[Nuance]

adydula,

Just as an FYI, I ran Audyssey with my ST's using a mic and a tripod and it completely ruined the sound of the ST's.  The midrange became organic and the highs rolled off and un-natural.  Perhaps you'll have been results than I, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.  Personally, I think Audyssey does more harm than good (it will more than likely fix bass anomalies, but anything above 200Hz gets ruined in my experience).

[adydula]

Nuance,

Thanks for that information. Were you using an Onkyo receiver or a seperate Audessy system?

Also when listening to 2 ch, Audessy is not used in my receiver, its only in those HT DSP modes for 5.1 and above 'movies' stuff

UNLESS

you chose to do this...and I would not do this...this is the whole idea on getting these speakers and going back to 2 ch listening.

I ran Audessy this am early, no cars, planes and trains etc...

I will let you know how it sound to me when I play a music DVD or HD-DVD etc....

For HT Audessy calculated most of my basic parameters spot on.

It did some amazing things for me in HT:

My listening positions (2 recliners) in the room....are almost up against the rear wall, and the 3 dimensional image HT can provide never really was
there. I complained about it all the time, even tried a 6.1 setup to see if this could be made better...nope.

I was really thinking of knocking our the rear wall to get the rear wall 4-6 feet back!!

So when the Onkyo receiver arrived and I found out about Audessy (before I used a SPL meter, tripod etc to set levels)...I decided to at least try it.

Voila!!!

Magic!!!

The soundstage when doing HT now is very 3D Dimensional..its like the wall behind me has been moved back by whatever delays in the Audessy sound processing is
doing...I could not be happier in this respect. The sound was great to us both when watching a HD concert in the new high end audio codecs etc (master audio etc..).

In 2 Ch mode I do not want ANY equilization of any kind without me having direct control or knowledge of it.

Wouldnt be prudent! 

All the best
Alex

[adydula]

Ok,

I wanted to update this for Nuance.

I ran the Audessy Calibration.

I listened to some HT types of material.

1. 1080P HD Eagles Farewell Tour, with DTS 5.1 audio
2. Daina Krall Love Scenes, DTS 5.1 compared to the RMAF 2007 Track 16.

At first the Eagles sound was off..too much bass...this was in DTS mode.
In the receiver setup, I noticed I had double bass on in the setup, turned this off.
Then I set the sub for 80hz and THX.

Back to the Eagles video, sound was awesome,much better and much better soounding due to the new speakers and their accuracy.
I flipped back and forth with Audessy on and Off and did not notice any really serious degradation at all.

On the Diana Krall DTS recording, I did the same thing with Audessy on, and OFF. Then with Audessy left ON I flipped between the DTS decoder mode and the Pure
Audio mode....little or no difference in the modes with Audessy ON.

The neat thing here is on the RMAF 2007 disk Track 16, My Love Is.. I have listened to repeatedly in 2 CH Pure Audi mode and am very amazed at the finger snapping and
the bass riffs.....WOW..

Well..with the DTS version of this track it adds another really neat dimension, the finger snapping becomes even more three dimensional and the soundstage gets pulled out into the room and behind you..its like your there. Crazy good.

I really, really like  2 ch audio, but when a 5.1 is mic'd well, done well, it can really enhance the aural experience.

The SongTowers blend in well and make this experience even better than ever before...

I would recomend you get a copy of Kralls DTS 5.1 Love Scenes and try this yourself...

I put down the remote, left receiver in DTS and listened to the entire album, and had to keep myself from slipping off the chair!!!

Too many choices, too many formats, too little time!!

Enjoy

Alex

[bigbwb]

Alex,

I love the great pics of the satin black ST's.  Most of the other pics floating around the forum are tough to get a feel for.  I love the look especially with the silver name plate on the front.  I am glad i went with this finish after seeing yours:)

That Eagles concert DVD is awesome, they are one of my favorite groups

Take care,
Brandon

[adydula]

I am sure you know that the Eagles have 2 video concerts, the one in HD 1080P was in Australla, The other one was a year of two back and it is not in HD but its really great as well...

The black is really nice, you will like this finish I am sure....notice the yellow cloth in one of the pix, this is a SALK exclusive!!! 

I have been tearing thru some old cd's and some of them are 'crap' some are pretty good.....

The clocks in my old Pink Floyd 'Dark Side of the Moon' cd are really awesome to show off the dome tweeter or any tweeter !!!

Its also amazing on how some of the old stuff I liked back then arent really my favorites any more!!! (well some are and some arent!! 

All the best
Alex

[Gord_Toronto]

Alex

The pics of the Black Satins are stunning.  I didn't think that I would like them, but I do.  So much so that I'm even am wondering if I should have got them instead of the Curly Cherry with the Medium Stain.

My best to you and your wife

Gord

[adydula]

Hello out there!!

I made a great improvement in the listening room.

I bought a new Ekornes Stressless recliner, replacing one of the older recliners that my lower back was in pain about 20 min into a listening session.

So today in the pouring down rain, a great day to haul furniture home!!, we sat if 10 chairs or so and finaly made a decision...we helped the economy for sure!!

Well it really works well and I have had another few hours of listening due to the adverse weather here in NC and the warnings of SNOW!! Snow down here is like a real
big thing....everything sorta of just stops until it clears up again!!

lonewolfny42 has sent me a really nice sampling of material from RAVE sessions, what a nice group of folks, having way to much fun as you can see in the galleries!!, they eat and drink very well, and have lots of neat toys...oh and I see a few cigars!!

I finally listened to Duende....golly gee batman it blew me away, especially the bass player towards the end on the right side of the soundstage, it sounded SO dang good I could have sworn the person playing that bass was there in the room, what an illusion...

I had a new soon to be Salk famliy member to be over to listen to the SongTowers on Saturday and since then I started to play with the toe in once again and moved then in 1/2 inch each and now think we have it finally nailed down for my room.....

Jim Salk oftens tells us a good speaker will allow you to have those really wondeful take your breath away experiences..forget the numbers, the how low will it go, this db and that db... and finally be able to really enjoy the music and material....

There has not been one time that I have not walked away from a listening session smiling from ear to ear.

I knew that the SongTowers were special, like Jim has said its the 'perfect storm', the planets lined up, the eagle has landed  aa

I have never heard a speaker in this price range that can compare...they are that good.

So for all of the new family member, welcome and be prepared to be amazed!!

All the best
Alex

[Nuance]

Alex - I missed your post.  Sorry about that.

The Audyssey I used was built into the receiver.  When running Pure Audio mode on the receiver, it is disabled.  You can only listen in stereo or multichannel to get the effects of Audyssey.  When swapping back between stereo and pure audio the differences were astounding, with stereo mode + audyssey sounding awful.  I may give it another shot when we settle into the new place, but until then I am going without it.

[adydula]

Hey,

 I agree, with 2 ch I want no stinking audessy etc....just whats in the recording and my room effects.

 But with HT it can really enhance the experience..for me its great...

  I listen to DTS 5.1 Diana Krall in DTS mode, and its VERY awesome....just like the 2 ch but the soundstage is more 3d like..

 So you going to upgrade to the HT2 TL's!!

  aa

Alex

[BoB/335]

 So you going to upgrade to the HT2 TL's!!

I offered to take those ST's off his hands but he hasn't responded. 

[adydula]

I think he has HT4 fever! 

Alex

[adydula]

Hello,

Just an update on the SongTowers.

I have been listening an hour or so each evening for about 5 weeks now. Sometimes 2 hours or so! 

I have started to go thru several hundred cds I have accumulated over the years and have had a really awesome time in this exploration.

I have noticed that CD's that I never thought much of seem now to have many nuances and wonderful 3 dimensional sounds that I never heard this way before.

The ability of this set of speakers with its high quality drivers are very revealing, and the nuances that shine thru are just downright amazing.

I was listening to an old HIROSHIMA cd, Another Place and was amazed at what used to be a trivial cd to me in the past that now sounds so great, rich in detail and sonic fabric...you may not like this style of music but you have to appreciate its reproduction on these speakers.

I have a new CD player on its way and will have another adventure to go thru, but this cdplayer was in the works before I discovered Jim Salk and his products.

For those that think you need really high end electronics to enjoy music on SongTowers, your wrong...any of the new receivers and a decent cd player and your in!!

My Onkyo 805 and a Toshiba HD 35 player are working marveously!!


So its been a little over a month now, and would I buy these again?

ABSOLUTELY.

All the best
Alex
 aa

[BoB/335]

For those that think you need really high end electronics to enjoy music on SongTowers, your wrong...any of the new receivers and a decent cd player and your in!!

My Onkyo 805 and a Toshiba HD 35 player are working marveously!!


So its been a little over a month now, and would I buy these again?

ABSOLUTELY.

All the best
Alex
 aa

I have to second that. I know that Evan is very proud of his amp and pre-amp, and I'm sure that they are of a very good quality. He also has a high end cd player. But when we switch over to my Denon 2309 with his "normal" cd player, I really didn't notice any difference. Now mind you that we didn't do any A/B'ing between the components (I was auditiong and comparing speakers) but we did have my receiver on for the rest of the afternoon for quite some time and nobody suggested going back to Evan's components.

I specifically cranked it up for a bit just to see how the ST's performed with the 2309 seeing that most Salk owners are much higher end than I will ever be and the 2309 is also pretty low in the Denon line. I would have no problems staying with this receiver for some time.( Sure wish it had pre-outs though)

[evan1]

For those that think you need really high end electronics to enjoy music on SongTowers, your wrong...any of the new receivers and a decent cd player and your in!!

My Onkyo 805 and a Toshiba HD 35 player are working marveously!!


So its been a little over a month now, and would I buy these again?

ABSOLUTELY.

All the best
Alex
 aa

I have to second that. I know that Evan is very proud of his amp and pre-amp, and I'm sure that they are of a very good quality. He also has a high end cd player. But when we switch over to my Denon 2309 with his "normal" cd player, I really didn't notice any difference. Now mind you that we didn't do any A/B'ing between the components (I was auditiong and comparing speakers) but we did have my receiver on for the rest of the afternoon for quite some time and nobody suggested going back to Evan's components.

I specifically cranked it up for a bit just to see how the ST's performed with the 2309 seeing that most Salk owners are much higher end than I will ever be and the 2309 is also pretty low in the Denon line. I would have no problems staying with this receiver for some time.( Sure wish it had pre-outs though)

Bob

Do not forget I just recently went strictly 2 channel. I previously ran my ST's with an Onkyo 805 as a pre and an Outlaw 755  (200 per channel) amp  in my HT setup, and the ST's still shined in that setup.

[BoB/335]

Hey Evan. Thanks again for such a great day that I will not forget anytime soon!

200 watts per channel is still great. Remember that my 2309 is only 100 watts per channel. I was just pointing out that the ST's still sounded great even with my 100 watt per channel receiver. Some may think that the ST's NEED more than that. (of course more is always better) If you remember I cranked it up pretty good at one point while using my receiver and they still sounded great!

Sent back my Axioms.

[evan1]

Hey Evan. Thanks again for such a great day that I will not forget anytime soon!

200 watts per channel is still great. Remember that my 2309 is only 100 watts per channel. I was just pointing out that the ST's still sounded great even with my 100 watt per channel receiver. Some may think that the ST's NEED more than that. (of course more is always better) If you remember I cranked it up pretty good at one point while using my receiver and they still sounded great!

Sent back my Axioms.

Order the St's and do not look back

[adydula]

I just finished listening a movie soundtrack, for "Wicker Park" which is a 2004 release....

I dont usually lieten to movie soundtracks....but I did like the movie and some of the songs in the movie

There are 17 songs on this disc and they are all over the place as to styles and groups.

Many of these I have never heard of, guess we are getting older now!!! 

But the one thing the kept sticking out is how wonderful the tonality of the differnt songs were being reproduced on the SongTowers.

I could hear the words and on the busiest titles I could hear all the stuff going on in the piece..

The SongTowers with these drivers are allowing us to listen to stuff I have long written off and its really neat that they allow you to plow thru
all your old material and rediscover the music.

On another album , Magnolia, songs by Aimee Mann...."Supertramp" not one of my favorites never sounded better....it was marvelous!!

Again thanks to the accuracy and tonality of these speakers this music is presented with and authenticity that continously makes me smile!!

All the best
Alex