[guf]

I've had a pair of SS8s for the past year and a half and love them. I had a pair of Ht2-TLs first and loved them. Somewhere along the line I purchased a used pair of songtowers locally to use as my surrounds, mostly because i didn't want to wait for Jim to build me a pair of song surrounds. So i've had these song towers for 2 years and never "really" listen to them...Until today. I'm testing a new amp i built and needed another pair of speakers to use other than my SS8s.  i've been listen to the song towers for the past couple hours and have been blown away how good they sound. mostly impressed with the bass. Maybe i'm not a bass freak but i cant imagine people not being satisfied with the bass output of these song towers. I cant believe i'm saying this but after owning all 3 i think if i had to settle with the songtowers, i think i'd be totally happy. There is no reason not too they are an amazing speaker. It's hard because we read these forums and get caught up in wondering how much better something could/should sound and we constantly want more.  I know my personality has a weakness for that. maybe if i was more grateful i would have saved myself a LOT of money and would be better off in so many ways.

[gregcss]

we read these forums and get caught up in wondering how much better something could/should sound and we constantly want more.

I fall into this category, but don't act on it too often. Do you have the standard STs?

[guf]

yup just the standard

[Vulcan00]

It's hard because we read these forums and get caught up in wondering how much better something could/should sound and we constantly want more.  I know my personality has a weakness for that. maybe if i was more grateful i would have saved myself a LOT of money and would be better off in so many ways.

guf,

I agree with you.

Tell what I'm gonna do. I have a set of HT2-TL and I will just trade ya for SS8. 


MAybe that will help

[PMAT]

I've said this before, when your expectation filters are not applied and you experience the sound like an educated baby, magic happens. The magic was alway there but our filters do a great job of fu..ing up the sound. The ear/brain is so susceptible to preconceived notions. This is a great post. I am sure that the SS8s are great. But so are the song towers. I have never heard either but I know enough to say this. There is another thread going on about Macintosh speakers that is trashing many speakers that have multiple tweeters. I bet most of them sound great. Well not if you read that they can't.

[glangford]

I have the SCST, but started to order just the plain STs.  I decided to spring for the bit of extra bass extension. I cared about that more than I rid the ribbon tweeter. I really think the SCST and the VST are the sweet spot in Jim's lineup.  But the plain STs are still great speakers. They are in some regards what made Salk Sound.  In another thread we are talking about what speakers to take to the show. Jim mentiioned taking a pair of STs. I think that is a good choice.

[ricardojoa]

I dont have the chance to listen to Jim SS8 or the veracity series but i would have guessed that these even the SCST have better overall transperancy and cleaness over the bandwidth.
I  have the dome ST and i have compared it to the selah tempesta. The ST has a warmish sound in comparasion with the selah tempesta, the mid are less transparent, the highs has more weight to them.
Still i think the ST sound very musical. They are very easy to listen and have a sweet midrange that i really like without sacrafying any details. They can also preoject a pretty nice soundstage.
I would think the rall version would give them a better and more realistic topend, yet remaining the overal sweet mid.

[jd3]

I picked up my first pair of SongTowers from Jim on Labor Day weekend of 2007.  I loved their sound from the first moment I heard them.  Needless to say, like all of us, after a while I felt I could do better.  I wound my way up the Salk line looking for more sonic perfection.  I ended up with SS8's, which I owned for about a year and a half.  They are great speakers, and if you want a full range speaker that allows you to hear all the details a recording has to offer, those are the ones to have if you can afford them.  I found my life getting more complicated with less time to spend listening to music, so I decided to dismantle my 2 channel system and let someone else enjoy the SS8's.  Jim graciously sold the SS8's for me, and when I took them to his shop I listened to some WOW1's and considered the Silk's.  Due to having 2 young grandchildren, my wife told me we should get another pair of Song Towers  (one of her favorites by the way...she never wanted me to let them go) versus a stand mount.   So, I ordered a pair of standard Song Towers before I left.  I've had them about 3 months now, and they are in my living room system.  I forgot how much fun they are to listen to!  Great, great speakers.  They are just a pleasure to listen to; smooth and musical speakers that immerse you in the music.  Are they the greatest in resolving detail?  No, they're not SS8's, but they are truly a speaker that can connect you with the 'soul' of the music like few other speakers I've owned.  I really enjoyed the SS8's, and I think they are a true bargain for the price, but Song Towers are probably one of the greatest speaker values out there. 

[ernest787]

I have a pair of STRT that were my first high end speaker purchase. I love them.  I had them in a 2.1 vinyl set up.  After a year I couldn't help but wonder what other speakers in the Salk lines sound like so I ended up purchasing a pair of HT3s.  I moved the ST to the living room and use them with my TV now and the HT3s for the music set up. 

A couple of weeks ago I had some friends over for a BBQ and we did some very unscientific A/B listening.  Everyone was shell shocked with the HT3s.  When we moved to the STRT no one could believe how good they sounded and how well they held up against the HT3s.  Although I will say there was a general sentiment that the HT3s were definitely the better speaker and worth the upgrade, everyone also stated they would be very happy with a pair of Songtowers.

Great speakers at an even better price.  They are very tough to beat

[Scoville]

This is great to hear. 
I've had a pair  of regular STs since last Fall.  I liked them a lot when I got them, but as I've gradually started upgrading my source gear (AVA integrated amp, better phono carts, etc.) I've been blown away. For the past few months, I've been going through my old vinyl, much of which has sat basically unused for decades, carefully cleaning each record and listening.    What a revelation!  Some records are just too chewed up from years of abuse, but a lot of them are in very listenable condition and some are fantastic.   I think it will be quite a while before I feel the itch to upgrade the speakers, just because at least for me at my stage in the audio saga,  the rate limiting factor in terms of the quality of the music I'm hearing  isn't the quality of the STs, it's the quality of what I'm sending them.  Next up (after a phono pre upgrade) will be the upgrade to the digital source gear, but I don't really feel in any rush to do that.  I still have old vinyl to clean, and I have a very good record store a mile from my house and a couple of others close by as well.  So it'll probably be vinyl for the forseeable future.
I'm sure Jim's more expensive speakers are better than the STs in various ways, and maybe at some point I'll feel the speaker upgrade itch, but for now, the thought doesn't really occur to me. I'm just enjoying the STs too much.

[SCompRacer]

....... so I decided to dismantle my 2 channel system and let someone else enjoy the SS8's.

I think they went to a good home. I enjoy them very much.

[jd3]

I'm glad they found a good home!   It looks like you've got them in a great room and paired with some nice gear too.

John

[SCompRacer]

Thanks for the kind words and making them available John. I've received some nice compliments from friends that heard them.

Rich