Velodyne CHT Front Row Speakers

I bought the same setup last month and have them matched with the Acoustech H-100 sub crossed over at 120Hz. I really do like these speakers, great sound quality and very well built. I'm thinking of buying another pair to complete the 7.1. The only problem is that I don't have a 7.1 receiver but plan to upgrade soon.

I also asked the same question on this board and this is the response that I received from bsheldon, " I do have the CHT's and am using them with the mighty SVS PB12+/2. Again, I know the speakers and the sub are not necessarily on the same level. I originally bought the CHT's mainly as a temporary fill-in and it was real hard to pass them up for only $199, i added another pair to complete the 7.1 config. I bought them to use for my downstairs system. They are small and will fit in that smaller room. However, These babies really do a fine job filling my 4600 cubic foot room and are definatley not left behind by the mighty SVS. They really have a nice sound to them. I have no problems nor worries running them near reference levels for movies. I cross them at 100hz. I tested them in stereo using a real bass heavy cd to see just how loud those little babies can go. Rather impressive for such a tiny box. They are very well built--very heavy little boxes. Don't get me wrong, these do not put out the shear volume/room filling/ deafening sound as a large pair of florrstanders, but do an amazing job for what they are. The biggest thing I noticed when I swtiched to these was sound quality. Everything was much clear, MUCH better imaging and even better soundstage--as the music seems to come from the entire front of the room. My old system had dual 5 1/4's in the main, and these outperform them in everyway except if you consider ultimate output of muddy, bloated and boomy mid bass as a win for my old speakers. I power mine by the Denon AVR 3805 (120W x 7) and they handle the power just fine. They are much more efficient than my old speakers as well, allowing me to not use as much of power on tap to get similar output levels."

After reading your response (TransAm) to my HTIB question I too am looking to buy the Velodynes. These will be my first real speakers bought. Everything else I've used is from a HTIB setup. I take it Velodyne is a good "brand name" speaker? I don't know anything about speakers.

I am looking to put these speakers inside of my walls on a shelf and covering the holes in my wall with some kind of speaker cover that can be screwed into the drywall to hide them. Will this be a problem with overtemp conditions? I do have "in-wall" speaker wire.

Just ordered my Velodynes, all I got was a confirmation number, do they send an email saying they've been shipped?

Realized I can't put them in the walls, the speakers are 6 1/2" deep and won't fit inside the wall. So I'll be going with speaker stands.

What is the rule of thumb for rear speaker placement as far as height goes? I think I read somewhere it was 3 ft above your head from where you sit. My front speakers will be on the floor or on/around my entertainment center.

I received my Velodyne CHT speakers yesterday...they look great! I also got 2 extras, for a 7.1 set-up. At $199 + $69 with free shipping, that can't be beat!

As for placement, it's impossible to place speakers on a stand 3 feet above your ear level when seated. So I asked in another thread whether it would be better to place them on floor stands at your seated ear level, or mounted on a wall 3 feet higher. Virtually everyone said floor stands, so that's what I'm doing. Floor stands also give the flexibility of moving speakers around a little bit as needed.

Augustahorn: Which color did you order? I noticed they come in gray or white but they only have the additional speakers listed in white to make a 7.1 setup. This would be OK with me except that I do not like the fact that they kept the center channel gray in this otherwise all white system. Of course the logic is that it will be on top of a gray TV set so they did not want a white center channel sticking out like a sore thumb on top of your set. Unfortunately this does not apply to those of using these in a front projections setup.

I wonder if they offer the additional pair of speakers in gray?

I cancelled my order for the Micras 6 and ordered a set of these yesterday. Still waiting on a shipping e-mail.

Anyone else have experiance with these to share?

Can any of you guys post some pics of the speakers close-up?
Very interested as to what the construction and color look like close up.
Thanx.

Mine should be here in about a week. I was hoping to put these inside of the wall with a cover over to hide them but the specs show they are 6 1/2" deep (wouldn't fit in the walls even if you have 6" walls) so I too will be going with floor stands. When someone gets theirs please post how they sound.

Actually, I like the white and think they would look great hanging on a white wall.

I've had my CHT's for about almost 2 weeks now. I still have to get proper speaker stands, but so far they sound great with my Pioneer 816 and Mirage S8 sub. I have been using Pioneer's auto calibration featuer with the microphone, but I think I'm going to get an SPL meter and either the Avia or Video Essentials DVD to properly set up my system. Nobody should hesitate to buy these little Velodyne speakers, as they sound SO much better than any HTiB I've ever heard.

Where did you set the crossover on for these?

The freq response on these are 90 Hz to 22 kHz, does that mean you want to set the crossover as close to the 90 as possible (or a little above)? The crossover is the point at which the receiver sends sound to the sub???? So if you set it to 100 Hz then all sound below that would go to the sub? Please correct me if I'm wrong here...If you set it to 80 Hz then with these speakers you would "miss" the 80 to 90 Hz range (not that you could probably tell).

I'm new at this so I'm trying to understand it. Thanks for the input.

Set the crossover at 100hz

Thanks afrogt! Is my rationale correct on the reasoning?

What does that mean "set the crossover"?

And can someone pleeease post some pics??
I cannot seem to find a close-up picture of these speakers anywhere (or a review for that matter)

You want to set the crossover on your receiver to a point above the low frequency end on your speaker. The 100hz is not a hard ceiling, frequencies a little below that will still get to your Velodynes. I think in the one Velo review I saw, it said there is a built in cut off point at 90hz. This is to protect the speaker. You should experiment with different X-over settings and see where it sounds best to you. When I set my Athena B2's with my Onkyo receiver I experimented with the crossover at 60, 80 and 100hz and decided 80 sounded best to me.

Kwitel, you set the crossover point on your receiver where you want subwoofer to handle low frequencies. On small speakers you set it higher like 100hz or 120hz and on larger bookshelf speakers you set it to 80hz or maybe even 60hz. Setting the crossover too low can make the speaker sound muddy. Most people use 80hz, that is supposedly the point where you can't localize low frequencies (you can't tell directly where its coming from). Using a sub also takes a load off the receiver making it easier to drive the other speakers cleanly w/o distortion.

Can someone please post some pics of the Velodynes in dark grey/black so that kwitel can finally make a speaker purchase?

I have a hard time believing this is a big deal because he's been looking at Advents that are flat black with silver fronts, Athena Point 5's that are glossy black with silver fronts and Velodynes that are dark grey. What color is your furniture that dark grey wouldn't match anything where black w/silver would?

Kwitel,

I was reading some of your responses in other threads. Do you have long term plans to ever get a sub? I noticed you want to run whatever speakers you get w/o a sub.

I don't know if any of these speakers with 4" drivers will be that impressive w/o a sub.

Several people that I have talked to cross them at 100Hz but Curt at Velodyne indicated that the crossover is 120Hz. Mine are crossed at 120Hz and they sound fantastic.

Someones been doing their homework on me!
I really could care less about the color, im more interested in the build quality.
People keep telling me that they are solidly made, but no matter how many times I hear that I still need to see them for myself.
I think that im having a hard time pulling the trigger on any of these speakers since I have yet to hear them or see them for myself and I usually dont like making purchases based on other peoples recommendations.
However, the Athenas and Velos are highly regarded speakers so now im just trying to decide between the two and maybe the Advent Heritage line as well.

If I could audition any ofthem somwhere in New York City id be able to pull the trigger on the spot.

AFROGT-if you (or anyone else) could help make my decision a little easier for me (post pics, send links for reviews, etc.) that would make the whole process a heck of a lot easier for me.

BTW, what is the model number for the Velos as a pair? (I know the whole system is the chtfrsgv)

http://www.velodyne.com/velodyne/pro...V&sid=655m329q

This is the web address for the speakers on Velodyne's web site. It says the $199 is the "special of the month", so they may not be available come Sept.

The speakers are CT-14's and the center is CT-24.

Not sure if this is what you wanted...

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...rs-8-2000.html

Here is another picture and a review from August of 2000.

There is only 1 review of these speakers and that is by Home Theater Secretes. I would have to do some research to find it but let's put it this way: I had Athena B2 FL/R and C1 Centers and I sold them as soon as I heard the Veodynes. I thought the Athena's were really good but the Velodynes are much better. Better build quality and clear, concise dialogue. Glad I made the change!

Could be the receiver because I do not have to turn my HK up very far. Good to know about music because I have yet to listne to music, 100% HT.

The receiver does make a difference. I have Athena in my bedroom and living room. One is hooked up to an HK 325 50watts x 7 and the other the Onkyo 573 75 watts per channel. (which is the same as the 110 watts at 6ohms the similar HTR 790 receiver claims).

My HK blows away the Onkyo. Not even close how much louder you can turn up HK w/o distorting. But the Onkyo is great for everyday TV and the occasional DVD which is what I bought it for. I use my HK for music daily plus TV and DVD.