[mintchris]

Hi
I am looking at buying a pair of B&W 804Diamonds for a 2 channel set up.
I play mostly vinyl through a kt88 tube amp.
I am impressed with all the positive reviews on the Salks and the ability to
customize.
Why should I get a pair of Salks over the 804's and what model should I buy?
Thanks!!

[MichiganMike]

Speaker preferences are highly subjective.  My best advice is for you to listen to the Salk speakers and make your own assessment.  You may find a Salk owner or audio show nearby where you might listen to Salk speakers.  Depending upon where you live, a trip to Michigan to audition Salk speakers at the factory might be justified.   

I acknowledge that many owners love the B&W Diamond line.  IMHO B&W Diamond speakers new command a premium price for a given performance level.  New B&W 804D speakers might be compared with the Salk HT-2TL, but this Salk speaker costs thousands less.  For a few hundred dollars more than the 804D, you might purchase Salk SoundScape 8's, which in my opinion represent a substantial improvement in music reproduction, with more extended bass and a more natural midrange response.

Finally, the quality of the wood veneer finish available on the Salk speakers is superior to any B&W wood veneer finish that I have seen.       

[Warpdrv]

^^^^^ ----  Couldn't have said it better myself Mike...   

You owe it to yourself to listen to a set of Sound Scapes - and the SS8's are about King for that in the comparable monetary level..... 

[TJHUB]

I owned various B&W speakers for over 15 years.  Once I heard a pair of Salk's, I couldn't get rid of my 800 series B&W's fast enough.  You owe it to yourself to audition Salk speakers before you pull the trigger.  If you prefer the B&W's, great!  At least you won't have any "what if" thoughts.  Those are the worst!

Contact Jim Salk to help you locate someone with the most appropriate Salk speakers for you to audition. 

[Austin08]

Somehow, B&W house's sound never attracted me. I know there are plenty B&W fellowers out there but they are not my cup of tea. I remmembered auditioning the 800s series years ago and end up go home with a pair of Thiel 3.6. (have no comment on 800D series).I do not know or own any other Salk speaker beside my SS8 but if you budget is around $8000 then the SS8 is surely put a smile on your face. IMO, nothing can touch the SS8 in the $10000 price range.

[wilsynet]

Haven't been too impressed with B&W.  Murky, recessed, uninteresting.  To these ears better value is to be found elsewhere.

Reasons to buy B&W: Extensive dealer network, presumably easily serviced and handled by the dealer, and known quantity and straight forward audition process.  But you aren't likely to maximize bang for buck unless you happen to love the B&W house sound.

[Nuance]

Hi
I am looking at buying a pair of B&W 804Diamonds for a 2 channel set up.
I play mostly vinyl through a kt88 tube amp.
I am impressed with all the positive reviews on the Salks and the ability to
customize.
Why should I get a pair of Salks over the 804's and what model should I buy?
Thanks!!

This will sound like a fanboy response, but it needs to be desribed this way because...well, it's simply true to my ears: The Salk's are better in every single way.  Period.  The midrange is more transparent and true, the highs are delicate and detailed with no fatigue, and the bass is impactful and deep without being boomy or flabby.  In turn, simply reverse what I said and you now have B&W speakers: Piercing, shrill highs, recessed sounding mids and sloppy bass.  I mean no offense to the B&W fans scouring this forum, but I am just calling it like I hear it, and I've heard B&W's offerings dozens of times in numerous rooms and events.  The Salk's simply put them out to pasture.  You owe it to yourself to hear a pair of HT2-TL's or SoundScape 8's before looking to buy those 804D's; there's just no comparison.

[yetis]

I will say that I find B&W speakers very fatiguing.  I know that there are many who disagree, but many that agree.  Used 800's and 802's seem like a great deal, as they come up here and there on Audiogon and seem to be pretty hard core contenders.  I know that Kal from Sterophile loves his and he hears a lot of great speakers!  So I know this doesn't comment on the 804's, just worth mentioning.

[mintchris]

Thanks for all the advice guys!
Since we are not too far from Jim's shop we are going to take a trip to check things out in person on Friday. I will report back with our impressions and which way we decide to go.
Lot soy good info on here so thanks! We are excited!

[ctviggen]

I will say that I find B&W speakers very fatiguing.  I know that there are many who disagree, but many that agree.  Used 800's and 802's seem like a great deal, as they come up here and there on Audiogon and seem to be pretty hard core contenders.  I know that Kal from Sterophile loves his and he hears a lot of great speakers!  So I know this doesn't comment on the 804's, just worth mentioning.

In my opinion, they're not fatiguing, they're unlistenable.  Ear piercing.  Brutal. 

[Big Red Machine]

I've always lusted for 800's or 802D's.  Listened to them several times and every time I came home finding my HT3's so much more in extension, ease of listening, and accuracy.  Never stopped buying Salks after that.

[cujobob]

A lot of people enjoy B&W speakers but I don't particularly feel like they provide great value. I really enjoyed the Salks I've heard and they use very good drivers plus look great and are customizable.

[Phil A]

I have a pair of old B&W P6s in the secondary basement system.  I believe they were around $1.6k list and were a scaled down version (driver and cabinet construction) of the old 804s from the same time frame (probably just over 20 years old).  I think the 804 model was around $4k of that genre.  I think the P6s still sound good today.  That being said, I've heard the Salk Song Towers (and also the Soundscapes Jim has had at the Capital Audiofest) and I'd take them in a heart beat over the B&Ws, including the new models (some of which I don't like as much as mine as mine are very forgiving of bad recordings) at that price point.  I'm not putting down B&W at all.  I just think that when your business model is direct sales vs. going through the retail chain, the value that one is getting is way beyond what you can expect.

[DMurphy]

I always thought the original 800 series B&W's were really nice speakers.  I heard 8 of them in surround mode at the U-Cal Berkely electronic music department.  I played regular program content--not electronic music--and thought the voicing was spot on.  Since then I've only heard various bookshelf models, which ranged from pretty bad to pretty good.  My general impression is that there are too many layers between the B&W engineers and whoever makes the final design decisions. 

[OzarkTom]

The B&W 801's has a crossover that weighs 28 lbs. No wonder it sucks up the power of any amp driving it.

[Kokishin]

Thanks for all the advice guys!
Since we are not too far from Jim's shop we are going to take a trip to check things out in person on Friday. I will report back with our impressions and which way we decide to go.
Lot soy good info on here so thanks! We are excited!

and...?

[mintchris]

and...?

...and my B&W's are up for sale right now!

We spent over 2 hours I think with Jim and his wife and had a great time listening to music and seeing how it all comes together. They are great people and the operation is top notch.
I don't want to seem to gushy and sound like I am drinking the kool-aid cause I am not that kinda guy but literally from the first few notes coming from the Songtowers we were hooked. We also got to hear the HT2-TL, the SS8's and the RAAL/Illuminator. The sound just kept getting better and better up the chain but they truly all sounded incredible! The finish was really impressive in person and it holds huge appeal to be able to pick your own look and feel like you had a hand in the final product.
We are going to order a pair of supercharged Songtowers for our 2 channel set up and I think we will go with Soundscapes for our HT. I am just going back and forth with Jim not trying to choose the right path. It's nice to not be in a showroom with some sales guy hitting you with the hard sell. Jim really comes across as a guy who wants to sell you the right product for your situation vs the most expensive speaker they sell.
Am I gushing now? Damn!
Anyways we are thrilled with what we saw and heard and can't wait to finally own these remarkable speakers very soon! I will keep you up to date with what we choose.
PS My 805's can't compete.
PPS The RAAL monitors are amazing! They might have been my favourites but we had our hearts set on floorstanders so its gonna be SC/Songtowers

[Warpdrv]

PS My 805's can't compete.

HAHA

Pretty sure we have been sayin that all along. Nice thing is selling those 805's will be extremely easy for you now and be funding something wonderful, whatever your choice may be in the Salk Line.

 

[yetis]

Nice thing is selling those 805's will be extremely easy for you now and be funding something wonderful, whatever your choice may be in the Salk Line.

Isn't that the truth!  I sold a used B&W center channel a decade ago.  I purchased it used and was likely a couple years old when I sold it.  The best part was that I sold it for more then I purchased it for!  How often does that happen!