[Gzerro]

I am really happy to have recently received my Salk Exotica Monitors. As always Jim and his crew did an amazing job. They look great and sound absolutely stunning!

I have had my Song Tower/Songbird/Rythmik 5.2 HT system for a few years now and have been really happy with it. After getting the system though, I found myself listening to music much more often (especially vinyl), and watching fewer movies.

When the Exotica 3s were introduced I was really excited, but the price is a bit steep and I already have two amazing Salk/Rythmik 15" subwoofers, so I decided to stick with the Monitors instead.

A few photos:








A couple other pics of my other Salk speakers, Songtower RTs and center, Songbirds, subs (All in Mahogany) and WOW1s (Pepperwood Burl).

[Tomy2Tone]

Wow, those look incredible! Congrats!

[Gzerro]

Sorry about the wonky photos. They aren't showing in my Gallery like that.

[gregcss]

Didn't realize how big they are. Congrats on your collection.

[mresseguie]

Gzerro,

Congratulations! Those look stunning. I know they sound amazing. 

I've got a few questions for you if you don't mind.

Did you consider ordering sealed cabinets since you already have a pair of subs for the low-end? Do you tend to use the subs when you listen to them, or is it music dependent?

In your listening room, what position works best with these? Do you toe them in at all? Typically, what distance are they ploaced from the front wall? How tall are your stands?

What kind of music do you prefer listening to with these?

Sorry for all the questions, but I was really smitten by the E3 prototype Jim showed at Axpona '14.

I wish these were available in kit form so I could sneak them into Taiwan and avoid outrageous import duties...I hope to someday own a pair...

Michael

[Gzerro]

Michael,

I haven't had them long enough for any final conclusions, but will do my best to answer.

1) I did consider just ordering a sealed cabinet, and Jim thought that would work really well. It would basically just use my subs like the bass portion of the Exotica 3. The complication is that the crossover point would need to be 120 or higher. With the Crossover that high, I would need to relocate my subs as either stands for the top cabinets, or right next to them. I know from measurements I have taken in my room that those locations are not ideal and create some big peak/dips in bass response in my room. Where I have my subs now, I get a much flatter frequency response 20-100Hz. I always use my subs, crossed over at 80Hz by either my Parasound P7 pre for analog 2 channel or my Denon receiver for home theater.

2) I am using a little more toe in then I did with my Songtowers. Because of the larger drivers, the off-axis response is not quite as good, so the more toe-in is recommended. I have yet to do much experimentation.

3) I have the back of the speaker a little more than 2 feet from the wall. I am sure it would be better to have more room behind them, but that is the most I can get. The stands are 24" high from Sound Anchor.

4) I listen to a lot of classic rock, jazz, folk/country, electronica and a little bit of just about everything else. So far everything sounds great.

Also to Greg- yes they are bigger than I expected from the photos I had seen!

Tom

[ArthurDent]

Congrats on a sweet addition to a stellar collection of Jim's sonic art.   

[Chanson]

I would love to hear your opinion on the sound quality between the exoticas and the song towers. Those are the two models I have been contemplating between. Sounds like we have similar musical tastes, can you comment on how the exoticas play the different genres?

[jsalk]

Here are some pictures we took before shipping these...



And a close-up...



Happy listening!

- Jim

[Gzerro]

I would love to hear your opinion on the sound quality between the exoticas and the song towers. Those are the two models I have been contemplating between. Sounds like we have similar musical tastes, can you comment on how the exoticas play the different genres?

As I am still getting used to them, it is hard to be too specific. In general the Exotica's are higher resolution - everything just sounds a little bit more natural and realistic. This helps to get a little more involved in the music compared to the SongTowers.

As far as genres, my Music Matters Blue Note records sound like the musicians are in the room, really amazing. Listening to Abbey Road (probably for the 1000th time) was in some ways like hearing it for the first time again as subtle nuances are more apparent. Some hard rock is perhaps a bit polite - (think Iron Maiden or AC/DC) -a little less aggressive and a little bit more bluesy.

In terms of deciding between SongTowers and Exoticas, it really isn't a fair comparison given the Exotica Monitors cost three times as much. Keep in mind that the Exotica Monitors only play down to 52Hz, so if you don't want to integrate subwoofers, you will give up quite a bit of bass. Other than that, I think the Exotica's are just a little better at everything, with the possible exception of some harder, more aggressive rock.

A more interesting comparison would be the SS8s vs Exotica or even the Veracity STs. That is a little more of a fair fight.