[billmcc]

Another vote for the SongTower's here.  Nothing touches them for $3000 or less IMO.

Nuance,

I agree the STs are the way to go but money wise it might be tight. I revisited your "Speaker Journey" thread again today and as always found it very helpful .

Bill

[billmcc]

This statement leads me to believe that you really want the songtowers.  Buy them and have no regrets. I've made so many mistakes in the past of buying something that was "good" instead of getting what I really wanted.

I don't really see anything that would be gained in performance by going with the surrounds or the songbirds.  It does make sense financially to go with one of those setups though since you already have a sub.  The mids and highs would be pretty much the same as the songtowers, and you'd have a nice sub to fill in the bottom end.

 I've never heard a system though where the sub completely blended in.  I can always hear them and it distracts me from the music.  I prefer full range speakers with no sub for most music.  Sometimes I do like to listen to music LOUD though,  so that I can "feel the music".  In these instances, I don't care as much about how accurate the sound is, as much as I do the dynamics and impact.  In these cases, a powered sub is a nice addition.   

Personally if I was in your position, I would go with the songtowers.  They'd provide nice full range sound on their own, and then you'd have the sub to add some extra low end if it was ever desired.


(I've never actually heard the songtowers.  The statements above are based upon my experience with my HT2-TLs and my estimate on how the songtowers perform.)

coke,

I was looking at your gallery today and have to say your HT2-TLs are some fine looking speakers . I see you had Dyn 1.4s there as well which are great speakers but no match for the HT2-TLs I would think. I had Dyn 140s and C1s both which I enjoyed very much. I went way over my budget when I bought the C1s but I just had to have them. Incredible speaker but they were really handicapped in my small room.

You are correct in that the STs are my first choice but as posted earlier cost is a factor. But my B-Day is at the end of the month so maybe I will get myself an early present .

Bill

[coke]

coke,

I was looking at your gallery today and have to say your HT2-TLs are some fine looking speakers . I see you had Dyn 1.4s there as well which are great speakers but no match for the HT2-TLs I would think. I had Dyn 140s and C1s both which I enjoyed very much. I went way over my budget when I bought the C1s but I just had to have them. Incredible speaker but they were really handicapped in my small room.

You are correct in that the STs are my first choice but as posted earlier cost is a factor. But my B-Day is at the end of the month so maybe I will get myself an early present .

Bill

Thanks. I wanted something unique that stood out, and Jim did an excellent job. The pictures really don't do them justice.  In sunlight, the veneer is amazing. 

I really enjoyed the 1.4s.  They were by far the best speakers I'd ever owned, and were among the best i'd heard.  When I was speaker shopping I had narrowed my choices down to those and Thiel 2.4.   I chose the 1.4s in the end.

There was just something missing, although I couldn't really pinpoint it.   During the time I owned the 1.4s, I had them with an A/V receiver, an Integra preamp and anthem amp, and finally an AVA amp and pre.  Each upgrade made a significant improvement, but their was still something not quite right. Luckily for me, my mom was wanting a home theater, so I sold her all of my equipment, which allowed me to upgrade to  Salks  

The Salks are in a completely different league in my opinion.  These are the only speakers I've ever heard that allow me relax and listen to music without some apparent flaw standing out and taking away from the experience.

[purplesaber]

You will not likely get any comments since the SongBird's are a new speaker and the first production pairs are only now starting to come through the production process.  So other than staff members who built the initial test batch, there are no exisiting owners.  Hopefully we'll have some out there in the next two weeks or so.

- Jim

Well that means I must be the first kid on the block with my SongBirds! I got mine about two weeks ago and have been waiting for my new amp to come before writing up some impressions.

To Bill -- I don't have any ability to compare since I bought the SBs just based on what I've read and did not have a chance to hear any Salk speakers before. That being said I couldn't be happier -- they look fantastic and sound better than anything I've heard (in my limited experience). I am sure you cannot go wrong with any Salk product. I picked SBs mostly because they are small and I felt they would fit better in my living room. Secondly they are a little cheaper so I was able to upgrade the baffle and plinth to all cherry which looks superb. I went back and forth about STs instead and I am sure I would have liked them just as much (maybe more -- who knows?) but I have no buyers remorse. Good luck with your choice!

I will put up a separate post with some pix once I get them!

[ricardojoa]

That's what I meant to say.  I regard the ST as a complete speaker.   I think the midrange is in balance with the bass and with the tweeter, and they all work together to provide a seamless, clean presentation.  You can achieve deeper bass with a sub, but the overall results will be a crap shoot.  If cost is a factor (and it always is with me), and you can use your existing sub with the Sierras for HT, then I would let the ST's do their thing alone for music.  If you can't hear an improvement in clarity over your other speakers, and if you've ordered a standard veneer, I think you can send them back.   But I don't think you will.

Dennis, i was curious as to why you would think integrating a sub with the ST would be a bad idea besides that these are build to play full range. Is it because of the issues that will arise from doing  the integration, like phase problems, frequency peak or nulls? Thanks

[billmcc]

Well that means I must be the first kid on the block with my SongBirds! I got mine about two weeks ago and have been waiting for my new amp to come before writing up some impressions.

To Bill -- I don't have any ability to compare since I bought the SBs just based on what I've read and did not have a chance to hear any Salk speakers before. That being said I couldn't be happier -- they look fantastic and sound better than anything I've heard (in my limited experience). I am sure you cannot go wrong with any Salk product. I picked SBs mostly because they are small and I felt they would fit better in my living room. Secondly they are a little cheaper so I was able to upgrade the baffle and plinth to all cherry which looks superb. I went back and forth about STs instead and I am sure I would have liked them just as much (maybe more -- who knows?) but I have no buyers remorse. Good luck with your choice!

I will put up a separate post with some pix once I get them!

Thats great that you are one of the first with a pair of SBs . I am gald to hear you are enjoying them and would appreciate it if you could post some pictures when you get a chance. It sounds like you have a similar situation as I do as my system is in our livingroom as well. Right now I am leaning towards the STs but that could change. Thanks for your thoughts !

Bill

[DMurphy]

Dennis, i was curious as to why you would think integrating a sub with the ST would be a bad idea besides that these are build to play full range. Is it because of the issues that will arise from doing  the integration, like phase problems, frequency peak or nulls? Thanks

I didn't mean to say it was a bad idea.  It's just a little tricky, and might not be necessary for music.  I'm more confident that there would be a clear difference between the Sierra and the ST if the ST were just allowed to do its thing.  I think the sub would be better used with HT, which is what I was assuming the Sierras would be used for. 

[Nuance]

Nuance,

I agree the STs are the way to go but money wise it might be tight. I revisited your "Speaker Journey" thread again today and as always found it very helpful .

Bill

Cool cool.  Thanks for the kind words.

I will put up a separate post with some pix once I get them!

Yes please!

To comment about using a subwoofer, many of us former 2-channel purists have moved from the "purist" perspective and are using subwoofers in our music systems.  This usually has nothing to do with the lacking bass abilities of our speakers, and more to do with room modes and dips and peaks caused by room interaction.  Personally, there is only one logical place I can put my speakers in my current room, and that spot creates a large bass peak (13dB) at 50Hz at my listening position if I don't cross over to a subwoofer (in my case two subwoofers).  Even when crossed over, the peak is still there, but has been EQ'd out using the PEQ on my BFD. 

In short, those of us with 2.X channel systems chose that method because our rooms were ruining the low end and midbass, and we definitely did not want to run our speakers through EQ, so we chose EQing with subwoofers instead.  If I had a larger room of sufficient size, I'd save every penny for the SoundScape 10's, position them properly and run them full range and never look back.  Until then, it's dual 15" sealed subs, SongTower RT's and a BFD.  And no, the ST's don't "need" subs; but my room does.  Hope that makes sense.

[billmcc]

Well due to peer pressure I ordered the STs and Song Center today . I agree with the thoughts that if I did not get the STs I might have wished I had. So I removed all doubt and went for it .

Bill

[mathgeek97]

Well due to peer pressure I ordered the STs and Song Center today .

Congrats!  What veneers?

[billmcc]

Congrats!  What veneers?

Thanks . I ordered the medium curly cherry. I looked in your gallery, what finish are your HT-2TLs (right model?). I like that finish very much, if it is a standard veneer and color maybe I will switch.

Bill

[bigbwb]

Well due to peer pressure I ordered the STs and Song Center today . I agree with the thoughts that if I did not get the STs I might have wished I had. So I removed all doubt and went for it .

Bill

Congrats Bill!

Very exciting!  I cant wait to hear your impressions.  Are you keeping the sierras for a comparo or selling them off beforehand?

Take care,
Brandon

[billmcc]

Congrats Bill!

Very exciting!  I cant wait to hear your impressions.  Are you keeping the sierras for a comparo or selling them off beforehand?

Take care,
Brandon

Thanks ! It will be about 45 days till they will arrive but I'm in no hurry. I will keep the Sierras till then as I do not want to be without speakers.

Bill

[bigbwb]

Thanks ! It will be about 45 days till they will arrive but I'm in no hurry. I will keep the Sierras till then as I do not want to be without speakers.

Bill

After hearing the ST's(ribbon version) in person several times along with my sierras, all I can say is I imagine you will be very pleased on the upgrade and the excellent craftsmanship that comes along with the Salk speakers!

I think you may have just missed the $200 price hike too;)

[mathgeek97]

Thanks . I ordered the medium curly cherry. I looked in your gallery, what finish are your HT-2TLs (right model?). I like that finish very much, if it is a standard veneer and color maybe I will switch.

Bill

It's the standard cherry veneer with a dark stain.  I had Jim match a photo of a piece of furniture in my living room.

[Nuance]

Well due to peer pressure I ordered the STs and Song Center today . I agree with the thoughts that if I did not get the STs I might have wished I had. So I removed all doubt and went for it .

Bill

That's terrific!  Congratulations!

[HoosierInOhio]

I agree with the thoughts that if I did not get the STs I might have wished I had. So I removed all doubt and went for it .

Bill

This is precisely why I went with the HT2-TLs instead of the HT1-TL's, I sadly would have always wondered if I was missing something....Hopefully I will be hearing them in a couple weeks!