[srb]

Steve, I honestly am not seeing any sort of controls on the Yamaha that would allow me to choose. Looks like I can only turn the DSP on or off.... Am I missing something obvious?

No, I assumed that the RX-V690 was newer than it is.  So I also agree to call it "dated" instead of "lame"!
 
Looking at the manual, you are correct in that the only adjustment you can make is to press the Effect button to disable DSP.  There are no speaker settings that would engage a high-pass filter so they are always run full-range, and there is no Dynamic Range setting.  There is a subwoofer output, but the crossover is non-adjustable (fixed at 200Hz) and it appears that it would just add subwoofer bass to the always full-range front speakers.
 
There are so many satisified customers of the SongTowers that it's hard to believe that it's just "not your cup of tea", but that some combination of receiver and room placement are making them sound thin.
 
Good luck with any suggestions you try and I sadly share your disappointment on the shipping damage.
 
Steve
 
 

[avahifi]

I strongly suspect that your Songtowers are simply a whole lot better than your amplifier.  The Songtowers will never "sound thin or bass shy" when driven by adequate electronics.

I am really sorry to hear about your shipping damage.  The shipping must really have been careless as they are packed very very well.

Best regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[putz]

Per RenaissanceMan, speakers were not shipped by Salk. He bought them used and Seller did not have the original boxes. Both speakers were shipped single boxed in the same box. A recipe for disaster if there ever was one.

Just wanted to clarify that and to ask a question of Jim. I have Songtowers and no boxes. Will Salk sell me a set of boxes in case I ever need to ship mine? Not that I ever intend to sell them unless I was buying Soundscapes. 

PM me the cost of the boxes if you do not want to disclose that info in the forum.

Paul

[jsalk]

Just wanted to clarify that and to ask a question of Jim. I have Songtowers and no boxes. Will Salk sell me a set of boxes in case I ever need to ship mine? Not that I ever intend to sell them unless I was buying Soundscapes. 
Paul

It is certainly not a problem.  However, the main shipping box is considered "over-sized" and it costs almost as much to ship empty as full (it takes up the same room on the truck).  So while we have no problem with it, it is not exactly cost-effective.

- Jim

[RenaissanceMan]

LOL, sorry guys, 'lame' was a poor choice of words... It's not like the receiver has a bum leg or anything. I guess my joking around wasn't conveyed well-enough through my green smiley emoticon...   

 

Anyhoo, once again I have to say performance has increased significantly via boosting the bass knob on the Yamaha and keeping the speakers at least 10 inches away from the wall.

Jim, thanks so much for chiming in. I did try your tests and I don't think the crossovers or woofers are damaged. At least, I can't hear it if they are. I disconnected the jumpers and ran only the lower terminals, and then toggled between left and right using the balance control on my Yamaha. Didn't really notice any difference between them, whatsoever in low end response. I have to assume it would be highly unlikely that both woofers would have suffered the exact same damage.

ArthurDent, as putz reiterated, the speakers suffered damage in a custom-ordered, non-OEM box. Unfortunately the seller did not still have his original boxes, so he ordered a box from an online box site and packed the SongTowers using copious amounts of styrofoam, foam wrap, stacked cardboard, and bubble wrap. It will be interesting to see what FedEx decides with respect to the claim. But I digress... Thanks for the feedback regarding your experiences with your 590. Honestly, now that I've sat for a while in front of the 'tweaked' setup, the sound of the 690 is not bad at all. In fact, I'm only having to run the volume at about 10 o'clock to get things pretty loud in the room. I'm predicting that a more powerful and current integrated amp like an AVA or Brio-R or A-S2000 will make the SongTowers sound even more musical. Of course, I'm just going from what I've read in the forums, as I haven't heard any of those in person.

I'm praying that this whole claims deal has a happy ending, as I'd really like to be able to get an undamaged set of SongTowers to replace these!

[srb]

LOL, sorry guys, 'lame' was a poor choice of words... It's not like the receiver has a bum leg or anything. I guess my joking around wasn't conveyed well-enough through my green smiley emoticon...   

Actually we all think the Yamaha is quite lame, we just didn't want to make you feel any worse than you already do!   
 
Good luck with the claim.
 
Steve

[ArthurDent]

I'm predicting that a more powerful and current integrated amp like an AVA or Brio-R or A-S2000 will make the SongTowers sound even more musical. Of course, I'm just going from what I've read in the forums, as I haven't heard any of those in person.

I'm praying that this whole claims deal has a happy ending, as I'd really like to be able to get an undamaged set of SongTowers to replace these!

Can't speak to the Brio-R or A-S2000, but I can say my STs sounded fine with my AVA Insight 250 (& T-8 Pre), and even finer now with an AVA FetValve Ultra 500 (& Ultra Pre). You should check to see if anyone in your area has some of Frank's gear that will give you an audition. It's worth your time. Good luck with the claim situation.   

[Saturn94]

Donald and Saturn, looks like you replied while I was typing my reply. Just now seeing your posts. I will read over the Cardas setup stuff and see if I can get close with the room/furniture in its current configuration. Saturn, see my last post. Bass response definitely improved with placement and fiddling with the bass knob on my receiver.

Is it 'bad' to use onboard EQ generally speaking? Don't you introduce amplified distortion that way?

I suspect then you are simply dealing with placement/room acoustics issues (like we all do).  Play around with different speaker positions (and listening positions if possible) to see what works best in your room.  While there are different setup methods out there, they may or may not work in your particular situation (they didn't work for me).

While using EQ doesn't cure all ills and may introduce some negative effects (which may or may not be audible), the botton line is what sounds best to you.  If it sounds better with EQ, then use it.  If not, don't. BTW, I do use a little EQ with my HT2-TLs.

I hope that claim comes through for you.