AK Member Builds Highly Regarded Speakers

Sounds Good!

I gazed a gazeless stare . . .
I've been hanging around AK for a few years now, and I've gotten to know a handful of members outside of AK. Brian Salazar (aka AK member baco99) has been my speaker mentor for a couple of years. Brian's a great guy and a speaker guru, so much so that he is producing his own line of speakers, Holt Hill Audio.

He just got a great review that I thought I would share:

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/holt-hill-audio-cionnsaile-monitors/

Incredibly impressive review. It is great to see one of our own living the dream.
 
Brian has been a great guy to me and has been very helpful to me in my audio endeavors! He is a wealth of knowledge and can only imagine what these little sounds like. I hoping to own a pair very very soon!
 
Wow @baco99, congratulations to you! That's a huge accomplishment. I read the review and it sounds like you have created a worthwhile product. Not an easy thing to do, speaker design is very tricky. I hope to hear a pair one day and see how it compares to my favourite speaker, the KEF LS50, since they are the same MSRP.
 
Thanks very much! The LS50 are a very significant force in the market. I don't want to talk them down, because they are great speakers. I think the difference here is HHA speakers are small-batch and hand-built. Each speaker weighs 42 lbs and most of the weight is in the cabinet materials which were carefully selected. I follow the philosophy that density reduces cabinet resonances better than any other method, and I aimed for reduced resonances. Also, the HHA are significantly larger than the LS50.

The Cionnsailes are not coaxial, but maintain very coherent imaging and a very broad soundstage in a more traditional 2-way layout. Where the LS50 might have a bit more "punch" around 90Hz, my speakers are designed to dig a little deeper in a way that doesn't muddy up the mid-bass. These were my design intentions, and they have been validated by others. Essentially, John wrote the article and echoed many of the same sentiments that local listeners have expressed, but he did it from 3000 miles away and with no coaching!

What you've expressed is exactly what I thought too, when I was thinking about it. The handcrafted part as well as the difference in cabinet. The area I'd be most curious about is in the midrange - I find the LS50s capture the emotional context of music so well. And, it appears by that review, yours do as well. This is the area most critical (in my opinion) to a loudspeaker's sound. If it isn't groovy or gets your foot tapping, even with the clearest bass or treble, it all just falls flat. So that's where I'd be most curious and, I consider the LS50 to be a reference speaker. But there are definitely different design criteria between the two and it's not exactly apples to oranges.
 
I thought we had to identify ourselves to fellow AK members when we are involved in an audio related business.............And then this thread would not be the correct place to promote products.

I can't promote AVA stuff.........

Just saying.......
 
Congrats Brian! I have heard these in my living room and while a small 2 way is not likely to displace my huge 4-ways, I really liked what I heard. They are very well balanced and dig deep.

jblnut
 
I thought we had to identify ourselves to fellow AK members when we are involved in an audio related business.............And then this thread would not be the correct place to promote products.

I can't promote AVA stuff.........

Just saying.......

This came from me not Brian. I'm not involved in this business - just a fan of the owner and impressed by his work.
 
WaynerN - I'm glad to find out that you are involved with Audio by Van Alstine. I modified my Dynaco equipment with AVA kits, and am very satisfied with them. The reference to the Longhorn interests me, since I've wondered about the modification, seeing how it could have a significant effect on how cartridges sound.
Which is to say, I hadn't thought about AK policy on the subject of posters who are in the industry, but for me, such involvement adds to my interest in what posters have to offer.
And Brian is a great guy, and even his used equipment demos sound wonderful.
 
Looks like Brian took the high road and removed his responses. Wish he hadn't. This was my idea not his.
 
Max SPL of 100db huh? Mine do that with less than half a watt ;) Nice looking speakers.
 
I've been hanging around AK for a few years now, and I've gotten to know a handful of members outside of AK. Brian Salazar (aka AK member baco99) has been my speaker mentor for a couple of years. Brian's a great guy and a speaker guru, so much so that he is producing his own line of speakers, Holt Hill Audio.

He just got a great review that I thought I would share:

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/holt-hill-audio-cionnsaile-monitors/

Incredibly impressive review. It is great to see one of our own living the dream.

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Brian, or too many AK members, yet.

However I've had the pleasure of purchasing gear he's worked on and had a number of conversations with him. Each email, conversation and the above article teaches me a little more about these magical boxes that put a smile on our face and gets my feet tapping

It is great to see him living his dream, and I love the idea of a quality speakers being designed and built in the New England area again


Nice write up, I can’t wait to get me a pair of these!

I'm fortunate enough to have just hooked up a pair. I bought a pair last summer. Unfortunately the shipping company destroyed one in delivery. The packaging design looked very good. You could tell that the box was dropped from a substantial height. Brian sent me another one. However in the interim I'd messed up my back and finally just set them up tonight. Incidentally the packaging has been redesigned and short of running one of these over, or into it with a fork lift it would be hard to damage them.

I need to clarify that I don't listen to music the way many of my peers do. I've been to friends houses and had them tell me I need to shift over 6 inches on the couch to be in the "sweet spot". Sorry, not my cup of tea. I'm usually walking around or working as I listen to music. Yes I enjoy a nice soundstage, more importantly I want my room (s), house filled with music.

I usually buy used gear and it's not uncommon for me to spend as much money on a used cartridge as I do on my speakers or any other piece of equipment.
These Cionnsaile speakers are the first new gear I've bought since 1985, I still have and use that Technics SL5, of course it sounds better with a Technics EPC 30 MC than it did originally.

A number of years ago I'd purchased a used pair of LSA .5's for my living room in a system that didn't intimidate my wife. She's a little apprehensive of the main stereo above the living room with 2 turntables, a pair of bi-amped Snell E III's etc

Tonight I took the LSA .5's out of rotation and installed the Cionnsaile, wow huge improvement. Bass response is better, the soundstage is larger and more defined. I love horns and sax. Last fall I had the pleasure of seeing Tajmo in concert. One of the best shows I've ever seen. So, I started out tonight's listening with lossless files from that lp from my Ipod. Wow, I sat back on the couch and felt like I was back in Gainesville, Florida at the concert. Nothing disappointed me, only impressed me. I've mixed in a little Jerry Jeff Walker "Riding High", an amazing copy of C.S.N.&Y Deja Vu, Paul Butterfield and now the Zac Brown Band harmonies sound incredible. Wow, the strings on the fiddle sound amazing.

A friend on this site asked me today if there was a 12 step program for collecting audio gear? I don't know. What I do know is that these Cionnsaile speakers are one of the purchases I have absolutely no "second thoughts" about.

Brian, Holt Hill Audio, and to everyone involved in your project

:beerchug:

Stuart
 
I thought we had to identify ourselves to fellow AK members when we are involved in an audio related business.............And then this thread would not be the correct place to promote products.

I can't promote AVA stuff.........

Just saying.......



WaynerN - I'm glad to find out that you are involved with Audio by Van Alstine. I modified my Dynaco equipment with AVA kits, and am very satisfied with them. The reference to the Longhorn interests me, since I've wondered about the modification, seeing how it could have a significant effect on how cartridges sound.
Which is to say, I hadn't thought about AK policy on the subject of posters who are in the industry, but for me, such involvement adds to my interest in what posters have to offer.
And Brian is a great guy, and even his used equipment demos sound wonderful.

Thanks Nat

I'm not familiar with Audio by Van Alstine, but I'll look it up. Is there a place members of AK can mention their affiliation without causing a problem or becoming vendors?

I'd much rather support members of AK than strangers

Just asking????

A slight twist on WaynerN's wording

I hope I'm not offending him, or anyone else.
This is a great community with incredibly talented and diverse members
 
I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Brian, or too many AK members, yet.

However I've had the pleasure of purchasing gear he's worked on and had a number of conversations with him. Each email, conversation and the above article teaches me a little more about these magical boxes that put a smile on our face and gets my feet tapping

It is great to see him living his dream, and I love the idea of a quality speakers being designed and built in the New England area again




I'm fortunate enough to have just hooked up a pair. I bought a pair last summer. Unfortunately the shipping company destroyed one in delivery. The packaging design looked very good. You could tell that the box was dropped from a substantial height. Brian sent me another one. However in the interim I'd messed up my back and finally just set them up tonight. Incidentally the packaging has been redesigned and short of running one of these over, or into it with a fork lift it would be hard to damage them.

I need to clarify that I don't listen to music the way many of my peers do. I've been to friends houses and had them tell me I need to shift over 6 inches on the couch to be in the "sweet spot". Sorry, not my cup of tea. I'm usually walking around or working as I listen to music. Yes I enjoy a nice soundstage, more importantly I want my room (s), house filled with music.

I usually buy used gear and it's not uncommon for me to spend as much money on a used cartridge as I do on my speakers or any other piece of equipment.
These Cionnsaile speakers are the first new gear I've bought since 1985, I still have and use that Technics SL5, of course it sounds better with a Technics EPC 30 MC than it did originally.

A number of years ago I'd purchased a used pair of LSA .5's for my living room in a system that didn't intimidate my wife. She's a little apprehensive of the main stereo above the living room with 2 turntables, a pair of bi-amped Snell E III's etc

Tonight I took the LSA .5's out of rotation and installed the Cionnsaile, wow huge improvement. Bass response is better, the soundstage is larger and more defined. I love horns and sax. Last fall I had the pleasure of seeing Tajmo in concert. One of the best shows I've ever seen. So, I started out tonight's listening with lossless files from that lp from my Ipod. Wow, I sat back on the couch and felt like I was back in Gainesville, Florida at the concert. Nothing disappointed me, only impressed me. I've mixed in a little Jerry Jeff Walker "Riding High", an amazing copy of C.S.N.&Y Deja Vu, Paul Butterfield and now the Zac Brown Band harmonies sound incredible. Wow, the strings on the fiddle sound amazing.

A friend on this site asked me today if there was a 12 step program for collecting audio gear? I don't know. What I do know is that these Cionnsaile speakers are one of the purchases I have absolutely no "second thoughts" about.

Brian, Holt Hill Audio, and to everyone involved in your project

:beerchug:

Stuart

Great post!!!!
 
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