As promised I'm very happy to share some pictures of my new SongBirds below.
I should say (as I mentioned in Bill's thread) that I did not audition any Salk speakers before buying, but was very impressed with the universally positive reviews online and decided to jump in. I really like that the speakers are made just for me -- the "birth certificate" that comes with the speakers is a nice touch!
I wanted small floorstanding speakers for 2-channel music listening in my living room which is why I chose the SBs over the SongTowers. In retrospect I think STs would have fit as well, but would have been a more dominating presence in the living room. The SBs are very attractive and visitors notice them and comment on their good looks, but they are small enough to tuck away too.
So a couple of comments as a new owner. First aesthetics: the speakers simply radiate quality. I can't tell you how much nicer these things are in person than in pictures! I've looked at lots of pictures in this forum and on the Salk website and all the speakers look good, but none of the pix do justice to the real life speakers. They are as good as the nicest furniture I've owned. They are solid, tight, polished, smooth, straight -- a pleasure to touch and even to just look at. I upgraded to full cherry baffles and plinths, which is another (smaller) reason I chose the SBs (with the upgrades the price is about the same as regular STs).
Second sound quality: okay I have to say straight off I'm an audio newbie and not a great person to review speakers. I've listened to floorstanders at Best Buy and higher end Polks at a relative's house and that's about it. I have an Orb audio satellites and sub in the family room for 5.1 home theater and other than that not much to compare with. All that being said, the SBs sound really really good to my ears. A lot better than the same music played through the Orbs. Even I can tell that the SBs don't go as low as the sub/sat combo but the music sounds tighter, crisper and more lively to me with the SBs. The best description I can say is that they sound "exciting and vibrant" in a way I haven't heard music before. It's a real pleasure to become reacquainted with my favorite albums -- lot's of things I've never noticed in the music before.
If anyone is curious I am running my music digitally from an Apple TV (toslink) into a Maverick DAC/preamp and then to a Parasound a23 amp. I can control everything from my iPhone which is a neat way to dial up the tunes.
So here are the pix -- a few of them in their home in the living room, one of them near a cherry bookcase (to show how Jim did an excellent job matching the stain of the cherry as I'd requested), and one in a room with a lot of sunlight to try and get a better photo of the beautiful wood and workmanship.
--David
