AudioCircle
Industry Circles => Salk Signature Sound => Topic started by: jsalk on 16 Nov 2011, 09:09 pm
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James wanted a bookshelf speaker for his New York apartment. He wanted high quality sound in a very small and portable package. He didn't need great bass extension but wanted state-of-the-art performance. We discussed driver options and settled on our standard RAAL ribbon tweeter coupled with 5" ScanSpeak Illuminator drivers.
He also requested that the cabinets be fashioned out of bamboo, but wanted ebony veneer.
Here is a picture...
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=53851)
And a close-up...
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=53852)
James injured his back and doesn't want to unpack speakers until he feels better. So we'll be listening to these for a while before they ship.
When they do ship, happy listening James!
- Jim
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Must have a pair! Nice stuff!!
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What physical size are they?
Wayner
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I have a small monitor fetish (my only vice of course) and these look great. Love the idea of small, high-performance speakers. An idea of rough pricing would be great to know. Thanks.
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Those are gorgeous. Are they 4 or 8 ohms, and what sensitivity?
Thanks,
Roy in TX
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BINGO!!!! How much Jim??? Please PM me with info on that speaker in stock cabinet. Thanks Jim!!!
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The impedance is 8 ohms. Sensitivity is low. Scan specs the woofer at at 83.4 dB. I think that's too conservative, but after taking into account the crossover with baffle step compensation,
the system sensitivity is close to that. Not a candidate for SET's.
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Those are beautiful (as are all the pics Jim posts). With a nice solid state power amp and tube preamp I bet those would really sing.
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so let's get this straight ed. are you trying to ask how much the speakers cost? :green:
those are really cool btw
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With all of the images we have seen lately of Salk speakers in various finishes of Bamboo, I really have to rethink my preferred material and finish.
These are bad ass. 8)
James
Edit: I should mention that I am not the James that is awaiting these babies.
Damn!!!!
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so let's get this straight ed. are you trying to ask how much the speakers cost? :green:
those are really cool btw
YUP!!!!!!! I want some and I really hope they are under 1K, hopefully a lot under. I would even supply cabinets!!!
LOL...I am nuts ratso!!! :no_see: :no_hear: :no_speak:
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hope they are under 1K,
I think you're dreamin' BIG time! Look at the cost of drivers alone.
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I think you're dreamin' BIG time! Look at the cost of drivers alone.
Right. I haven't taken the time to compute the cost yet, but the drivers alone are about $1500. Then you have the crossover parts, the cost of building the crossover, binding posts (probably want good ones) and the cost of building and finishing the cabinets. So the cost would probably be at least $2500 per pair...perhaps more. The fact that they are small has no particular bearing on their cost.
- Jim
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Right. I haven't taken the time to compute the cost yet, but the drivers alone are about $1500. Then you have the crossover parts, the cost of building the crossover, binding posts (probably want good ones) and the cost of building and finishing the cabinets. So the cost would probably be at least $2500 per pair...perhaps more. The fact that they are small has no particular bearing on their cost.
- Jim
Yep. I figured $2850ish.
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You never know unless you ask right. I'm still a bit newish to this whole thing so I'll take a little slack....LOL....I bet they sound awesome though even though its a huge stretch for me. Someday.... :thumb:
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You never know unless you ask right. I'm still a bit newish to this whole thing so I'll take a little slack....LOL....I bet they sound awesome though even though its a huge stretch for me. Someday.... :thumb:
There's always Song Surrounds. They are monitors.
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Big Red I like your thinking......there is always a way, sorta.
The thing is though I gotta do a Raal Tweeter, I wonder how close in sound the Fountek Ribbons are to Raal ones. I know the cost difference is huge but maybe Jim has heard both or you my friend Jason. Are we talking night and day difference...seriously. Is it Porsche or Ferrari compared to Fountek??
I'm curious so don't bust my balls OK.....Jason..LOL :thumb:
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Those are truly stunning! You're a luck man, James; welcome to the Salk family!
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Big Red I like your thinking......there is always a way, sorta.
The thing is though I gotta do a Raal Tweeter, I wonder how close in sound the Fountek Ribbons are to Raal ones. I know the cost difference is huge but maybe Jim has heard both or you my friend Jason. Are we talking night and day difference...seriously. Is it Porsche or Ferrari compared to Fountek??
I'm curious so don't bust my balls OK.....Jason..LOL :thumb:
That's for Dennis or Jim. I would say the Fountek is close but not quite a smooth. But if you are trying to get the price lower it sounds like a decent option.
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Wow, those look really cute. Jim, i didnt know you do these type of custom design.
Can i ask if you would design anopen baffle system 3 way with Raal? I dont need super expensive driver. Just adequate for application and i wanted them to be small/monitor. Im after great sound stage and ambience and your quality finish.
Thank you.
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Jim, i didnt know you do these type of custom design
i don't think any of us have ever heard Jim say no to anything - if it can be built he will do it if you want it. but he is also good at suggesting modifications/alternatives that will work better for you if you come up with something crazy. give him a call you won't regret it :thumb:
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That's for Dennis or Jim. I would say the Fountek is close but not quite a smooth. But if you are trying to get the price lower it sounds like a decent option.
I've used the Fountek in quite a few designs. I would say its performance is midway between a good dome and the RAAL. It can be crossed fairly low and has an open, clean sound. Just not as open as the RAAL. But without the RAAL for direct comparison, I think anyone would be very pleased with the Fountek. Excellent value as well.
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Dennis and/or Jim,
Can you describe the difference among the woofers used by SalkSound: Excel vs. Illuminator vs. Accuton?
Thank you.
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Dennis and/or Jim,
Can you describe the difference among the woofers used by SalkSound: Excel vs. Illuminator vs. Accuton?
Thank you.
Hmmmmm. Well, the illuminator is kind of an odd duck. It's waaaaaaaaaay expensive, and an awful lot of that is due to the beautiful machining that minimizes obstructions to the back flow. You never see that, of course, so it comes down to a question of whether you can hear any advantage to the elegant construction. It seemed like an obvious candidate for the open-back SoundScape cabinets. We gave it a try, but it just didn't have enough sensitivity. It would have been swamped by the woofer. The Accuton 3" midrange that we ended up with has extrmely low distortion and excellent dispersion. We tried an Accuton 7" woofer in an MT monitor, but the first unit shattered when pushed, and the second did the same thing. Can you say bye bye to $600?
The Excel really doesn't have any deficiencies once the breakup mode is suppressed. It's not a "warm" driver, but it is clean as a whistle and easy to work with. It's probably my favorite, followed by the Scan Revelator series in the 5"-7" size category.
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Thank you, sir.
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These sound very nice. Jim fired them up at the shop today and the played very nicely. Those 2 drivers together are pretty nifty. Went pretty deep as well. Full-bodied and imaging to die for. Took 2 seconds and I was hooked.
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What physical size are they?
Wayner
Apparently, no one has a tape measure.
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Apparently, no one has a tape measure.
Based on the 5" driver, I am guessing they are about 7" wide, 11-12" high and maybe 8" deep?
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Apparently, no one has a tape measure.
I found my tape measure! They are 14" tall, 8" wide and 10.5" deep. Hopefully I won't lose that tape measure again.
- Jim
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Thank's Jim. Trying to decide if they would fit on my shelf. I know up against the wall is not a great place, but that's all I got.
Wayner
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Hey Wayner,
Since the Salk speakers are custom made, I bet you could sweet talk Dennis into adjusting the crossovers for the speakers to be placed up against the wall.
Kind regards,
Tom
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I've used the Fountek in quite a few designs. I would say its performance is midway between a good dome and the RAAL. It can be crossed fairly low and has an open, clean sound. Just not as open as the RAAL. But without the RAAL for direct comparison, I think anyone would be very pleased with the Fountek. Excellent value as well.
How does the Fountek compare to the LCY or G2?
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How does the Fountek compare to the LCY or G2?
I've used the Fountek in quite a few designs. I would say its performance is midway between a good dome and the RAAL. It can be crossed fairly low and has an open, clean sound. Just not as open as the RAAL. But without the RAAL for direct comparison, I think anyone would be very pleased with the Fountek. Excellent value as well.
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I absolutely love the Fountek tweeter in my custom Salk Song Tower Special Edition loudspeakers. Smooth, detailed, and they image like crazy. Soundstage seems to extend three of four feet past the cabinets!
See 'em here:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=95642.0
Ron
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I hear ya BRM, but I am looking for a direct comparo to the ones I mentioned. Somewhere midway between isn't descriptive enough. :)