New SongTowers arrived

Todd_A · « **on:** 10 Nov 2011, 02:44 am »

I received my new SongTowers today, in beautiful bubinga veneer with a full front baffle. Well worth the extra money for the finish, and I'm glad I went with the satin finish over the regular high gloss after an email exchange with Mr Salk.

I'm going to give them a thorough once over - almost all classical as I am a classical junkie - and will offer some further info once that is done.

audiotom · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Nov 2011, 05:21 am »

Welcome Todd to the Salk world

Bubinga is a fabulous finish - I have HT 3s and just love Jim's craftsmanship with that wood

Enjoy

Gzerro · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Nov 2011, 07:09 am »

Congratulations on the new speakers. The Bubinga veneer examples all look beautiful.

I look forward to hearing your impressions (and am always looking for good classical recordings if you want to share some of your favorites along the way).

Happy Listening

Tom

ArthurDent · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 Nov 2011, 07:40 am »

Welcome to the ever growing Salk family Todd. Am sure you will love listening to your 'old' music with new 'ears'. Shoot us some pics when you get the chance, the bubinga finish is always dazzling.

Nuance · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Nov 2011, 10:32 pm »

That's great news, Todd! Welcome to the Salk family.

So where are the pics my man?

Todd_A · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Jan 2012, 04:52 pm »

OK, so I have not followed up with impressions or pics yet, but I will try to do so as time permits. One thing I did do was opt to buy yet another, supercharged pair of SongTowers. I decided to go with bubinga finish again. I went with supercharged SongTowers (Seas Excel woofers, RAAL tweet) over HT2-TLs mostly for size issues - I listen in a small, cramped room, and the SongTowers have just the right amount of oomph. The "old" SongTowers will find a home in my bedroom system.

vortrex · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 Jan 2012, 10:13 pm »

Are those supercharged ST's a real product now?

ricardojoa · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Jan 2012, 07:24 am »

Quote from: vortrex on 23 Jan 2012, 10:13 pm

Are those supercharged ST's a real product now?

Jim suggested me those, so i think they are real.

jd3 · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Jan 2012, 01:09 pm »

^^
Yep, same with me. Jim recommended them and I'm thinking about ordering a pair.

jsalk · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Jan 2012, 01:58 pm »

Quote from: vortrex on 23 Jan 2012, 10:13 pm

Are those supercharged ST's a real product now?

Yes, the design seems to have caught on. While we have not posted it on our web site yet, we have received a few orders for this model which was originally developed as a custom design for an individual looking to take the SongTowers to the next level. We will most likely post the design on our web site soon.

- Jim

Nuance · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Jan 2012, 03:48 pm »

What's the cost?

jsalk · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Jan 2012, 06:37 pm »

Quote from: Nuance on 24 Jan 2012, 03:48 pm

What's the cost?

The base cost is $3495 per pair. You can think of these as a slightly smaller version of the Veracity HT2-TL's, or an up-scale version of the SongTower "RT' version.

As you can see, the cabinets are built with full front baffles and hardwood trim. Upgraded parts like standard Cardas posts are used, more in keeping with the Veracity line of speakers.

Just in case you're interested, here a FR plot I just took...

- Jim

rlee8394 · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Jan 2012, 08:13 pm »

Jim,

Which Excel driver is used?

Ron

ricardojoa · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Jan 2012, 09:49 pm »

Quote from: rlee8394 on 24 Jan 2012, 08:13 pm

Jim,

Which Excel driver is used?

Ron

i believe it is the W15, there is some discussion about the driver and cabinet size.
I noticed that the sesnsitivity with these drivers are lower the the er15. Would these be as sesitive as the standard ST RT?
At this price point it will be a good alternative to the the ht1tl.
Ron im sure Jim could built these with the W16 you mentioned on the other thread but it may not be cost effective as you would be in the Ht2tl territory.

DMurphy · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Jan 2012, 03:36 am »

Quote from: ricardojoa on 24 Jan 2012, 09:49 pm

i believe it is the W15, there is some discussion about the driver and cabinet size.
I noticed that the sesnsitivity with these drivers are lower the the er15. Would these be as sesitive as the standard ST RT?

No--you will lose a dB or so of sensitivity. That's always the tradeoff for lower extension. I'm sure the NX16 is a nice driver--I'll be working with it in a few weeks on a different project. It has more suspension travel and power handling. But it also costs around $100 more per pair. It's one expensive driver.

Nuance · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 Jan 2012, 01:46 pm »

Thanks for the info and the graph, Jim; you read my mind.

Needless to say, the supercharged SongTower's look to be one heck of a speaker. Congrats on another awesome design!

jsalk · « **Reply #16 on:** 25 Jan 2012, 01:52 pm »

Quote from: rlee8394 on 24 Jan 2012, 08:13 pm

Jim,

Which Excel driver is used?

Ron

W15CY-001

- Jim

Kinger · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 Jan 2012, 10:14 pm »

Jim,

How low do these go in the bass compared to a normal ST? If that is shown in your graph above, I apologize now because I'm not smart enough to figure it out

Paul K. · « **Reply #18 on:** 25 Jan 2012, 11:14 pm »

The anechoic F3 that resulted from my modeling the ML-TL for the STs was ~42 Hz, whereas for the SCSTs, it was ~34 Hz. The graph that Jim showed doesn't go below 200 Hz, so you couldn't really see the low bass response.
Paul

Quote from: Kinger on 25 Jan 2012, 10:14 pm

Jim,

How low do these go in the bass compared to a normal ST? If that is shown in your graph above, I apologize now because I'm not smart enough to figure it out

mathgeek97 · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Jan 2012, 06:55 pm »

Quote from: Paul K. on 25 Jan 2012, 11:14 pm

The anechoic F3 that resulted from my modeling the ML-TL for the STs was ~42 Hz, whereas for the SCSTs, it was ~34 Hz. The graph that Jim showed doesn't go below 200 Hz, so you couldn't really see the low bass response.
Paul

The F3 of my (LCY) HT2-TLs is 32Hz, almost the same as the ST-SC at 34Hz. So, at $1,000 less for the ST-SC and a much smaller footprint, what is the incentive to buy the current HT2-TL over the ST-SC? Sensitivity?