My Songtowers arrived on the 3rd of May, safe and sound. The packing was robust and the speakers emerged without a scratch. The fit and finish was absolutely perfect and I had the plinths installed in just a matter of minutes. This is fine furniture, folks, and my wife was extremely impressed with the beauty of the wood, (medium curly cherry). A lot has been written about the craftsmanship of Jim Salk’s speakers… with good reason. The STs immediately took over the room….such was their size, presence, and beauty.
The Salks are part of a complete revamp of my 2-channel setup, which also includes a new Rogue Cronus Magnum, which I ordered without the “Magnum” logo on the front faceplate, a NAD C565BEE CD player, and a Squeezebox Touch, (optical out to the 565 to utilize its internal DAC). I was looking for something modern and simple, utilizing both CDs and high res files stored on a remote server, accessed via the home network. Now that the Cronus has about 75 hours on it, I would like to offer up my impressions of the Salk Songtowers as they function within this little system that I have put together.
The room measures 15’ x 24’ x 9’ and has no particular treatments, (I am preparing an alternate room above the garage), other than a carpeted floor and a few bits of furniture. The Salks are 7’ apart and toed in slightly. I have changed nothing since the initial setup, as I wanted to just focus on listening to a wide variety of music, and, as such, a wide variety of recordings.
A lot has been written about the characteristics of the bass reproduction of the STs and I would like to add my two cents, right off the bat. I listen, primarily, to acoustic jazz, however, my collection includes everything from Tool, Heart, Prefab Sprout, Weather Report, Joe Jackson, James Taylor…good vintage Salsa…..as eclectic as the next guy.
“Sina”, by Mercedes Sosa, offers a perfect showcase for all that the STs have to offer….lovely vocals, a variety of percussion instruments, brass, and an interesting blend of electric bass and deep keyboard tones. As the music begins the bass is all there, dry and accurate. It seems to be at the level of the floor and slightly behind both speakers. The bass is not forward and boomy, and in this regard, does not sound like a typical bass reflex speaker. This is my first experience with a transmission line design, so I guess I am describing the unique way in which it goes deep. Nevertheless, I was not left wanting more bass. Next up was Joe Jackson’s “Is she really going out with him?”, live, from the album #4. Here the bass exploded at the opening, full and accurate, giving the feeling like I was right there, in the front row. For me, there was more than enough energy in the low notes and I was rather surprised that the STs were giving so much bass, considering the size of the drivers. The final test went to Patricia Barber’s Modern Cool album and the cut, “Company”, which delivers a really great acoustic bass and drum workout. Once again I would describe the bass as dry and accurate….very full, with a nice tone. In fact, I really like the way the STs play a well recorded acoustic bass. Charlie Haden’s bass on “Turnaround”, from Pat Metheny’s 80/81 was just gorgeous…dry, tight, and accurate. Jack DeJohnette’s kick drum was firm and punctual.
Next up, Nancy Wilson, “The masquerade is over”, from Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley. Here we are playing straight into the forte of these speakers. Now this is why I bought Songtowers, (I thought to myself). The midrange was open, forward, and very transparent. The vocal was complex and accurate and the saxophone had a fat tone and was very dynamic. All the instruments had their own space, with lots of separation and precise placement in the room. Just a great presentation, overall. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, (remastered), had depth and great dynamics. The trumpet, placed slightly above the top of the STs, was clear and precise, with a gorgeous reverb. Both saxophones played fat and robust….very forward. In fact, I would characterize the midrange of the Songtowers in this way, forward and up front, no matter what music I was playing.
The highs were smooth and non fatiguing, never bright and hissy. I am particularly sensitive to harsh treble, and found the experience of listening to these speakers for many hours relaxing and enjoyable.
I would highly recommend the Salk Songtowers. I think they work very well in combination with the Rogue Cronus Magnum, which has more than enough power, (90 wpc), to fill my room with sweet and accurate music. I found it interesting how this amplifier kind of came into it’s own after about 50 hours of use, but I gather this is typical of tube amplifiers. Jim Salk did a great job with my speakers and delivered them when he said he would. The quality of workmanship is evident and I feel proud that I made the right decision.
