HTD Level 3 Tower and Level 2 Bookshelf Speakers Video Review

[psbfan9]

I wonder how the Level Three book shelf speakers would compare to another 'horn' speaker like the Chase Pro-10 or SHO-10 speakers?

Hm. What about a 'horn' blow out, er, shoot out? That may be interesting.

 

[sukihock]

Just took delivery of my Level Three Towers on 2/4/13. They were double-boxed with foam inserts. They are beautifully finished in real wood dark cherry veneer. They are a very balanced sounding speaker from top to bottom. I agree with the reviewer's characterization of the bass being tactile. I would add that this is accomplished with extremely low unwanted perceived cabinet resonance. I say "perceived" since this is my conclusion based on what I'm hearing as opposed to any measuring equipment results. The dome mid-range and horn type Kapton Ribbon tweeter throw a very large image. Due to the wide dispersion I get excellent results in my room without any toe-in and still maintain a solid center image - of course, recording dependent. These are being driven by a Yamaha A-S500 at 85 wpc which seems to provide great control of the woofers since it's rated to have a pretty high damping factor. My pride of ownership is quite high with these as they not only look good but they are very well constructed. I'm now 48 years old and have been through my share of speakers and I wouldn't even think of returning these. They have renewed my love for simple 2-channel music listening. In my experience, if a speaker performs this well with complex music, they typically serve home theater applications as well. After all, the name of the company is Home Theater Direct. I'm just happy that they didn't forget about the music lovers out here when designing this gem. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

 

[sukihock]

It amazes how these things are so inexpensive, i bet they are manufacture in asia or in china. For what is worth , they actually look pretty decent, and i wonder how these are going to stand against speaker in thee 2000 range

I've had lots of speakers, one pair that cost me $5k used. I can't think of the brand at the moment but it was a Danish company. Anyway, IMHO the Level Three Towers that I took delivery of recently sound on par and in many respects better than them. They don't overemphasize any part of the audio spectrum, unless it's in the recording. They are very balanced in that regard. Also, the bass is not just deep, when present, but also very tuneful. The dome midrange and Kapton ribbon tweeter are very well mated and generate very wide dispersion. Additionally, HTD didn't forget the all important mid-bass. As far as being built in China, in this case, they are very well built with great attention to detail. Very few plastic parts to be found anywhere. Lastly, the customer service is better than anything I've personally experienced with an internet direct outfit, or any outfit for that matter. They really do care about earning and keeping you part of the HTD family of products. I for one will exclusively shop from HTD for all my future audio needs.

 

[GFOViedo]

My current set up is:

Front
L/R Polk Audio Monitor 70's

Center
Klipsch Synergy C1 (my kids put holes in my center channel, and I had the Klipsch sitting around)

Surround:
Jamo S426 towers

Surround back:
Pioneer BS21

Sub:
Klipsch RW-12D

I am thinking that in the future I will be replacing my front 3 with HTD's level 3's. So, I was thinking of changing my current center channel with a HTD LEVEL 3 center or should I play it safe and go stay with Polk Audio center?

 

[panteragstk]

It's always preferable to have the front three be the same or at least as similar as possible. The level 3 center will be a pretty big step above your polk speakers so if you can, get the level three bookshelf or towers for the front as well. I've heard both first hand and was pretty impressed with how good they are for the money.

 

[ousooner2]

Well if you're already looking for an upgrade to your Polk's then there is no reason to buy another Polk....just to sell it shortly down the road. I wouldn't base my opinions on how mains will sound from a center channel either. Sure you could gather a little (if competently designed), but it's just not the same. My personal advice would be to wait until you can pick up the Lvl 3's and get them. Sell the other stuff to help make the purchase come sooner!

 

[ahblaza]

My current set up is:

Front
L/R Polk Audio Monitor 70's

Center
Klipsch Synergy C1 (my kids put holes in my center channel, and I had the Klipsch sitting around)

Surround:
Jamo S426 towers

Surround back:
Pioneer BS21

Sub:
Klipsch RW-12D

I am thinking that in the future I will be replacing my front 3 with HTD's level 3's. So, I was thinking of changing my current center channel with a HTD LEVEL 3 center or should I play it safe and go stay with Polk Audio center?

Depends how soon you plan on getting the HTD 3's mains, I would go for the 3 center now regardless how long you wait to get the mains, I don't think the Klipsch matches very well with the polks and spending more on a polk center is throwing good money at bad, just my opinion. the 3 center will give you a good look (hear) into the HTD sound which may encourage you to move up the purchase date on the 3 mains.

 

[panteragstk]

Well if you're already looking for an upgrade to your Polk's then there is no reason to buy another Polk....just to sell it shortly down the road. I wouldn't base my opinions on how mains will sound from a center channel either. Sure you could gather a little (if competently designed), but it's just not the same. My personal advice would be to wait until you can pick up the Lvl 3's and get them. Sell the other stuff to help make the purchase come sooner!

True. The center will really only give you an impression of how the tweeter in the mains is. The bass response won't be near the same.

 

[ahblaza]

True. The center will really only give you an impression of how the tweeter in the mains is. The bass response won't be near the same.

Maybe not, but I will take an impression anytime over nothing at all, if the tweeter and HF's are good I'll bet money the bass will be there.

 

[GFOViedo]

Thank you guys for all your input. At the moment everything go put on hold. I don't even think we are going to be able to buy a house in November as we planed. My work vehicle was totaled by a 20 year old who most likely was messing around on her cell phone while driving in the highway. So, she pretty much totaled my car and her daddy's SUV.

So, now I am searching of a replacement vehicle, which is going to set me back for a while. I just recently had to replace the transmission on my wife's vehicle, and now this. Not a very good year for us so far, but we are hoping for the best. Again thanks.

 

[ousooner2]

Well that should be covered I'd assume. If that girl doesn't have insurance then you've got a lawsuit on your hands. Sorry to hear that, but I'm sure all will fall into place as it wasn't your fault.

 

[GFOViedo]

Well that should be covered I'd assume. If that girl doesn't have insurance then you've got a lawsuit on your hands. Sorry to hear that, but I'm sure all will fall into place as it wasn't your fault.

It was her dad's vehicle, and he is a business owner. So, insurance isn't a problem. I was just surprised that their insurance didn't know about the accident until my insurance agent contacted them yesterday. I apologize for going OFF TOPIC.

 

[sukihock]

I am thinking that in the future I will be replacing my front 3 with HTD's level 3's. So, I was thinking of changing my current center channel with a HTD LEVEL 3 center or should I play it safe and go stay with Polk Audio center?

If you want to get a flavor for HTD Level 3 you can get the bookshelves and center up front. If you decide you like the HTD Level Three sound and want the towers you can always return the bookshelves within 30-days on HTD's dime. Alternatively, as already recommended, you can just get the center. That will give you an overall sense of what the speaker is capable of in areas of clarity, dispersion and dynamics.

Sorry to hear about the wreck. Glad all are safe.

 

[ratm]

If you want to get a flavor for HTD Level 3 you can get the bookshelves and center up front. If you decide you like the HTD Level Three sound and want the towers you can always return the bookshelves within 30-days on HTD's dime. Alternatively, as already recommended, you can just get the center. That will give you an overall sense of what the speaker is capable of in areas of clarity, dispersion and dynamics.

Sorry to hear about the wreck. Glad all are safe.

This is exactly what I had. Until I bought the Towers. I LOVED the bookshelf speakers, until one, when the wife and kids werent home, day I popped in The Dark Knight rises to play a reference. I really did this to see what my Empire could do. Running an XPA3 to them started to clip the bookshelfs at about -8 to -10 on my AVR. So I bought the Towers and have played at Reference level more than a few times now. ZERO strain on them. (and the Empire shook the whole house, it was awesome).

 

[ahblaza]

If you want to get a flavor for HTD Level 3 you can get the bookshelves and center up front. If you decide you like the HTD Level Three sound and want the towers you can always return the bookshelves within 30-days on HTD's dime. Alternatively, as already recommended, you can just get the center. That will give you an overall sense of what the speaker is capable of in areas of clarity, dispersion and dynamics.

Sorry to hear about the wreck. Glad all are safe.

Suk, thanks for the heads up on the return policy, you mean they pay return shipping as well?

 

[Ricardojoa]

I think these speakers may be great and compare favorably with some 2000 speakers like alk ST,asend sierra etc.
One thing that makes these speaker very afordable is that they are likely made in china. Nothing wrong to this, as china has been making speakers for a very long time, since many foreing speaker company have moved there to manufacture their speakers. The american speakers i mentioned could be built there as well and sell very cheap, but the owner/desinger choose a different route. So at the end, it depends what you value. For me, is all american, i try to avoid china make things, as i beleive we should support our country intead of making other rich. But it is economic trade, china stuff speaker cheaper, benifits from teh buyer.

 

[sukihock]

Suk, thanks for the heads up on the return policy, you mean they pay return shipping as well?

This is from their site....If this is your first purchase with HTD and you are not 100% thrilled with our speakers, call us and we'll even send you prepaid UPS shipping labels to return the speakers to us (excludes shipments to/from Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and APOs and is limited to two pair of bookshelf or in-wall speakers, one center channel speaker, and one powered subwoofer -we will not pay the return freight for Tower Speakers).

That's why I suggested either going with center and/or bookshelves initially since free return is not being offered for towers weighing in at 55 lbs a piece. Their shipping to you is fair. I paid only $45 for UPS ground delivered from TX to NY. That's their flat rate for purchases of $700 or more. The scale slides down to $7 for purchases up to $99.

 

[sukihock]

So at the end, it depends what you value. For me, is all american, i try to avoid china make things, as i beleive we should support our country intead of making other rich. But it is economic trade, china stuff speaker cheaper, benifits from teh buyer.

I certainly can understand your reservations. My past equipment purchases have been hand-made manufactured stuff here in the great US of A. Unfortunately I don't possess that level of disposable income currently. I can't think of the company (TV manufacturer) but they actually moved manufacturing back to the US. They realized that it was costing them just as much getting all that product shipped from China. Maybe other companies will follow.

 

[ahblaza]

That makes since and thank you. I don't understand how they can ship so inexpensively, a pair of double boxed Level 3 monitors weighs 51 lbs. ships for $15, and like you said a pair of 3 towers @ 120 lbs. for $45.

 

[sukihock]

I don't understand how they can ship so inexpensively, a pair of double boxed Level 3 monitors weighs 51 lbs. ships for $15, and like you said a pair of 3 towers @ 120 lbs. for $45.

I was on the fence between the Level Three Towers and Arx 5 Towers, which I began research on in the eleventh hour. I actually had the Arx 5's in the shopping cart until I saw the shipping charge of $116 to NY. That's what it came down to for me. Now that I have the Level Three Towers I'm very satisfied musically. Yeah, no idea how they pull it off. I've been looking for some short-cut that they must have made in quality. Can't find it. As you already know these are some solidly built speakers.