Salk's Veracity ST reviews

kingpin31 · « **Reply #20 on:** 5 Feb 2014, 05:24 pm »

Quote from: Rocket on 17 Jan 2014, 01:33 pm

Hi,

The hardest part of upgrading your system with high quality products is then the limitations of recordings. I've found a chinese female artist called Yao Si Ting and I have 2 of her recordings which sound amazing with my system. I've also experimented with JVC XRCD's which don't sound as good but I'm always looking for good quality music. Good luck.

Cheers Rod

I totally agree with "The hardest part of upgrading your system with high quality products is then the limitations of recordings." I find myself listening to a lot of Daft Punk (Random Access Memory), Madonna (American Life) and Radiohead (In Rainbows) even though I am not a fan of either !

Also, what I came back to say is that the sound - of course - really improved but also keeps getting better ! I have not changed anything, equipment wise, since changing speaker cables (almost from the start) and it just gets better all the time. The dept or fullness or richness or whatever it is called of the sound just keeps growing in quality, the bass is tighter, more lively and "wider" (if we can say that), the "mixture" is just constantly improving and it is really really incredible the sound which I have now !

The room is full and I immerse myself in its magic as often as I can...

My wife oficially hates you, Jim Salk !!!

jsalk · « **Reply #21 on:** 6 Feb 2014, 04:08 pm »

Quote from: kingpin31 on 5 Feb 2014, 05:24 pm

My wife oficially hates you, Jim Salk !!!

Well, if I had a chance to meet her, I bet I could bring her around.

- Jim

PETE6737 · « **Reply #22 on:** 6 Feb 2014, 10:59 pm »

My experience is that wives get over it eventually

WGH · « **Reply #23 on:** 7 Feb 2014, 01:50 am »

Quote from: PETE6737 on 6 Feb 2014, 10:59 pm

My experience is that wives get over it eventually

Sounds like the voice of experience, so...how many have you had?

PETE6737 · « **Reply #24 on:** 8 Feb 2014, 04:32 am »

Quote from: WGH on 7 Feb 2014, 01:50 am

Sounds like the voice of experience, so...how many have you had?

Thankfully, I still have the only one!!! But as a guy who stirs up the audiophile in my male friends when they come over and listen, I know that wives/girlfriends tend to hate me too, because they see me as the guy who's taking away a vacation for stereo gear, taking away the new furniture or car for HT gear etc.... All I do is help my friends get that sonic euphoria... and the wives and girlfriends, well, they get over it eventually, especially on movie night with their new HT system and popcorn... Luckily, my wife is used to it. I sold it to her years ago by asking her if she would rather me have a motorcycle, boat or other hobby that would keep me away from the house...I am home, just a few steps away, listening to music etc, and that...is awesome... I am currently saving up for my promotion present to myself in July...some new gear

billmcc · « **Reply #25 on:** 8 Feb 2014, 08:28 pm »

Quote from: PETE6737 on 8 Feb 2014, 04:32 am

Thankfully, I still have the only one!!! But as a guy who stirs up the audiophile in my male friends when they come over and listen, I know that wives/girlfriends tend to hate me too, because they see me as the guy who's taking away a vacation for stereo gear, taking away the new furniture or car for HT gear etc.... All I do is help my friends get that sonic euphoria... and the wives and girlfriends, well, they get over it eventually, especially on movie night with their new HT system and popcorn... Luckily, my wife is used to it. I sold it to her years ago by asking her if she would rather me have a motorcycle, boat or other hobby that would keep me away from the house...I am home, just a few steps away, listening to music etc, and that...is awesome... I am currently saving up for my promotion present to myself in July...some new gear

Pete,

Very well said

. I bolded the part of your quote that I have said to my wife many times. I'm very lucky in that my wife understands my passion for audio gear and collecting music. I was into Harleys for years and gave it up to spend more time with my family and of course the safety issues of riding. The part I bolded should be in every "audiophiles guide to....." in the very first chapter

.

Bill

PETE6737 · « **Reply #26 on:** 9 Feb 2014, 04:04 am »

Bill, I think we're onto something! We'll collaborate on that new book!

kingpin31 · « **Reply #27 on:** 9 Feb 2014, 07:53 am »

Quote from: jsalk on 6 Feb 2014, 04:08 pm

Well, if I had a chance to meet her, I bet I could bring her around.

- Jim

If you can sound half as sweet as your speakers, I don't doubt you could try !

But I must warn you : I've finally gotten to hook the Veracity STs to my MC275 (I'm a McIntosh junky, what can I do ?!) and not even - speaking of junky - Cowboy Junkies' "Trinity Session" could mellow her ! I can't say that I am a real fan of tubes (Especially since I'm always in fear that a "lamp" will blow and melt the whole amp with it !) as I don't find significant improvment from my MC501s most of the time (i.e.: what you gain "here" you lose "there") but some music does really sound magical through tubes and Trinity Session definitely falls into this category. Even the kids (9 & 7) are more relaxed and quietly smiling !

As for the WAF, I'm looking forward to read Bill and Pete's guide !

kingpin31 · « **Reply #28 on:** 11 Feb 2014, 06:21 pm »

Having bought the C2200 preamplifier and the MC275 amplifier quite some time apart and not having used the MC275 until now, I had totally forgotten what they were : Special Editions. The Frank Gow commemorative edition for the C2200 and the Gordon Gow, for the MC275. It made it quite special, even though I've never met either of these men, to hook them up together.

They do sound really fine together.

PETE6737 · « **Reply #29 on:** 12 Feb 2014, 11:32 pm »

Now that I have had the Salk ss8s for a year, I am on the hunt for some replacements of my aging. Bryston SP1.7 processor as a dedicated 2 channel preamp. Mcintosh sounds like it's working nicely in your system. I may need to look into them. I was looking mostly at Bryston maybe BAT now maybe Mcintosh!

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #30 on:** 13 Feb 2014, 12:20 am »

Quote from: PETE6737 on 12 Feb 2014, 11:32 pm

Now that I have had the Salk ss8s for a year, I am on the hunt for some replacements of my aging. Bryston SP1.7 processor as a dedicated 2 channel preamp. Mcintosh sounds like it's working nicely in your system. I may need to look into them. I was looking mostly at Bryston maybe BAT now maybe Mcintosh!

Get a Dude. Worth every penny.

jtwrace · « **Reply #31 on:** 13 Feb 2014, 12:25 am »

Quote from: PETE6737 on 12 Feb 2014, 11:32 pm

Now that I have had the Salk ss8s for a year, I am on the hunt for some replacements of my aging. Bryston SP1.7 processor as a dedicated 2 channel preamp. Mcintosh sounds like it's working nicely in your system. I may need to look into them. I was looking mostly at Bryston maybe BAT now maybe Mcintosh!

I'm a Dude who replaced a Dude with a Bent Audio TAP-X. That's what I'd recommend.

PETE6737 · « **Reply #32 on:** 13 Feb 2014, 12:49 am »

I'm a Dude who never heard of a Dude but will check out a Dude for my first time (happily married to a woman!) and bent audio as well. Thanks for the input!

robcentola · « **Reply #33 on:** 15 Feb 2014, 02:04 am »

Quote from: PETE6737 on 13 Feb 2014, 12:49 am

I'm a Dude who never heard of a Dude but will check out a Dude for my first time (happily married to a woman!) and bent audio as well. Thanks for the input!

Now thats funny.

kingpin31 · « **Reply #34 on:** 17 Feb 2014, 11:30 am »

Quote from: PETE6737 on 12 Feb 2014, 11:32 pm

Now that I have had the Salk ss8s for a year, I am on the hunt for some replacements of my aging. Bryston SP1.7 processor as a dedicated 2 channel preamp. Mcintosh sounds like it's working nicely in your system. I may need to look into them. I was looking mostly at Bryston maybe BAT now maybe Mcintosh!

Well... I'm not one to tell what "should" sound better as I've heard so many good combinations that I could have easily bought something else. The reason for choosing McIntosh was as much heart than brain as it was the first brand with which I litterally fell in love as a kid so it's some kind of a dream come true. And listening to Nina Simone's "Little Girl Blue" in high resolution FLAC files just now (with the MC275) comforts me in the fact that "this" combination works "for me".

I know many people say many things about McIntosh and you often read comments saying that the sound is "veiled" but I just don't see (or rather "hear") that. Maybe it's what I call "forgiving" or "none-fatiguing", I don't know. All I know is that, for my taste and in my experience, if all components are so-called "revealing" and "full of details", most of the time, I'll end up feeling it all sounds "harsh" or "fatiguing".

So, what I can tell you is that, for my taste, the C2200 preamplifier works incredibly well with either the MC275 or the MC501s. Some people will prefer the C2300 (try to hear both, if you can) but having owned (or still owning) different McIntosh preamps (or tuner/preamps), I was never disapointed and probably could have lived with the MX110 were it not for its limited number of inputs and, to a certain extent, the lack of XLR connection. The C2200 was my favored option for many reasons, within the budget I had and I do not regret it, especially now that my Veracity STs have had time to clear their throats and all cables have had proper burn-in time etc, etc.

I guess my conclusion is : don't discard McIntosh from your serious contenders' list !

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #35 on:** 17 Feb 2014, 11:44 am »

There are many good reviews of preamps on Audiogon under the Forums, Product Reviews, section.

fsimms · « **Reply #36 on:** 18 Feb 2014, 04:29 pm »

Quote from: PETE6737 on 13 Feb 2014, 12:49 am

I'm a Dude who never heard of a Dude but will check out a Dude for my first time (happily married to a woman!) and bent audio as well. Thanks for the input!

My Calypso preamp works well with my SoundScapes. I listen to music with an unbalanced input and HT with the balanced input. On music, the single ended input preserves the euphonic tube magic and gets me to the relaxed state that I listen to music for. The balanced input sounds more like solid state.

Bob

PS Big Red compared an upscale version of my Calypso that is call Janus. He found that his Dude blew away the Janus, but so much depends on the choice of tubes and the setup.

kingpin31 · « **Reply #37 on:** 18 Mar 2014, 12:27 pm »

Quote from: fsimms on 18 Feb 2014, 04:29 pm

My Calypso preamp works well with my SoundScapes. I listen to music with an unbalanced input and HT with the balanced input. On music, the single ended input preserves the euphonic tube magic and gets me to the relaxed state that I listen to music for. The balanced input sounds more like solid state.

Bob

PS Big Red compared an upscale version of my Calypso that is call Janus. He found that his Dude blew away the Janus, but so much depends on the choice of tubes and the setup.

How big is the Janus ? I mean did the Dude blow a huge Janus ? Ok, I'm out...

kingpin31 · « **Reply #38 on:** 21 Apr 2014, 06:49 am »

Crappy weather for Easter ?! I don't mind ! I've ben OSCARPETERSONIZING the house (and probably some neighbours...) !!!

Thank you so much Salk and McIntosh.

BobSacamano · « **Reply #39 on:** 13 May 2014, 01:43 am »

I apologize if this is slightly off-topic, but since this is a thread for Veracity speakers I thought this would be just as good a place to ask as any:

As far as matching surround speakers to floorstanding speakers in the Veracity line, such as the ST and HT3, are the smaller, bookshelf-sized monitors such as the HT2 or HT1 the best match? In a similar vein, if I were to buy the transmission line version of the Veracity HT3, would it be beneficial to match the TL design in my surrounds as well?

Thank you very much for the help.