Hello Salk Fans,
I've been a "lurker" on this forum for about a year now. I've been thinking about many different combinations for my first entry into hi-fi, but have known for a while I wanted some version of Salk speakers. I basically just want a 2-channel or 2.1. It's going in my 10 X 10' home office. Given the room limitations, I'm trying to keep things relatively small. I'm having custom shelves make to hold my integrated amp (I'm planning on getting a W4S mINT with the Kimber upgrades) and, of course, some Salk speakers. I'm finally joining to get some feedback on which speakers. Initially, I was thinking of floorstanding (really wanted the Song3s), but with the space limitations, it just isn't practical. So I'm having two custom--basically mini bookshelves--made to go on either side of my desk. Each shelf is 9" wide (inside, so 10.5" on top) and 29" high (same height as my desk). In one shelf goes my computer tower, and in the other, I'm putting the Wyred4Sound mINT.
I'm trying to decide which speakers to put on top, and right now it's down to either the Ellis 1801s or the Supercharged Song Surrounds. Some of my questions:
Tweeter height--the song surrounds on top of the shelves get to just about 42", which seems to be about the height of some of the floorstanding models. The Ellis' are 6" taller, so 48". My ears in my office chair are at 47" (no slouch). Would either speaker work given the +5" and -1" difference?
Tweeter character--I've read great things about both the RAAL in the supercharged and the Hiquphon in the Ellis'. However, I've heard the descriptor "non-fatiguing" applied a lot to the Hiquphon. That's a big factor for me--is the Hiquphon less fatiguing than the RAAL? Or, put differently, is the RAAL considered fatiguing. My head will basically be between 2.5' and 4' from the speakers, so essentially near-field listening. I listen to a wide variety of music, everything from jazz to pop to rap to folk.
Bass--the Ellis has a larger woofer. Is it too large for my room? Or, conversely, is the Supercharged too small? I'm more worried about too large, since I've got it in my budget to add a sub if I feel like there's not enough bottom end from either choice.
Midrange character. Is the smaller W15 better at capturing the human voice than the larger W18? I've not read anything to this effect, but it was a question that "made sense" to me to ask, since most of the midrange drivers I see in three-way systems seem to be a lot smaller than the W18 (and even than the W15 for that matter).
OK, that's it for now. Really looking forward to hear thoughts, and happy to have joined.
Cheers!
Erik Sven