Songtowers arrived today

dogorman · « **on:** 7 Jul 2008, 03:49 pm »

Straight out of the box, positively amazing.

Quite a bit rosier than I'd expected -- less like a Linn or Joseph or Devore and more like a Vienna or a Spendor, not at all a negative in my 10x12, poured concrete room.

Forgiving with respect to placement but still eager to show-off differences in front wall setback and toe-in. Comfortable with all genres of music. Oh, and entirely by the way since I'm not married, GORGEOUS to look at.

Lots of experimentation to follow. Immediate consequence is that my re-cabling plans have gone overnight from all copper to all silver.

If on first impression (about an hour of low-volume babying) I had to sum them up in a single word, that word would be: AGREEABLE. They don't want to grab me by the scruff of the neck and rub my face in the symbol-crashes, like my Linn Ninkas, and they don't want to be tied to the back of a tractor and dragged up the hill like my friend's B&W's. They want me to forget all of that and get back to thinking about the source material, instead.

Perhaps not as detail-oriented or soundstage conscious as the SOTA specimens in each of these departments, but some of that is down to break-in and placement and, besides, the SOTA in detail and soundstage would be way, way, way too forward in my room.

A terrific all 'round performer so far.

Stay tuned....

golfugh · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 04:36 pm »

dogorman

Congratulations! Hope to see some pics!

If you get the chance could you also post pics and impressions on this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=939744

Once again congrats
Mark

dogorman · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 04:52 pm »

Okay, here's a pic:

golfugh · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 05:34 pm »

Nice setup! Love that amp. Congrats again.
Mark

Nuance · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 09:01 pm »

Awesome - congrats. They are gorgeous!

So they don't sound bright at all with the un-carpeted floor?

Enjoy!

Frisco · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 09:23 pm »

nice set-up......

are those room tunes behind the speakers?

bahorn1 · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 09:39 pm »

Congrats dogorman! McCormack + Salk equals a nice sounding combination.

dogorman · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 11:03 pm »

Still experimenting with placement, gradually opening up the speakers -- don't want to do anything stupid on the first day.

Nuance, no -- definitely not bright. Which is still a tad surprising, given the forward-leaning front-end (Arcam), forward-leaning IC's and speaker cable (Element), forward-leaning amplification (McCormack), and really, really, really forward-leaning room.

Getting much more detail now that placement has been adjusted a little. Took a lot of the toe-in out, left only about 1/2" across the front baffle at about a seven-foot separation. Also pulled 'em a bit farther forward to cut down on the sidewall interference to the left in the picture. Long story short, they're getting better and better and better.

The bass traps and tri-corner HF absorbers are both home-made. The bass traps were made according to Jon Risch's recipe, while the tri-corners are just the packaging guts from a pair of replacement tweeters I bought for a previous pair of speakers about a year ago: Each tweeter was wrapped in cardboard-backed foam rubber eggshell, so I just took the wrapping and glued it to the wall.

Question for the group regarding IC's to try against the Element's: DH Labs BL-1's, Signal Analog 2's, JPS Superconductors, or Pure Silver Sound Quartets?

dogorman · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 11:05 pm »

...I realize now after my last post that you can't see the HF absorbers in the pic. Lemmie know if anybody wants to see foam-rubber eggcrate, hanging from the corners of a room, and I'll re-shoot the picture.

idiotec · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 Jul 2008, 11:14 pm »

A McCormack and Salk owner plus a Radiohead fan? I like you already!

Great setup man, enjoy!

dogorman · « **Reply #10 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 12:09 am »

When are you coming over for a listen?

msteindler · « **Reply #11 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 12:38 am »

Enjoy the Songtowers!

For IC's, I strongly recommend giving Steve at SAS Audio Labs a call and picking up some of his to audition. They are terrific.
I notice he now has a choice of connectors, so do call or email to find which is most suitable for your system. http://www.sasaudiolabs.com/price1.htm

Great preamp, BTW

denjo · « **Reply #12 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 01:17 am »

Quote from: dogorman on 7 Jul 2008, 11:03 pm

Question for the group regarding IC's to try against the Element's: DH Labs BL-1's, Signal Analog 2's, JPS Superconductors, or Pure Silver Sound Quartets?

Other than the Signal Analog 2, I don't know much about the other cables you mentioned. I can, however, offer my views of the Signal Analog 2 which was thrown is as a "freebie" when I bought my Dad a secondhand SB3. I thought why not, its * FREE *! It did not even come with the Eichman connectors, just the stock ends. Rather skeptical, I simply hooked the Analog 2 from my DAC to amp and was rewarded with a rather unexpected but pleasing sound. If you are in limbo, looking for the ultimate IC, I can see the Analog 2 doing little wrong and much right! I have heard worse sounding cables which cost much, much more than the Analog 2s.

dogorman · « **Reply #13 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 08:04 pm »

Ordered a couple of pairs of Analog 2's, plus a pair of Magic Power Cords and a Digital AC Cord from Frank this afternoon.

In the meantime, getting a lot closer on placement of the songtowers -- finding they don't mind sidewalls nearly as much as I'd expected, and they're seeming to want almost no toe-in at all, at least in my kooky mixed-up room.

Full review will wait until I've had a chance to service the amp and preamp and re-cable, but make no mistake: we have a winnah.

kbuzz3 · « **Reply #14 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 08:09 pm »

I agree on the signal cable. They are super listenable and i mean that in a positive way.

dogorman · « **Reply #15 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 08:25 pm »

Question for msteindler, have you ever had any trouble with your preamp? I'm assuming you own the MAP-1 as well? Mine seems to need service, though it could be the amp (could be both).

msteindler · « **Reply #16 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 10:05 pm »

Thought it was an RLD-1, which I have; looks the same from the pic.
Only problem I've had was that, a couple of years ago, it would spontaneously go into theater bypass mode.
Steve McCormack immediately had a new chip sent to me- no surprises since.

egpaul · « **Reply #17 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 02:03 am »

Congrats! Can't wait to get mine!

ArthurDent · « **Reply #18 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 04:01 am »

Congrats dogorman - very nice looking setup. Appears you are giving them a good workout. My experience has been they just sound better & better the more time they play. Now I just need to find more time to play them.

Quick ? which finish is that, lovely grain. Par for the course with Jim's work.

Enjoy

dogorman · « **Reply #19 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 01:03 pm »

The finish is Santos Rosewood. And by this point it's cliche, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say it anyway: The photograph doesn't do them justice.

I've been having intermittent trouble with my electronics (not McCormack's fault that I bought the stuff second-hand with no providence!) and after the first recurrence with the ST's I've decided to disconnect them until Farifax can have a look -- which will be the thick end of three weeks, since the MAP-1 tech is out recovering from back surgery.

It just scares the heck out of me to think that (a) I could damage these, straight away, or (b) I could psych myself into thinking that I'd damaged them, and then have trouble forgetting about them even though there's nothing wrong. I've seen that movie and it has a no-reentry policy at each exit.

Still, it's a bummer to be the proud owner of a brand-new pair of such lovely speakers, and afraid to play with them.