So many speakers such little amount of time...help!

[shkumar4963]

I had some lengthy conversations with Jim Salk prior to ordering, and had a 180 deg turn on my thought process about speakers. Until that point, I had been demoing mostly established brand names.

When I asked him how did he think his speakers would measure up to what I had demoed and he said...to be honest I haven't heard all of the speakers that you have demoed, but I would have no problem putting the (Song3-A) up against any of them if that's possible and let you be the judge. He said, he chose to be a direct seller because he new if he went the dealer route, the markup would push his product to a level he thought would be a lot harder to sell without being an established brand.

He went on to talk about how he/Phil selected the drivers, and as I started to research the driver level the more comfortable I became with Salk as a potential upgrade to my B&Ws, and within a week or so pulled the trigger on the trio...LCR

Salk's creativity was furniture grade cabinetry, with flat response speakers...he's never going to sell as many unit per yr as Klipsch, but it's working.

Salk and Phil's have also been reviewed and measured by several reviewers. I have not personally compared them to KEF, Revel or Focal but I hear them to be competitive.

One of the problem i feel with direct to consumer speakers is that it is hard to demo them, especially side by side with other speakers. It just takes a lot longer. This along with limited reviews makes it harder to pull the trigger on them.

Also, there are many direct to consumer speaker makers who produce just bad speakers. And one has to be careful to know which one are those.

Other than that, I agree with what you are saying. I personally am sold on KEF speakers.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[ryanosaur]

One of the problem i feel with direct to consumer speakers is that it is hard to demo them, especially side by side with other speakers. It just takes a lot longer. This along with limited reviews makes it harder to pull the trigger on them.

Its true.
I really wanted to get to hear the Tektons. They may very well be as good as the claims. I talked to one guy who was going back as a second time customer, moving his Pendragons to Surround and ordering Double Impacts and the Wide Center for his front 3. That spells satisfaction.
But I would have rather flown to SLC to check them out before ordering... rather than have to return 9 large, very heavy speakers if I didn't like them. I was willing to drive to San Clemente to visit Ascend, too.
What I can attest to, now that I've experienced it, is that for the handful of trully wonderful companies, the customers become marketers... which is how I got to hear the Phil 3s. That a total stranger believed so strongly in the quality of Dennis' work, that he would invite me into his home for an hour! There was another guy here that offered to host me to listen to his Ascends.

Gotta ask: which KEFs ar you using? How do you have them set up?

Cheers!

 

[shkumar4963]

Its true.
I really wanted to get to hear the Tektons. They may very well be as good as the claims. I talked to one guy who was going back as a second time customer, moving his Pendragons to Surround and ordering Double Impacts and the Wide Center for his front 3. That spells satisfaction.
But I would have rather flown to SLC to check them out before ordering... rather than have to return 9 large, very heavy speakers if I didn't like them. I was willing to drive to San Clemente to visit Ascend, too.
What I can attest to, now that I've experienced it, is that for the handful of trully wonderful companies, the customers become marketers... which is how I got to hear the Phil 3s. That a total stranger believed so strongly in the quality of Dennis' work, that he would invite me into his home for an hour! There was another guy here that offered to host me to listen to his Ascends.

Gotta ask: which KEFs ar you using? How do you have them set up?

Cheers!

Good points. But even at someone's home, how does one compare two competing speakers. And we know that our audio memory is not that good that we can compare two different speakers on two different days unless one speaker is just horrible.

On the other hand, I have read great reviews for Phil from multiple satisfied customers.

I currently use KEF ls50 and q100 with a svs sub.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I auditioned the Q950 and the R900 side by side. They sounded good. I was really excited at first. I had a brief moment of, "can I actually afford these R900s?"
But then the fatigue set in for me, about halfway through my session with them. Several here asked if they were both set up toed in... which they were. I think it was Shady that suggested KEFs do better perpendiclar to the wall, rather than aimed at the LP.
Mind, I'm not meaning to suggest they are bad in any way, but much as you want the right tool for the job, I didn't want something that I would have to "EQ out" as another member suggested he does.

Perhaps the more humorous aspect is that we want speakers that faithfully reproduce sound, yet we revere speakers that color the sound in many aspects. Not claiming expert status in any way. Just strikes me as odd. And maybe the MA Silvers "colour" the sound too, but if they did, it was in a way more suitable to my personal hearing.

It is important to listen to the speakers for as long as possible and probably multiple times.

It's sounds cliche and obvious, but at the end of the day we should go with the speakers that sound best to us, not anyone else.

I think it reinforces the point over and over again that no matter how much the speakers cost or how they measure, each of us might prefer something a little different.

Definitely go with whichever actually sounds best.

 

[2channel lover]

Salk and Phil's have also been reviewed and measured by several reviewers. I have not personally compared them to KEF, Revel or Focal but I hear them to be competitive.

One of the problem i feel with direct to consumer speakers is that it is hard to demo them, especially side by side with other speakers. It just takes a lot longer. This along with limited reviews makes it harder to pull the trigger on them.

Also, there are many direct to consumer speaker makers who produce just bad speakers. And one has to be careful to know which one are those.

Other than that, I agree with what you are saying. I personally am sold on KEF speakers.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Agreed..."I'm all in" thinking with direct sell or an OEM speaker company just based on what you've read would also be a mistake. Hearing is believing.

Demo access is the most challenging part of the biz with most direct sell companies. Pro reviews are good, but the balance of owner reviews matter a great deal.

I have not been able to do a true A/B comparison (same equipment, room , listening room etc.with any of the OEM speakers I was considering relative to the Salks, but I spent several months demoing speakers from 2.5k a pr to some costing $15k..Revel F208, 206...M/A Gold 300, B&W 804D3 & 803 D3 to name a few. From that work I was leaning towards the M/A Gold 300 and the F208.

In the past yr of owning the Salks, and playing back the same demo music and going over my notes from the demo sessions...I'm totally happy, content with my purchase. That said, I understand direct sell speakers are not for everyone.

 

[Ryan B_112]

Wow thank you for all the responses I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays so far. I hit a local HT/Audio store for the sales and tried a new front stage. KEF Q350 and Q650 their was an improvement during a couple movies I watched. The Q650C performed so well the wife didn't ask me to turn up the volume even once. The dialogue was clear. However compared to a lot of previous movies it seemed Danzel lost some midrange in his voice, the sound was almost airy?? So the idea came to my head about taking them back for either the KEF LS50 that would require a 3rd one to be used for a centre channel. Or another option would be to get the Q950 towers to try out. I would assume they would provide a lot more midrange and bass then the Q350 book shelf. Still concerned about my future HT room size though. Would big towers be to much for the room it self? 19.5' x 11' x 9'
Found another store that really specializes in high end installs and HIFi they mentioned the following setups one being really affordable and the other more money of course:
1. Paradigm monitor SE 6000 and a centre channel or a 3rd tower for the centre hear the speakers cost $549 CAD.
2. Martin Logan Electro Motion ESL for front and ESL C for centre thats well over 5K just for fronts.
3. Martin Logan 60XT and Motion 50XT for centre.

All the above mentioned speakers seem to be more efficient than the KEF but I do have the power to push them. Any recommendations on these?

 

[ryanosaur]

Hi.
Full towers aren't going to overpower you or your room. My preference would be good 3-way towers and 3-way center... but any well designed speaker should perform admirably!
I really liked my time with the ML Motion 60XT. I didn't buy them, but was impressed. If available to you in your area, audition Monitor Audio Silver 500 or 300 towers. My favorites. I liked those better than KEF and Martin Logan.
The Q750 or 950 are both well regarded speakers. Personally I found KEF fatiguing to listen to, but many others swear by them.

 

[shkumar4963]

Agreed..."I'm all in" thinking with direct sell or an OEM speaker company just based on what you've read would also be a mistake. Hearing is believing.

Demo access is the most challenging part of the biz with most direct sell companies. Pro reviews are good, but the balance of owner reviews matter a great deal.

I have not been able to do a true A/B comparison (same equipment, room , listening room etc.with any of the OEM speakers I was considering relative to the Salks, but I spent several months demoing speakers from 2.5k a pr to some costing $15k..Revel F208, 206...M/A Gold 300, B&W 804D3 & 803 D3 to name a few. From that work I was leaning towards the M/A Gold 300 and the F208.

In the past yr of owning the Salks, and playing back the same demo music and going over my notes from the demo sessions...I'm totally happy, content with my purchase. That said, I understand direct sell speakers are not for everyone.

Completely agree. But do remember that many posters in different forms are also people working for different internet speaker manufacturers. This is an important vehicle for advertising and marketing for such companies.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Ryan B_112]

Hey Ryan
So I guess I should have worded that better. The concern actually comes in from the width of the room and making sure I have enough separation with big towers. I will see if I can find a place to auction them. With the limitations of the width would a book shelf speaker have more separation.

 

[ryanosaur]

Hey Ryan
So I guess I should have worded that better. The concern actually comes in from the width of the room and making sure I have enough separation with big towers. I will see if I can find a place to auction them. With the limitations of the width would a book shelf speaker have more separation.

Which is your front wall: 11' or 19'? How far apart do you think they will be when you set up? My speakers are going to be on an ~11' wall, with about 5-6' from woofer to woofer between them.

 

[Ryan B_112]

So the front wall is actually 10' because of a small nook (closet on other side). 19.5' is the actual length with 9' ceilings. Now I was thinking of making a small false wall in the front, this would get me past the nook and make it 11' and give me space for my rack and cover the window that is currently there.

 

[ryanosaur]

So the front wall is actually 10' because of a small nook (closet on other side). 19.5' is the actual length with 9' ceilings. Now I was thinking of making a small false wall in the front, this would get me past the nook and make it 11' and give me space for my rack and cover the window that is currently there.

More than anything, with any rear ported speaker (most bass reflex designs are, it seems) you want to pull it away from the wall anyway. How deep is that nook? You might be better served to just set up where your "false wall" might go and call it good.
Any kind of room correcting that you might want to apply (and I would consider a false wall a correction) should wait until you have the gear and can see what it sounds like. Covering a window might be better done with a folding screen and/or shades and curtains, rather than covering it for good... unless you really don't want a window. *shrugs