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Synergistic Research HFT's

Not to open up a can of worms but I am reaching out to people who actually have tried the SR HFT's or Black Box.  I am building a new house and my two channel room is my great room / kitchen.  The dimensions are 20'W x 40'L with 16' cathedral ceilings.  This is not the best 2 channel room but it worked well in my last house.  So the question I have are there any tweaks that I should be considering to improve the overall sound performance?   I know the obvious answer is Acoustical Panels but that won't fly in my house.  I already have all of the Perfect Path Technologies products for my system.  I already have SR Blue Duplex's but might change to the orange.  So now I am looking at what I can do to improve the sound in that kind of room without Acoustical panels.  The rest of my system includes:  Canary Audio Grand Reference 2 mono amps, C1800 Pre-Amp, InaKustic 3500P Conditioner, Lumin X-1 Dac/Streamer.  My cables are all upgrades also.  I have been looking at the SR HFT's and Black Box.  Comments?  
willgolf
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 



Photo's say it all below.
Of course you did, and Ted Denney laughed himself stupid all the way to the bank.


I installed a ten-pack of HFTs around the room
https://img.usaudiomart.com/uploads/large/1525136-15b82cb5-synergistic-research-hft-5-pscks.jpg

And, this was after using four Shakti Hallographs
https://www.shakti-innovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/hallograph-slide-e1484426476497.png



goose
697 posts
 
I'm one of the biggest skeptics on this kind of stuff.  I heard the demo at RMAF in 2019 and it was impressive.  Bought the HFT's (16) in total.  They made a positive impact on my system.  I previously had some bass traps in the corners and some diffusion but they improved the sound from there (bigger soundstage, openness and better placement of instruments).  Not all tweaks make a difference but these did.  I would have returned them if they didn't work but they did.
jpan
130 posts
 
I'd put it this way: HFTs are better than nothing but they are not acoustical treatments that help with things like early reflections and the like. They help reduce high frequency energy.

How do I know this? I'm living it.
I have a large open floor plan that is a challenge from a logistical and aesthetic perspective. (Okay, WAF and related.)

For this reason I've resisted acoustic treatments and when I found out about HFTs, I thought they seemed like a great alternative

To date, I've deployed the HFTs, the Wide Angle, Speaker Kits and one Black Box. All nice stuff. It all helps. I would characterize the effect as quieting the room. I notice more clarity and space.

But, it's not the same as treating a room acoustically. I had a professional come over and do a room analysis. I already knew this but wanted to prove it with data. It's clear. I have to treat my room/space to the degree I can get away with. That means some permanent treatments and some that can be moved in/out of the room.

Again, I really like HFTs, etc. They did help. And they are very unobtrusive. But, for me, they're not enough.
I'll report back once I get my treatments in place, probably sometime mid-summer.
Hope this helps.
willgolf OP
937 posts
 
JPAN ---you saw the dimensions of my large room that acoustically speaking is God awful.  That said, I too have a wife who even hates the HFT's that I have scattered around.  She thinks they look like bugs and are an eyesore.  I am just curious, what are you hoping to do in your house?  Specifically what treatments and where?
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