Upgrade to New Salk Speakers from SongTower RT

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Harmonics

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Upgrade to New Salk Speakers from SongTower RT
« on: 19 Apr 2017, 01:24 pm »
I have had SongTower RT speakers for about nine years and am now considering an upgrade.  Can anyone who has made a similar upgrade comment on which speakers you upgraded to and how much of a difference it made?  I am looking at the Song3, Supercharged SongTower, Song3-A, and Veracity ST.  Some of these speakers are in a similar price range and it is not clear to me why I would pick one over the other.

I also might decide to stretch the budget and go for the Song3 Encore.  I have a Salk SongSub that I use occasionally (mainly for home theater), but I am thinking I won't need it anymore with the Song3 Encore.

Thanks for any comments!

JonnyFive

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Re: Upgrade to New Salk Speakers from SongTower RT
« Reply #1 on: 19 Apr 2017, 01:47 pm »
Keep the sub, always.  :)  This coming from a guy with E3s: there is no replacement for displacement. 

I think some factors would be...

Do you like ribbons over domes?  If so, you may want to go for ribbons in your next pair.

Do you like a soft mid driver or a hard mid driver?  You should try and find a pair of Song 3A or SS8s near you to take a listen to a hard mid. 
 
I only bring those up because I have firm preferences in each of those categories, and they would dictate which Salk speakers I would consider.  But I recommend you listen to several pairs and see what you like.

Harmonics

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Re: Upgrade to New Salk Speakers from SongTower RT
« Reply #2 on: 20 Apr 2017, 01:25 pm »
Keep the sub, always.  :)  This coming from a guy with E3s: there is no replacement for displacement. 

I think some factors would be...

Do you like ribbons over domes?  If so, you may want to go for ribbons in your next pair.

Do you like a soft mid driver or a hard mid driver?  You should try and find a pair of Song 3A or SS8s near you to take a listen to a hard mid. 
 
I only bring those up because I have firm preferences in each of those categories, and they would dictate which Salk speakers I would consider.  But I recommend you listen to several pairs and see what you like.

I haven't heard enough speakers recently to have a preference between ribbons and domes or soft and hard drivers.  I definitely like the sound of my current speakers with the ribbons, so maybe I should stick with ribbons.

I think it is going to be difficult to listen to the speakers I am considering since the Song3 and Song3-A are so new and there aren't many of them out there yet.  I probably just need to talk to Jim and get his opinion.

Out of curiosity, since you say you have firm preferences, what are those preferences?

R Swerdlow

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Re: Upgrade to New Salk Speakers from SongTower RT
« Reply #3 on: 20 Apr 2017, 04:19 pm »
I have had SongTower RT speakers for about nine years and am now considering an upgrade.  Can anyone who has made a similar upgrade comment on which speakers you upgraded to and how much of a difference it made?  I am looking at the Song3, Supercharged SongTower, Song3-A, and Veracity ST.  Some of these speakers are in a similar price range and it is not clear to me why I would pick one over the other.
I had owned SongTowers with the standard dome tweeter for nine years, until last summer.  I ordered the Veracity STs.

They have an identical footprint to the SongTower, dig significantly deeper in bass (34 Hz vs. 40 Hz), produce a more detailed sound from the SEAS magnesium mid woofers instead of the SEAS paper/fiber drivers of the ST, and (for me) have the cleaner and smoother sounding RAAL ribbon tweeter instead of the Hiquophon ¾" dome.

At first, although I could easily hear a difference between the two, I thought it was a close call whether the Veracity ST was a major step up from the SongTower.  As I've listened to more and more music with them, my opinion has improved.  Now I think the Veracity ST is a major step up.

The Song3 was brand new at the time, and I didn't seriously consider them.  They have a larger footprint, and that was a problem in my room.  I decided I wanted to stay with a similar sized MTM speaker with transmission line bass.

All Veracity STs come with a full front veneer finish, no black panel.  I got undyed ropey cherry with solid cherry rounded over edges.  I never get tired of looking at them.  These photos were from last August when they were new.  Since then they have darkened to a warmer tone.




JonnyFive

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Re: Upgrade to New Salk Speakers from SongTower RT
« Reply #4 on: 20 Apr 2017, 05:07 pm »
Out of curiosity, since you say you have firm preferences, what are those preferences?

Ferrari versus Aston Martin, which would you rather drive?  I'd take the Aston Martin, simply for the enjoyment of driving rather than the high performance of the Ferrari.

With speakers I'm the same.  I'll take a speaker that's a little more "forgiving" of my bad "driving" (aka, modest equipment and recording quality). 

I prefer soft mid drivers and dome tweeters, but it's an entirely personal preference.  I have only ever heard the RAAL with an Accuton mid, so it's entirely possibly I would like it paired with a the 4" AT mid-driver, for example.