out with the old in with the "New"

[j_garcia]

I was using my black pair of A/V-2s for surrounds (the ones that got stolen). They are rather large for surrounds also at about 17" tall and 38lbs, which is why I didn't use them in the current setup - too tall.

 

[Alex2507]

I have no doubt that I would be dang happy with 5 channels of them.

Had to laugh at that.

I guess they got pic's of shiny ST's all over but these are mine and I think Rob has the wood bug worse than most so I figured that pic is worth ... blah, blah, blah.

 

[sawzalot]

How about Wharfdale Opus 2. Anyone ever get to demo these, there is a pair close to me for about a grand , they have a nice piano gloss finish in
black

 

[sawzalot]

I also took a look at energy Veritas V2.4i , any thoughts regarding these as well as the ones above, thanks sawz.

 

[sawzalot]

Well after scouring e bay and a gon last night the two above were all that sparked any interest from me and I know nothing about the brands except for multitudes of reviews I have read. That being said I am going to probably just buy new , whatever it may be I deserve that much although the used market has a lot to offer, I will say this , without adding pics , my HT room is empty, a clean slate if you will. It looks funny without towers and a center channel, I might as well throw the 32" wega back up there and live retro style.

 

[sawzalot]

maybe a shopping spree through the aisles of Salk are in order lol, Thanks Alex , but they sure are pretty looking towers you have there , small drool.

 

[Alex2507]

maybe a shopping spree through the aisles of Salk are in order lol, Thanks Alex , but they sure are pretty looking towers you have there , small drool.

Here's a pair just like mine but with a different finish. I'm not sure if the center is front or rear ported but you probably have room anyway. Kinda steep too ... but anyway, they're out there. On the same main page the Phil Slims are floating around for about 3K.

SongTower RT and SongCenter RT in bamboo

 

[Swerd]

Here's a pair just like mine but with a different finish. I'm not sure if the center is front or rear ported but you probably have room anyway. Kinda steep too ... but anyway, they're out there. On the same main page the Phil Slims are floating around for about 3K.

SongTower RT and SongCenter RT in bamboo

A head's up warning may be needed for those particular used speakers. Not so much for the speakers, but for the seller.

He bought those speakers used, and is now trying to sell them at a rather high price. I don't know if there is anything wrong with that pair, or not.

The seller went out of his way to make extremely critical and unreasonable posts about those speakers (he complained about their finish) and he went on to make a number of unreasonable attacks on Jim Salk himself on the Salk audiocircles and AVS threads. I never did understand what his problem was, and many of his posts were removed. But I came away with the impression that I wouldn't trust him.

As a result, I'd be very cautious about buying anything from him. He may or may not be honest, I don't know. But I'd be very reluctant to do business with him in any way.

 

[sawzalot]

A head's up warning ,He bought those speakers used, and is now trying to sell them at a rather high price. I don't know if there is anything wrong with that pair, or not.
The seller went out of his way to make extremely critical and unreasonable posts about those speaker , I'd be very reluctant to do business with him in any way.

Enough said, I saw those and figured they were the ones you mentioned before. I will steer clear, Thanks.

 

[slipperybidness]

Kind of funny. High end Salks for sale, but then when you look at the pics, he is pushing them with an ST-70 (tube amp) clone.

Salk Signature Sound Loudspeakers HT2-TL Full Range Speakers | Full range | Wheeling, Illinois 60090 | AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community

All that $ for nice accurate speakers, then kill it with the tube amp (says the person that built an ST-70).


Edit: now that I look closer, it looks like an amp on each side. But, those certainly look like 2 channel amps to me (without digging into the google to try to ID them). Perhaps he has each bridged.

 

[Adam]

Beautiful speakers, and a cool-looking amp, IMO. I lived in Wheeling one summer in college. Nice place.

 

[Swerd]

Kind of funny. High end Salks for sale, but then when you look at the pics, he is pushing them with an ST-70 (tube amp) clone.

Salk Signature Sound Loudspeakers HT2-TL Full Range Speakers | Full range | Wheeling, Illinois 60090 | AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community

All that $ for nice accurate speakers, then kill it with the tube amp (says the person that built an ST-70).

Edit: now that I look closer, it looks like an amp on each side. But, those certainly look like 2 channel amps to me (without digging into the google to try to ID them). Perhaps he has each bridged.

Those amps look very much like the AVA Ultravalve.

They share the general layout of the ST-70, but have different circuits. If you've built one of those, you might get something out of the long write up that I linked.

I've heard them and thought they were good in the sense that they did nothing objectionable, and they don't seem to have that toob amp sound. They could easily power SongTowers or HT2-TLs.

They're priced a bit rich for me. For the same price of $2000, you can have one of those, or a 225 wpc solid state amp, an AVA Synergy 450, that can drive just about any pair of speakers.

 

[j_garcia]

Kind of funny. High end Salks for sale, but then when you look at the pics, he is pushing them with an ST-70 (tube amp) clone.

Salk Signature Sound Loudspeakers HT2-TL Full Range Speakers | Full range | Wheeling, Illinois 60090 | AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community

All that $ for nice accurate speakers, then kill it with the tube amp (says the person that built an ST-70).


Edit: now that I look closer, it looks like an amp on each side. But, those certainly look like 2 channel amps to me (without digging into the google to try to ID them). Perhaps he has each bridged.

Danny at GR recommends tube amps to pair up with all of his speakers

 

[slipperybidness]

Those amps look very much like the AVA Ultravalve.

They share the general layout of the ST-70, but have different circuits. If you've built one of those, you might get something out of the long write up that I linked.

I've heard them and thought they were good in the sense that they did nothing objectionable, and they don't seem to have that toob amp sound. They could easily power SongTowers or HT2-TLs.

They're priced a bit rich for me. For the same price of $2000, you can have one of those, or a 225 wpc solid state amp, an AVA Synergy 450, that can drive just about any pair of speakers.

Thanks, I figured someone would know what they are.

Yeah, they actually look more like Bob Latino's new ST-70 clones. There are a few other improvements over those models too, but I think the BL model looks very comparable.

You can build it for about 1/2 the price of the completed model. Not really a surprise.

And I suspect that both amps are pretty good for a tube design.

 

[jcl]

Swerd you have a good eye. That seller is selling the amp too. Audio by Van Alstine Ultravalve Tube Amplifier | Tube | Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089 | AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community

 

[sawzalot]

I have made a decision and it should work out just fine , I am getting the Danny Ritchie/carnegie CST-1 towers and matching center, at half price it is a no brainer I get to upgrade and still save money , so I guess I am really taking baby steps but these should stick around for a while. when I get em I will post pics.

 

[sawzalot]

Towers and center ship out tomorrow should be here by Friday or Monday , so now I must ask any other owners that have applied the missing peel and stick, what brand and or type of low res did you use and could I get a link to the product. I know I could get peel and stick at the big box stores but surely there is the real m'coy floating around the internet, right ? Thanks folks for any insight. sawz.

 

[sawzalot]

Update to new set up...
I received my first package yesterday, three sheets of no rez packaged up at GR Research, want pics lol , I know this is the beginning of a nice set up that should stick around and to be honest not even come close to my projected allowance for new gear. I hope the speakers show up today so I can get back into the groove so to speak. I want to thank the folks that suggested Danny Ritchie at GR Research, he is a really nice person to talk with and definitely knows a thing or two about speakers and such. I should have pics of the newest set up real soon, I hear a truck....

 

[Swerd]

I want to thank the folks that suggested Danny Ritchie at GR Research…

Congrats on the new speakers, I hope you like them .

For what its worth, the two 5½" woofers in your Carnegie towers are essentially the same as the M130 woofer sold by GR Research, that are in the MB27 bookshelf speakers I built for Alex. I think they are very smooth sounding.

MurphyBlaster Productions

M130 Woofer

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Update to new set up...
I received my first package yesterday, three sheets of no rez packaged up at GR Research, want pics lol , I know this is the beginning of a nice set up that should stick around and to be honest not even come close to my projected allowance for new gear. I hope the speakers show up today so I can get back into the groove so to speak. I want to thank the folks that suggested Danny Ritchie at GR Research, he is a really nice person to talk with and definitely knows a thing or two about speakers and such. I should have pics of the newest set up real soon, I hear a truck....

Rick rented a delivery truck and is currently just driving around your neighbourhood to mess with you...