HHR's Walsh-type-driver full-range speaker systems

[jeffreybehr]

This weekend I traveled to Cleveland to meet Dale Harder, owner/operater of HHR Exotic Speakers.. Dale has three redesigns of the Walsh-type drivers that he builds into systems.. Two are full-sized single-driver systems called the TLS-1 (with 12" driver) and TLS-2 (with 18" driver).. Here's a link with more info.

HHR Exotic Speakers

HHR Exotic Speakers, providing audio enthusiasts with the finest loudspeakers ever developed. Serving the Greater Cleveland area and nation wide!

www.hhr-exoticspeakers.com

I listened to the '1' Friday evening in Dale's home and the '2' Saturday.. Frankly, the 1 didn't much impress me--too 'boring'--but the 2 astonished me.. It was truely full-range with excellent extension and definition in the bottom octave on up, was excellently detailed including spaciousness, beautiful-sounding midrange, and was full-bodied but never thick.. Its musical coherence and excellence caused goosebumps many times, and after about a half-hour, I was so pleased that I handed him a deposit check for the pair I was listening to.. In the pics below, the speakers with the black-bottomed cone are TLS-1s.






They'll take a few weeks to arrive.. Dale was driving them with Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes (200 Watts from 4 pairs of KT-88s per chassis).. I plan to start with my 60-Watts-into-8 Allnic A-6000 SETs because they're already in place, with the 140-Watts-per-chassis-into-4-or-8 Atma-Spheres following, and if they're not enough, PS Audio's about-900-Watts-into-6-per-chassis M1200s are next.

More later.

 

[gleeds]

Jeffrey, thanks for bringing this to our attention. It's great to learn about ambitious, little known projects like this! Dales speaker brings me back to my days visiting Tech HiFi in NJ and first hearing the Ohm F's all those years ago.

We will be powering the big GT Audio Works ribbons planers at the upcoming Capital Audio Fest, another little known panel speaker that can challenge the big boys at a great value.

Home

Home

gtaudioworks.com

 

[jeffreybehr]

FWIW, I've decided not to even start my home-stand with the 60-Watt Allnics and will be starting with my 140-Watts-per-chassis Atma-Sphere MA-1s.. I've improved these with Myflex copper-foil coupling and front-end-bypass caps; brand-new, modern output-stage PS caps and Teflon-Film-and-tin-foil bypass caps; better-sorted frontend* and output tubes; and Cardas rhodium-over-silver-over-copper binding posts.. Have already bypassed (with Myflex-copper) the frontend-supply output cap, but sill soon be replacing that inexpensive 'lytic with a WIMA 'propylene-film cap.

My system with the Super-7s sounds better than it ever has, and by December 09, it'll sound still better with the HHR TLS-2s.

* I use Tung-Sol 'N7 roundplates in the paralleled-sections 1st-Voltage-gain stage, Brimar CV1988 curvedplates in the cascode-top and the CCR stages, and a Brimar folded-box in the cathode follower.

 

[jeffreybehr]

And they arrived Tuesday the 13th, in 99%-excellent condition.. Got them unpacked, assembled (which was simply sliding the driver assembly onto 4 studs and tightening 4 thumbscrews), and installed.. Started with the A-S MA-1 amps and, just to satisfy my curiosity, also tried one 60Watt Allnic and one 30Watt Viva Aurora, both of which had enough power and sounded plenty OK.. Then for burning-in, installed the PS Audio M1200s, and they're running 24/7 and still there.. The speakers now have about 45 hours on them and sound quite good.. My system, with its wide screen centered, has the speakers spread a bit far apart, so it's always a project to reduce the hole in the middle, but they're doing at least a good job of that.. Am using Neotec NES-3001 multiconductor speakercable but have ordered some custom-wound cable which will include 4 Mundorf silver/gold-in-Teflon (hereafter MSG18) and a core of 2 MSG 24s per pole, producing an about-11-3/4g.-per-pole cable, all wound in a noise-reducing design. Will use Cardas solid-silver spades.

Lest the above sounds like damning with faint praise, I'm quite happy with these rather different-sounding speakers.. I really like the sounds so far, and they'll sound better as I tweak a little.

I've also decided to keep only the A-S MA-1s and Allnic A-6000s; all 3 pairs of 30Watt SETs will be sold.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Have moved the TLS-2s about a foot closer to me and a foot closer together; the center of the soundstage has solidified, to the extent that I no longer use the center channel for multichannel music.

Also am using only the 60Watts-max. Alnic A-6000s, and this system continues to sound better and better.

When listening to music (as opposed to a movie), I pull and chain the bottom of the screen toward the front wall; this also helps clarify and solidify the center of the soundstage.

This view allows you to see two of my trio of trios of outlets (within the stainless-steel plates) fed by three dedicated power feeds.. The right-hand duplex outlet of each trio is carrying 240VAC which powers the 230VAC (British-standard) Allnics; that big, black PC between the near amp and the outlets is one of the two AQ Dragon (large-gage) powercords.. Notice the RH outlet of the center trio has black tape covering its connectors to insure that I don't absent-mindedly plug a 120VAC device into it.. The custom-made speakercable mentioned prevously is still just a plan on paper, since Sonic Craft is closed for the holidays.

The sonic characteristics I continue to hear and love are great depth of orchestral sound; unsurpassed resolution including that of spatial information; no spotlighting of individual instruments or groups of instruments; and an extremely musical, coherent, and FULL-range presentation of the orchestra.. I'm VERY happy.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH Dale Harder of HHR Exotic Speakers!

 

[jeffreybehr]

While in the car last nite, I heard some of a Brahms cello-and-piano sonata; it reminded me of a Channel Classics SACD with Wispelwey and Lazic that I heard quite frequently in years past.. Played it when I got home and was very pleased.. Neither instrument is recorded closely, so there's virtually no 'bite' in the peaks, and the cello does NOT sound too big or too warmly balanced.. Interestingly, it does sound larger when played in its lowest registers, which makes some sense to me, since the bottom string (for instance) excites a larger portion of the body of the cello.. In any event, the sound was quite attractive and enjoyable.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Not much news with my front-2-channels system with the TLS-2s except that I'll soon be sending my Allnic A-6000s to Sonic Craft for rebuilding, since another tube's bias circuitry flamed to death.. Meanwhile the Atma-Sphere MA-1s are back in and sounding excellent.. Also the Atma-Sphere Class Ds should be here around the end of this month, so I'll soon have some impressions to share.

I've ordered a pair of TLS-5s...

HHR Exotic Speakers - TLS-5 Tower

HHR Exotic Speakers, providing audio enthusiasts with the finest loudspeakers ever developed

www.hhr-exoticspeakers.com

...for surround use; they too might be here by the end of the month.. My room requires placing surround speakers in sort-oF-weird positions, and I expect the Walsh-system multidirectionality will reduce my ability to localize their positions.. Will be driving them with the same maybe-80-or-so-max.-Watts-per-channel stereo modules of my Emotiva jillion-channel poweramp.

After the '5s are burned-in, I'll try one in the centerchannel.. If it sounds excellent there, I'll order a custom-made '5 that's only 32" tall for CC use.. More later on both of these.

 

[jeffreybehr]

Another best-ever listening experience

I've been thrilled with the combination of the HHR TLS-2 main speakers and my somewhat-improved 140-Watts-per-chassis Atma-Sphere MA-1s and also the 60-Watts-per-chassis PSET Allnic A-6000s when they're running (which is not 'always')*.. The major differences between now and the last few weeks is a change in my discplayer.. I've been using an Oppo '203, but now have (again) an Oppo UDP-205.. Both players are absolutely stock but for feet... under each I use(d) the same quad of Herbies Tall Tenderfoots.. Also the same between the two players is the player setup including my choice of DSD output to the pre/pro, its powercord (a Neotec/Furutech), and its HDMI cable, an AudioQuest Coffee; I use the player's audio-only HDMI output into my Marantz '8805 pre/pro.. I've been listening to this system (with '203) for weeks.

So...with the '205, I heard a little more resolution of the music and space, a little more coherence...alltogetherness...and smoother-sounding violins.. All these changes are subtle but audible with all-four pieces of music I listened to, all my favorite pieces of music and recordings, and if you ask, I'll post the details.

Lucky me...twice in a few months.. Coming soon are custom-made speakercable** for the main speakers and a pair of smaller HHR TLS-5s (for the surrounds), and soon I'll be evaluating equipment footers for the DP and both poweramps.. I've been using Herbies Tall Tenderfoots for several years but also have enough IsoACOUSTICS Orea isolation feet for the DP and poweramps.. I'm also about to order some isolation plates/discs/whatevers made of something called AcouPlex made by an English outfit and reviewed here...

Casting a spell… - Gy8

AcouPlex – deceptively simple but wonderfully effective!

gy8.eu

* Frankly, I've not yet noticed a sonic difference between the Atma-Spheres and the Allnics.. Said another way, I love the sounds of both pairs of amps, while I HATE the unreliability of the Allnics.. That unreliability is why the Allnics will soon be in the hands of Sonic Craft's Jeffrey Glowacki for upgrading.

** Each channel's cable will use only Mundorf Silver/Gold conductors, specifically four 18g. and two 24g. per pole in a noise-reducing twisted quad for a net gage per pole of about 11-3/4.

 

[jeffreybehr]

After weeks of enjoying the very warm, rich frequency balance that my room produces with these TLS-2s (and no subwoofers), I engaged the pre/pro's hi-pass-filter for the main system (60Hz) and reconnected the Rythmik SWs. With the main system's HP filtering, the occasional 'thickness' with some recordings IN MY ROOM has disappeared.. The lower levels in the bass octaves is nicely made up by the SWs' output, but this now occurs only with '.1' signals; I'll soon reconnect the SWs to the main-front outputs using a pair of otherwise-unused outputs that I'll assign to duplicate front-main channels.

PROGRESS!

 

[jeffreybehr]

Have received the pair of TLS-5s, in perfect condition.. I plan to use these as Surround speakers, but they're in front burning-in.

The '5 is a 2-way system, but the bass driver operates as a Walsh-type driver and not simply as a woofer...not that I understand that.

The jillion-jack pre/pro on the lowboy is a new Marantz AV10 keeping the musicroom warm.