Home Theater Direct (HTD) Owner's Thread

has anyone tried htd's inceiling/onwall speakers yet?

I have just ordered a 7 speakers HTD Level 3 setup, which i will pair with a AV123 MFW15 Sub. I am abit surprised that i could find no reviews - professional or otherwise - that looked at the latest revision of the level 3's with the Kapton ribbon tweeter.

A brief conversation with the sales guy at HTD indicated that they dont buy alot of advertising at the big review sites or magazines, and as a result, they are rarely reviewed.

As a consumer the price point for the Level 3's is excellent and they appeara to have a strong customer satisfaction record.

So i decided to pull the trigger and I'll let you know how it turns out.

In the mean time - are there any other HTD Level 3 owners out there? Speak up cause i want to know how your experience is.

-Beaux

Wow,

My speakers just arrived - a day earlier than expected. Now i have to wait around for my Onkyo-806 receiver....

-Beaux

beauxcphus, how are they?

I was just looking at their site and started looking around for more information.

Any other owner's of level 2 or 3, htd speakers that would like to give a review? It is quite hard to find reviews of these speakers around the web.

Thanks

I own a set of Level 3 bookshelves. I bought them when I went on a bookshelf rampage a few months back. Mainly I wanted to see if the $299 price tag came with any significant drawbacks. I was also interested in the technologies deployed. I had not heard a ribbon tweeter before these.

The build quality is quite good, notably having a well braced cabinet. Of course, I've come to expect very good quality from the ID brands. That seems to be a key requirement for them. As for how they sound, well, I've spent the bulk of my time using them as talk radio monitors on a clearly under-powered amp...so do give them some decent wattage...they show it when they don't get it. These days I just don't have the time to listen like I thought I might (partly due to the higher end bookshelves I bought recently). When I did listen, they clearly needed me to experiment with better positioning. However, my first impressions were great. For $299, I felt I got more than my money's worth. They are bi-ampable, a feature that I did use. There is also an advantage to having the port in front since, where I have them now, they are literally six inches from the walls. I highly recommend a listen for those looking for a budget friendly, yet full sized bookshelf option.

As a side note...I'm also quite interested in hearing the upcoming X series bookshelf (SWG) from AV123 and/or the ELT525 someday. Apparently, I'll never have enough speakers in one house. :P

Thanks for the reply. I was looking at the level two 5.0 setup. I like that you said build quality was good. I am down to either getting level 2 set up or the acculines for theaudioinsider.com.? Best case scenario would be to try out both and pick the one I like best. Just have to get approval from the budget committee, (wife) before anything happens.

I have a full level 3 setup in my home. floor standing fronts, center, and the bookshelves for surrounds -> paired with an HSU 3.3 sub. I am very happy with the sound. plenty clear for my liking, and what I liked about them, gave me a very full sound right out of the box. The setup I have is before the revision. I felt like I got my money's worth

I don't know about their speakers but I can vouch for the company. In 2007 I bought one of their MA-1235 12-channel amplifiers for a "haunted house" project I was involved in. After we received it the finance committee decided they didn't need it so I called HTD and asked if it could be returned in the unopened box.

HTD not only refunded the purchase price, they also refunded the shipping. I would call that very superior customer service!

That speaks well for HTD. Thanks.

I recently ordered a Level TWO center and a pair of Level TWO bookshelves as part of a gradual upgrade out of the HTiB world. I should have them this coming Friday the 19th and am more than happy to post up detailed pictures and a mini review if any one is interested. I know there aren't many reviews out there but in trying to decide between these and a similarly priced SVS set-up I decided to give these a go because of the exceptional 30 day trial policy.

Unfortunately, my current receiver, a Sony STR-K900, is intended for use with small satellite speakers and a sub which means it has an abnormally high and non adjustable internal crossover of something like 140hz. Since this won't allow for the full range of each speaker to be utilized my review will have to largely be focused on appearance and build quality. Once I upgrade to the Onkyo 606 in the next couple of months I can always update the mini review with a proper sound quality review.

Yes, look forward to reading your review and pictures are always welcome around here.

I have the complete Level Two system (light cherry); front towers, center, bookshelf surrounds, and Level Two sub running off an Onkyo TX-SR605 receiver. I purchased this set-up back in Feb. of this year and have been extremely satisfied.

I record (DTV HR-20) and watch a lot of concerts as well as BD movies (Panny DMP-BD30) and the sound from these speakers is very impressive. I was more than a little uneasy about purchasing speakers I couldn't audition, but the 30-day return policy convinced me to give them a try. They arrived on time and very well packaged: cloth bagged, plastic wrapped, and double boxed. Fit and finish is excellent. I initially ran the Audyssey setup and then tweaked from there to get things more to my liking. Audyssey set the front towers to full range so I adjusted the crossovers and equalization on all channels to better match the speakers. The HTD Level Two's are a speaker with warm tone, as compared to a friend's Klipsch system, but by using the receiver equalization I brightened them up a bit. This could just be my room acoustics due to thick carpet, and heavy room darkening drapes. The front soundstage and overall balance of the surrounds is excellent. I am no sound engineer but I feel it is due to matching drivers in all cabinets. The 10",150 watt sub is more than adequate for my tastes (and room) and delivers smooth musical bass for concerts and nice loud booms for movies, with no distortion, and I am not one to baby the volume control.

As for the company, customer service is fabulous. The sub's amp went out after about three months. I called and talked to a customer rep and he shipped out a brand new sub that day, no questions asked. It arrived two days later complete with pre-paid UPS shipping for return of the defective unit. I have had no problems since.

In summation, good product, great pricing, consumer friendly company. I would not hesitate to purchase from HTD again.

Let me say that I am not associated with HTD, other than as a customer. I am interested in hearing from owners of the middies as I am thinking of adding these as rear surrounds.

Good stuff skootr. Thanks for the review of the level 2s and of the customer service of htd. I hope to get some level 2s here pretty soon and test them out myself.

they look good.. i would like to hear them or get a review.. was looking at the svs sbs-01 system with the larger sub its only 100.00 more for that system how would you think HTD would hold up against svs?

I have a pair of their outdoor speakers. They have been mounted under the roof eave over my back deck for 3 years and still going strong. The mounting hardware is painted metal for the bracket, and plastic/brass for the adjusting nuts, and stainless for the mounting screws, so no rust marks. Good stuff.

I have been using HTD for years. Started with a 5.1 level 2 system connected to a budget receiver and have graduated to a complete 7.1 level 3 system, tower speakers, connected to a Pio Elite SC-05. I don't pretend to be an audiophile, but I have no complaints whatsoever and have not felt the need to upgrade to more pricey and more frequently reviewed speakers. While I think their strength is ht, the towers in particular are incredibly solid and great for stereo sources (big improvement over the bookshelfs, imo). I've also used middy's and in-ceiling speakers and have had no problems, although I wouldn't recommend them for any of the big front 3 obviously.

Echo all the comments about the company. Those guys couldn't be more helpful and customer-minded. I've had a couple of problems (once with a level 2 bookshelf, and another with a level 3 center (cosmetic damage during shipping)), and both times they immediately sent out new speakers no questions asked.

You probably would be happy with either system. The svs sbs-01 looks like a good system and probably are comparable to the level 2 bookshelves. I don't understand much about speakers specifications, but it looks like they both have the same type of tweeters, and similar power handling, with the level 2s having a little better sensitivity. It looks like the htd bookshelves are price about $45 dollars less than the sbs-01, and the htd towers are in a different price range than any tower offered by svs. So, you could get a level 2, 5.1 system for around the same as the sbs-01 5.1 system, but with htd you would have a pair of towers instead of all bookshelves.

I finally have my Level Two LCR and stands unpacked and set-up. Overall I'm very happy with them. The build quality is much better than any other speaker I've handled in this price range and they look quite good. I did have one QC complaint about the center first shipped to me which I will get in to in my third post. It is difficult for me to comment in great detail on the sound quality as the receiver I'm currently using with them sends everything under 140hz to the "sub." Once I get away from this receiver and into either an Onkyo 606 or Yam. 663 I'll have more insight.

The speakers arrived double boxed (bookshelves in one box, the center in another) and were held in place by styrofoam and much to my surprise, came in black cloth bags. A nice touch for the price.

I also got the speaker stands and am equally happy with them. Fit and finish is great and they line up very well with the level two cabinets.



In the photo of the rear you can see a decent set of binding posts and the ability to run the speaker wires cleanly down the inside of the speaker stands.

The center is a nice size for my set-up as its a bit shorter (about 17") than many others I was looking at. The center has no included stand to angle it up as the SVS I was also considering has. For the time being I am using one of the black cloth shipping bags folded up to prop up the front of the speaker. If anyone knows of something pre-made please let me know.



Lastly I took a quick photo of the speaker screen or grille. The build quality here is also quite nice with a smart looking fabric and a wooden/painted frame rather than a plastic frame as many others in this price range use. My only complaint here is the use of plastic dowels to mount the grille. They seem fragile and don't really match the quality of the rest of the unit.



For the price of under $450 shipped for everything I'm really impressed with the tactile qualities of these speakers. As I mentioned, I'm not really in the position to give a detailed review of their sound but I can certainly vouch for their aesthetics and build quality.

As I mentioned in the first post, I did have one build quality/QC issue with my first center. Well, two issues really.

First, the tweeter on the center seemed to have been screwed in too tightly. This caused the MDF and paint to crown. This was not an issue on the bookshelves nor was it an issue with the replacement center later sent to me.



Second, the fabric on the grill of the first center was not uniformly tight around the frame. This cause some blooming on the left of the grille. Again, this issue was not present on either of the bookshelves.



Both of these problems were only on the first center and did not affect the replacement center nor the bookshelves.

Speaking of the replacement, HTD's customer service is top notch. Chris at HTD upon hearing of the build quality issues of the center, quickly arranged to ship a replacement unit. He did this without first requiring me to send the bad unit back which saved on lead-time. I called him on the 22nd and the replacement unit was shipped the same day arriving at my home in California on the 30th. Just five true business days total; not bad.

If anyone has any questions about these or would like to request a photo of anything specific about them, please let me know.

Thanks for posting pictures and your thoughts on the level 2s. I hope to get my level 2s sometime in February. It's seems so far everyone has nothing but good things to say about their customer service. Enjoy, and let us know what you think when testing them between your old avr, and the new avr you end up getting.

I bought a 5.1 set last February. I bought a Onkyo 875 as well. I bought the level 2 center and 2 sets of level 2 towers and a level 3 sub. I am using the towers for L and R surrounds. I love them. They do small manufacturing runs. I got my speakers right when they finished them minus the tower bases. when they were ready I got them fed-ex. I was missing some screws.

My son was having a birthday party and i could not have 6 boys running all over with tall towers with no bases. Quick call to HTD, the guy on the phone promised to fed-ex overnight the missing hardware got it the next day.Great people to work with. Excellent customer service.

I was kind of leery buying from a unknown company not alot of reviews out there. I have been completely satisfied.

After about 150 hours break in or so the sound was amazing, not that it wasn't upon hooking them all up. I love my HTD's. I would gladly buy again from them next time. I have mine in the dark cherry. Kinda get tired of black as all my stuff is black.
Long story short kdlw3000 bravia Onkyo 875. X-box, ps3, pc. Everything I have hooked up souonds amazing through the speakers. The level 3 sub is very deep and low. I have the one before they changed to the controls that go in and out of the sub. I love it. I have gotten many complaints from neighbors about the sub.
The towers that I use for L R surrounds actually are quite loud. I think that is what the neighbors hear more than the sub.
I listened to many speakers before buying from HTD Next time I am getting the level 3's and will put what I have into the kids family room. Music, movies all sound excellent. Hope this helps.

I've had HTD first gen level two 5.1 tower set for over 5 years now. Their sound reproduction in my old 600 sf av den was brilliant ( driven by an old, but equally faithful Denon AVR 1010) in a very sparse and bright room. In my current 200 sf dense and soft den they are a bit much- size and sound. The build and component quality is very good, with the exception of the subwoofer amp. I'm on my third ( HTD customer service is excellent), a probable result of the volume levels I regularly used in my larger den. Since my move to a smaller den, no trouble for 3 years.
I'm not an audiophile, but I find these particular speakers perform best in fairly large and brighter environments. Again, can't say enough about HTD customer service.

Been looking for in-ceiling speakers for my home to establish a multi zone audio system. I have decided to try out the HDW80 (rectangular 8inch speaker) and the HDR80 (round 8 inch speaker) as a first step.
My plan is to do a compare with Proficients Audios C645 6.5 inch round speakers and to select from the three.
The speakers are scheduled to arrive end of next week so once I try them out I will post my opinions.

after reading this thread, HTD is now on my list. Among all things, customer service is something that I consider high regardless of the quality of product. They at HTD seem like the know most people cant afford a 5k HT and really make the $$$ well spent.

Quite Possibly a HTD customer in the future...

I also have a 1st or 2nd gen level 3 5.1 system from them. I have had it at least 7 years now. Pair of towers up front and back, larger center and last year I bought 2 speakers from them to complete the 7.1, I cannot recall the model # of the 7.1's. I have to say when I am alone and have a few brewski's in me I pop in my concert Blu-ray/dvd of the week and I pound the hell out of them with a Onkyo 805 and I have never had 1 problem with them or the prior receiver I used. I do remember when I bought them you could get a system shipped to you for tryout and if you were not happy you didnt have to pay the shipping. I would buy from them again in an instant based on my experience.

I almost wish something would go wrong I like the looks of their new stuff

Received my HD-R80 and HD-W80 last Friday. They come two in a box with installation template for EACH SPEAKER. I wanted to try the round and rectangular to hear if there are any difference between the two. There are none. The difference is just in the shape (round/rectangular). I connected them to my receiver and must say that they do sound good!!! For a ceiling speaker there is a lot of clarity and brilliance. Not a bad buy for the money. Now, they are made in China so I was feeling dubious on the sound quality but I was mistaken. I do not have a reason not to get the rest of them for my home. The rectangular ones go in the garage.