Salk Signature Sound Song3-A Update

[2channel lover]

It's been a long time coming, but my Salk order is nearing the home stretch.

Spoke with Jim yesterday and he says the progress report below is accurate. He's expecting the final topcoat completed possibly today, and driver assembly and testing latter part of next week...the center channel is one step behind the mains. So it's starting to look like Thanksgiving week at the earliest, more likely the week after for shipping.

According to Jim, the Song3-A was the feature attraction at both RMAF and Capital Audiofest and very well received. Although he was referring to the Song 3's debut at AXPONA, I say James Larson of AH was prophetic when he said after..

"a deal this good is sure to keep Salk very busy in the future!"

Based on talking to Jim and the lag in production time...I think 2017 is a very good year for Salk Signature Sound.

I've waited 21 weeks so I think I can handle two weeks but the anticipation is growing everyday!

 

[Swerd]

It's been a long time coming, but my Salk order is nearing the home stretch.

Well that's good news . You deserve some kind of award for patience during the long wait.

I was planning on going to the Capital Audiofest (local for me) the previous weekend, but I was out of town. So I still haven't had a chance to hear any of the new Song3 speakers.

I'm very glad to hear how well these new speakers have been received.

Keep us posted when you next get more news – like a shipping date.

 

[2channel lover]

Well that's good news . You deserve some kind of award for patience during the long wait.

I was planning on going to the Capital Audiofest (local for me) the previous weekend, but I was out of town. So I still haven't had a chance to hear any of the new Song3 speakers.

I'm very glad to hear how well these new speakers have been received.

Keep us posted when you next get more news – like a shipping date.

If it were just me waiting maybe I'd feel differently....talking with Jim, he said they just got slammed from the CHI show and they have not been able to make up any ground...instead the lead time went the other way. If the order pace stays at that level, he's going to have to get more help maybe.

If I didn't have my B&Ws...I'm not sure what I would've done. I've bought about 32 new CD/SACDs since I ordered the Salks...about 10 were old classic rock CDs I once owned as LPs...so I've stayed occupied the best I can.

Indeed...when they get here I will certainly let the AH family know about it.

 

[mtrycrafts]

It's been a long time coming, but my Salk order is nearing the home stretch.

...!

Where are the lunch breaks, bathroom breaks, holidays, etc.

 

[everettT]

Where are the lunch breaks, bathroom breaks, holidays, etc.

You forgot paint drying

 

[mtrycrafts]

... If the order pace stays at that level, he's going to have to get more help maybe.

....

You mean he is not waiting for the tax cuts to hire more workers?

 

[2channel lover]

Maybe that's the hold up...tax cuts...lol.

It really sounds like a labor intensive effort on the cabinet finishing...5 steps alone on the cabinet finish.

 

[TheWarrior]

Maybe that's the hold up...tax cuts...lol.

It really sounds like a labor intensive effort on the cabinet finishing...5 steps alone on the cabinet finish.

I use an oil based finish on my furniture projects. Sanding each coat and building up more than a dozen (or TWO) coats can easily take 2 weeks with drying time. Then it takes two weeks to cure! It is absolutely a labor of love, that you are sure to love just as much!

 

[2channel lover]

I use an oil based finish on my furniture projects. Sanding each coat and building up more than a dozen (or TWO) coats can easily take 2 weeks with drying time. Then it takes two weeks to cure! It is absolutely a labor of love, that you are sure to love just as much!

This is in a similar vein it sounds like.

That's the drag...Jim says...I'm always reluctant to tell you a ship date before the cabinets are finished, but until then it's not an exact science. The drying time between coats varies for each species of woods, humidity levels, etc.

I dabbled into wood working, mostly built ins, stuff like that...more when I had my shop in the basement at the old house had all the tools right there. I wouldn't have the patience to put a dz coats of anything down...yes, that's a labor of love.

 

[Swerd]

It really sounds like a labor intensive effort on the cabinet finishing...5 steps alone on the cabinet finish.

Jim Salk once described his finishing process. I had to search a bit to find it:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=147457.0

"We use ICA poly sealer (FP272), spraying multiple coats until we are able to sand it flat without sand-throughs or grain showing. Sometimes this can be 12-15 coats. For our standard topcoat, we use about 5 coats of M.L. Campbell high gloss Magnamax pre-cat lacquer, sanding out dust particles between coats. We then shoot a final coat of satin Magnamax. We then take a very fine sandpaper and remove any remaining dust particles we find and shoot straight lacquer thinner with a retarder added. This re-melts the surface to remove any sanding marks left over."

I've never seen a finish that looks anywhere as good as Salk's finishes – not on any other speaker or any other wooden furniture.

 

[mtrycrafts]

You forgot paint drying

Well, maybe it dries after hours?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Maybe that's the hold up...tax cuts...lol.

It really sounds like a labor intensive effort on the cabinet finishing...5 steps alone on the cabinet finish.

Just imagine how long it takes for the Steinway pianos finish. Well, maybe not this long.

 

[TheWarrior]

Just imagine how long it takes for the Steinway pianos finish. Well, maybe not this long.

If my wife has her way, I might able to answer that question next year....

 

[TheWarrior]

This is in a similar vein it sounds like.

That's the drag...Jim says...I'm always reluctant to tell you a ship date before the cabinets are finished, but until then it's not an exact science. The drying time between coats varies for each species of woods, humidity levels, etc.

I dabbled into wood working, mostly built ins, stuff like that...more when I had my shop in the basement at the old house had all the tools right there. I wouldn't have the patience to put a dz coats of anything down...yes, that's a labor of love.

I've been teaching myself cabinetry and furniture making which has started evolving in to speaker design... furniture that sounds good? Yes please!

I'm just not using HPLV, rather hand rubbing the finish. Keeping the lint out has been an issue, but using polyester microfiber seems to have most of the specs evaporate in the oil finish as it cures. Otherwise, I just polish the heck out of it!

 

[2channel lover]

If my wife has her way, I might able to answer that question next year....

Boy...we dodged that bullet...wife has always wanted a baby grand and we went thru all of the research, showroom visits...$8k to $9k will get a decent baby grand that a musician could appreciate, but the next tier was the Steinway (a name goes a long way in that industry)...at the end of the day, the size was just to much. The piano fit okay, but not with the seating, etc....the room was just too small to do what she wanted and not look cluttered.

A 40 x 60 painting of a piano was the compromise I guess...

 

[TheWarrior]

Boy...we dodged that bullet...wife has always wanted a baby grand and we went thru all of the research, showroom visits...$8k to $9k will get a decent baby grand that a musician could appreciate, but the next tier was the Steinway (a name goes a long way in that industry)...at the end of the day, the size was just to much. The piano fit okay, but not with the seating, etc....the room was just too small to do what she wanted and not look cluttered.

A 40 x 60 painting of a piano was the compromise I guess...

Her grandparents owned a Jazz night club in San Francisco and when they passed, her father and Aunt liquidated all of her grandfather's instruments, including the Steinway. She's now the only one in her family to have been trained in music.

My concern is that there is literally only one place in our small home that a piano could go, and I would have to get creative to ensure the HT does not turn it into a player-piano.

I am rather excited by the idea of a Steinway tho. When I was serious in my guitar practice, I gained a fair bit of music theory - enough to look at a piano and know how to play it. I think a Steinway in the house would be a pretty good push to get back into music!

 

[2channel lover]

Her grandparents owned a Jazz night club in San Francisco and when they passed, her father and Aunt liquidated all of her grandfather's instruments, including the Steinway. She's now the only one in her family to have been trained in music.

My concern is that there is literally only one place in our small home that a piano could go, and I would have to get creative to ensure the HT does not turn it into a player-piano.

I am rather excited by the idea of a Steinway tho. When I was serious in my guitar practice, I gained a fair bit of music theory - enough to look at a piano and know how to play it. I think a Steinway in the house would be a pretty good push to get back into music!

No one in our immediate family is gifted or trained in music....the wife just always wants that show piece...in the house we downsized from there was an ideal spot for one. Not so much now.

Given you both are musically inclined...I think it's a great move for you guys.

 

[mtrycrafts]

If my wife has her way, I might able to answer that question next year....

LOL.
One reason I enjoy movies with friends when she is away, more volume.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...

A 40 x 60 painting of a piano was the compromise I guess...

And the price of that painting was .....

 

[mtrycrafts]

Her grandparents owned a Jazz night club in San Francisco and when they passed, her father and Aunt liquidated all of her grandfather's instruments, including the Steinway. She's now the only one in her family to have been trained in music.

My concern is that there is literally only one place in our small home that a piano could go, and I would have to get creative to ensure the HT does not turn it into a player-piano.

I am rather excited by the idea of a Steinway tho. When I was serious in my guitar practice, I gained a fair bit of music theory - enough to look at a piano and know how to play it. I think a Steinway in the house would be a pretty good push to get back into music!

I will store it for you and you could practice and play when you visit...