[sircrashalot]

Looking for speakers that would pair well with a Van Alstine SET 400 amp and Van Alstine T-10 tube pre-amp.  Carpeted room size is 12x12x8.  I listen to Classic Rock, Pop, Jazz, Acoustic guitar, and some Classical at low to moderate dB (mid 60s to 70) due to close neighbors so something that comes alive at lower volumes is a plus. However, they should also handle 80dB if I move them to a larger inner room where I can turn them up. For now, budget is $3,000 or less.  There is a nice used pair of Salk Song3 beAT that are four hours away. I've also read good things about the Fritz Carbon 7, and Philharmonic BMR Monitors. Does anyone have thoughts/comments on these choices, or some I haven't included ?  Thank you.

[Letitroll98]

You could hardly go wrong with any of those choices.  The Salk speakers have always been a lot like Wilson Audio, perfect in execution but missing a little soul.  Then they shifted emphasis in the latter years of the company and got a bit warmer, sweeter, and more musical, closer to what the Fritz speakers are noted for.  Although close in bass response specs and similar drivers, I would think the floorstanders having more cabinet volume would be more impactful in the lower bass.  As far as matching the amp, AVA amps are good quality and you're kinda stuck there, so why worry about anything but some gross mismatch.

[richidoo]

Good bass at low volume requires a large woofer. Minimum 10" but 12" woofer would be nice for 12x12 room at low volume.

Legacy Audio's design philosophy is toward larger driver area for given frequency range, and there are usually lots of old Legacy's for sale. Maybe Classic, or even Signature since it's sealed bass. You may find vintage speakers with larger woofers, but they tend to need repair, so make sure you try before you buy. Although repairing old speakers is not difficult if you're handy.

Modern speakers often stack multiple small woofers for more efficiency at louder volumes and for looks, but it doesn't have the low SPL advantages of a single large woofer, of playing lower and more bass detail, especially at lower volumes.

[WGH]

Any of the speakers would be a good match with the SET 400. I haven't heard the Salk Song3 beAT. My amp is the AVA SET400 with Salk HT2-TL speakers the pairing is magical with plenty of soul.

The Song3 beAT would have the most detail of the three speakers mentioned. I recently listened to the Salk BePure1 monitor with the same beryllium tweeter and it had detail to spare, we thought it sounded best with the grill covers on. The Song3 beAT is probably the best speaker in the group but it may not the best speaker for you. The Song3 beAT might have too much bass for a 12'x12' room. You listen at low levels so it might not be a problem. I don't know how you would find out, ask in the Salk Circle.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=189729.msg1984959#msg1984959

Fritz loaned me a pair of Carbon 7s for a month. We listened to them in three different systems, both solid state and tubes and they sounded amazing each time. The Carbon 7's image like crazy and are not fussy about setup. The Carbon 7 is the speaker to get if setup is not optimal. Plenty of bass too, friends will ask "Where's the sub?" Super easy to drive and sound great a low levels.

In my living room the speakers sounded mellow compared to the HT2-TL that have the SEAS drivers and RAAL tweeter. In Mick's small room the Carbon 7s were alive and rocking. We placed the Carbon 7s on chairs at Larry's house and they disappeared, we loved the sound.




I haven't heard the Philharmonic BMR Monitors. I have read they are voiced toward classical music with a wide soundstage, the result would be less precise imaging compared to the Song3 beAT, Salk HT2-TL and the Carbon 7. There are plenty of Philharmonic reviews to parse to get a feel for their sound. Dennis Murphy designed the crossovers for Salk speakers and should be able to help describing the sound of his speakers compared to the Song3 beAT.

[JackD]

I owned the Fritz Carrera Be and the SET 400 together for a couple of years and the Carrera had a similar Be tweeter to the one in that Song 3. While the SET 400 is on the warm side of neutral it was still not enough to tame the Be tweeter in a larger room than yours. Only tube amps could do that.  The new Carbon 7 with the Scan Speak soft dome tweeter would be a much better match especially in your smaller room at lower volumes.  That's the direction I would go as it will have more than enough on the bottom end.  Give Fritz a call and talk to him about your room and associated gear.  He has owned multiple AVA amplifiers. He's always happy to talk all things audio.  Another good pairing in a speaker that size that I've tried with the SET 400 is the Reynaud Bliss Jubilee.

[sircrashalot]

Thanks everyone, great information and photos.

I agree that it's a good idea to call Dennis and Fritz and get their ideas for my listening space. Since Jim Salk has retired I hope to speak with the owner of the Salk Song3 beATs also.

Any other thoughts or comments are welcome.

Thank you.