I'm curious of those who have heard these drivers in this speaker. Do they rock? or rather can they rock? I've always thought of Lowther/Fostex (I realize these aren't those, but they are like those) speakers as for those who like acoustic only music, ultimate detail but no real authority and oomph. Counter example is old skool JBL or Klipsch big monitors that can deliver slam but don't necessarily have the best refinement and intimacy. Of course my goal is the intersection of the two, but curious as to people's take. And for the record, my style of music and listening favors the authority over the last word in detail.
So I am an absolute Rock and Blues guy. I listen to other genre's, but 85% of my listening is Rock and Blues. I've actually been pretty fond of Klipsch over the years, warts included. I like to sit in the front 5 rows, I like a snare drum to pop, and a kick drum to hit. I want to hear a guitar whine and distort. I want dynamics.
The truth is Klipsch does it and does it really well. I think the RF7II by Klipsch is an awfully fun speaker, and the old school Forte II and KLF series still hold a place in my heart. Bad cabinets and all with the KLF series. I've gone as far as asking Jim about possibly building proper cabinets for the KLF series and buying some old ones, tearing them down and putting the drivers in a good cabinet (it's not real cost effecient)
I even bought the Palladium Series P37's over a year ago thinking they would do away with the klipsch negatives (they do not sound honky at all) but... and here is the but - past 90db's they bring cymbals too forward and can get fatiguing. They image between the speakers quite well, but aren't great from a depth perspective. I was actually torn on selling them, but then I got lucky and sold them at very little loss (I had gotten a killer deal to start with) and then BRM was selling his SS8's locally, so I was able to upgrade.
Which brings me to Salk Speakers. The Soundscape 8's can absolutely rock. They are 95% as dynamic as the klipsch and sound 95% as "Big", particularly when you leave the open baffle on the midrange. They are a lot more accurate and sound even better on drums and guitars with the added bonus of doing a hell of a job on vocals. I'm very, very happy with them thus far. They play lower than klipsch, though I will tell you they don't quite have that midbass bump you might like. (subs can take care of that when you want to have some fun).
They also don't get nearly as bright when turned up. instruments don't come "forward" (on the palladiums when turned up it was like the cymbals in particular were brought way forward).
I really feel that thus far they are a heck of a speaker for rock and blues music as well as home theater.
On a budget, I still think it's hard to beat a pair of old Forte II's and a nice tube amp for sub 1500 bucks these days, but if you want Rock dynamics and punch with a ton of accuracy and a lot less fatiguing speaker the SS8's are really nice thus far.
I believe that Selah? audio has built a bit of a knock-off in the Ottavo speaker I saw on a website the other day. I'd be interested to hear it also just for kicks. It was a ported design. I wonder if it would be a bit more punchy in the midbass but not play as deep. Not sure I should call it a knock off, but same midrange and tweeter it appears with dual 8's in the lower cabinet. Ported though. Thought it looked interesting.
But IMO for rock, I think you would be happy with the SS8's and take that extra money and get a couple of external subwoofers for when you want to really cut loose.
