[jsalk]

Drew had been in conversation with us regarding his desire to have us build a pair of speakers for him.  In the process, I mentioned that we were working on a new design called the SS9.5.  Even though the prototype speakers had not yet been finished, he wanted to go for it.  That is quite a leap of faith, even though we had worked with all the drivers before and were very confident that the design would work out.

Last week we shipped the very first production pair (other than our own) to Drew.

Here are some pictures...



With grills installed...



And a close-up...



We are extremely happy with how this design worked out and hope Drew is just as happy owning them.

Happy listening Drew!

- Jim

[jtwrace]

Best looking speaker cabinet yet   

[Tomy2Tone]

Best looking speaker cabinet yet   

+1

[Phil A]

Gorgeous!  Enjoy!

[ddps]

This is Drew. Jim, the SS 9.5s are fabulous. Indeed I bought them "sound unheard," but not without considerable review of my room and current setup with you, and you were so gracious with your time.

Here's what I would like to share about their sound:

• The beryllium tweeter is a worthy successor to the ribbon tweeter. It avoids the bad aspects of a metal dome, and has vertical dispersion that I believe to be superior to a ribbon tweeter. It also happens to have a very wide and wonderful horizontal dispersion.
• These speakers can handle power! I am driving them with a McIntosh MA8900, whose "Binghamton Blue" you can see glowing in the photo below. I feel like they are a worthy match for one another. In all respects, the Salks take advantage of what the McIntosh amp has to offer. Just a great combination. In particular, the passive radiator design allows the bass to scale with volume in a way that a ported design is more challenged to do.
• When I spoke with Jim, I shared details about the room that these would sit in - it's a wonderful 11x22 sunroom (right now filled with many wintering plants) that has a great visual environment, but there are plenty of hard surfaces, including two walls of windows, skylights, etc. The speakers I had prior were too bright and forward with my McIntosh amp (which has a very airy top end) in this environment. Jim advised me that the Audio Technology midrange would not be as overly analytical as my prior speakers were, and he was right. The top end of these is beautifully blended and crisp, and a much better match for the airy amp in this room. Frankly, I can't imagine these would sound bad in any room, but in this room, they were worth the bet I took on them!
• This is anecdotal, but they also seem more efficient than the numbers indicate, in comparison to other speakers I have driven with that amp.
• There is a complete effortlessness to their character - they handle anything, with seemingly no distortion - which I have never been able to achieve in my home before.

I listened to Joe Walsh's "Confessor" and "Life's Been Good" for my first two tracks, and I fell to my knees in disbelief when the latter track played. Words fail.

Of course, they are beautiful to boot. I am a fan of natural cherry, and I know these will continue to look richer with age.

This represents how they looked when I finally got listening to them last night -



Thanks again, Jim and team, for making a great product, with such a great attitude and service.

[jriggy]

Congrats!
Great looking speaks...and that really is a wonderful visual environment.

[abd1]

Wow, stunning. I might have to rethink some priorities. Sorry kids, looks like student loans in your future....

[mresseguie]

Sweet looking speakers!

Enjoy!

It's been a long time since I last listened to Mr. Walsh. I'll give him a listen today.

[DEP14]

Outstanding!

How did the bass "hit" on lifes been good?

[ddps]

Outstanding!

How did the bass "hit" on lifes been good?

Simply spectacular. The drums, in particular, were over-the-top good.

[ddps]

A little update after a few days of listening: Those of you with the Song3 BeAT probably know this already, but I feel compelled to add that these Satori beryllium tweeters in the SS 9.5 are probably the least "beamy" tweeters I have ever had the chance to experience.

[strat95]

Love the look of the speakers.

I'd like to make a comment on the aesthetics and styling of the speaker.  The grille cloth being rounded at the bottom does not match well with the straight bevel/chamfer lines of the cabinet.  The grille shape may suit the speaker shape better if that bottom point radiates out in a very shallow straight lined V that would compliment the bevels/chamfers.  With the grille on the only other non straight lines you see are those of the passive radiators.

The cabinet shape reminds me a bit of the angular lines of a a modern day Lamborghini.  For a closer comparison, the cabinet shape reminds me of avalon speakers.  The pic below shows and example of the grill shape I'm describing.



Again, beautiful speakers.