[woodsart]

Hey guys,

Well I am one of the fortunate guys that lives near DC and had the opportunity to attend the CAF. It was an experience, especially seeing Dennis again and finally meeting Jim Salk!!!!

The Crown Plaza hotel lavish and large and high foyer was buzzing with activity as there was more than the CAF going on. I might say it was a little confusing.  Finally made my way around the first floor where the sound was coming from and into the first room were very strange speakers, but interesting sounding, but too boomy for me.... then to the GOTO horns and Drivers, and for a moment I heard a violin that was sweeter than anything I have ever heard in my life. To the next room I might have guess as I entered there were only a few seats available as all were listening to the Soundscapes. And, they were amazing as usual. Captivating to all who listen, out of my price range, of course.

Then Dennis scooted up and yes scooted up the Phillys, he then moved the SS back.  At that moment someone made a comment of the "tug of war" going on, it seemed. But Dennis casually mentioned I have done this many times before, not a problem. I know their weight and moving them would be bit of problem for me.

 After just hearing the SSs it is hard to compare the Phillys with them and I am not going to do that, but just say WOW....better than what I heard before.

And, that did it for me I was already there at least 30/45 min, but, who knows time when listening to music.  It was very hard to leave as we all were immersed into some of the best sounding speakers, if not the best!!!! Sometimes I suspect Jim and Dennis do not realized the incredible talents they possess. I tend to believe that many others in the listening room felt the same way as they were mesmerized with the demo CD being played, they just couldn't leave. I also met my friend Alex (songtower owner). He was pretty much blown away as he had not heard any of these speakers.

Finally the room, for the moment, began to thin out, just for a moment, so at that point I figured my wife was probably ready to exit the Tyson's Corner Center Mall. So I called it a day...an experience I won't forget.

I have read elsewhere that people couldn't leave the Salk listening room and now I know why, who needs to listen elsewhere!!!

Just my 2 cents!!!!!


Rob

[Nuance]

Nor was he referring to a Salk speaker - which was my point.   

George

By "it sounded" I assumed you meant the Philharmonics, as that's what the link was referring to.

[lonewolfny42]

Direct link to comments.....here...

[fsimms]

Interesting picture of the back of the Philharmonic speakers.


https://picasaweb.google.com/ctbarker32/CapitalAudiofest2011?authuser=0&feat=directlink#5627484500453407074

Bob

[Charles Xavier]

Interesting picture of the back of the Philharmonic speakers.


https://picasaweb.google.com/ctbarker32/CapitalAudiofest2011?authuser=0&feat=directlink#5627484500453407074

Bob

From the website:

"The open-back upper cabinet may be tuned to suit the needs and tastes of the user by varying the amount of acoustic fill in the cabinet chamber.  The two cabinets are isolated by a 1.25” pad of vibration-absorbent material.   The carefully optimized 20-element crossover achieves nearly perfect 4th order acoustic slopes and remarkably flat frequency response and impedance across the audio spectrum. "

[Charles Xavier]

I know this is a Salk circle but can someone tell us how the Philharmonic speakers sounded ?

[adydula]

Hello,

Just got back from DC and the show, it was really nice to meet Jim and talk candidly to him for a few hours and to meet the wizard Dennis Murphy in the flesh... I made it around to most of the first floor rooms, but never got the the second and third floors.

My main purpose was to meet Jim, hear the Soundscapes and the bonus was to meet Dennis and hear his speakers for 3 or so hours!! After I made the rounds to listen to several high dollar speakers, I just sat in Salk room and watched and listened.

Jim was kind enough to let me see the inner workings of the SALK Streamer and we chatted about it and how it works etc...really a neat device.

Meeting Rob again was pleasant as well.

Jim has his music playing from his Salk StreamPlayer to a Wavelength USB Tube Dac...then on to AVA hardware, peramp and amp etc...Both streamed and vinyl were able to be played and listened to. They also had a NAD CD deck as well.

Every half hour or so Jim and Dennis would swap out the Sounscape 10's with Dennis's Philharmonic Speakers. He had the 1's and 3's there I believe.

After running around and listening to several very high dollar speakers $35K to $150 K...I listened to the soundscapes and they sound so great even compared with the exotica stuff...$35,000 macintosh speakers with "mucho" drivers..etc...I preferred the bass from the Soundscapes.

The soundscapes really can dish it out, marvelous deep organ music, classical, vocals, jazz...it was nice to sit there and enjoy the sound!..it was fun to watch Dennis become computer literate trying to find and select songs via Jims Apple IPad!!!

Dennis has a pair of really neat speakers as well, the overall fit and finish is not up to what Jim is doing with his magic woodworkers, but sonically they are very nice. I actually listened to the 3's and the 1's and I much prefered the 1's to the 3's, the tweeter is different and its much brighter to me and my tastes...the 3's have a ScanSpeak Revelator 8" woofer that goes down to 20Hz!

The 1's I read from the brochure has a SB Acoustics 8" woofer and goes down to only 32hz ( )... The 3's have a RAAL ribbon tweeter and the difference between the 1 and 2 is in the "one" the tweeter is a Fountek Neo 8 and the "two" has a RAAL Tweeter. Moving these speakers every 30 minutes kept Dennis busy and I hefted them and the soundscapes....the main driver in the Soundscapes I think weighs more that one of Dennis speakers!!!

You will not have to worry about tipping these over by accident!!

An aside was many people coming is were a bit surprised to see AVA hardware there and playing SO WELL....Most other rooms had MEGA buck cables, MEGA buck power conditioners and power cables etc...what I saw in the Salk room was that good ole 12 gauge copper from  Parts Connexion, on sale!!! Frank Van Alstine would be proud!!!.

Hearing the Soundscapes was good and bad...they are truly a great speaker....Aaron Copelands Fanfare was absolutley amazing...and when Dennis played this same track on his Philharmonic speakers is wasnt a Sounscape but it was really, really good as well....its just different...you have to hear them yourselves to really understand. The bad part is I want a set of Soundscapes!! These are on my bucket list now!!!

I might add that Dennis is helping to raise money for his Philharmonic Orchestra by selling his speakers...a good cause for sure.

As soon as I came home I had to listen to my Songtowers...yes they still are great but alas they are Soundscapes!!

Again is was a good trip and on the way home we discussed going to RMAF in October!!!

All the best
Alex

[pansixt]

Alex,

I had a nearly identical experience to yours at the show.
I will be previewing the Salk ST's locally in the near future thanks to a kind owner as I have been very interested in them.
Now after hearing Dennis' Philharmonics, I am considering them as well.
How do you see the two in comparison? I know that is probably a tough question, but I would
be interested in your input. Feel free to PM me if you chose.
Thanks
James

[Art_Chicago]

Do SS'10 and Philharmonic'3 have different RAAL tweeters? or Salk is using a modified version of standard RAAL while Dennis is using a standard one? Just curious.

[Paul K.]

Since I designed the TLs for Dennis for all three of his Philharmonic models, I can shed a little light on their bass responses.  The F10 for the Models 1 and 2 is 22 Hz, and for the Model 3 it's just below 20 Hz.  F3 is 31 Hz for Models 1 and 2, and 27 Hz for the Model 3.  These are all the modeled responses for an anechoic environment; room lift will improve these numbers.  As you can see the differences in F3 and F10 for the two different woofers is not all that much, but the big difference in sound is that the Scan Speak woofer in the Model 3 also has an Xmax almost 50% larger than the SB Acoustics woofer in the Models 1 and 2.
Paul

Hello,

Just got back from DC and the show, it was really nice to meet Jim and talk candidly to him for a few hours and to meet the wizard Dennis Murphy in the flesh... I made it around to most of the first floor rooms, but never got the the second and third floors.

My main purpose was to meet Jim, hear the Soundscapes and the bonus was to meet Dennis and hear his speakers for 3 or so hours!! After I made the rounds to listen to several high dollar speakers, I just sat in Salk room and watched and listened.

Jim was kind enough to let me see the inner workings of the SALK Streamer and we chatted about it and how it works etc...really a neat device.

Meeting Rob again was pleasant as well.

Jim has his music playing from his Salk StreamPlayer to a Wavelength USB Tube Dac...then on to AVA hardware, peramp and amp etc...Both streamed and vinyl were able to be played and listened to. They also had a NAD CD deck as well.

Every half hour or so Jim and Dennis would swap out the Sounscape 10's with Dennis's Philharmonic Speakers. He had the 1's and 3's there I believe.

After running around and listening to several very high dollar speakers $35K to $150 K...I listened to the soundscapes and they sound so great even compared with the exotica stuff...$35,000 macintosh speakers with "mucho" drivers..etc...I preferred the bass from the Soundscapes.

The soundscapes really can dish it out, marvelous deep organ music, classical, vocals, jazz...it was nice to sit there and enjoy the sound!..it was fun to watch Dennis become computer literate trying to find and select songs via Jims Apple IPad!!!

Dennis has a pair of really neat speakers as well, the overall fit and finish is not up to what Jim is doing with his magic woodworkers, but sonically they are very nice. I actually listened to the 3's and the 1's and I much prefered the 1's to the 3's, the tweeter is different and its much brighter to me and my tastes...the 3's have a ScanSpeak Revelator 8" woofer that goes down to 20Hz!

The 1's I read from the brochure has a SB Acoustics 8" woofer and goes down to only 32hz ( )... The 3's have a RAAL ribbon tweeter and the difference between the 1 and 2 is in the "one" the tweeter is a Fountek Neo 8 and the "two" has a RAAL Tweeter. Moving these speakers every 30 minutes kept Dennis busy and I hefted them and the soundscapes....the main driver in the Soundscapes I think weighs more that one of Dennis speakers!!!

You will not have to worry about tipping these over by accident!!

An aside was many people coming is were a bit surprised to see AVA hardware there and playing SO WELL....Most other rooms had MEGA buck cables, MEGA buck power conditioners and power cables etc...what I saw in the Salk room was that good ole 12 gauge copper from  Parts Connexion, on sale!!! Frank Van Alstine would be proud!!!.

Hearing the Soundscapes was good and bad...they are truly a great speaker....Aaron Copelands Fanfare was absolutley amazing...and when Dennis played this same track on his Philharmonic speakers is wasnt a Sounscape but it was really, really good as well....its just different...you have to hear them yourselves to really understand. The bad part is I want a set of Soundscapes!! These are on my bucket list now!!!

I might add that Dennis is helping to raise money for his Philharmonic Orchestra by selling his speakers...a good cause for sure.

As soon as I came home I had to listen to my Songtowers...yes they still are great but alas they are Soundscapes!!

Again is was a good trip and on the way home we discussed going to RMAF in October!!!

All the best
Alex

[pansixt]

An aside was many people coming is were a bit surprised to see AVA hardware there and playing SO WELL....Most other rooms had MEGA buck cables, MEGA buck power conditioners and power cables etc...what I saw in the Salk room was that good ole 12 gauge copper from  Parts Connexion, on sale!!! Frank Van Alstine would be proud!!!.

This was truly ear pleasing and heart warming indeed.
And I dare say that all of us Frank, Jim and Dennis fans are all proud of them as well.
James

[R Swerdlow]

Do SS'10 and Philharmonic'3 have different RAAL tweeters? or Salk is using a modified version of standard RAAL while Dennis is using a standard one? Just curious.

The Philharmonic 2 and 3 have the standard RAAL tweeter.  Salk uses a modified version in its various models with ribbon tweeters.  I don't know if their audio response differs, but Salk uses a model with some different wiring options built in.

[DMurphy]

The Philharmonic 2 and 3 have the standard RAAL tweeter.  Salk uses a modified version in its various models with ribbon tweeters.  I don't know if their audio response differs, but Salk uses a model with some different wiring options built in.

Well, to important matters first.  There wouldn't have been an operational Salk-Philharmonic room at CAF if it weren't for Richard.  He showed up at my house in sweltering heat and helped move all of the speakers and equipment into our cars without a hand truck, helped us unload at the show, and reversed it Sunday  night.  Plus we got a reat salmon dinner chez Swerdlow on Saturday.   Thanks Richard!  I don't want to spend any time on my speakers on Jim's site, but I will clear up the RAAL tweeter issue.  I'm using the stock commercial version, which has a narrower ribbon element that has to be crossed about 1000 Hz higher than the beefier OEM version Jim uses.  That's not a problem for me, because the planar midrange unit I'm using is really close to full range, so I have no problem crossing where the little RAAL is happiest (around 2900 Hz).  The Accuton unit in the SoundScape, on the other hand, does best crossed lower, and the OEM RAAL let's us do that.  The SoundScape has a 3-way switch to adjust the highs.  The little RAAL uses two foam diffusers pads that attach to the top and bottom of the face plate magnetically and can be placed closer and closer together to ramp the highs down.   They look a little strange and preclude the use of a grill, but the main problem is that Golden Retrievers eat them.  So I voice the tweeter flat for people who don't want the pads, and up a little for people who do.  We now return you to your regular programming. 

[R Swerdlow]

Well, to important matters first.  There wouldn't have been an operational Salk-Philharmonic room at CAF if it weren't for Richard.  He showed up at my house in sweltering heat and helped move all of the speakers and equipment into our cars without a hand truck, helped us unload at the show, and reversed it Sunday  night.  Plus we got a reat salmon dinner chez Swerdlow on Saturday.   Thanks Richard!

You are welcome Dennis.  From my point of view, I still owe you a few favors.

We did learn that although you can move a pair of Phil 1s, Phil 3s, and SS10s, plus other associated hardware and software with three cars, you really shouldn't .

The dealers and vendors at CAF with deeper pockets had trucks, wooden crates, hydraulic hand trucks, and lots of young muscle.  All we had was blood, sweat, and maybe a few tears.  Perhaps that lubrication may have helped getting those large heavy cabinets into the car trunks.

[srb]

The 3's have a RAAL ribbon tweeter and the difference between the 1 and 2 is in the "one" the tweeter is a Fountek Neo 8 and the "two" has a RAAL Tweeter.

To clarify, in the Philharmonic 1 the tweeter is a Fountek Neo CD3.0 ribbon and the midrange is a BG Neo 8 planar.
 
Steve

[Phil A]

I'd like to thank Jim and Dennis for coming and also providing us with great sound (the room was really horrible lasy year it was so hard to judge what one was hearing) and I hope they continue their work.  It was also nice to see as noted earlier what they used to drive the speakers versus some other rooms.  And guys, if you do need help with stuff next time (RTA, moving, whatever) give a shout.  It's nice to see people in the industry put out that type of commitment and take the time to deal with current and potential end users.

[Saturn94]

Hey guys,

Well I am one of the fortunate guys that lives near DC and had the opportunity to attend the CAF. It was an experience, especially seeing Dennis again and finally meeting Jim Salk!!!!

The Crown Plaza hotel lavish and large and high foyer was buzzing with activity as there was more than the CAF going on. I might say it was a little confusing.  Finally made my way around the first floor where the sound was coming from and into the first room were very strange speakers, but interesting sounding, but too boomy for me.... then to the GOTO horns and Drivers, and for a moment I heard a violin that was sweeter than anything I have ever heard in my life. To the next room I might have guess as I entered there were only a few seats available as all were listening to the Soundscapes. And, they were amazing as usual. Captivating to all who listen, out of my price range, of course.

Then Dennis scooted up and yes scooted up the Phillys, he then moved the SS back.  At that moment someone made a comment of the "tug of war" going on, it seemed. But Dennis casually mentioned I have done this many times before, not a problem. I know their weight and moving them would be bit of problem for me.

 After just hearing the SSs it is hard to compare the Phillys with them and I am not going to do that, but just say WOW....better than what I heard before.

And, that did it for me I was already there at least 30/45 min, but, who knows time when listening to music.  It was very hard to leave as we all were immersed into some of the best sounding speakers, if not the best!!!! Sometimes I suspect Jim and Dennis do not realized the incredible talents they possess. I tend to believe that many others in the listening room felt the same way as they were mesmerized with the demo CD being played, they just couldn't leave. I also met my friend Alex (songtower owner). He was pretty much blown away as he had not heard any of these speakers.

Finally the room, for the moment, began to thin out, just for a moment, so at that point I figured my wife was probably ready to exit the Tyson's Corner Center Mall. So I called it a day...an experience I won't forget.

I have read elsewhere that people couldn't leave the Salk listening room and now I know why, who needs to listen elsewhere!!!

Just my 2 cents!!!!!


Rob

Hi Rob.  Good to see you posting here and hope you are doing well.  BTW, nice work on the Philharmonic nameplates.   Too bad I missed you (I was only able to attend on Sunday).

It was nice to see Dennis again and to meet Jim.  I really enjoyed talking to them and hope the show was a success for both.