Salk SongTower II

[Swerd]

Salk has announced an updated design of the original SongTower. Since it was introduced in 2007, it has been Salk's most popular model.

The new SongTower II retains the familiar MTM design in a tall, slender, floor standing cabinet, with mass-loaded quarter-wave transmission line alignment. The drivers are new. The 5" mid-woofers have ceramic cones built by SB Acoustics, and the tweeter is a recently developed OEM Air Motion Transformer (AMT) design, made by Aurum Cantus, that drastically lowers the cost and size of this type of tweeter. Dennis Murphy played a large role in selecting these drivers, and designing the crossover for them.

The Salk web page doesn't yet show this model, but it definitely exists.

Specs:

Model	SongTower II
Design	2-way transmission line
Tweeter	AMT (Air Motion Transformer)
Woofer	5" ceramic coned mid-woofer
Response ±3db	35Hz - 20kHz
Sensitivity	89dB
Impedance	4 ohms
Amplification	Minimum 50 watts recommended
Alignment	Transmission Line
Dimensions	8" wide × 10.5" deep × 44.5" tall (not including plinths or spikes)
Weight	54 pounds each
Price	$2595 per pair in black satin or white finish $2695 per pair in a standard veneer * Custom veneer or automotive finishes quoted on request.

 

[little wing]

I would love to hear them.

 

[D Murphy]

Thanks for posting that Swerd. I hadn't seen the announcement. Just one minor comment on the tweeter. Aurum Cantus didn't lower the cost of producing this type of driver. It was kind of the opposite. After the patent ran out on the original Heil design, lots of companies jumped in and offered much cheaper versions that ranged from truly awful to pretty good. I didn't think any of the ones I auditioned warranted adoption in my or Jim's speakers until I worked with the AC. It's definitely a cut above the competition both in performance and price, and combines the virtues of a dome (lower crossover point) with an open sound similar in character to a good ribbon. That's why I chose it for my new Mini Moniotor, along with the 5" SB Acoustics 5" woofer, and recommended the same drivers to Jim for a new ST. The woofer is arguably the biggest player in the new Song Tower. When doubled up and firing into a MLTL, it can rattle stuff (like the door of my grandfather's clock) at 34 Hz.

 

[Swerd]

I haven't heard them, but I can guess they're the new speaker under $3,000 that every other maker will have to compete with. It also presents some interesting choices among Salk models for new buyers:

Original SongTower
Seas ER15 woofers – dome tweeter – 38 Hz to 20 kHz – 88 dB – $2,395 (all prices with std. veneers)

New SongTower II
SB Accoustics SB15 woofers – Aurum Cantus AMT tweeter – 35 Hz to 20 kHz – 89 dB – $2,695

SongTower RT
Seas ER15 woofers – Raal ribbon tweeter – 38 Hz to 40 kHz – 88 dB – $3,195

SuperCharged SongTower
Seas W15 woofers – Raal ribbon tweeter – 34 Hz to 40 kHz – 88 dB – $3,895

Veracity ST
Seas W16 woofers – Raal ribbon tweeter – 34 Hz to 40 kHz – 88 dB – $4,695

 

[ryanosaur]

And just like that the new Mini grew up into a tower, huh Dennis?

Very exciting to see.

I really need to get my hands on some of those SB Ceramic drivers when I finish this long stalled AA+ mod I've been sitting on. (Good news is that my big summer contract/project is finally resolving, so now I just have Covid-Era Service Industry BS to deal with! Wheee!)

 

[Beave]

Are these going to replace the original SongTowers, or do they join the ever-expanding lineup with no others removed?

 

[D Murphy]

And just like that the new Mini grew up into a tower, huh Dennis?

Yup. Stuff like that only happens around Halloween.

 

[Swerd]

Are these going to replace the original SongTowers, or do they join the ever-expanding lineup with no others removed?

Good question. I have no direct info, but I think it will join the ever-expanding Salk lineup. As long as the drivers are available, older models can be built whenever someone orders them.

 

[shadyJ]

Looks like the same tweeter that was used in the RBH SVr series. If so, that ought to make for a very good loudspeaker. That thing measured terrifically and sounded great.

 

[KEW]

Are these going to replace the original SongTowers, or do they join the ever-expanding lineup with no others removed?

When you build to order instead of stocking inventory, there is typically not a whole lot of reason to retire a version!

 

[D Murphy]

Looks like the same tweeter that was used in the RBH SVr series. If so, that ought to make for a very good loudspeaker. That thing measured terrifically and sounded great.

It's the same animal, right down to the custom oval face plate. I felt a little guilty using it since to the best of my knowledge, RBH collaborated with Aurum Cantus in developing this particular AMT. I guess they made the same decision that Ascend made with RAAL (64-10) in not insisting on an exclusivity clause (which presumably would have required a very large guaranteed order.) The only real difference in application is that RBH chose to ramp down the AMT's response, while I thought it sounded more accurate running flat. Just so I don't get an envelope from RAAL with some suspicious white powder leaking out, I think any advantage the AMT has is limited to 2-way applications, where a low crossover point is desirable for a number of reasons. in a 3-way, I still would go with the RAAL (and do).

 

[gene]

Salk has announced an updated design of the original SongTower. Since it was introduced in 2007, it has been Salk's most popular model.

The new SongTower II retains the familiar MTM design in a tall, slender, floor standing cabinet, with mass-loaded quarter-wave transmission line alignment. The drivers are new. The 5" mid-woofers have ceramic cones built by SB Acoustics, and the tweeter is a recently developed OEM Air Motion Transformer (AMT) design, made by Aurum Cantus, that drastically lowers the cost and size of this type of tweeter. Dennis Murphy played a large role in selecting these drivers, and designing the crossover for them.

The Salk web page doesn't yet show this model, but it definitely exists.

Specs:

Model	SongTower II
Design	2-way transmission line
Tweeter	AMT (Air Motion Transformer)
Woofer	5" ceramic coned mid-woofer
Response ±3db	35Hz - 20kHz
Sensitivity	89dB
Impedance	4 ohms
Amplification	Minimum 50 watts recommended
Alignment	Transmission Line
Dimensions	8" wide × 10.5" deep × 44.5" tall (not including plinths or spikes)
Weight	54 pounds each
Price	$2595 per pair in black satin or white finish $2695 per pair in a standard veneer * Custom veneer or automotive finishes quoted on request.

two 5" drivers with bass extension down to 35Hz? I hope these don't bottom at reasonably high SPL.

 

[D Murphy]

two 5" drivers with bass extension down to 35Hz? I hope these don't bottom at reasonably high SPL.

One person's "reasonable" is another's silly loud. i doubt that anyone would buy these speakers expecting forehead flattening sound pressures, but Paul Kittinger optimized the ST II's to produce very high playback levels without exceeding the drivers' Xmax. Here is a nearfield plot I made of the combined woofer and port outputs:

And this is the modeling for an output of 99 dB at one meter



System bass response (red line):

The system is now generating 99 dB SPL.


Drivers' excursion (red line):

 

[Swerd]

I noticed that the Salk web site now has a page for the new SongTower II
https://www.salksound.com/model.php?model=SongTower II

Check out the frequency response curve:

 

[Trell]

Living in Sweden I'll never have to opportunity to listen to them, nor buy them at a reasonable price

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I haven't heard them, but I can guess they're the new speaker under $3,000 that every other maker will have to compete with. It also presents some interesting choices among Salk models for new buyers:

Original SongTower
Seas ER15 woofers – dome tweeter – 38 Hz to 20 kHz – 88 dB – $2,395 (all prices with std. veneers)

New SongTower II
SB Accoustics SB15 woofers – Aurum Cantus AMT tweeter – 35 Hz to 20 kHz – 89 dB – $2,695

SongTower RT
Seas ER15 woofers – Raal ribbon tweeter – 38 Hz to 40 kHz – 88 dB – $3,195

SuperCharged SongTower
Seas W15 woofers – Raal ribbon tweeter – 34 Hz to 40 kHz – 88 dB – $3,895

Veracity ST
Seas W16 woofers – Raal ribbon tweeter – 34 Hz to 40 kHz – 88 dB – $4,695

One minor point. While new ST-2 costs the same regardless of finish choice, the original ST is still listed as $2195 for B&W and $2395 for std veneer. So the cost speaker in basic B&W finish technically went up by $500.

 

[D Murphy]

One minor point. While new ST-2 costs the same regardless of finish choice, the original ST is still listed as $2195 for B&W and $2395 for std veneer. So the cost speaker in basic B&W finish technically went up by $500.

I noticed that too. I think it's a typo. There should still be a $100 spread in the two prices, with black or white at $2,595.

 

[Beave]

With so many versions of SongTowers now available, what are the pros and cons of each version?

How do they sound in comparison to each other?

 

[Ponzio]

Living in Sweden I'll never have to opportunity to listen to them, nor buy them at a reasonable price

Have you reached out to Jim Salk? Who knows, he might be amenable to shipping them to Sweden.

I own a pair of the original models with a Hiquphon OW2 dome tweeter & Seas ER15RLY midwoofers and they still sound as great as the day I bought them in 2014. Bang for buck, from other speakers I've owned or demoed, they can't be beat.

I have no desire to upgrade them but I'd love to hear the new model for comparison's sake, with that AMT tweeter & ceramic mid-woofers. More detail, greater dynamics?