Exotica 3 tower review HomeTheaterHifi

Frans · « **on:** 19 Sep 2015, 02:35 am »

http://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/speaker/floor-standing/salk-signature-sound-exotica-3-floorstanding-speaker-review/

kingdeezie · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 03:18 am »

Pretty good review.

Would like to see "lighter" though?

Is that a legitimate complaint issue?

Shame he couldn't get the bass dialed in. That 10DB 60 HZ suck out might have something to do with the perceived lack of slam.

I also don't know why he was having trouble with the speakers "disappearing." These things just shoot a huge wall of sound. I was playing MGS V the other day, and was blown away at how amazing it sounded.

There was nothing between me, and the sound in the game. The dialogue just floated in the air, and dynamics of the gun fire, popping off.

Excellent.

Glad the reviewer liked them, hopefully some lucky person picks up the review pair.

sfox7076 · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 12:31 pm »

The others pictured are mine. I don't get the disappear comment either. Makes no sense to me. They disappear all the time into room. I use tube amps though.

Rocket · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 01:43 pm »

Hi Guys,

He didn't list the system that he was using with these speakers. At the end of the day it's one person's opinion that is all..

Cheers Rod

DMurphy · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 04:27 pm »

His reaction to the bass is something of a head scratcher, but it sure is nice to see a review with extensive measurements.

sfox7076 · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 04:49 pm »

I agree with the head scratching, but it could be his room or maybe he really loves bass.

Shawn

fsimms · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 04:51 pm »

Interesting review! It is a shame he didn't have a tube amp to try.

One of his comments:

"This was quite simply the best sound I have gotten in my listening room in the last five years. I mean it is impossible for me to explain just how fine the sound was."

No guessing what he really meant there.

Bob

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 06:04 pm »

Read like a fair review to me. For those of us who own them we know they are awesome across the spectrum. I have not tweaked any of my settings and mine have no protective grates.

Can't wait to try my new amp on them next week.

Jonathon Janusz · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 08:56 pm »

I have two thoughts as to the reaction to the bass. I don't know if either are true, but first the listening position might have been in a null somewhere around 30Hz. In particular with movie effects (and a good selection of modern/synthesized music), that is where the meat of the bottom end resides. Would explain the good measurements but lesser in-room results.

Second, it might just be the servo woofers in comparison to just about everything else. The servo control on those woofers makes them capable of stopping on a dime and giving you change. Other subwoofers comparatively often have quite a bit of overhang in the driver after hitting a note having to come to rest, made worse in that just as often the next bass note hits before the driver has a chance to completely stop. Generally, this will be a muddied detail in the bass that a lot of even really good subwoofers can miss, but that overhang also adds to output which due to the room is already on an upward curve as the room loads with the end result being the impression of "more" bass. Although there are still some box colorations present in this or any boxed (sub)woofer design, the construction on the E3's is such that the only way to do much better in that regard would be to OB the bass to get rid of it altogether, which of course leads to its own set of compromises, and is outside the context of the design of the E3 in particular.

Now, if the criticism was in regards to transient peaks in the bass, as the top of the speaker is more efficient than the bottom, depending on how loud the speakers were being played, maybe the reviewer was just running out of headroom on the plate amps (reference level/rock concert level volume?).

Regardless, with the positive feedback in the review of the QUALITY of the bass, the nice thing about the bass on the E3 is that you're only a couple of additional matching subwoofers away to having as much bass as you would like or can handle.

Frans · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Sep 2015, 04:40 pm »

I good sub is needed in many cases. I have an SVS Ultra PB13 in addition to my Soundscape 12s and may add another one due to a difficult room and limited placement options.

sfox7076 · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Sep 2015, 04:46 pm »

BRM, What amp did you get? I am still cooking along with my 1625 based amp. Sound is awesome.

kingdeezie · « **Reply #11 on:** 21 Sep 2015, 05:52 pm »

Quote from: sfox7076 on 21 Sep 2015, 04:46 pm

BRM, What amp did you get? I am still cooking along with my 1625 based amp. Sound is awesome.

+1. I would like to know as well.

For my tastes, I thought a tube amp was too much of a good thing with the Exoticas.

Recently switched to some Merrill monoblocks, and despite losing some excellent qualities in the midrange, I am getting much better transients. The sound is less encumbered.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #12 on:** 21 Sep 2015, 05:55 pm »

Wells Inamorata is due here wednesday.

sfox7076 · « **Reply #13 on:** 21 Sep 2015, 06:24 pm »

Figured that was you. Good show.

toddc2 · « **Reply #14 on:** 21 Sep 2015, 06:26 pm »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 21 Sep 2015, 05:55 pm

Wells Inamorata is due here wednesday.

Nice! I've been wanting to try this amp based on the show reports, please give us an update when it settles in!

Todd

JonnyFive · « **Reply #15 on:** 21 Sep 2015, 07:06 pm »

I have bass nulls at about 65 Hz and 120-130ish Hz with the E3s when measured at the MLP. I believe it's a height mode off my hard flat ceilings that are ~9ft high, and probably has something to do with the woofers/mid interacting with each other. I believe 9 ft would correspond to about 65 Hz, doubling up this would be present at 130 Hz as well.

I wonder how tall the reviewers ceilings are, and if he is experiencing a similar height mode with the E3s.

Nuance · « **Reply #16 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 01:15 pm »

Quote from: DMurphy on 19 Sep 2015, 04:27 pm

His reaction to the bass is something of a head scratcher, but it sure is nice to see a review with extensive measurements.

Agreed. He did mention the bass slam was vastly better when he listened to them at RMAF, and even chalked it up to room anomalies. It was a good, honest review, and I think the bass performance would have been better in a different room. These are now the speakers I'll be saving for, pending a listening session of course (I don't think I'll be displeased

).

Quote from: Jonathon Janusz on 19 Sep 2015, 08:56 pm

I have two thoughts as to the reaction to the bass. I don't know if either are true, but first the listening position might have been in a null somewhere around 30Hz. In particular with movie effects (and a good selection of modern/synthesized music), that is where the meat of the bottom end resides. Would explain the good measurements but lesser in-room results.

Second, it might just be the servo woofers in comparison to just about everything else. The servo control on those woofers makes them capable of stopping on a dime and giving you change. Other subwoofers comparatively often have quite a bit of overhang in the driver after hitting a note having to come to rest, made worse in that just as often the next bass note hits before the driver has a chance to completely stop. Generally, this will be a muddied detail in the bass that a lot of even really good subwoofers can miss, but that overhang also adds to output which due to the room is already on an upward curve as the room loads with the end result being the impression of "more" bass. Although there are still some box colorations present in this or any boxed (sub)woofer design, the construction on the E3's is such that the only way to do much better in that regard would be to OB the bass to get rid of it altogether, which of course leads to its own set of compromises, and is outside the context of the design of the E3 in particular.

Now, if the criticism was in regards to transient peaks in the bass, as the top of the speaker is more efficient than the bottom, depending on how loud the speakers were being played, maybe the reviewer was just running out of headroom on the plate amps (reference level/rock concert level volume?).

Regardless, with the positive feedback in the review of the QUALITY of the bass, the nice thing about the bass on the E3 is that you're only a couple of additional matching subwoofers away to having as much bass as you would like or can handle.

Great post/observations.

DEP14 · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 Sep 2015, 02:11 am »

I'm suprised. I like bass, and admit to liking it a bit hot, and when I listened to BRM's at his place I was very impressed by the bass. In fact, I mentioned that I would love that bass section with the mids and highs from the Soundscape 8's!

JP78 · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Sep 2015, 04:28 pm »

I really appreciated the review in that the reviewer's honesty about his own setup and experiences just further highlight the validity of his often very-high praise for the Exotica 3. I think this will ultimately lead more prospective customers choosing for the Salks at the end of the day.

And yeah, measurements are clean and speak to the quality of the speaker. I know mid-bass is usually defined as higher than 60Hz, but I think we subjectively do group this range together.

Asymmetrical room response will go a long ways towards interfering with the disappearing act.

+1 for measurements! Here's to looking forward to more no-nonsense reviews. After all the waxing poetic that goes on in our hobby this is refreshing.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #19 on:** 25 Sep 2015, 12:18 am »

Quote from: sfox7076 on 21 Sep 2015, 06:24 pm

Figured that was you. Good show.

Sniped it!

Was so worth it!