[yooper]

I am lifting a post I made on another forum which outlines my experience with the SongTowers.   While some of the following info about the speaker is already known by members here, my initial intent was to offer details probably not know by members of the other forum, so please forgive what some may consider trivial information. 

I'm sure their are a few fence sitters waiting for more feedback with these speakers, so I hope this helps.



I recently had a chance to listen (on a couple occasions) to a new speaker line that Jim Salk is building and wanted to give them a mention.

I know some folks here have shown interest in his speakers, but simply could not afford the other tower models offered.

While $1500.00 certainly isn't chump change, I do think this is close to the "magic number" or breaking point that many may consider doable.

Personally, I have had a chance to listen to most of Jim's various lines and do own a pair of his HT3's.

This particular model has been named the "SongTower QWT" or simply "SongTower" and was designed by Dennis Murphey. The SongTower QWT is an MTM design using a MLQW Transmission Line cabinet based on the work of Martin King. Jim is building the cabinets and assembling. Those of you who are familiar with Jim's speakers may know that Dennis has assisted Jim in the crossover department in the past with some current Salk models.

I am not good at writing reviews but will lay out my thoughts. I tend to think many of the terms used to describe audio have little or various meaning to different people. So for the sake of writing gobbledygook, I'll keep it simple and hope to use a few basic audio terms everyone can relate to.

I obviously use my HT3's as a point of reference and I believe the HT3's offer exceptional value for a $4500.00 speaker.

With that said, I was simply shocked that the $1500.00 SongTower's sounded as good as they did. I did not expect them to play as low as they did, and was very impressed by the quality of the lower end. The imaging was outstanding, detailed and spot on. Also, the depth of the soundstage was very apparent and extremely satisfying, while the voices just "breathed".

Of course as expected, the SongTowers are not as well rounded as the HT3's, but I can say with certainty, I would be very happy with them if they were my only pair as these speakers do so many things right.

The build quality is Salk quality all the way. I think this speaker also has a high WAF as those with significant others who may not want a "large" speaker in their living room may like the slim design and small footprint.

I had a friend (Dan) come with me to help pick up another pair of HT3's Jim had finished up for me. Dan had been auditioning many different speakers at various price points for a while now and was interested in giving the SongTowers a listen. Jim had a pair available and Dan was able to give them an audition. He liked them so much he wrote a check and took a pair home that evening.

For those that may be looking for a speaker now or in the future and the price is within your budget, I highly recommend you add these speakers to your list. This is one serious loudspeaker.

Here is a link to the speakers http://www.salksound.com/songtower.shtml

And a Salk forum with many threads on the new design http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=82


Mark

[Toka]

Thanks yooper!

[jd3]

I hope I'm not breaking forum etiquette by ‘piggybacking’ on this thread rather than starting another.  This is my first post here, and I’m very happy to say that I’m a new owner of a pair of SongTowers.   A bit of background on how I got here.  I’ve been going through a lot of speakers over the past 10-15 years trying to find my ‘audio nirvana’.  I’ve owned or auditioned some decent speakers over that time period (early on Epos, Rogers, KEF, Paradigm Reference and lately NHT and Ascend among others) trying to find the sound I was listening for.   I’ve never been able to afford what I’d consider true “high end” speakers, but tried (within my limited budget) to get as close as I could, so I looked for ‘bang for the buck’ speakers.  Although all of the speakers I listened to had their strengths, none of them offered me the sound I was listening for. 

At one time in the 80’s I owned some Fried Monitors (Q’s and Beta’s).  Those speakers gave me the presence, air, and breadth of sound which I really enjoyed.  Yet, like a lot of us with this hobby (or should I say disease!?), I yielded to upgrade-itis and foolishly sold them.  I’ve been pursuing a similar sound ever since.  Some of the speakers I had were very good at what they did, but in the end they didn’t really move me or make an emotional connection between me and the music.  The last pair of speakers I had (Ascend Sierra’s) came the closest for me, yet there was still something missing.  This brings me to the Song Towers.  I saw a post over at AVS Forum about Jim’s new speakers, and though a bit higher price-wise than I wanted to go, I figured I’d check them out on his website.  I noticed they had a transmission line design (same design principle as the Frieds), and wondered if maybe this was the speaker I was looking for. 

I corresponded with a forum member here who owns SongTowers, and back and forth with Jim a number of times, and decided to take the plunge.  I drove over and met Jim on Sunday and at first listen I was dumbfounded.  This was what I’d been searching for!  The presence, air, and space around the music were incredible.  We listened to a couple of songs and I asked Jim if a sub was hooked up, and he smiled and said no.  The bass was really unbelievable.  Needless to say I took them home with me. 

I didn’t get a chance to set them up until Labor Day, and I spent over 5 hours just going through some of my music collection.  My wife laughed at me because I couldn't stop grinning.  The surprising thing for me was that after a bit of listening she started pulling out cd’s to play.  We both sat there and just let the sound envelop us, enjoying every minute.  As I sat there almost entranced I couldn’t help but think that these towers were aptly named, since they literally ‘sing’.  They are great sounding (and looking) speakers.  Thank you Jim.

John

[yooper]

Congrats JD!  Nice review.

It sure is a great feeling to buy something that exceeds your expectations.

Which finish did you choose?

Mark

[jd3]

Mark,
They are the honey locust.  I was afraid my wife wouldn't like the finish and Jim told me I could get another finish if she didn't like them but it appears she's happy!