[tikisteve]

Hi,
I've been looking for speakers for awhile now and I've gotten intrigued by Salk speakers, especially since they're made in my home state of Michigan.

Here's my question.  I want to set up a 5.1 system, but I'm not sure what speakers and sub to go with.  My room is 13x25 with 7 foot ceilings.  Because of doors, windows, and stairs, I need to have the TV centered along one of the 25' walls with the couch directly across from it on the other 25' wall. 

I'm not concerned with filling every foot of the room with sound.  The two ends of the room are used for access to the other parts of the basement and for play areas.  So my actual "theater" area would be about 10x13 centered in the room.  The walls are a basement system of hard foam panels covered with fabric and the floor is carpeted.

Usage would be about 50% movies, 30% music, and 20% games.  I could see the music percentage edging up over time, especially with nice speakers.

Given that, is this considered a small room or a medium to large room? Would you get SongBirds or SongTowers?  With my budget I'm leaning a little toward the SongBirds (I could also see the WAF being higher for expensive new toys if they're named "SongBird" but I'm open to suggestions.

Would I need a bigger sub because of the extra cubic feet in the room?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! 

[kip_]

What are your listening habits? Do you frequently watch movies at 85+ db? If so then I'd go with SongTowers. Your room is about 2300 cubic feet so that is considered medium size, I think. If you went with a second sub (non-colocated) then you would have 3db more output and smoother response.

Please do yourself a favor and pull your couch out from the wall by 6" or so, your sound will improve immensely.

[Phil A]

Welcome to the forum.  I guess it would be helpful if you wound indicate what the electronics to power the speakers would be.

[catastrofe]

If you're in Michigan you should make a trip to Salk.  I drove from St. Louis to help in my decision making. . .

[ArthurDent]

If you're in Michigan you should make a trip to Salk.  I drove from St. Louis to help in my decision making. . .

What he said. If you are that close, talk to Jim, take the wife and visit he & Mary. He'll show you the shop, and provide honest impressions of what will best suit your listening. He will not try to sell you anything, much less more than is necessary for your given needs. Any number of folks here have taken advantage of that opportunity and I have yet to hear feedback from anyone that was disappointed in the visit. It will also give you the opportunity to see & listen to some of his offerings in person.

As Phil noted, 'Welcome' , and hope to see you as member of the Salk family in the future. 

[Big Red Machine]

And if you want to see Salk speakers in action in a home environment, tell him to send you down and I'll demo ST's and HT2's for you.

[Nuance]

In that size room if it's between SongTower's and Birds I recommend the ST's.  Definitely make the trip to Jim's and Pete's, though; it'll be totally worth it.

[JLM]

You didn't quite give the overall size of the room, but it sounds big.  If you're seeking loud or agressive volume levels you need to consider the SongTowers and 2 subs.

I really like the SongBirds, but the low (84 dB/w/m) sensitivity gives me concern, especially in a big room for all but the most mild mannered listeners.

BTW, for HT you'll really need at least one beefy sub.

[tikisteve]

Everyone, thanks for the advice!  It definitely sounds like ST's are the way to go along with another sub.  Not to mention a trip down to the Pontiac/Ann Arbor area!

I'm kind of a newbie at all this, mind if I ask another question?  Right now I have a Yamaha RX-V671 with specs of 125W/channel, 8 ohm or 6 ohm speakers (with a note in the manual about being able to use 4 ohm speakers for the front speakers)  Do you think this will be OK with SongTowers? 

My thinking right now is to get some great speakers as the foundation for my system, then work on upgrading the electronics.

[Big Red Machine]

More than enough power to start with.  Good path: speakers first, then upgrade the electronics later.  I can demo the ST's but have 450 watts going to my front 3 - each.

You'll be looking at separates and dacs in no time soon.