As always, it was great to meet old and new friends. It is also nice to be able to put faces to the names of customers we have grown to know having been given the opportunity to build their speakers.
It is a lot of work putting on a show like this. But a big part of the reward is being able to meet old and new friends face-to-face. This show was no exception.
As I noted in a previous post, we showed this year with Mike McGary of McGary Audio, Anticables and Exogal.
Mike, a very competent engineer, emailed about a year ago asking if we would be willing to supply speakers for his room at CAF. He was introducing his first product, the SA1 30-watt tube amp. Never having heard this amp, I suggested that he send us a unit to audition with our speakers. It didn't take long after firing up the SA1 to realize that this amp was something special. I immediately emailed him saying we would be happy to team with him for this show.
I was quite pleased with the synergy between Mike's SA1 and our Song3 BeATs. Apparently, others shared my enthusiasm as evidenced by the comments we received.
TwoLeftEars on audiogon.com..."Easily my nomination for “best bang for the buck” speaker auditioned so far. Extraordinary for the price. I repeat, really extraordinary. A nice presentation overall, good depth of soundstaging, for the size of the woofer the bass is definitely there—and then some."Eric Franklin Shook on Parttimeaudiofile.com...“Blindsided”, is a word I used in my show report notes. I know the Salk Signature Sound… sound, but to me the SONG 3 BeAT loudspeaker is something extra special...
"Listening to Tracy Chapman’s – Fast Car, a standard of both audio shows and my life, something felt new and unfamiliar. I don’t think I had ever heard Fast Car played on a tube amplified system before. Maybe this is true, and even if it wasn’t, this felt like the first time. Everything about the texture and placement of Tracy’s guitar in the mix was different and better.
"Realism or some facsimile of it, were involving me emotionally to a song I thought I had long reconciled with. It’s crazy how something so familiar, and at times overplayed, can gain new life with more audible insight. But insight and detail alone were not the story. Bass power and texture exhibited from the system was mouthwatering."We were also honored to receive PartTimeAudiophile's Editor's Choice Award for the Top Five Rooms at the show...
Greg Weaver in EnjoyTheMusic.com..."Jim Salk's products are a great example of products that seem to play well with others, and this showing in room 512 was no exception...
"Listening to one of my favorite guitarists, Stevie Ray Vaughn playing "Tin Pan Alley," from Couldn't Stand The Weather, revealed ample detail, with fine micro shading, and delicious string tone. Vocals were excellent, capturing SRVs angst and that husky, smoky power in his voice, with frequency extension that was impressive, especially up top."
Many attendees who had heard our speakers at past shows, commented that this was the best sound they had ever heard in our various show rooms over the years.
All in all, I would have to say this was a very enjoyable show and we hope to team up with Mike at future shows down the line.
Thanks to everyone who visited our room.
- Jim
