I've been wanting to write up a post about the new speakers, but it has been very difficult to find the time. I have a bit of free time now, though, and since I always enjoy reading others' stories and would like to return the favor I thought I could at least post some pictures of the delivery.
After reading some other posts here about SS8s being shipped on pallets I started to grow a bit worried about logistics: I live on a third floor condo and hadn't considered the possibility that the delivery wouldn't include carrying the speakers up the stairs (the previous Salk speakers I had all mysteriously showed up at the top of the stairs outside my door
). I conferred with Jim and found out that my fears were well-founded, and that no freight companies that he could use would carry the speakers up stairs. I wasn't sure what to do, but he arranged to have the freight company call me and set up an appointment for when they would actually deliver. It turned out that I was in luck, because the delivery estimate was for December 31st, when friends/family would have work off! I warned them to be ready, and waited for the call.
Unfortunately, the estimate turned out to be not accurate, and they weren't actually able to deliver until January 2nd when everyone was back at work
. I pretended that Jim hadn't already told me they wouldn't carry them up stairs and asked the gentleman on the phone if that would be possible, but he confirmed that it wouldn't hehehe. I wondered if I would be able to convince the drivers to help me when they actually showed up, but decided that it wasn't worth the stress and called a moving company to come and help. Here's the obligatory picture of the delivery truck:
It turned out that there was only a single driver. He was going to at least get the speakers as far as the base of the stairs:
But he decided that maybe that was more than what he wanted to commit to, and ended up leaving them on the sidewalk:
To be honest, I was a little relieved, because the driver himself seemed a bit rickety and I had nightmare visions of him and the dolly tipping over
. It turned out to be a nice and clear day, and I was very grateful to not have to worry about snow falling. I wanted to stand sentry by the speakers until the moving company arrived; the mental image of someone coming by and stealing such heavy boxes on a whim made me chuckle, but at the same time it didn't feel right taking any chances. Even though the sky was clear, though, it was
really cold, and I finally had to give up my vigil. This is what it looked like watching them from my window:
When the movers arrived it was pretty funny: It was just two guys and they were easily able to lug the boxes up the stairs. Before they arrived it was difficult for me to envision how big/heavy they would be, but for anyone else wondering the same thing I think two people should be able to carry them fine. I ended up feeling kind of silly once I saw how easy it was for the movers, but I was also glad to not have to worry about leaving them outside too long until people were off work, so it all turned out ok:
The rest of the pictures I took were with my good camera, and unfortunately I'm not home right now and don't have access to it. So, the pictures that you all
really want to see will, sadly, have to wait until a future post. Since I post so rarely, though, despite my good intentions, I think I should probably add a bit of a tribute to Jim and his products. Not only are the speakers themselves great (obviously), but it's unbelievable to me how little it costs to customize them any way your heart desires. The fact that Jim himself is such a class act is the icing on the cake, and I'm really proud to own Salk speakers. It was only about a year and a half after I bought my original ones that I started the process of upgrading, and so I really didn't need new ones; the SongTowers are fantastic speakers, and I was happy with them. I got the feeling, though, that the SS8s were unusually special, and this impression was strengthened in email correspondence with Jim when it was obvious how personally pleased he was with them. Even though I know that other Salk models will be developed and released in the future and that the SS10s and SS12s already exist, I feel like I now have my own personal Salk masterpiece in my listening room. Thanks Jim and the Salk team!
John-Paul
