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The Official Salk Sound Owner's And Discussion Thread - Page 12

post #331 of 8826
3/27/08 at 8:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by R Swerdlow View Post

In particular, I've done a side-by-side with my STs and a pair of B&W 602s that someone brought by my house. In my opinion, the STs had more detail but no fatigue-inducing shrillness. It wasn't really meant to be a direct contest, but the guy who owns the 602s was considering the SongTowers as a replacement. They were all around better sounding.

Hi Richard: Don't be dissing my 602's!

Richard was very generous to allow me to listen to his ST's a couple of months back. Before visiting Richard I spent a couple of hours listening to some Paradigms at a local dealer.

Here are my impressions from that afternoon.

First stop...Paradigm dealer to listen to some Studio 100's. They sounded nice but didn't make me say wow. I then listened to some S2's...now these made me say WOW! To my ear, the S2's had a very balanced sound from top to bottom with no particular freq standing out. Great balance with a wonderful ability to totally disappear.

Next stop...to Richard's house to listen to his ST's side by side with my trusty old 602's.

First impression...beautiful cabinets...even nicer than the Paradigm Signature series. Ok, so how did they sound? The ST's outperformed my 602's and like the S2's made me say WOW! But in a different way than the S2's.

The ST's really shined with their outstanding Mid-range clarity which was really evident on piano and brass instruments. They also had surprisingly deep bass for such small bass drivers.

I was very much torn between the S2's & ST's.
I loved the way the S2's disappeared and gave a well balanced presentation.
I also loved the detail, bass reproduction and beautiful cabinetry of the ST's.
Decisions, decisions...

Alas, I had a financial set-back so I'm "stuck" with my old reliable 602's for at least another year.

Pete

PS> I enjoyed the ST's much more than the Paradigm Studio 100's...by a wide margin.
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post #332 of 8826
3/27/08 at 8:43pm
As promised,

I was fortunate to visit with Jim Salk on Monday and Tuesday this week and thought I would share some impressions. I will try to be brief.

The Man
Jim invited me to his home on Monday at 5:00 PM. He was scheduled to play tennis at 7:00 PM, yet was willing to squeeze me in after a full day at work. Jim is a friendly guy, unassuming and a pleasure to meet. His wife and daughter were home and both were equally as kind. It can't be easy having strangers constantly coming through your home.
Thanks Jim!

The Speakers
I'll start out by saying what most have already said. Jim's speakers are very high quality, produce excellent sound and compare well with other upper end speakers, in fact surpassing many. Add in the aggressive pricing and you have a killer deal.

Jim had the SongTowers and HT3's set up in his basement. The speakers had a black piano finish and were gorgeous. No question (for me) the speakers look absolutely fantastic, much better than the web pictures. This is not a knock on the photos, they are just more beautiful when you see them in person.

His basement has a standard rectangular setup and is not acoustically treated. Jim feels the room better represents the speakers capability in a normal setting. I excitedly asked Jim, what speakers will we be listening to first? Jim's response was, let's just listen and you tell me. I'm thinking, you've got to be kidding me, a quiz?! So here I am, sitting next to Jim Salk, about to listen to his beautifully crafted speakers, trying not to seem like an idiot. Talk about pressure!

I dutifully brought my carefully selected cd's and offered my first choice. Jim tells me that he doesn't have a cd player set up so we will be listening to his music through his sling box. I immediately begin to wonder if I will have heard this music and how I can compare to past speaker auditions. Ok, you get the idea, more pressure!

Listening
I apologize for not being able to recall the music played but I didn't feel comfortable taking notes during our meeting. Although I'm sure Jim would have been fine with it. Suffice it to say that Jim served up a broad mix of music that challenged the speakers and showed their full range. My modest request was to hear a male voice, female voice, electric & acoustic guitars, and a full symphony arrangement. Jim provided that and more. I do recall listening to some Ray Charles and an excellent duet between Erick Clapton and BB King.

When the music began the speakers created an immediate exciting presence. The highs were open, rich, yet not harsh, during the entire time. Not once did the music seem stressed or become fatiguing. Bass was surprisingly strong, in fact it was excellent. I looked at Jim and said god I hope these are the SongTowers, because I knew that I could purchase these speakers and be exceedingly happy with them. Adding a high end sub would make them phenomenal for HT. From a critical standpoint, I did notice a very slight (and I mean ever so slight) softness in certain vocals. I immediately mentioned this to Jim and guessed we were listening to the SongTowers. We were.

We switched to the HT3's and two issues became instantly evident, immense soundstage and clarity. Jim mentioned that his opinion of the HT3's greatest strength was transparency. These speakers are fully engaging yet felt effortless in producing every level of sound. This was a noticeable difference (for me) when compared to the SongTowers. The second major difference was the ribbon tweeter. No note was unattainable. It is really cool to listen to speakers of this caliber.

Overall, the SongTowers are definitely the sweet spot by offering such high quality at this price point. For the highly discerning, HT3's are your choice. Beautiful in every sense. A really important point is that Jim will work with you to customize your speakers, be it color, veneer, or even modifying the cabinet. Jim never rushed me during the meeting. In fact, I had to leave to be sure he would make his match. Jim is very knowledgeable and more than willing to answer all my questions. Bottom line, these speakers are worthy of your purchase consideration. It was definitely a fun experience.
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post #333 of 8826
3/27/08 at 11:46pm
I am now officially a future Salk HT3 owner. I gave Jim my deposit yesterday.
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post #334 of 8826
3/28/08 at 5:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by funkmonkey View Post

I am now officially a future Salk HT3 owner. I gave Jim my deposit yesterday.

Congrats Funk! It seems you and I have very similar ears, and being a current Dali Helicon owner I have wanted to hear the HT3's for a little over a year.

Do you go with upgrades like the sonic caps and blackhole material?
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post #335 of 8826
3/28/08 at 5:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by funkmonkey View Post

I am now officially a future Salk HT3 owner. I gave Jim my deposit yesterday.

WEEEEEEEEEE! So cool, funk. I am truly happy for you! Congrats!
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post #336 of 8826
3/28/08 at 5:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by michael630 View Post

As promised,

I was fortunate to visit with Jim Salk on Monday and Tuesday this week and thought I would share some impressions. I will try to be brief.

The Man
Jim invited me to his home on Monday at 5:00 PM. He was scheduled to play tennis at 7:00 PM, yet was willing to squeeze me in after a full day at work. Jim is a friendly guy, unassuming and a pleasure to meet. His wife and daughter were home and both were equally as kind. It can't be easy having strangers constantly coming through your home.
Thanks Jim!

The Speakers
I'll start out by saying what most have already said. Jim's speakers are very high quality, produce excellent sound and compare well with other upper end speakers, in fact surpassing many. Add in the aggressive pricing and you have a killer deal.

Jim had the SongTowers and HT3's set up in his basement. The speakers had a black piano finish and were gorgeous. No question (for me) the speakers look absolutely fantastic, much better than the web pictures. This is not a knock on the photos, they are just more beautiful when you see them in person.

His basement has a standard rectangular setup and is not acoustically treated. Jim feels the room better represents the speakers capability in a normal setting. I excitedly asked Jim, what speakers will we be listening to first? Jim's response was, let's just listen and you tell me. I'm thinking, you've got to be kidding me, a quiz?! So here I am, sitting next to Jim Salk, about to listen to his beautifully crafted speakers, trying not to seem like an idiot. Talk about pressure!

I dutifully brought my carefully selected cd's and offered my first choice. Jim tells me that he doesn't have a cd player set up so we will be listening to his music through his sling box. I immediately begin to wonder if I will have heard this music and how I can compare to past speaker auditions. Ok, you get the idea, more pressure!

Listening
I apologize for not being able to recall the music played but I didn't feel comfortable taking notes during our meeting. Although I'm sure Jim would have been fine with it. Suffice it to say that Jim served up a broad mix of music that challenged the speakers and showed their full range. My modest request was to hear a male voice, female voice, electric & acoustic guitars, and a full symphony arrangement. Jim provided that and more. I do recall listening to some Ray Charles and an excellent duet between Erick Clapton and BB King.

When the music began the speakers created an immediate exciting presence. The highs were open, rich, yet not harsh, during the entire time. Not once did the music seem stressed or become fatiguing. Bass was surprisingly strong, in fact it was excellent. I looked at Jim and said god I hope these are the SongTowers, because I knew that I could purchase these speakers and be exceedingly happy with them. Adding a high end sub would make them phenomenal for HT. From a critical standpoint, I did notice a very slight (and I mean ever so slight) softness in certain vocals. I immediately mentioned this to Jim and guessed we were listening to the SongTowers. We were.

We switched to the HT3's and two issues became instantly evident, immense soundstage and clarity. Jim mentioned that his opinion of the HT3's greatest strength was transparency. These speakers are fully engaging yet felt effortless in producing every level of sound. This was a noticeable difference (for me) when compared to the SongTowers. The second major difference was the ribbon tweeter. No note was unattainable. It is really cool to listen to speakers of this caliber.

Overall, the SongTowers are definitely the sweet spot by offering such high quality at this price point. For the highly discerning, HT3's are your choice. Beautiful in every sense. A really important point is that Jim will work with you to customize your speakers, be it color, veneer, or even modifying the cabinet. Jim never rushed me during the meeting. In fact, I had to leave to be sure he would make his match. Jim is very knowledgeable and more than willing to answer all my questions. Bottom line, these speakers are worthy of your purchase consideration. It was definitely a fun experience.

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience, guy.
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post #337 of 8826
3/28/08 at 6:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ptlurking View Post

Hi Richard: Don't be dissing my 602's!

Richard was very generous to allow me to listen to his ST's a couple of months back. Before visiting Richard I spent a couple of hours listening to some Paradigms at a local dealer.

Here are my impressions from that afternoon.

First stop...Paradigm dealer to listen to some Studio 100's. They sounded nice but didn't make me say wow. I then listened to some S2's...now these made me say WOW! To my ear, the S2's had a very balanced sound from top to bottom with no particular freq standing out. Great balance with a wonderful ability to totally disappear.

Next stop...to Richard's house to listen to his ST's side by side with my trusty old 602's.

First impression...beautiful cabinets...even nicer than the Paradigm Signature series. Ok, so how did they sound? The ST's outperformed my 602's and like the S2's made me say WOW! But in a different way than the S2's.

The ST's really shined with their outstanding Mid-range clarity which was really evident on piano and brass instruments. They also had surprisingly deep bass for such small bass drivers.

I was very much torn between the S2's & ST's.
I loved the way the S2's disappeared and gave a well balanced presentation.
I also loved the detail, bass reproduction and beautiful cabinetry of the ST's.
Decisions, decisions...

Alas, I had a financial set-back so I'm "stuck" with my old reliable 602's for at least another year.

Pete

PS> I enjoyed the ST's much more than the Paradigm Studio 100's...by a wide margin.

Pete

Good to hear from you. Thanks for the kind words and your impressions of what you heard that day. Your comments on the Paradigm Studio 100s and the S2s compared to the SongTowers are more interesting for this thread than a comparison to the 602s because of the big difference in the prices.

I had avoided (for the most part ) commenting on what I heard that day because the B&Ws are your speakers and your opinion about possible replacements matters, not mine. I'm sorry to hear that new speakers are out for this year. I hope next year you'll get a full system of Salk speakers .

Richard
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post #338 of 8826
3/28/08 at 7:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jvc61 View Post

yatchacks,
unbelievably gorgeous speakers. My question is on your center speaker. I have a similar set up and was wondering where you got the speaker stand and have you had any problems with it holding up that heavy speaker.

The center channel mount I use is actually a tv wall mount for 27" tv's. I bought this particular model because it seemed to be a bit longer than most, and I needed it to just pass the front bezel of the tv.

The Salk center weighs around 40-45 pounds and the mount will support up to 80 pounds. Absolutely no issues provided you drill into a stud.

You can get it for about a third of what I paid here ...... http://www.thetwistergroup.com/produ...%20D44754.html
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post #339 of 8826
3/28/08 at 9:12am
Thanks yatchacks I will look into that mount.
enjoy those speakers. drooool!
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post #340 of 8826
3/28/08 at 1:02pm
Watch out. The Pass Labs amp is here and it may be the match to the HT3's!! I need to give it a week or so to get some time on it but initial reaction was a grin. Tight fisted down under while delicate on top. Soundstage is verrrry wide and each instrument can be located. In one hour I heard details on tunes I never heard before. Gonna be a fun weekend.
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post #341 of 8826
3/28/08 at 1:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PAD View Post

Watch out. The Pass Labs amp is here and it may be the match to the HT3's!! I need to give it a week or so to get some time on it but initial reaction was a grin. Tight fisted down under while delicate on top. Soundstage is verrrry wide and each instrument can be located. In one hour I heard details on tunes I never heard before. Gonna be a fun weekend.

I am so jealous! I just do not have the room for one in my stand. You got the X350.5, right?
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post #342 of 8826
3/28/08 at 1:27pm
Yep. My matching amp stand has been ordered. My photographer will be here tomorrow and I'll have all new room pics then.
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post #343 of 8826
3/28/08 at 2:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PAD View Post

Yep. My matching amp stand has been ordered. My photographer will be here tomorrow and I'll have all new room pics then.

saweet!
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post #344 of 8826
3/28/08 at 2:50pm
New Salk Surrounds are posted on their website. I wonder how they sound compared to the Song towers and some of the similarly priced bookshelf speakers out there.
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post #345 of 8826
3/28/08 at 3:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by michael630 View Post

As promised,

I was fortunate to visit with Jim Salk on Monday and Tuesday this week and thought I would share some impressions. I will try to be brief.

The Man
Jim invited me to his home on Monday at 5:00 PM. He was scheduled to play tennis at 7:00 PM, yet was willing to squeeze me in after a full day at work. Jim is a friendly guy, unassuming and a pleasure to meet. His wife and daughter were home and both were equally as kind. It can't be easy having strangers constantly coming through your home.
Thanks Jim!

The Speakers
I'll start out by saying what most have already said. Jim's speakers are very high quality, produce excellent sound and compare well with other upper end speakers, in fact surpassing many. Add in the aggressive pricing and you have a killer deal.

Jim had the SongTowers and HT3's set up in his basement. The speakers had a black piano finish and were gorgeous. No question (for me) the speakers look absolutely fantastic, much better than the web pictures. This is not a knock on the photos, they are just more beautiful when you see them in person.

His basement has a standard rectangular setup and is not acoustically treated. Jim feels the room better represents the speakers capability in a normal setting. I excitedly asked Jim, what speakers will we be listening to first? Jim's response was, let's just listen and you tell me. I'm thinking, you've got to be kidding me, a quiz?! So here I am, sitting next to Jim Salk, about to listen to his beautifully crafted speakers, trying not to seem like an idiot. Talk about pressure!

I dutifully brought my carefully selected cd's and offered my first choice. Jim tells me that he doesn't have a cd player set up so we will be listening to his music through his sling box. I immediately begin to wonder if I will have heard this music and how I can compare to past speaker auditions. Ok, you get the idea, more pressure!

Listening
I apologize for not being able to recall the music played but I didn't feel comfortable taking notes during our meeting. Although I'm sure Jim would have been fine with it. Suffice it to say that Jim served up a broad mix of music that challenged the speakers and showed their full range. My modest request was to hear a male voice, female voice, electric & acoustic guitars, and a full symphony arrangement. Jim provided that and more. I do recall listening to some Ray Charles and an excellent duet between Erick Clapton and BB King.

When the music began the speakers created an immediate exciting presence. The highs were open, rich, yet not harsh, during the entire time. Not once did the music seem stressed or become fatiguing. Bass was surprisingly strong, in fact it was excellent. I looked at Jim and said god I hope these are the SongTowers, because I knew that I could purchase these speakers and be exceedingly happy with them. Adding a high end sub would make them phenomenal for HT. From a critical standpoint, I did notice a very slight (and I mean ever so slight) softness in certain vocals. I immediately mentioned this to Jim and guessed we were listening to the SongTowers. We were.

We switched to the HT3's and two issues became instantly evident, immense soundstage and clarity. Jim mentioned that his opinion of the HT3's greatest strength was transparency. These speakers are fully engaging yet felt effortless in producing every level of sound. This was a noticeable difference (for me) when compared to the SongTowers. The second major difference was the ribbon tweeter. No note was unattainable. It is really cool to listen to speakers of this caliber.

Overall, the SongTowers are definitely the sweet spot by offering such high quality at this price point. For the highly discerning, HT3's are your choice. Beautiful in every sense. A really important point is that Jim will work with you to customize your speakers, be it color, veneer, or even modifying the cabinet. Jim never rushed me during the meeting. In fact, I had to leave to be sure he would make his match. Jim is very knowledgeable and more than willing to answer all my questions. Bottom line, these speakers are worthy of your purchase consideration. It was definitely a fun experience.

Ah, so you're the culprit Michael! First it is a tennis tournament, now you. What are you doing taking Jim's valuable time away from making MY speakers? I have had the STs on order since the first of the month and they were scheduled to go out this week. But no, you've got to go in there and take him away from this VERY important task. Shame on you!! BTW, excellent review!!!!
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post #346 of 8826
3/28/08 at 5:33pm
milacqua - i don't mean to taunt but i probably was touching them as well! oooppps, sorry. i'm sure you'll have them soon. good luck.
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post #347 of 8826
3/28/08 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Murphy View Post

I wonder how many hours of polishing went into that.

Enough to help him win the 2007 tennis Midwest Sectional championship.

He now has one hell of a serve!

Mark
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post #348 of 8826
3/28/08 at 6:34pm
Mark,

I think I game for tomorrow!
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post #349 of 8826
3/28/08 at 6:35pm
Also, what was the name of the subs we were looking at?
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post #350 of 8826
3/29/08 at 4:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by michael630 View Post

milacqua - i don't mean to taunt but i probably was touching them as well! oooppps, sorry. i'm sure you'll have them soon. good luck.

Hey Mike, did you decide on a veneer yet?
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post #351 of 8826
3/29/08 at 4:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by michael630 View Post

milacqua - i don't mean to taunt but i probably was touching them as well! oooppps, sorry. i'm sure you'll have them soon. good luck.

What? You touched them? You mean you actually put your greasy palms on them? Now I'm really upset!!
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post #352 of 8826
3/29/08 at 8:33pm
pete - not yet. i hope your having fun at your get together.
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post #353 of 8826
3/30/08 at 10:45pm
I gotta stop reading I'm waiting for my HT3 and everytime I read a review it's hard not to want a time machine!
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post #354 of 8826
3/31/08 at 9:45am
ST review up!

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin..._songtower.htm
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post #355 of 8826
3/31/08 at 10:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PAD View Post

ST review up!

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin..._songtower.htm

Very cool! Glad to see it finally come out. I had no doubt that it would be a great review.

One thing I was hoping for however was an independent frequency response graph; it looks like he has simply taken the ones from Jim's website. It's not that I doubt the results; I would just like to see one down to 20Hz. I would like to see where they start rolling off and how quickly.
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post #356 of 8826
3/31/08 at 10:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PAD View Post

ST review up!

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin..._songtower.htm

Wow very positive review.
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post #357 of 8826
3/31/08 at 11:05am
Vey positive review. I am sure Jim is pleased.
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post #358 of 8826
3/31/08 at 11:42am
I agree, a very good review. Prices quoted in the review went up as Jim posted a week or so ago that they might. I think the review listed them at $1795 rather than $1495. Good thing I ordered mine before the increase!!
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post #359 of 8826
3/31/08 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PAD View Post

ST review up!

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin..._songtower.htm

Awesome review! Congrats to Jim and Dennis for their fantastic work. I had the pleasure to hear these badboys before the reviewer, but I loved reading the review, enjoying it as if I'd never heard the speakers before. I'd agree with everything the reviewer said; these speakers are an absolute steal for the price (speaking of which, I guess we know now what their new price will be). And WOW...they are the reviewer's new reference speaker! NICE!

I want those speakers! I need to plant a "money tree."
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post #360 of 8826
3/31/08 at 12:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuance View Post

Awesome review! Congrats to Jim and Dennis for their fantastic work. I had the pleasure to hear these badboys before the reviewer, but I loved reading the review, enjoying it as if I'd never heard the speakers before. I'd agree with everything the reviewer said; these speakers are an absolute steal for the price (speaking of which, I guess we know now what their new price will be). And WOW...they are the reviewer's new reference speaker! NICE!

I want those speakers! I need to plant a "money tree."

Nuance,

You have some of the kindest words on the forum, and your advice is usually very thorough so to speak. I do notice though in about every other post that you talk about how you some day "want to afford" the speakers you heard. In fact an old thread got dug up from 2006 and you were saying the same thing then about Vandersteens

Sounds like you need to sign up for www.mvelopes.com. Seriously. Check it out and youll have the cash youre looking for in no time. Trust me. No affiliation what so ever, I just think their tool is incredible. 18 months ago I was $43,000 in debt and today I have about $4,000 in debt left. I will be in the clear in about 3 months. Good luck! I just placed my deposit on a 5 channel set of Song Series speakers and hope to finish paying for them in a few months.

-Chad
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