[R Swerdlow]

For years I've been an ardent Dennis Murphy and Jim Salk fan-boy.  Not so much on AC as it's hardly needed here , but elsewhere at AH and AVS. I've frequently urged others to listen to and buy their speakers. And yet, I've only put my money where my mouth is once. Back in 2007, I bought a new pair of Salk SongTowers. OK twice, a number of years later, I bought a SongCenter to go with them.

For a number of years, I've always drooled over the Salk HT2-TL speakers. In my view, they were among the best speakers I've heard. Unfortunately their size, the cabinet depth and footprint, make them impractical in my family room. Their price isn't low, but I've heard plenty of other speakers that cost 3-5 times more that don't deliver better sound. More recently the Salk Veracity ST speakers were introduced. They have a SongTower's footprint with ~90% of the HT2-TL's sound. They use the Seas W16 woofers instead of the ST's ER15s or the HT2-TL's W18s.

After some fortunate and long-awaited developments in personal finances, I've come to the point of taking my hands out of my pockets – and acting. Earlier today I ordered a pair of Salk Veracity STs .

They will have fully veneered fronts with hardwood edges, in natural ropey curly cherry.

Once the new speakers arrive, my Vintage SongTowers will be for sale.  They have historic value – they were among the first 10 or so SongTowers made.

[fsimms]

You should be blown away by them if my HT1s were any comparison.  I was surprised every time I listen to them at reference volume, because I forgot how good they really were.  I think there was a review that said something similar to that 10 years ago too.

Bob

[Miney]

Congrats  - looking forward to reading how these compare to your beautiful SongTowers.

[Saturn94]

Congrats!

Time flys....it doesn't seem that long ago we met at Dennis' and I came over to your place to hear your SongTowers. 

[ArthurDent]

Congratulations    If I didn't already have my own 'vintage' pair of STs, you'd get a PM from me when the time comes. Will look forward to the pics, love cherry, & ropey should be stunning. 

[robcentola]

Congrats! I couldn't be happier with my VST's!

I had the same plan to sell my ST's too but they're still sitting safely at home. I tried for a minute to sell them but then I thought I could use them for a second system. I just can't seem to muster enough to let go of them! However, if my wife had her way..........

We look forward to seeing some pics!

[Ace Deprave]

Congratulations and welcome to the VST club!

I first auditioned a pair of Song Towers (and HT1's, thanks again, fsimms) back in 2009 and had my heart set on the Song Towers, as I felt they were the right combination of price and performance. It wasn't until 2013 that I had finally decided to place my order...but right about the time I decided I was ready, I received a much larger bonus check than I was expecting, as well as a much better job offer. I decided to splurge on the Supercharged Song Towers and Center. When I emailed Jim with my list of questions, he gave me a heads up about the experiment with the W16s, and let me know that was an option (This was even before the Veracity ST name had been chosen, and my receipt said Supercharged Song Towers with W16 option). I decided to go for it, and spent the next 6 weeks refreshing the Project Tracking page multiple times a day.

Three years later, I'm still in audio bliss, and have had several people tell me that my system is the best sounding home audio system they've ever heard. I'm anxious to hear your thoughts on the differences between the VSTs and the STs, as it had been 4 years between when I auditioned the STs and the time I received my VSTs. Of course, I'd like to see photos as well.

Cheers!

-Dave

[R Swerdlow]

Thanks to fsimms, Miney, Saturn94, Arthur Dent, robcentola, Ace Deprave, and everyone else !  I've gotten used to reading about new purchases by others and the resulting congratulations – but it takes on a special meaning when I'm on the receiving end.

Two of you (Miney & Saturn94) have been to my house over the years and heard my STs.  Glad to hear from you both.  I remember your visits well.

[h2o8polo]

Just wanted to say you should find a hobby to distract you while you refresh the status page waiting for your new speakers. I haven't even had my VST's a month, and I am in love. Welcome to the club 

[R Swerdlow]

I got some photos of my new Veracity ST speakers today from Jim .  The veneer is unstained ropey cherry.

[ArthurDent]

Stunning, as was to be expected.    Excellent choice on the veneer, beautiful work Jim.     Enjoy revisiting your music library. 

[Grbluen]

Those are gorgeous! I believe those were in the shop when I visited.

[screener]

Those are some good looking speakers. Your going to enjoy them.

[Ace Deprave]

Awesome!

[floresjc]

Swerd was gracious enough to host me in his home years ago, my first Salk experience. So glad to see he's upgrading!

[R Swerdlow]

The new speaker arrived yesterday.  I unpacked them, looked, admired, and listened briefly:
Aaron Copeland, Fanfare for the Common Man
Grateful Dead Three From the Vault (a few selections)

Initial comments: Well Alright      !!!

More observations & thoughts:

The cherry veneer of the Veracity ST (VST) is highly figured and nice to look at. It is coated only with clear satin lacquer (no stain or dye) & is paler in tone than the similarly finished 9-year-old cherry SongTowers (ST). With time, the VSTs will develop a redder tone and greater contrast within the figuring. It is interesting to see the color of both old & new side-by-side.

The VST looks smaller than the ST, however their cabinet widths & depths are identical. The plinths & spikes are also identical. The only difference is the VST is 2½" shorter than the ST, including the plinth and floor spikes.

Despite the shorter cabinet, the VST is noticeably heavier than the ST.

The VST also has greater bass impact. This is especially noticeable with well recorded percussion. I was surprised to hear that in Paul Simon's Graceland.

The sound of the RAAL ribbon tweeter is smooth and not as noticeable as other tweeters I've known. Nothing stands out announcing "hear that tweeter". This will require more careful comparisons between VST and ST. So far, I've been only listening to the new VST and relying on my memory of the ST.

More to come… 

It's going to be a long day before I get home.

[rlee8394]

Rich,

Congrats! They look great. Looking forward to hear your impressions going forward. Enjoy!

Ron

[Saturn94]

Glad to hear you're enjoying your new speakers.

[Kinger]

Congrats on your upgrade R Swerdlow!  Like you I've often thought about upgrading my ST/RT's to one of Jim's higher end models in the ST lineup, but I usually can't figure out if the extra spend would get me a dramatic increase in sound for the additional money outlay.  Curious if you felt that the Veracity upgrade was pretty significant over what you had previously?

[R Swerdlow]

Like you I've often thought about upgrading my ST/RT's to one of Jim's higher end models in the ST lineup, but I usually can't figure out if the extra spend would get me a dramatic increase in sound for the additional money outlay.  Curious if you felt that the Veracity upgrade was pretty significant over what you had previously?

I'm in the process of coming up with a more detailed answer to your question, but I think it's safe to say YES, the Veracity ST (VST) is a noticeable step up from the standard dome tweeter SongTower (ST).

Both speakers’ sound resembles each other more than they differ, especially across the whole midrange.  Overall, the VST shares the balance of the ST – it isn't brighter sounding than the ST.  These are the differences I've noticed:

• The VST has a cleaner, more detailed sound, perhaps because it distorts less.
• The VST has lower bass, 33-34 Hz vs. 40 Hz in the ST.
• The VST has a very clean sounding ribbon tweeter.  I’ve heard this enough to be sure it is better sounding than the excellent dome of the ST.  Not all music allows me to pick this feature out, but on the right tracks it becomes easy to tell the difference.  Imagine a fault-free tweeter.  (This is not an issue for you as you already have a ribbon tweeter on your STs.)
• The VST is slightly less sensitive, but over all seems to have bit larger dynamic range than the ST.
• The ST has slightly warmer sounding upper bass/lower midrange.  This is pleasant sounding, not an undesirable coloration.  I was never aware of it before comparing it directly to the VST.

Now comes the hard question, is the difference worth the extra cost?  For me, YES, but you'll have to answer that for yourself.

I'm in Gaithersburg, Md.  If that's close to you, you are welcome to come hear them and compare them to my STs (until I sell them).  Send a PM.