The Official Salk Sound Owner's And Discussion Thread - Page 231

I've been using a Vienna Acoustics Waltz for a mantle placed center channel. I too had limited space and it works ok. The dimensions are on their web page.

You can always discuss with Jim about your requirements. A front ported song center is 10 inch deep which actually might be preferable then something that sit flush to the mantel.

I haven't heard the SongTowers but I have listened to the CM9s. They weren't bad by any means, they just lacked personality. I'm sitting there smiling at the salesman but all I can think is, "I'm not hearing $3,000 at work here." IMO they were less impressive than the Paradigm Studio 60s and Dali Ikon 6s and much less of a speaker than the Paradigm Studio 100s. There was passing of time and I heard different material in different rooms, but that's what I took away from it. They sure are pretty though.

As far as the center goes, look into a front-ported SongCenter. It'll hang a bit, but you could add a bracket maybe.

I auditioned the CM9's and Vienna Acoustic Baby B's before going with the Salk ST's. The CM9's were fine, but a bit bright for my taste and just didn't have the sound I was looking for. The VA's were on the opposite end of the scale, very mellow and almost dark-again, not really what I was looking for. I've had my Salks for a few months now and couldn't be happier. I went back to the shop selling the CM's the other day just to check and it took me 2 seconds to confirm that I made the right decision. Btw, still like the VA's, they are beautiful and the sound started to grow on me, but they are 2x the price!

If you think of the fact that many B&M brands source drivers from the same place (although they may have a quantitative advantage and get a larger discount than a small firm like Salk), then both B&M and ID brands have to assemble cabinets and crossovers (again human labor vs. machine, but the machines cost money too), and then both have to sell their speakers, here is where ID has a huge advantage. The B&M brands will sell to a distributor, who then sells to a retailer, who then sells to the end consumer. ID brands skip both the distributor and retailer level, as they ARE the retailer, and can save at least 40% to you. Both distributor and retailer are striving for at least 20% margin, and in many cases the retailer wants to double his money so he's looking at a 50% profit margin. In the end, ID has huge advantages price-wise.

This model wasn't possible until people found the power of direct marketing and skipped distributors and retailers altogether with. While there are significant disadvantages too (you can't see, touch, and hear these products prior unless it's a well established product and someone you know and trust has one) I believe ID is the way to go for high end purchases like audiophile-grade speakers.

Cheers,
Chad

The Song Tower center is 18"W x 8"H x 12"D, so unless there's zero wiggle room it may already fit. Perhaps Salk Audio can customize a center to fit?

The B&W CM Center is 8.6"H, so you have a slightly bigger problem there too, but I doubt B&W will entertain your modification needs.

He's concerned about depth, not height.

jcole05 - If your mantle is only 8" deep you're going to be limited not just on the speaker but the connectors as well. Bare wires probably wouldn't increase the necessary depth but anything else (especially banana plugs) probably will.

Maybe will just leave my crummy Cambridge soundworks center up there (can't blame it part of a $500 total HTIB system 10 years ago but still it's pretty poor) and not power it. Just image the center using my fronts.

The smallest center channel I've seen that pulls its weight is the GoldenEars SuperSat. It's only 2.5" deep.

The Soundbar category is heating up a lot. I am imagining a brand new "Salk SoundBar" product using RAAL tweeters. Hmmmm!

It's not a waste of time checking out the CM9s. This is the literal definition of getting a baseline isn't it?

All kidding aside, I started with the CM 8 and 9 as well, and they sounded better than the GoldenEar Triton - my excellent adventure started there!

No regrets; you cannot make great decisions without the full experience.

I hear you totally. New to this hobby for about 3 weeks now (as people can see from my frenetic posting history). Have now heard

B&W: CM8, CM9, 802D, 804D

Goldenear: Triton 2s

Dynaudio: Focus 380s

Martin Logan: ESL Electromotion and Ethos

Monitor: Heard whatever low end BB Magnolia carries. CM9s were so much better not even worth mentioning (particularly given the regard CM9s are getting here).

So just getting started. Kind of want to just buy some sierras or salks and assume I'll like them. If they can't beat out my 20 year old Infinity Kappa 7.1s then I can just return them.

If you can, listen to Revel Salon2!

For the past 20 years my reference has been Infinity Kappa 9s. Before that the ESS AMT 1aM Monitor speakers.

How does the Salk Center stack up against the Ascend Horizon center spec wise? Has anyone ever compared the two?
I'm interested in Salk Towers, but the center will make or break the deal for me. I need a big strong center as the theater is 90% HT use.
Im also interested in learning about the front ported version. My center is currently placed against a wall....

Sounds like fun! Auditioning speakers is addicting, I've gone into off and on frenzies for the past 3 years looking for replacements and had a blast every time, I've probably heard 20 or so speakers from multiple manufacturers. Unfortunately I walked away without justifying the expense to replace my old and trusty Infinity Interludes, still great after almost 13 years. Salk SongTowers were the first that interested me (unheard), I grew tired of the varied coloration applied by most major manufacturers.

Anyhoo, good luck. If like me, its going to be difficult to part with those Infinity speakers.

Edit: By the way, if you get a chance check out Totem Acoustics, they were the only ones that stood out above all the rest (B&W, Def Tech, Paradigm, Cambridge, Boston Acoustics, Klipsch, PSB), but I was looking for something that excelled with music.

which salk model?

my ht2c doesn't suck...

I have not heard a salk center (several other salks though) and just received my Ascend Horizon center with the RAAL and its very impressive! Its basically the equivalent of a Sierra Tower on its side, same cabinet volume and specs. If you can, try and demo both brands then decide.

The Salk Song Towers and Center. I'm not familiar with the Veracity series as its way out of my price range.

I went from a Paradigm Studio CC-690 center to a Salk SongCenter and can tell you honestly that there was little or no difference in presence at any volume between the two. For 5" drivers the Song's can handle louder SPL's than I would ever need. I would also give the edge to the Salk's with the RAAL for clarity - there were times that even the big CC-690 dialogue sounded a bit muted.

I found those brands too "industrial" looking and concept wise too focused on just playing loudly. I prefer more refinement and am looking for a balanced approach. Anyway this thread is about Salk Sound!

The you came to the right place. Songtowers and be done with it!!

I picked up an older pair of Songtowers last night. Haven't had a chance to listen to them yet though. I am starting to amass a big collection of speakers! I already have a pair of Ascend Sierra-1's with the Sierra-1 center, as well as a complete 7.1 Definitive Technology setup that consist of the Bp-30's (L,R), a C/L/R-2000, and four Bp-1.2x's.

I like the Def Techs best for home theater but I plan on adding a center to my Songtowers and seeing how they do for home theater compared to the Def Techs, and Ascends.

I know this might sound crazy to some of you, but, I am going to go with the Soundscape center! My reasoning is that the center is the most important speaker in the system, for ht use, and, should be the best that you can possibly afford. What do you guys think of this? I am excited to order this bad boy!m

Nuance- I am trying to get the best possible center channel that I can afford. My baseline, or reference, center channel that I absolutely wish to god I could afford is the B&W htm1d. That is the most bad to the bone center channel that I have ever had the pleasure of hearing! if I can get close to the same level of performance with the SoundScape center, then I will be in audio heaven!

Admirable, and I'd love to see you send Jim that kind of dough, but if you are mating with ST's it is wayyyy overkill. I demoed his first unit to try it out and give feedback. It was nice but the sound did not go low enough in the center signal for me to take advantage of the larger drivers. So in the end, the SongCenter was entirely adequate. If I spent the big bucks for SSes all around, then shazam, I'd go for it.