Part 3
After a short break our listening session commenced and the next song up was Mercy Me’s
“Word of God Speak.” Immediately I noticed how life-like and real the piano sounded. I hear piano played on a weekly basis, so I have a good idea about how it is suppose to sound, and this is the closest I’ve gotten in my home. I could hear the vibration of the notes and keys and was impressed by how well the sound filled the room. It extended well beyond the boundaries and passed right through and beyond me. It was an enveloping experience! The bass was also powerful and enveloping. Again I had to wonder how such small drivers could produce such full and deep bass, something I have to attribute to the transmission line design. Once you hear transmission line bass, you immediately know something is different. Whether it is your forte or I not I don’t know, but I’ve become very accustom to it and appreciate it more every day. Never is it boomy or bloated, but always musical and powerful, decaying quickly when it needs to. Everything in this song came through in an enveloping way, especially the vocals which were very large and full, extending wide and high. I heard every detail in the singer’s voice including the smacking of his lips and the breaths in between lines. The way this song was presented through the Ribbon ST’s gave me chills; what a feeling!
My wife’s perspective was similar to mine. Again she just wanted to sing along, but she focused and said she could hear the piano notes and keys vibrate easily. She liked how enveloping the sound was, especially the vocals which she said were “huge and powerful.” She too agreed that the pronunciation of each word was heard with ease. This tune gave her goose bumps and sent shivers down her spine (she loves vocal heavy music, probably so she can sing along
). At this point I could tell she was very happy with our purchase, even if the wood grain wasn’t as red as she had hoped.
Next on the list was a very heavily guitar biased track that was not recorded very well at all. Yes folks, I have a wild side to me that can be quenched by brutally heavy and distorted guitars, if done well, of course. The tune chosen was
“Wayfaerer” by a Swedish band called In Flames. It is an instrumental piece with a lot of guitar harmonies and overlaying melodies, many of which I’ve had to strain to hear in the past. Well, this was not the case with these speakers. Immediately I noticed the poorer recording again, but I also heard a sense of ambiance and space that I’d never heard before. Perhaps this was just the poor recording coming forth full blast, but I felt it made the song more listenable than on some of the other speakers I’ve played it on. The first thing I noticed, though, was how easy I could hear the harmonies and subtle nuances in the background. I heard little harmonics and melodies that I’d never experience before, and I could hear the rattle of the bass guitar strings. The guitars were very crunchy and powerful, and I could distinguish the different distortion of the two guitars’ different pickups. The soundstage was smaller in comparison to the other recordings, but the sense of airiness and spaciousness was still present. The recoding is very bright but was somehow smoother and more enjoyable on the SongTower’s, something that surprised me. I thought for sure that it would be unbearable (as it many times can be), but this time it walked the line rather than being clear cut across it. A poor recording actually sounded better on the SongTower’s? Well, I guess it would seem so. How you ask? I honestly don’t have an answer, but I am happy with the results.
Though my wife doesn’t like this type of music, she sat through it, God bless her soul. She too noticed the smaller soundstage and said it felt like a smaller venue, more directed at her. She said the kick drum had a nice punch, but it wasn’t like a subwoofer or anything. She felt that the recording did cross over the line onto the bright side, but only at times. She could easily pick out the different guitar harmonies, something she has had troubles doing in the past. Finally, she said that this was the first song that wasn’t enveloping, possibly due to the recording quality. Regardless, she couldn’t “get into it” but at least was able to be more analytical listening to this track than the others for that reason.
Our second to last song ended up being one included on Jim Salk’s compilation CD. The song is
“I Feel Love” by Blue Man Group. Until recently (at Warpdrv’s home) I had never heard any of Blue Man Group’s music. I always thought “if they look that odd it can’t be good.” Well, boy was I wrong! After watching some live tracks I was immediately a fan. I’d never seen nor heard music like this before, but I was hooked; how new age and creative! Well, my enthusiasm for this newly discovered talent didn’t diminish while listening to
“I Feel Love” on the SongTower’s. The bass was ever-present, full and enveloping. Thank God for the transmission-line design, because this track has a lot of different bass frequencies and they all came through powerful and deep, yet easily distinguishable. I am sure I was missing some of the lowest of the lows, but what I could hear was punchy and involving. And when the notes hit lower than the speakers could handle, rather than chuffing and struggling they just didn’t produce. Nice! Imaging was superb all throughout the track, encompassing me and involving me many times, sometimes tricking me into thinking there were rear speakers in our listening room (there were not). The vocals were clear and concise, though a little soft. The vocal harmonies were picked up easily. From the moment this song started to the moment it ended, I was completely engaged. Blue Man Group sure is talented in my opinion. They may not be for you, but check ‘em out and find out.
My darling wife doesn’t care for this style of music, but she was actually engaged while listening. She could hear each individual instrument with ease and noted that the different cymbals really stood out. She, as did I, felt as if there were multiple drum sets and percussionists, as this was a very bass and drum heavy tune. She appreciated the stereo imaging, or “transfer back and forth” as she called it, and said she picked up on some spoken words in the background at one point, something I failed to notice. All in all, we both were very entertained by this track through the SongTower’s. If you have any doubts about their bass capabilities, listen to this track –just awesome!
The final track played was Santana’s
“Migra.” Santana is a very talented guitar player and entwines Spanish themes throughout his work.
“Migra” has a lot of guitar, vocals and even some horns. Throughout the track the guitar was very large and powerful, seemingly louder than the rest. On the other side of the spectrum the voices were quiet but clear and clean. The imaging was superb on this track and the soundstage was pretty darn large as well. Sometimes finding the “sweet spot” between superb imaging and a large soundstage is hard to achieve, but it was a breeze with the ribbon SongTower’s. The speakers are slightly toed in so the sound is focused just behind my head, and this consistently produced superb imaging
and a large soundstage with all the well recorded music I’ve feed the ST’s. I was easily able to pick out the bassline from the rest of the music, and it was pretty groovy to boot.
Separation of instruments was a cinch as I was easily able to pick them out. The horns sounded a bit odd, but they always have on this recording. They lacked a little depth and fullness and have an odd tonality to them, but I assume this is how they were recorded because I’ve never heard them presented in an “accurate “or “realistic” manner (solely on this track I mean). At the very end of the song there is a guitar “waah” followed by a tambourine and both were clear and easy to distinguish.
My bride’s final thoughts on that last track were that it had great imaging and she was able to pick out each individual instrument easily. She felt the vocals were softer than the rest of the music but was able to resolve every word. She said the song didn’t reach out and grab her but it was still involving. I think she was worn out by this point.
