[sfox7076]

Fantastic Jon!

They look right at home! Gotta say you and Shawn hit a homerun in picking out veneer and color choices to go with the room. Well done!

Thanks.  I love my speakers.

[Saturn94]

I got to hear Jon's E3s last night.

They are absolutely beautiful speakers.  The idea to finish the mid's phase plug to match the cabinet was genius!

They are some of the best speakers I've heard.  I'm also in agreement with Jon preferring the E3 over the SS8.  The E3 sounds more "natural" to my ears.

I look forward to more listening sessions. 

[Big Red Machine]

Bingo!

[Austin08]

Look like the E3 and SS8 make the SS10 and SS12 become thing of the past. I have own the SS8 for few years and still in love with it. I had a chance to listen to the E3 at the show last year and also though the E3 was a better one. I almost jump on the "upgrade waggon" but when I got home, the SS8s still shot me straight to the heart. I am sure i will look into upgrading to E3 someday. For now, I got to get back to my "SS8, sail of dream". 

[fsimms]

Look like the E3 and SS8 make the SS10 and SS12 become thing of the past. I have own the SS8 for few years and still in love with it. I had a chance to listen to the E3 at the show last year and also though the E3 was a better one. I almost jump on the "upgrade waggon" but when I got home, the SS8s still shot me straight to the heart. I am sure i will look into upgrading to E3 someday. For now, I got to get back to my "SS8, sail of dream". 

I am sure that if I heard the E3 I would feel the same as you. Also, hard for me to get on the "upgrade wagon" when my SS10s still shoot me through the heart too.

Bob

[JonnyFive]

I wouldn't necessary call the E3 an upgrade over the SS8 even though they're more expensive.  Rather it's an issue of what you're looking for and what tradeoffs are most acceptable to you.  For me, my room, and my listening preferences the choice is clear with the E3s.  But if I had a tube preamp, enjoyed music like Diana Krall, and had a better/bigger/treated room that might not necessarily be the case.  I'm working on some listening impressions and my own comparison to the SS8s.

However, I will say that I never expected in my wildest dreams to have better bass than the SS8s offered.  Well, the active servo bass section of the E3s has officially spoiled me.  I can't believe how good it is, or how I ever lived without it.  Listening impressions in the works...

[JonnyFive]

I got to hear Jon's E3s last night.

They are absolutely beautiful speakers.  The idea to finish the mid's phase plug to match the cabinet was genius!

They are some of the best speakers I've heard.  I'm also in agreement with Jon preferring the E3 over the SS8.  The E3 sounds more "natural" to my ears.

I look forward to more listening sessions. 

You're always welcome, Jim.  It's your fault I own Salks in the first place   I agree about the phase plug, Jim and crew did a great job with that.  It and the rest of the speaker are gorgeous.

[sfox7076]

I wouldn't necessary call the E3 an upgrade over the SS8 even though they're more expensive.  Rather it's an issue of what you're looking for and what tradeoffs are most acceptable to you.  For me, my room, and my listening preferences the choice is clear with the E3s.  But if I had a tube preamp, enjoyed music like Diana Krall, and had a better/bigger/treated room that might not necessarily be the case.  I'm working on some listening impressions and my own comparison to the SS8s.

I have a tube pre-amp and it is perfect with the E3s! 

[Tomy2Tone]

  For me, my room, and my listening preferences the choice is clear with the E3s.

Hey Jon, what type of music do you prefer to listen to that drew you to the E3's?

[SCompRacer]

When others start paying for my gear, then they can have a say in what I own. If the E3's are the end all be all, Jim should just stop making everything else.

[fsimms]

I wouldn't necessary call the E3 an upgrade over the SS8 even though they're more expensive.  Rather it's an issue of what you're looking for and what tradeoffs are most acceptable to you.  For me, my room, and my listening preferences the choice is clear with the E3s.  But if I had a tube preamp, enjoyed music like Diana Krall, and had a better/bigger/treated room that might not necessarily be the case.  I'm working on some listening impressions and my own comparison to the SS8s.

That must be why I am so Ga Ga about my Dodd tubed phono preamp with my SS10's.

Bob

PS I am looking forward to your comparison.

[JonnyFive]

SFox - I didn't mean my statement about the tube preamp to indicate a tube preamp would *not* work with the E3s.  That is the converse of my statement, and the converse is not guaranteed to be true.  If I intended on using a tube preamp, then a wide array of speakers are plausible including the E3s and SS8S.  If I intended on keeping the AV8801, then I had to do something besides the SS8s.

SCompRacer - No one is attacking the SS8s or saying the E3s amount to the heavens opening, etc...  They are different designs with different pros and cons, and I will not say one is better than the other.  One is better than the other only relative to your tastes, your equipment, your room, etc...  They are both speakers anyone would be happy with for life.  There's no need to get upgrade-itis to the E3s if the SS8s make you happy.

Tommy2Tone - I like everything except rap and country, but most of what I listen to is not well recorded.  With the SS8s and AV8801, the flaws in the recordings were just too evident and I couldn't enjoy the music that I loved.  I just wanted something more forgiving, more romantic, and I believe a soft midrange and traditional silk dome are a better fit in this regard.  But both speakers are sublime on music like on Jim's test disc. 

[sfox7076]

The acoustic guitar from Damien Rice's Live at Fingerprints - Warts and All gives me shivers every time I play it.  The tonal accuracy of these speakers on his Lowden guitar just blows me away.  The way the notes sort of just bend in the air.  It's like being there.  Get a copy of that CD.  It is worth every cent. 

[JonnyFive]

Added it to my cart. That live acoustic guitar track on Jim's demo CD is scary good as well.

[kingdeezie]

These look great! It looks like your room is fairly well lit, and it really makes the speakers pop. 

I took a picture of my E3s the other day with a flash, and it was like a whole different speaker! My room is dark because it doubles sometimes as a home theater, and I keep it cave like for the projector. Seeing the wood with some light shining on it, was awesome.

The Salk team is truly talented. The quality of these speakers is stellar. Other than some fancy cuts, or something more geometrical, I don't know how much better built a speaker can get. 

Glad you are enjoying the sound. They are an excellent speaker. The depth and spatiality they present is amazing. The entire 6 feet from the back of the speaker to the wall is just layered soundstage. They light up amazing when given some power, and the vocals just flow out of them. I love them. 

Enjoy man! 

[sfox7076]

I need to dig out my old Salk test CD.  the one I got with the Exoticas was blank!

[jsalk]

I need to dig out my old Salk test CD.  the one I got with the Exoticas was blank!

Blank CD's are used to demonstrate the utter lack of distortion and how "black" the background silence is. 

Sorry about that. 

- Jim

[Tomy2Tone]

Blank CD's are used to demonstrate the utter lack of distortion and how black background silence is. 

Sorry about that. 

- Jim

That's awesome!