[joegator81]

I have had my songtowers for a few years now. I had initially ordered them in satin black I had been quite happy with them as far as sound and appearance went. However, I believe possibly due to the south florida weather, the finish began to separate on each of my towers and along the seem of one of the surrounds as well. I contacted Jim a year or so ago about solutions and he suggested Mohawk wood fill if I didn't want to send the speakers in as the imperfections were quite small. I took his advice and used the Mohawk to great effect however it always bothered me a little and I finally decided to ask Jim about replacement cabinets. I didn't want to do the black satin finish again as I didn't want to have the same problem down the road. Jim said he would have no problem building new cabinets at cost of the supplies used + shipping. I know Jim was not making a killing doing this for me. This is the type of customer service that every business should deliver.

So it came time to pick out a veneer. I was considering either a tobacco burst effect or a smoky silver dye over maple when I saw those stunning SS8's with the black baffled front and horizontal zebrawood under black dye. To my eye it doesn't get much better than that. I told Jim that I wanted to the wood to look more brown than black and he certainly delivered. The zebrawood actually looks like indian rosewood with a dark burst on the edges blending into the full length black baffle front. I could not be more impressed. Someday I may have to do the surrounds and center.

I want to give a little more back story as well. When I was searching for new speakers I asked Jim if anyone in my area had a pair of songtowers. In fact, a guy name Bryan had a pair and lived not 15 min. from my home. Small world. We became good friends and I really enjoyed getting to know him and his wife. Well, needless to say I bought my salks because of that audition. What I also got from Bryan was a vinyl addiction that I just can't shake and you know what - i'm cool with it, and luckily, so is my wife  . Bryan has since moved to Costa Rica (lucky sob) but before he left he left me his homemade corner traps. It wish we we could still get together and listen to records but i can't blame him from moving and i know he is enjoying life right now. Besides, we still keep in touch and i get to see pics of costa.

So, thanks Jim for the beautiful speakers and all the great stuff that came with them!







Sorry for the photo quality. I am going to try and borrow a friends "nice" camera soon.

[Kinger]

Those look great Joe! 

I tell you, every time I think I'd like to "upgrade" my ST/RT's to something further up the line I sit back and listen to them (paired with a Rythmic sub for low end) and think to myself naaaaaaaaaaah it can wait

[joegator81]

Thanks. I've got a new dilemma, sometimes i want to look at them more than i do listen to them. It kinda makes me wish i was using them in the living room where light would be hitting them and really showing off the grain pattern and other details. I think the same way though, i will probably be holding on to the ST's until i can afford either the Veracity ST or a SS8.

I've got the songtowers paired up with my Epik Legend (with a recent amp replacement that i did myself  ). However, i'm running the ST's down to the mid 40 hz range so most of the music is still coming from the songtowers and the sub is picking up the rest.

I'm borrowing a really nice camera today so hopefully i will be able to get some really nice pics up soon. The lighting in my room isn't the best so i may have to move the speakers to get the best results.

[Big Red Machine]

Kudos on the horizontal veneer that I think Greg started (a real trendsetter).  Looks good, enjoy.  ST's are the real deal in audio still.

[audiotom]

Bravo Jim and great look Joe

I'm with BRM, that horizontal grain looks stellar as does the multi step process,  I love that red

can you take a closer shot of the center channel, I want to see how the grain is done on that one

Isn't it nice you gain a friend out of the deal and a love for vinyl

that's really neat

now you can vacation in Costa Rica
my daughter spent a summer there doing biology research in the jungle, off the power grid and right on the Caribbean

[OgOgilby]

Congrats Joe! You have good taste 

-Greg

[Ern Dog]

Nice looking speakers.

[joegator81]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Like Jim said about Greg's, this finish is very difficulty to photograph. Well, here are some new pics that are much nicer than the old ones. Perhaps Greg or Jim can comment on any of the different subtleties between the finishes of his SS8's and my ST's.

[joegator81]

Bravo Jim and great look Joe

I'm with BRM, that horizontal grain looks stellar as does the multi step process,  I love that red

can you take a closer shot of the center channel, I want to see how the grain is done on that one

Isn't it nice you gain a friend out of the deal and a love for vinyl

that's really neat

now you can vacation in Costa Rica
my daughter spent a summer there doing biology research in the jungle, off the power grid and right on the Caribbean

Getting to know Bryan was an awesome turn of events. Not only is he a hell of a nice guy but he is very knowledgeable when it comes to turntables and vinyl and engineering in general. I really hope that my wife and I get the chance to visit in costa rica, it looks like an amazing place to visit.

The center channel is just black satin all around, as are the song surrounds. I may change them in the future but i'm not in much of a rush right now.

[joegator81]

Congrats Joe! You have good taste 

-Greg

So do you 

I have always liked and admired the horizontal wood patterns on Focal's speakers and when I saw yours I thought that. Wonderfully executed Jim and Greg. Kudos.