishes. The move to an 'integrated' HT with 2 Channel was as unplanned as the career change. Thus, when I sold off most of my old system, the wife and I decided to make the room dual purpose as I wasn't planning on having too much wrapped into the gear financially. Well, we were Blessed and I ended up with a great position relatively quickly and most of the funds that were from the old system were re-invested into the dual purpose system...

Sherod, it has been quite some time since we have chatted. Hope you are doing well. The new career has been a blessing and I am enjoying it. It has kept me very busy, and we have only been able to watch a couple of movies thus far. As far as the Electraglide cords, I am only familiar with the ones I have owned... which include the Ultra Man, Mini Khan Plus, Ultra Khan II (think that was the name), Epiphany, and the Epiphany X's. I have no experience with any of the new line, thus I am unfamiliar with it.

Joey, I am planning on moving up to a nice set of speakers. However, since they are in development- time will tell how they stack up against previous speakers I have owned as well as their competition. Some big hitting people are involved, and I am eager to finally take posession of them. As for a CD player recommendation with the Summits, based upon your criteria my Esoteric X-01 Limited Edition was spot on what you described you are looking for. It should be, as it retails for $4K more than a pair of Summits. There are many great players out there, it really depends on the price point you want to focus on.

More to follow. Hopefully sooner than later!

audiofankj March 09, 2007 03:28

Joey,

If you read through all the posts, you'll see that Kirk has sold his entire system, including his Salks, and is now in the process of starting over with a new home theater system. Kirk probably hasn't had the time to update his virtual system.

sherod February 17, 2007 17:54

Hey Kirk! I'm glad to hear that you are doing well in your new career move. I'm also glad to see you start putting together a nice home theater system. I'm sure that you and your wife will really enjoy it together. I didn't realize that you had become a dealer for Electraglide. It makes sense since you are an Electraglide advocate and live fairly close to Scott Hall. Have you had a chance to evaluate the new Synapses cord?

sherod February 17, 2007 16:27

AF,
I'm glad, actually very glad, that you're enjoying the Salks! Are you planning anything wicked right now? I've seen several people move up from the Salks to say something like the Vandersteen 5a or Kharmas... and I was just wondering if you moving up in that direction also.

Also, are there any CDP recommendations that you can give out to me for my Summits seeing as you had them previously. I look for solidity, weight, and heft in vocal images.

Thanks!
Joey

joey_v February 17, 2007 16:06

Wow Kirk,

It's been a while since I last visited your system, and am surprised (to say the least) at the swap to HT. After all the A/B comparisons you did, maybe finally you will get a chance to just sit down and enjoy a great movie experience and forget about the scrutinizing part of this hobby.

I think I said this once before: there is no experience like a surround sound movie setup. I still wonder how long before I can set up another separate HT system, some of those experiences were trully wonderful.

In any case, I wish you luck with the new career (I am doing the same) and can't wait for another epiphany X from you.

best regards,

Remy

amperidian February 17, 2007 15:20

Post your new images when you get the chance, I would sure like to see the changes you describe.

I LOVE that rear wall with media. That probably helps the sound with breaking things up, it looks great and serves perfectly the requirement for storage space.

albertporter January 31, 2007 04:57

Hi Ken! Hope you and the family are well! Yes, you will definately have to come over sometime soon. Perhaps, even bring along your new camera and do the equipment and room some justice? :) The new speakers are still "pending" as to arrival, and I am not certain if that is two or six weeks away. Otherwise the entire system is together. I am using a little pair of Quad 21L's at the moment. Decent sounding speakers! Give me a call one evening, and we will have to get together soon. I am up in Rhode Island this week, enjoying this heat wave!

Hi Albert! Thanks for getting me that additional Porter Port in a hurry! It arrived just in time for the electricians... that one went into the ceiling for the projector. Thanks for the compliments on the room. It is actually quite different now, or at least appearance is. I have painted the ceiling and front wall a chocolate brown, and the rear built in shelving for vinyl has chocolate drapes (that match the side drapes) with some acoustic treatment behind. Acoustic treatment really couldn't be ignored, as I am employing a pair of JL Audio f113 subwoofers for the bottom end. (review link here). The room has also had the ceiling fan removed (projector) and replaced with recessed lighting... there has been a riser added for the second row of seating as well. I will have to get some photos up soon. All in all, I think it is still looking alright...

audiofankj January 31, 2007 04:24

Damn, what a beautiful room. Wish I had noticed sooner and said something.

albertporter January 28, 2007 01:08

Kirk,
Congrats on the HT now in place! But..Your not getting off that easy!! :-)

Im gonna' have to get you back for a brief listen at some point.

Seriously, Glad to hear the career move is going well. I know this move make perfect sense for you at this time, thus I wish you blessings with it.

Those of us who are 2 channel guys, and have never heard a truly great HT set up,or HT/Music combo... can only guess at what this experience is about. Very glad your liking it.

Do give us an update when the new speak's arrive( I think we talked about what they were??)

Again, Congrats!

Ken

kehut January 27, 2007 17:55

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the advice. That is exactly what I have done. However since my last post in early September, I have had much transpire with my career. I have changed careers, and have jumped in with both feet, however I have not kept this page up to date. I will have to update it soon.

The photos on the front page are no longer as they seem. Almost all of the listed audio gear has been sold. Home theater is now in place. Projector, screen, integrated music, as well as HD DirectTV and such.

The only thing I will warn people about a dual purpose Music/HT system is the seating (with dual rows of recliners) may not be precisely optimal placement of the "sweet spot" for audio playback. This may or may not make a difference, as my new pair of main speakers are set to ship in a few weeks... once they are in place and everything is breaking in, I will most likely update this page.

As much as I was an audiophile, and remain a music lover, a well done Home Theater takes a movie from an OK experience to an intense experience you are absolutely immersed within.

Hope to have more updates soon.

audiofankj January 27, 2007 04:31

If your still interested in integrating a home theater with your two channel setup, you can accomplish it without any detriment to your two channel. Use a front projection system with the screen mounted on the wall or a pull down screen. Then purchase a quality A/V receiver, or seperate processor/amps, and run the main left and right preamp outputs to an aux (preferably a HT bypass) input on your two channel preamp. When you use your home theater, the amp in the two channel setup will drive the main left and right speakers, and your receiver/processor/amps will drive the center and surrounds. Hope this helps.

Bill

audiohound January 23, 2007 19:24

Very interesting Grant. I pulled the site up after a google search last night and read most of the site. Definately worth looking into. I like the fact there are many choices of input tubes.

However, I have never owned an OTL tube amp, so my experience with their "house sound" is nil.

As for the options - there remains the quandry - the H20 Signature Mono's drive everything I have had with them with and iron fisted grip, yet delicate with the details. I could imagine the Dodd 120's (from what I hear) will also drive the speakers great (for a tube amp...) and then we have the Moscode - the "best" of both... I am certain each of these amps, married with the "right" preamp should be close to sonic nirvana. However, much of this hobby does come down to system matching and personal preference.

It would now appear there is yet another "contender" to audition in the amp department... looks to be anything but a boring fall/winter season!

audiofankj September 04, 2006 12:52

Great looking system Kirk!

As you know, I now have the Dodd 120 amps and I will be comparing them to the BAT VK-600SE on the Salk HT3's.

I will keep you posted as the amps get some hours on them.

At some point I will bring in the Moscode and see how it sounds.

George

zybar September 04, 2006 12:40

Moscode 401HR

It'll likely grip the Salk's bass like an outstanding SS amp does, yet because of the tube input and driver stages, the Moscode has the sweetness and holographic presentation of a tube amp. In fact, I think of it as a tube amp rather than a hybrid because it's sound is like clean and transparent without glare, edge or sterility. It is very sensitive to tube rolling and swapping a couple of mini tubes (6DJ8, 12AU7, 6H30, 5814A, among others...) can make an obvious change in presentation.

I love mine in combination with the Lamm LL2 Deluxe, and the bass from my VR4 Gen IIII HSE has never sounded so deep, tight and controlled.

Anyway, it's available on a 33 1/3 day home trial. You know the rest...

tvad September 04, 2006 05:35

Hey Grant - actually we have touched base now and then, and I do think he mentioned he is hoping to audition one of the Moscode amps... as for his time frame, I am uncertain. That was the first I have heard of it. I will have to do some digging... any directions to point my shovel?

audiofankj September 04, 2006 05:10

You and Zybar must be in constant communication. You should both seriously consider auditioning the Moscode 401HR...either in stereo or 400wpc monoblock configuration.

tvad September 04, 2006 04:59

Vince - very interesting... our home is one of those "classic revival architecture" homes... I knew I wanted a type of coffered ceiling, yet this design was suggested to us as to what fit the period of the time.

J- I was unable to audition the HT3's prior to purchase. I was able to correspond with several owners whom have had speakers I have owned in the past. Their interaction with similar gear and such was quite insightful. As I became aware of "standard" retail speaker pricing (ie. a $12,000 pair of Meadowlark Blue Heron 2's cost a dealer $6,000, and Meadowlark about $3,000) I began to look for a speaker that was highly regarded without needing the 400% markup to support a dealer network! I am all for companies making a profit, don't get me wrong... but to charge an end user $12,000 for what costs roughly $3,000 is highway robbery! I am sure there are other associated costs and such, however it is difficult enough to convince the better half to spend this amount of money on gear. If I am going to spend the money, I want the highest % of the expenditure going toward the product! Thus, the search was on for a manufacturer direct product, that came with none other than stellar references. I was lucky enough to speak with people whom have directly compared them to other speakers I have owned in the past. Not to mention the Salk HT3's were most often compared to the Joseph Audio Pearls, and other speakers in the $15-22K range, yep- I was curious. Granted talk is talk, right? After the interest was gained, a few calls were made to Jim Salk. Jim is such a phenominal gentleman! All questions (hours of them) were answered patiently, and honestly. Jim went out of his way to entertain my obsessions, and I sincerely thank him for it!

Hi Alan! Congrats on those one of a kind Summits! They sound as good as they look! That is for certain. In my room I had the settings down 2.75 and down 4 or 4.25... I can't recall which was the 25 Hz and 50 Hz knob... if looking at the speaker from the rear, the knob on the left was the lower value at the -2.75 or so, and the one on the right was down more. If you go to the martinloganowners.com forum, there is a thread as to whom has theirs set at what. Be forewarned, it was essentially useless, as many varied from +4 or 6 to -4 or -6... as not only does the room play an enormous role, some people use them mainly for home theater rather than music - which I also think affects the overall settings.

Grant - Hope you are doing well! Yes, I agree on the head spinning! Now, was that the last 6 months, or the next? :)
I am looking forward to trying the Dodd gear on order... I have also spoken to Henry Ho of H20 and have to try his new Fire preamp, especially with the feedback I am hearing from people whome have tried the prototype. At least it shouldn't be a cold winter, eh?

I finally updated the system thread for the most part. Almost all power cabling is now (has been for a few months) Purist Audio Design Dominus & Anniversary AC (Esoteric only). This is somewhat permanent as power cords seem extremely synergistic with the component they are connected to. As mentioned, I have some Dodd Audio tube gear on order, and will also be trying the H20 Fire preamp. I am holding on to enough of the Electraglide Epiphany X's to compare with the Purist Audio Dominus' on the new gear.

Total hours logged on the new Salk Sound HT3's is now 481 - although about half have been at low volumes overnight.

audiofankj September 04, 2006 04:48

One's head spins thinking about the changes in store for the next six months. :)

Purdy lookin' speakers. Congratulations.

tvad September 03, 2006 22:28

As the lucky soul who bought Kirks Summits, I wish him 100% audio bliss with his beautiful HT3's. I'm now tweaking the Summit placement and bass settings in *my* difficult room, and will post my system on A'gon shortly.

Out of curiousity, anybody here have experience using Room EQ Wizard to guide speaker placement and acoustic treatments? I think that'll be my next audio foray.

sleepysurf September 03, 2006 20:46

Captain Kirk, thanks for beaming us up. Your craft is exemplary.

It fascinates me your room is nearly the same as mine superficially. I don't have the close spaced studs and all, but the dimensions are similar, 17/21/10. I have coffered ceilings that came with this old 1906 house. I am happy to see you have opted to include the same in your room. I always thought they make great ceiling diffusers. I find getting bass equalized is my biggest challenge. Frankly I am a bit nonplussed. Bass is an aroma in my preferences, while mids are the main course, and highs the spice.

muralman1 September 03, 2006 15:08

KJ, what influenced your decision to purchase the Salk HT3? Were you able to audition them in your locale?

jburidan September 03, 2006 15:00

Hi Sherod & Vince - hope you are both faring well in audio land!

I modified my system description, but there is a section that summarizes the last few months, that I thought I would copy here to the thread:

We have recently moved into a new home, in which my loving wife allowed me to dedicate the 2nd floor bonus room (16'W x 22'L x 9'H) into a listening room. We had the rear wall configured with built in bookshelves for the vinyl albums, as well as pull out drawers for cd storage. Exposed beam coffered ceiling to help break up standing waves, as well as a double stagger stud wall behind the speakers (shared wall with master bedroom). There is also info in this thread about the "rebuild" of that entire wall...

With the excitement and joy of a dedicated listening room, came the room anomalies that plagued the music reproduction. A great pair of speakers (Meadowlark Audio Blue Heron 2's) were displaced in an attempt to move to a speaker with adjustable bass (Martin Logan Summit). As the Martin Logan's were on order - I became aware that adjustable bass will help, yet not fix the problem... thus started the "wall renovation project." As luck would have it, the room response was improved, however I had been struggling with placement of the Martin Logan Summits. Once finally "dialed in" when you would listen at moderate volumes, you would over excite the room a bit... I tried (for months) to get "permission" to hang drapes behind the Summits - the same ones on the side wall... but no green light. Alas, it was a festering concern that the room wasn't treated properly for the Summits to perform optimally. If they couldn't be allowed to perform their best, the search began for their replacements, and the Summits went up for sale.

As of a couple of weeks ago, I received delivery of the Salk Sound HT3's. They are currently breaking in, and I will be working on room placement and positioning in the upcoming weeks. I am looking forward to getting the system back to a "stable" point!

I still hope to get around to changing all the ancillary equipment on my page regarding power cords and such.

audiofankj September 03, 2006 13:34

Well - I didn't get around to modifying the power cord updates, as I entered the info 3 times on the new speakers... I have having poor internet connectivity tonight and kept timing out... I will have to update more of the system thread later.

However, the new Salk Sound HT3's were inserted into the system back on August 22nd, and have been constantly singing since - going through "break in."

The photo's posted of both the speaker & system didn't turn out well at all - my better quality digital camera had dead batteries.

As of earlier in the week, I am still hearing refinements in presentaion from the speakers - mostly improved soundstaging and dynamics, as well as bass extension.

I am going to let them play for another week or two before any critical listening and posting of impressions...

audiofankj September 03, 2006 04:38

Kirk, you just have to hear my set-up, and you will feel herbal as well...... :D

Oh yeah, I just soldered in Theta bridge caps, and, well... Irish Spring is on the shopping list.

muralman1 September 03, 2006 03:08