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The Official Salk Sound Owner's And Discussion Thread - Page 266

post #7951 of 8678
12/9/12 at 3:46pm
Thanks! I will call Jim but I'm curious what other people are using and recommend. A lot is highly subjective but more data points/ideas/options can't hurt!
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post #7952 of 8678
12/9/12 at 3:52pm
"Scottie, more power!!!"
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post #7953 of 8678
12/9/12 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloP View Post

Thanks! I will call Jim but I'm curious what other people are using and recommend. A lot is highly subjective but more data points/ideas/options can't hurt!

What's your budget? The HT3's are power hungry monsters, and they'll flat out sing you into a trance when you feed them ample power. I'd go with no less than 250wpc into 8ohms. I highly recommend the Parasound A21 or Wyred4Sound ST-500.
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post #7954 of 8678
12/9/12 at 4:56pm
Thanks Nuance! My budget is around $1500, hopefully not much more, I just looked and the W4S ST-500 seems to fit (just right there). The Parasound A21, seems to be around 2.2k, does it justify the price difference?
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post #7955 of 8678
12/9/12 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloP View Post

Thanks Nuance! My budget is around $1500, hopefully not much more, I just looked and the W4S ST-500 seems to fit (just right there). The Parasound A21, seems to be around 2.2k, does it justify the price difference?

Only you can determine that. smile.gif Honest I'd say it's probably not worth the difference, but who knows. It can be easily had within your price range used, though. It is the amp I plan to purchase as my be all end all amp (I have the baby brother right now - the A23).
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post #7956 of 8678
12/9/12 at 5:37pm
If you don't mind the manual on switch (or attach a power outlet with a 12v trigger), I've had excellent results with my Yamaha P5000S.
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post #7957 of 8678
12/9/12 at 6:20pm
Good point, I'm looking at two 500W Emotiva XPA-1 as well... hummm this is getting tricky. Thanks for all your answers.
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post #7958 of 8678
12/9/12 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloP View Post

Thanks Nuance! My budget is around $1500, hopefully not much more, I just looked and the W4S ST-500 seems to fit (just right there). The Parasound A21, seems to be around 2.2k, does it justify the price difference?

My local brick and mortar parasound dealer was willing to come down 15% on an A31 right off the bat. With a little time and effort I'm reasonably sure I can get him down 20% Even if they charge a bit more than online, I don't mind paying it. I'm all for supporting my local dealers where I can go and see & hear the equipment I'm interested in. Especially since many of them have already gone out of business.
I remember seeing an Emotiva at Jim's place while I was there. I don't know what he was using it for (testing, R&D) or if he liked it or not. I'd be very interested in what Jim recommends as far as amps.
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post #7959 of 8678
12/9/12 at 6:44pm
Ha smile.gif I would be happy to give my business to someone local but I hate all the B&M store around me with a passion, this is only my opinion but I think they're run by a bunch of self entitled jerks catering to an "audiophile" snobby crowd with much more money than sense (I live in a very wealthy area, which means there are enough of these people around to encourage this attitude and keep them in business). They also rarely discount anything other than for "sales" event to get rid of inventory. I'd much rather give my business to someone online pushing the envelope.

In 4 ohm the pair of Emotiva mono-blocs are 1kW... Insane! I am somewhat of the school of thought that amps as long as they're well built and linear as well as used well within spec are mostly irrelevant to SQ. I do think I am under-powering the speakers right now though as the HT3 are quite difficult to drive but it means that other than "MOAR POWAH!" so I can properly drive the HT3 beasts, I will probably go with the cheapest option. The Emotiva are pretty sexy but they also suck up 90W at idle each, which as the amp is on 100% of the time (it's used in my home office) is quite a bit compared to the 18W of the Wyred4Sound. $1550 for the W4S vs $1700 once you add shipping for the two Emotiva mono-blocks... Hmmmm hard decisions...

Edit: typos
Edited by GloP - 12/9/12 at 6:51pm
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post #7960 of 8678
12/9/12 at 6:52pm
I know that Jim is a fan of Van Alstine at AVAHIFI.com. The FetValve amps are hybrid SS and tube. Saw a good review on them.

I would also recommend the Parasound Halos as noted by others. ATI makes good amps and made in USA.
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post #7961 of 8678
12/10/12 at 2:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloP View Post

Good point, I'm looking at two 500W Emotiva XPA-1 as well... hummm this is getting tricky. Thanks for all your answers.

What about the emotiva xpa-100? It's 250 watts at 8 ohms and 400 watts at 4 ohms. The HT3 is 100-500 watts at 4 ohms. The xpa-1 seems a little overkill. The xpa-100 monoblocks may be more appropriate. On sale now about 380 apiece.
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post #7962 of 8678
12/10/12 at 5:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by purbeast View Post

Yes it was worthwhile for me for sure, thanks again Richard!
I will say that I think the Salks sound better than the B&W CM9 and CMC2 setup that I was on the verge of buying, and they are significantly cheaper too. I was surprised how loud they sounded as well, and only at the 93db area. I probably wouldn't push them much louder, if at all, than we had them going. They sounded crisp and clear at that volume too.
However I still want to try and find a JTR setup to listen to before I make my purchase, simply based on the recommendation of them from so many people. I am glad that I went and listened to the Salks as well which were recommended from someone else.

Happy to hear. Best wishes to you on your speaker journey.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloP View Post

Ha smile.gif I would be happy to give my business to someone local but I hate all the B&M store around me with a passion, this is only my opinion but I think they're run by a bunch of self entitled jerks catering to an "audiophile" snobby crowd with much more money than sense (I live in a very wealthy area, which means there are enough of these people around to encourage this attitude and keep them in business). They also rarely discount anything other than for "sales" event to get rid of inventory. I'd much rather give my business to someone online pushing the envelope.
In 4 ohm the pair of Emotiva mono-blocs are 1kW... Insane! I am somewhat of the school of thought that amps as long as they're well built and linear as well as used well within spec are mostly irrelevant to SQ. I do think I am under-powering the speakers right now though as the HT3 are quite difficult to drive but it means that other than "MOAR POWAH!" so I can properly drive the HT3 beasts, I will probably go with the cheapest option. The Emotiva are pretty sexy but they also suck up 90W at idle each, which as the amp is on 100% of the time (it's used in my home office) is quite a bit compared to the 18W of the Wyred4Sound. $1550 for the W4S vs $1700 once you add shipping for the two Emotiva mono-blocks... Hmmmm hard decisions...
Edit: typos

I think those Emotiva's would certainly power those HT3's nicely, but I'd still go with the Wyred because it's dead silent and runs ultra cool, using hardly any power at idle. I think both will be an improvement over what you have, especially when those dynamic passages are played or transient peaks occur.
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post #7963 of 8678
12/11/12 at 9:10pm
Any thoughts on how much difference one would hear between Songtowers with the RAAL tweeters and the SCST's? I know the midwoofers are different but in what way in terms of audio performance (given there's about $500 difference between the 2 models if one customizes the STs with the ribbons and full front baffle). Jim mentioned they are voiced the same but the timbre is different. Not sure if I can understand what that means without actually hearing both. .He mentioned that when I asked whether a Songcenter would be compatible with the SCSTs vs a SC songcenter. He also said that the SCSTs woud be comparable with the HT2-TLs but less bass. He said that since there was probably a better chance to hear HT2-TLs in my area vs SCSTs. I will be hearing the STs with ribbons in a week.

Just trying to justify $850 more for SC fronts & SC center vs STs & center (with the ribbon upgrade).

thanks!
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post #7964 of 8678
12/12/12 at 1:27am
IMO getting a songtower with a raal is a waste. Either get the Songtower with teh hiquphon, or go fullboard for the SCST. The RAAL deserves the resolution of the W15 woofers.
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post #7965 of 8678
12/12/12 at 3:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eternal Velocity View Post

IMO getting a songtower with a raal is a waste. Either get the Songtower with teh hiquphon, or go fullboard for the SCST. The RAAL deserves the resolution of the W15 woofers.


I don't know if I'd go as far as to say its a waste. The seas prestige woofer is also a revealing woofer, just not quite so as the W15. But I'll conceed the midrange clarity of the SCST is nothing short of amazing. I went SCST for really one reason, the extra 8 hz of bass extension. An F3 of 34 hz is hard to ignore. I use them in a pure 2.0 set up without a sub so that extra bass extension won me over. Yes, it's not as powerful as the HT2 in the bass department, but its no slouch either.
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post #7966 of 8678
12/12/12 at 3:59am
I
Quote:
Originally Posted by glangford View Post

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say its a waste. The seas prestige woofer is also a revealing woofer, just not quite so as the W15. But I'll conceed the midrange clarity of the SCST is nothing short of amazing. I went SCST for really one reason, the extra 8 hz of bass extension. An F3 of 34 hz is hard to ignore. I use them in a pure 2.0 set up without a sub so that extra bass extension won me over. Yes, it's not as powerful as the HT2 in the bass department, but its no slouch either.
I agree, the standard ST woofer are pretty nice and has great resolution, i think the TL design did help a bit in that aspect. Of course the Mag woofer are going to be better but they need talented xover desingners too work such as Dennis Murphy.....the SCST sould have better transperency over the standard or raal version. I personnaly think you should ho a little extra mile so that you wont end up wondering what if? Of course if that is too much to afford, the standard ST are still pretty fantastico.
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post #7967 of 8678
12/12/12 at 6:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eternal Velocity View Post

IMO getting a songtower with a raal is a waste. Either get the Songtower with teh hiquphon, or go fullboard for the SCST. The RAAL deserves the resolution of the W15 woofers.

Have you heard both designs in order to be qualified to make this statement?

While I disagree with this sentiment (and so do hundreds of owners), I'd go for the Super-Charged version. It's quite a bargain for what you get IMO.
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post #7968 of 8678
12/12/12 at 3:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuance View Post

Have you heard both designs in order to be qualified to make this statement?
While I disagree with this sentiment (and so do hundreds of owners), I'd go for the Super-Charged version. It's quite a bargain for what you get IMO.
I'll second both of the above. I've not listened to the ribbon'd non-SCST; but I've certainly seen many of the ST+R owners post very happy with their equipment.

If you've not actually listened to both: I must take issue with your statement. (If you have listened to both: then I respect your opinion)
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post #7969 of 8678
12/21/12 at 8:20am
i am looking to upgrade my subwoofer. i am considering the salk/rythmic 12 inch sub. does anyone have one of these? i recently found out about salk speakers. i wish i had found out sooner. i upgraded my jbl L100T 25 year old speakers with kefq900's. i think i would have been better served with the salk's.
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post #7970 of 8678
12/21/12 at 9:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dannylsgr8 View Post

i am looking to upgrade my subwoofer. i am considering the salk/rythmic 12 inch sub. does anyone have one of these? i recently found out about salk speakers. i wish i had found out sooner. i upgraded my jbl L100T 25 year old speakers with kefq900's. i think i would have been better served with the salk's.
I bought one earlier this year and recently added another. They sound fantastic. smile.gif
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post #7971 of 8678
12/21/12 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dannylsgr8 View Post

i am looking to upgrade my subwoofer. i am considering the salk/rythmic 12 inch sub. does anyone have one of these? i recently found out about salk speakers. i wish i had found out sooner. i upgraded my jbl L100T 25 year old speakers with kefq900's. i think i would have been better served with the salk's.
How large is your room? The size of the room should play a large role in which subwoofer you choose.
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post #7972 of 8678
12/21/12 at 9:24am
^^^ Indeed. I have a small condo, but it's basically all one room. That's why I bought the second sub.
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post #7973 of 8678
12/21/12 at 4:37pm
The salk/rythmic comes in a 12 or a 15. The 12 inch would be sufficient i think. i am using a velodyne dps 10 that I got about four or five years ago. it is not quite enough. i have a pioneer elite sc 37. The MCACC does not eq the bass below 63 hz. i just upgraded to KEFQ900 and the KEFQ600 center. and then i found out about the Salk speakers on the Pioneer AVS forum. what a bite. i waited 25 years to upgrade my speakers, and after i did, then i find out about the Salk speakers. Anybody want some brand new KEFs? I will make you a good deal. Kidding, i doubt anyone on this forum would go for it. the KEF's sound good. but i think the Salk's would be better. so better late than never. the salk/rythmic sub, i am hoping, is the way to go.
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post #7974 of 8678
12/21/12 at 7:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dannylsgr8 View Post

The salk/rythmic comes in a 12 or a 15. The 12 inch would be sufficient i think. i am using a velodyne dps 10 that I got about four or five years ago. it is not quite enough. i have a pioneer elite sc 37. The MCACC does not eq the bass below 63 hz. i just upgraded to KEFQ900 and the KEFQ600 center. and then i found out about the Salk speakers on the Pioneer AVS forum. what a bite. i waited 25 years to upgrade my speakers, and after i did, then i find out about the Salk speakers. Anybody want some brand new KEFs? I will make you a good deal. Kidding, i doubt anyone on this forum would go for it. the KEF's sound good. but i think the Salk's would be better. so better late than never. the salk/rythmic sub, i am hoping, is the way to go.

I like my Salk's better than the Kef Q900's, but that doesn't mean you will. I don't know where you're located, but feel free to head on over to my place in Wisconsin and hear my pair. I am 30 minutes North of downtown Milwaukee. There are also hundreds of Salk owners willing to open their home to someone for auditions, so head over here to the Audio Circle Salk forum and post your audition request.
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=utiqpdiho9ilim8ieukjf7hi8ke7opl0&board=82.0

The Rythmik/Salk subs are awesome. If you're above 3000 cu. ft. I'd go with the 15.
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post #7975 of 8678
12/21/12 at 11:18pm
Hey guys,

Why would one want an SS10 vs an SS8? Seems to me the 8 might be a better, more balanced, loudspeaker. Is the 8" made by Acoustic Elegance like the bass drivers in the 10" and 12"?
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post #7976 of 8678
12/22/12 at 3:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monkish54 View Post

Hey guys,
Why would one want an SS10 vs an SS8? Seems to me the 8 might be a better, more balanced, loudspeaker. Is the 8" made by Acoustic Elegance like the bass drivers in the 10" and 12"?
I am most interested in this also. I am guessing (obviously) the SS10 will have a bit more low end but the SS8 will work in smaller rooms. Looks are a personal thing but the SS8s are killer.
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post #7977 of 8678
12/22/12 at 4:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jima4a View Post

I am guessing (obviously) the SS10 will have a bit more low end

Extension yes, but 2 8" bass drivers have more surface area than 1 10" driver. The 2 8" could have less xmax and still achieve the same volume with less VC heat.

With that in mind, why would one go with the 10? biggrin.gif The 8 looks better, IMO. biggrin.gif
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post #7978 of 8678
12/22/12 at 7:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monkish54 View Post

Hey guys,
Why would one want an SS10 vs an SS8? Seems to me the 8 might be a better, more balanced, loudspeaker. Is the 8" made by Acoustic Elegance like the bass drivers in the 10" and 12"?

Having heard the SS10s it seemed to me that the minimal upper cabinet design of the SS10/12 contributed to a more open/natural sounding upper end. If price wasn't an issue, I would choose the SS10 over the SS8. Perhaps someone who has heard both side by side can comment.
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post #7979 of 8678
12/22/12 at 8:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saturn94 View Post

Having heard the SS10s it seemed to me that the minimal upper cabinet design of the SS10/12 contributed to a more open/natural sounding upper end. If price wasn't an issue, I would choose the SS10 over the SS8. Perhaps someone who has heard both side by side can comment.


I think the top end may be pretty much a wash between the two. But the 10 goes significantly deeper than the 8. The 10 will shake the floors, and I don't think you will get that kind of power out of the 8's down really deep. But the added sensitivity of the 8's is a big plus, and with a sub(s), it would be pretty much a no brainer in favor of the 8's.
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post #7980 of 8678
12/22/12 at 8:19am
Dennis,

I would have thought as Saturn noted, that the upper module of the 10s would have less cabinet interaction than the 8s as you have done with the Phil's.

Jim
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