Salk Sound System 5.0

[Pogre]

He said that I'm most certainly welcome to come visit his shop, but they don't have everything available to listen to at once.

That makes me picture a big warehouse, a bunch of amplifiers and every speaker they make all playing at the same time (at once), lol.

 

[NINaudio]

That makes me picture a big warehouse, a bunch of amplifiers and every speaker they make all playing at the same time (at once), lol.

LOL, considering they make stuff to order for the most part it's not surprising that they don't keep everything on hand. He said it could be arranged that I could visit the next time they're building a song 3 set. So that is always an option as well.

 

[2channel lover]

Song3A

Think transparent, or what goes in, is what comes out....only not much of a filter. Bad is really bad, but good is really good.

IMO...the Paradigm Persona series is kinda similar in that regard.

I haven't listened to the Personas.

I've been corresponding with Jim today and he suggests the Song 3's with the original bamboo drivers (which he can still get for an additional price) or the Song3 BeATs for me based on what I listen to. He's also reaching out to a customer in Chicago with the S3's to see about an audition. He said that I'm most certainly welcome to come visit his shop, but they don't have everything available to listen to at once.
[/QUOTE]

The Personas are really nice, and priced like they should be really nice...I heard the 5F and 3F...they have ceramic mids like the 3A, but they don't have the RAAL so that would be different. But you mentioned the Be option...the Persona series has Be tweeters also. Should be a Chicago area dealer...hopefully you get a chance to demo the 3...I was demo host and the last I heard the guy ended up buying a pr of 3As.

 

[NINaudio]

The owner in Chicago has agreed to a demo. I've emailed him about doing one next year after the holidays. Looking forward to his response. The Personas are definitely more money than I'd want to spend. The Salks are more than I was looking at initially, but if they live up to the hype and I can get an amazing custom finish for under $4k I'll be sold. Considering how rarely I buy new main home speakers, I figure it'll come out to only $200 per year of use. lol

 

[snakeeyes]

20 years? I read that the ribbon tweeters could require maintenance every 10 years but not sure if that is a firm estimate. Or are you thinking Be tweeters?

 

[2channel lover]

The owner in Chicago has agreed to a demo. I've emailed him about doing one next year after the holidays. Looking forward to his response. The Personas are definitely more money than I'd want to spend. The Salks are more than I was looking at initially, but if they live up to the hype and I can get an amazing custom finish for under $4k I'll be sold. Considering how rarely I buy new main home speakers, I figure it'll come out to only $200 per year of use. lol

Good deal.

I'll tell you the same thing I told the guy that I hosted...bring some music that you've played many times.

Coming from a 20 yr old pr of 804 series B&Ws I knew to get an appreciable gain, the upgrade was probably going to be north of $3k for the L&R. I had a budget of roughly $6k for speakers...namely LCR which would not go very far with the new 800 series B&Ws.

ATL still has a decent high end brick & mortar audio presence so I demoed a lot of speakers, and didn't really start hearing what I was looking for until I heard the Revel F208 and Monitor Audio Gold 300...now I was hearing something better than what I had and the LCR for those was a little over $6k....I discovered Salk and the rest is history.

I only went to hear the Personas to compare them to the Song3As after I'd had them about a yr..Jim said he thought my 2.2 setup would compare well with speakers costing more than double the price...so I got the bug, .how would they compare to a $10k speaker? IT wasn't a true A to B comparison, but the same content...2.0 to 2.0 listening to music peaking into the 80 dB range ...3F was slightly meatier in the bass which you expect, but Salks held up much better than I expected mids/highs, and when I factor in the dual subs...the Salks pkg was still half the price of the 3F.

The 3As

 

[everettT]

20 years? I read that the ribbon tweeters could require maintenance every 10 years but not sure if that is a firm estimate. Or are you thinking Be tweeters?

I'm not sure that they will need any replacement parts at a specified date, but if /when they do it would be a minor cost, more of an inconvenience. As for the Be, I love it

 

[NINaudio]

20 years? I read that the ribbon tweeters could require maintenance every 10 years but not sure if that is a firm estimate. Or are you thinking Be tweeters?

I was just thinking that I've had my Bostons for close to 20 years now.

Good deal.

I'll tell you the same thing I told the guy that I hosted...bring some music that you've played many times.

Coming from a 20 yr old pr of 804 series B&Ws I knew to get an appreciable gain, the upgrade was probably going to be north of $3k for the L&R. I had a budget of roughly $6k for speakers...namely LCR which would not go very far with the new 800 series B&Ws.

ATL still has a decent high end brick & mortar audio presence so I demoed a lot of speakers, and didn't really start hearing what I was looking for until I heard the Revel F208 and Monitor Audio Gold 300...now I was hearing something better than what I had and the LCR for those was a little over $6k....I discovered Salk and the rest is history.

I only went to hear the Personas to compare them to the Song3As after I'd had them about a yr..Jim said he thought my 2.2 setup would compare well with speakers costing more than double the price...so I got the bug, .how would they compare to a $10k speaker? IT wasn't a true A to B comparison, but the same content...2.0 to 2.0 listening to music peaking into the 80 dB range ...3F was slightly meatier in the bass which you expect, but Salks held up much better than I expected mids/highs, and when I factor in the dual subs...the Salks pkg was still half the price of the 3F.

The 3As
View attachment 32603

I've got a bunch of stuff I know pretty well in flac format on a USB stick I bring with me whenever I listen to speakers.

 

[2channel lover]

I was just thinking that I've had my Bostons for close to 20 years now.



I've got a bunch of stuff I know pretty well in flac format on a USB stick I bring with me whenever I listen to speakers.

That's what I did...makes it easier.

 

[JerryLove]

I take it Chris' Infinities are a solid couple of steps down from the Salks?

That would depend on how you measure. There's a voicing issue on Chris' that I've never had the knowledge to resolve. Some things are amazing on them, some are "off".

My SCSTs are more consistant (and a better compromise of form and function); but, of course, cannot keep up on bass performance with a 4-way design.

The latest project is the Klipsch 650-THX setup in the theater room.

Did you get a chance to listen to his omni-polar rig?

No. I spent all my time there getting my own build to completion.

 

[Swerd]

I've got a bunch of stuff I know pretty well in flac format on a USB stick I bring with me whenever I listen to speakers.

I'm real glad you've found a local Salk owner who'll show them off to you. It should be fun for you and the owner. I've done that several times in the past, and it's always fun.

Any thoughts about veneer?

One last thought about bringing music on a USB stick. Ask the owner if his setup can play back music from one of those. He might be an old guy like me, who never bothered with a computer music source. It might help if you bring a laptop and a hookup wire with you.

 

[Alex2507]

I spent all my time there getting my own build to completion.

I love that story. G/F in tow to boot ... stud move.

 

[JerryLove]

I love that story. G/F in tow to boot ... stud move.

She married me regardless. It seems to have worked out.

*She* loves the Salks above all others.

 

[NINaudio]

I'm real glad you've found a local Salk owner who'll show them off to you. It should be fun for you and the owner. I've done that several times in the past, and it's always fun.

Any thoughts about veneer?

One last thought about bringing music on a USB stick. Ask the owner if his setup can play back music from one of those. He might be an old guy like me, who never bothered with a computer music source. It might help if you bring a laptop and a hookup wire with you.

Funny thing is that it appears the owner is the OP of this thread!

For veneer I'm most likely going to do curly maple with silver gray dye and black burst edges.

 

[everettT]

Funny thing is that it appears the owner is the OP of this thread!

For veneer I'm most likely going to do curly maple with silver gray dye and black burst edges.

That's close to the color I purchased.

 

[NINaudio]

That's close to the color I purchased.
View attachment 32610

Yeah, that looks very nice too. Which one is it?

 

[everettT]

Yeah, that looks very nice too. Which one is it?

Curtly maple, smokey silver burst. Song 3 Encore.

 

[2channel lover]

I'm real glad you've found a local Salk owner who'll show them off to you. It should be fun for you and the owner. I've done that several times in the past, and it's always fun.

Any thoughts about veneer?

One last thought about bringing music on a USB stick. Ask the owner if his setup can play back music from one of those. He might be an old guy like me, who never bothered with a computer music source. It might help if you bring a laptop and a hookup wire with you.

Good point I used a USB stick also in my demos without issue but these were all retail stores mostly, the one custom installer also had a fairly new AVR with a front USB port.

I've only done it once, but I enjoyed hosting as well...I played a few songs that always impress people. Then turned it over to him and let him play what he wanted. We played them 2.0 and 2.2. he really appreciated hearing them in a home environment.

 

[ryanosaur]

If I could justify dropping 1Large on Be Tweets alone...
*starry eyes
Raals are amazing... And the Satori Berylliums are astounding!!!
What exactly is the difference between, say, $4K speakers... $8K speakers... or $12K...? More?

BMR kits from Meniscus present a great opportunity to build a speaker that easily outperforms speakers in excess of $3K per pair! Even Jim’s pricing still represents a pretty decent cost-to-performance ratio. So it’s not just about the cost.

Speaking for myself, talking to Dennis and Jim was about buying my Forever Speakers. I semi-joked about learning to build my own because I would never be able to purchase better speakers. I still feel that way, and am working towards my first build! Not eager to replace them... just eager to learn!
Regardless, when you approach that cost for your Mains, consider the variables. I know Dennis really likes the Accuton Mid in the 3A. It is an expensive driver, but also his favorite because of its clarity/accuracy. Is it worth the extra 1k? That’s a hard question to answer, but having heard their drivers... I’d be willing to say yes.
Beyond that... if a drive to Salk’s might give you an opportunity to compare one of the TL designs, you should take it. Dennis has also spoken very highly of the Seas w-16 and w-18 woofers that feature in the Veracity ST and HT2TL.
For the number of TL fans out there, I have to agree that there is something special about the LF SQ that a good TL offers. Nothing typed or written can fully express how it will sound. But when you hear it...

6 mos into my Phil 3s and almost a year into my BMRs... I have zero regrets. For the money I spent, I know I put together a rig for the ages! And at that, a rig that should cost at least twice what I paid for it just in SQ alone.

Working with Jim and Dennis both has been amazing. Every day I turn on my system, I am grateful for what they’ve done! I don’t think I could imagine any other speakers in the spots that these occupy.

 

[everettT]

If I could justify dropping 1Large on Be Tweets alone...
*starry eyes
Raals are amazing... And the Satori Berylliums are astounding!!!
What exactly is the difference between, say, $4K speakers... $8K speakers... or $12K...? More?

BMR kits from Meniscus present a great opportunity to build a speaker that easily outperforms speakers in excess of $3K per pair! Even Jim’s pricing still represents a pretty decent cost-to-performance ratio. So it’s not just about the cost.

Speaking for myself, talking to Dennis and Jim was about buying my Forever Speakers. I semi-joked about learning to build my own because I would never be able to purchase better speakers. I still feel that way, and am working towards my first build! Not eager to replace them... just eager to learn!
Regardless, when you approach that cost for your Mains, consider the variables. I know Dennis really likes the Accuton Mid in the 3A. It is an expensive driver, but also his favorite because of its clarity/accuracy. Is it worth the extra 1k? That’s a hard question to answer, but having heard their drivers... I’d be willing to say yes.
Beyond that... if a drive to Salk’s might give you an opportunity to compare one of the TL designs, you should take it. Dennis has also spoken very highly of the Seas w-16 and w-18 woofers that feature in the Veracity ST and HT2TL.
For the number of TL fans out there, I have to agree that there is something special about the LF SQ that a good TL offers. Nothing typed or written can fully express how it will sound. But when you hear it...

6 mos into my Phil 3s and almost a year into my BMRs... I have zero regrets. For the money I spent, I know I put together a rig for the ages! And at that, a rig that should cost at least twice what I paid for it just in SQ alone.

Working with Jim and Dennis both has been amazing. Every day I turn on my system, I am grateful for what they’ve done! I don’t think I could imagine any other speakers in the spots that these occupy.

I'm waiting on the prefab BMR cabinets to build a couple of pairs, that and my back. I haven't been disappointed in any Murphy designed speaker.