[Grit]

I don't even remember how I found out about Salk speakers... i just remember being very impressed at the hand-crafting part of it.

I currently have B&W 804 diamonds (and matching center/surrounds). I had Aerial Acoustic 7b's which I loved, but they sounded like you had to force the music out of the speaker. i suspect a better amp would have fixed that. I've also heard the new Aerial 7T's and love them also. And I'm in LOVE with Wilson Audio Alexia's, but that's a whole crazy different price class.

Since I can't go listen to Salk's anywhere, I was hoping someone could give me a comparison between Salk's and the above speakers, so I know what to expect. I'm planning on running all Bryston equipment, but I'm not unwilling to reconsider that.

Also, I'm not a fan of "bright" treble. I LOVE detail in the upper range, but I like being able to turn the music and not have it "hurt" from the highs being too intense. The best example I can give is headphones. I recently demoed HiFiMan HE-500's vs Audeze LCD-2's. My preference is for the Audeze's. They made my toes tap.

Thanks in advance!

[Jdgate]

Grit let us know where you live.  It's possible there might be an owner close by who would let you audition their Salks.  I am still a month out (guestimating) from my SCST and SCSC being finished and shipped so I can't say I am an official Salk Owner yet but I can tell you the owners of Salk speakers seem to be a pretty close knit community and are more than willing to open up their homes for an audition.  That's how I first heard a set of HT2-TL's.  A guy 30 minutes away from where I lived let me give 'em a spin with multiple different genres of music and various movie clips.  While they are a step up from what I bought, I was able to hear the "Salk Sound" and view the quality of the workmanship.  That combined with the multiple calls and email that Jim Salk fielded and personally answered along with Dennis Murphey's help (he designed the crossovers and various other aspects) more than sold me on these speakers.

[kc8apf]

I looked at 804 Diamonds a few speaker purchases ago and I currently have SCSTs.  From what I remember, the 804s had exaggerated treble that fatigued after a few songs.  The SCSTs are much more neutral but with lots of detail.

Definitely agree w/ Jdgate on finding a local owner.  I got my in-depth listening to Salks at a get-together put on by another AC member.  I'm happy to entertain in the San Francisco area and there are many others willing to across the US.

[Grit]

I'm in San Diego.

The idea of less bright and more detail definitely sounds good to me.

I currently have a Rotel amp and I think that's masking some of the brightness. My belief is that with a higher quality amp and preamp or processor, they'd sound a lot more bright.

[kc8apf]

I checked the Owner's Audition list thread (one of the stickie threads in the Salk circle) and it doesn't look like any are in San Diego.  One is listed in So Cal and another in Visalia if you're up for a drive.  You might also email Jim and see if he knows of any closer.

[Saturn94]

..... You might also email Jim and see if he knows of any closer.

I highly recommend doing this.  Jim is great about helping find owners willing to offer an audition.  Btw, there are owners out there who offer auditions that aren't listed on the Salk owner thread (I was one of them).

Contact Jim!

[carusoracer]

Brightness and fatigue will drive me out of the room quickly.

Salk speakers certainly do not do that...I would glean the posts for you answers and look for your own personal synergy for the speaker in your price range. SS vs Tube, or different combinations of.

YMMV. 

I still find that every piece of equipment makes up the sound as a whole. The speakers are very revealing of any weak link. This holds true for any system.

[Grit]

Brightness and fatigue will drive me out of the room quickly.

Salk speakers certainly do not do that...I would glean the posts for you answers and look for your own personal synergy for the speaker in your price range. SS vs Tube, or different combinations of.

YMMV. 

I still find that every piece of equipment makes up the sound as a whole. The speakers are very revealing of any weak link. This holds true for any system.

I'm finding that out more & more. I'm currently enamored with Bryston gear, and slowly graduating from very good, but lower end, gear. That gear worked fine, but it's time to get some electronics that more closely match the cost/caliber of the speakers I have.

I'm also transitioning from "needing" a 5.1 system to a 2.0 system. Let me clarify: I will probably always want 5.1, but if my speakers are mismatched,  now I won't care. My passion is in 2.0. If the center & surrounds have to wait to switch over, i can live with that. As I'm moving to nicer equipment, I'm hearing some limitations I wasn't previously aware of.  And finally, I really have some intrinsic value/desire to own something NOT mass manufactured. Some companies (as in all industries) are moving to a "made in China" motif, and I'm not a fan. Call it pride of ownership I guess.

[glangford]

I'm with you on the 2.0 comment as well.  That is my passion as you call it.  I'll never want 5.1. 

As far as electronics go, I've got a great source, Oppo-BDP 95.  I'm currently just running a denon AVR-3311ci for my SCSTs. I do toy from time to time 'upgrading' to a new integrated.  I've looked at the Bryston, but the one I'm infatuated with is the Luxman L-505ux.  I also want something with balanced connections.

OTOH, I'm not disappointed in what my regular AVR does for the SCST.  I paritcularly like what audyssey does for room correction and I like dynamic eq for when I'm listening at less than 'reference volume'.  (The luxman has the old fashioned loudness button to accomplish sort of the same thing).

[rick_reynolds40]

 

I've looked at the Bryston, but the one I'm infatuated with is the Luxman L-505ux.  I also want something with balanced connections.

I am using the Luxman l505u with my ST-RT's.  It is a GREAT combination.  I imagine the 505ux would be as well.

[audiotom]

I owned the old matrix 802 and 803s and sold the Nautilus line part time for a friend. 

The b&w is hi fi, the Salk a whole different  speaker. Musical, accurate, toneally balanced and disappear in the room.  I biught my first pair of Salks early in Jim's company  early 2007 - ht3s - without hearing them first - strictly on the buzz they were generating on audiogon and comments from people I trusted who heard them.

I've evolved to Soundscape 10s and have Salks in my HT
All Salks have that signature sound

You can also get custom  cabinet work - ever speaker is a work of art

[Rocket]

Hi,

Jim's speakers can sound bright like many speakers do.  It depends on the quality of the recording and the electronics that you use in your system.  I bought a pair of Salk Sound HT2's way back in 2008.  The previous year I'd bought a pair of Nuforce s9's a speaker at the time that cost about $5500us.  I was quite underwhelmed by their performance and I decided to give Jim's speakers a try. 

I ordered them without the benefit of hearing them (I live in Australia) and they easily trounced the nuforce speakers.  I've recently bought a salk/rhythmic subwoofer and I'm happy with this purchase as well.  Jim was about to locate leftover veneer from my speakers that he made for me in 2008 and they match perfectly.

Your getting quite a speaker for the money.  Check out the quality of the drivers and then do some research on how much more you'd have to pay for the same quality in other speakers.

I'm sure that if you contact Jim he should be able to hook you up with local salk owner.

Cheers Rod

[Kwebb]

Grit,

I live in San Diego (Carlsbad), come on over, I will let you have a test drive.

Kyle Webb

[Mudslide]

Grit, I own Aerial 7B's and would trade them in a flash for anything from Dennis Murphy and Jim Salk.  (In fact, I do also own a pair of Dennis' Philharmonics.)  As Rod pointed out above, your B&W's and the Aerials are good hi-fi, and SalkSound speakers embarrass them, IMHO.  (Please note that I haven't auditioned the Aerial 7T.)

Rest assured that, especially if you get a model with the RAAL tweeter, you will not experience harsh or shrill highs...just the most effortless, detailed, and elegant top end you've ever heard.

And yes, Jim's cabinet work is beeeea-U-tiful.

[Rocket]

Hi,

Don't take this the wrong way but you guys are getting top quality speakers for bargain prices.  My salk/rhythmic subwoofer cost about $1450US but because of shipping costs, taxes, custom fees, quarantine fees and custom handling fees ended up pushing the price to $2600US.  I've been around the block once or twice buying hifi gear.  I started out with quadral, monitor audio and energy speakers.  Bought a locally made speaker that I thoroughly enjoyed but got bored with and ended up with the Nuforce speakers (quite a decent speaker).

In my opinion Jim's speakers are not bright but are ruthlessly revealing of poor quality recordings and electronics.  His products are a real safe bet and he is a great person to buy from.  I've had a number of disappointments buying overseas products but I would definitely buy a Salk Sound speaker anytime.

Good luck with your decision.

Cheers Rod

[ctviggen]

I don't even remember how I found out about Salk speakers... i just remember being very impressed at the hand-crafting part of it.

I currently have B&W 804 diamonds (and matching center/surrounds). I had Aerial Acoustic 7b's which I loved, but they sounded like you had to force the music out of the speaker. i suspect a better amp would have fixed that. I've also heard the new Aerial 7T's and love them also. And I'm in LOVE with Wilson Audio Alexia's, but that's a whole crazy different price class.

Since I can't go listen to Salk's anywhere, I was hoping someone could give me a comparison between Salk's and the above speakers, so I know what to expect. I'm planning on running all Bryston equipment, but I'm not unwilling to reconsider that.

Also, I'm not a fan of "bright" treble. I LOVE detail in the upper range, but I like being able to turn the music and not have it "hurt" from the highs being too intense. The best example I can give is headphones. I recently demoed HiFiMan HE-500's vs Audeze LCD-2's. My preference is for the Audeze's. They made my toes tap.

Thanks in advance!

You're not a fan of bright treble and you like B&Ws?  Yikes!  Those are some of the brightest speakers I've ever heard, in my opinion.   

Considering that I run from B&Ws because they're way too bright for me, I have Salks (HT1s) and don't think they're bright at all. 

However, the "sheet" of wood on the front of my Salks is split in multiple places.  I can't really recommend some of the fancier woods for this speaker. 

[Grit]

Grit,

I live in San Diego (Carlsbad), come on over, I will let you have a test drive.

Kyle Webb

Thanks Kyle! I'll PM you and hopefully we can set something up in June!

[Grit]

You're not a fan of bright treble and you like B&Ws?  Yikes!  Those are some of the brightest speakers I've ever heard, in my opinion.   

Considering that I run from B&Ws because they're way too bright for me, I have Salks (HT1s) and don't think they're bright at all. 

However, the "sheet" of wood on the front of my Salks is split in multiple places.  I can't really recommend some of the fancier woods for this speaker.

I really think my Rotel receiver is masking a lot of the brightness of the B&W's, as are my speaker cables. I believe if I had a Bryston amp/preamp in place, they'd sound much brighter.