Salk SoundScape 8 System

WLDock

Rich, some cats trigger my allergies...but for a chance to listen to the system I would pop some drugs and welcome Jasper to sit right next to me! Your room looks so clean that I'm sure I would be fine ....right up to the point that you would have to shut the system off and kick me out, LOL!

The room sure looks nice!

EndersShadow

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I'm sure Jasper has done more than one walk around, keeping his distance all the time!

LOL.. with as warm as I am sure it gets, he's probably sleeping on it :biggrin:

ZLTFUL

Krell and Salk...pretty sure that would be an end-game rig for me. Gorgeous stuff. Now I just need to get my buddy to stop sending me pics from CES.

audiocr381ve

Well I'm jelly! Nice rig man!

SCompRacer

Thank you all for the kind words!

Toolfan66 wrote: »

Hey did you steal my amps!!! ;-)

I want to keep them too!

Loud & Clear wrote: »

I can't imagine your system lacks for anything at this point.

You are right! This change has been like making love in the sand; I didn’t want to stop but had too….

EndersShadow wrote: »

Beer and time off......

That is both funny and true!

BlueMDPicker wrote: »

Wow! That beast looks like the Dark Fortress of Amplitude.
Glad Ed made it safely. I'll bet it was a trip to remember in that awful weather. Also, delighted that you're digging the new setup (which allows me to be digging your old setup). :biggrin:

It has that menacing look…lol Jasper remembers the old one. He’d be a slow roasted kitty….lol

schwarcw wrote: »

The Iceman cometh! LOL! A courageous effort by Ed, it was -5 degrees when he left my house.
It sure looks good Rich. I knew you would be pleased with the sound. I wish that I had the room for one! Congrats on the system!
I'm sure Mike is lovin your old system. I always enjoyed the big image of the Innersounds.

Mike was pretty happy with my old speakers/amps, so he made it clear no returns; I had to make this work. For an all SS system, it is not strident or fatiguing. I can hear where the Wyred amps/pre amp pairing is important. I didn’t get dry or sterile sound with the Wyreds/Salks until I inserted the Krell KRC HR pre. Sounded good with the Krell KSL pre though. Some prefer the Wyreds with tube pres, but I wanted to stay Class A SS. My diy DAC allows for great digital listening. To me the Raal tweets beg for no roll off of the highs.

I thought my ESL system was great. When you come down to it, all systems have strengths, weaknesses. Currently this is the best sounding and looking system I have ever owned. Could be my sentenced to life system, but never say never in audio…lol

When the trip was planned, days off put in for, we didn’t have the weather forecast that materialized. Indiana had closed roads so we changed the order. Stop at Carl’s first, deliver his stuff, stay the night and give Indiana a day to recover. The roads were still icy there and it was slow going for him. I suggested he abort a day before he left, but I guess the urge to get out of NY for an adventure was strong.

WLDock wrote: »

Rich, some cats trigger my allergies...but for a chance to listen to the system I would pop some drugs and welcome Jasper to sit right next to me! Your room looks so clean that I'm sure I would be fine ....right up to the point that you would have to shut the system off and kick me out, LOL!

Cat allergies are usually to their saliva; they lick their fur to keep clean. He is a hybrid so folks that are allergic to cats haven’t had a reaction with him. We can keep him in his room if there is a problem.

tonyb

As usual Rich, you go balls out and it looks fantastic. Care to comment on those strengths and weaknesses between the ESL's and the Salks ?

Some comment that once you go panels, you'd never go back to box speakers, that may be true up to a point because some box speakers give you the best of both worlds. I'm assuming the Salks are one of those exceptions.

SCompRacer

Thanks Tony.

Sometimes we chase different and call it better. Sometimes it is better. Dipole ESL's offer an expansive soundstage and transparency that's hard to beat. The hybrid design with transmission line bass modules provide great bass. Couple that with an active crossover bass amp and panel amp, great source(s), proper setup and you can be golden. The flat panels do result in narrow dispersion, or a small one person sweet spot. Leave it and the treble falls off. They excel with acoustic, blues, classical, orchestra type music. To me and others that have been here, Rock and dubstep are good but not as.

The RAAL tweeter and the Accuton midrange used in the SoundScapes are both extremely low mass and very fast and detailed. That keeps me in the transparency that I love at the expense of dipole expansiveness. Midrange is better with the Salk's. Dual 8" woofers with dual 12" passive radiators give me much better bass. I have off the charts dynamics and slam now. I think they can play any type of music, without limitations. The ability to dipole or block off the midrange driver offers me ambiance options. I can also toe them in or not.

I've been all tube and tube / SS combinations. I prefer to remain all SS now. To me the smooth extension of the Raal tweeter begs for no roll off. Amp wise, the Sanders ESL amp and Wyred SX-1000 mono blocks sounded great. Plenty of detail and dynamics, but some might call them dry or sterile without a tubed pre. The old Krell KSA-250 fixed that. Just like at Blake's with his Revel F52's, this amp in the mix gave me chills and had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. An organic musicality I guess.

The Salk SoundScape series consists of the 8, 10 or 12 models. The number denotes woofer size; the 8’s have dual 8” woofers, while the 10 and 12 have single woofers. They are a three way passive crossover design by Dennis Murphy. All have dual 12” passive radiators on the sides, Raal tweeter and Accutron mid range drivers. All have the user option of dipoling or sealing the rear of the mid range driver. Spec’s for the 8’s are 25Hz - 20KHz (+/- 1.5db), 10’s are 23Hz - 20KHz (+/- 1.5db) and 12’s are 19Hz - 20KHz (+/- 1.5db).

Cabinets are stout and covered with veneer of your choice. The choices make your pair different or special. They are supplied with lacquered plinths that bolt to the speaker bottom. You get a choice of two spike designs in a bullet or cone shape, in black or silver. High quality Cardas 5 way speaker binding posts are standard in bi-wire configuration. Good quality Cardas copper jumpers are supplied.

You’ll find high quality Sonicaps and mills resistors in the standard crossover with exotic caps as an option. Standard veneers are included in base price while exotic will add hundreds more. The black limba on mine added a few hundred. Piano black finish is offered as an added cost option. Fit and finish are second to none as is customer service. When you buy a pair of Salk’s you get a birth certificate signed by Jim Salk and the staff. I bought mine used through Jim and got an adoption cert. Also included are tips for setup and care. Pricing starts at $8K for the 8’s, 12K for the 10’s and $15K for the 12’s.

I am all over in music genre. Just about anything but rap. One of my desert island choices and demo albums would be Talk Talk / Colour Of Spring. Hollis's nasally vocals have always set a hook in me. This album stepped away from the synthesized pop of their earlier albums. One of my fav tracks is the first, Happiness Is Easy. This track features drums, a wicked snare, weird chord, three percussionists, a very closely miked accoustic bass, electric bass, guitar, piano, Steve Winwood on a Hammond organ and a children's choir. The acoustic guitar and piano seem to dance gracefully in and out. On a good system some of the notes from the eight supporting musicians can be surprising; on a great system they can be startling. All in all it is the best system I have ever owned.

schwarcw

Congrats again Rich on a very fine system!

How's it sound with "The Village People" on cassette tape?

SCompRacer

Hey Carl! Thanks!

I'll try that after the Milli Vanilli......lol.

You should have seen Ed. We got the amp into the kitchen, I started taking my boots off and he grabbed that thing and carried it into the living room. It gave me a hernia just watching that!

schwarcw

SCompRacer wrote: »

You should have seen Ed. We got the amp into the kitchen, I started taking my boots off and he grabbed that thing and carried it into the living room. It gave me a hernia just watching that!

He could have carried you under his other arm. He must have been tired.

BlueMDPicker

SCompRacer wrote: »

All in all it is the best system I have ever owned.

Dibs! :cool:

tonyb

Thanks for the added comments Rich. "organic musicality"...now that's something these old ears are always interested in. Now stop **** around and enjoy the tunes man. Seems like you have every aspect covered to the 9's so there's nothing left but to pour a drink and relax.

GlennDog

Rich,

My long time friend from HS and I are penciled-in to audition speakers with Jim at his facility. I say penciled-in cuz Jim had to go back to MN to lay his mom to rest. She passed last Thurs. . . . I thought you would like to know.

I cannot wait for Friday!!

Glenn

SCompRacer

GlennDog wrote: »

Rich,

My long time friend from HS and I are penciled-in to audition speakers with Jim at his facility. I say penciled-in cuz Jim had to go back to MN to lay his mom to rest. She passed last Thurs. . . . I thought you would like to know.

I cannot wait for Friday!!

Glenn

The Saturday I picked up my speakers I could tell something was on his mind. He told me his mother wasn't doing well and he had to get to airport and fly out there after I left. Thanks for the update.

Kewl on the demo! Lock your wallet up. It will be hard to leave there without buying something!

WLDock

GlennDog wrote: »

Rich,
My long time friend from HS and I are penciled-in to audition speakers with Jim at his facility. I say penciled-in cuz Jim had to go back to MN to lay his mom to rest. She passed last Thurs. . . . I thought you would like to know.
I cannot wait for Friday!!
Glenn

Nice!, I was just back in the Metro area again this weekend. My mom lives in Southfield, 25 Minutes from Saulk. I had hoped to make it by there when i was back there during the Holiday.

What time are you guys scheduled? Keep me updated if he makes it back. I might have to crash your visit. Would be cool to take the day off and head back and listen to speakers and make it to the opening weekend of the NA Auto Show!

erniejade

Wow that amp is big! I thought the mc402 I just got was big but I think yours is longer. Mine fits on the vti rack lol.


Looks great! I need to do the room treatments next like you have.

SCompRacer

It's heavy too, 140 pounds. Not green at all either, pulls over 10 amps at idle. I had to turn the VTI rack sideways for it to fit, so the backside of rack becomes a side. There are threaded holes for a metal screen to attach to rear of rack that are visible on 'that' side now. The screen would attach to the rear from top to bottom of rack and hide wires, or help hold rack together if you knocked it over? lol A $50 option I'm told.

I had like 10dB dropouts in the mids with treatment behind the speakers in my room. Didn't need software to notice the difference when I removed them. Thanks!

hochpt21

I apologize for missing this thread until now.

Those speakers are my kinda girl...Absolutely Beautiful!!!

Very nice setup, Rich, but you already know that!

squeeb

I had to avert my eyes. I was getting a semi.

brianle

really nice! would love to hear these speakers!

SCompRacer

Thanks for the kind words!

GlennDog wrote: »

Rich,

My long time friend from HS and I are penciled-in to audition speakers with Jim at his facility. I say penciled-in cuz Jim had to go back to MN to lay his mom to rest. She passed last Thurs. . . . I thought you would like to know.

I cannot wait for Friday!!

Glenn

Glenn, was he back in time to make this happen?

GlennDog

Yeah, it was a short-ish visit/tour as Jim was busy catching-up from being out of town. But, I live only 20 minutes away, so no biggy. I plan to go back with Walt (wdLock? from Indiana) & high school friend.

SS8s were all that was available for auditioning, and honestly that was all I was interested in. They sound very, very good. Of course, I'm concerned how they would sound in My space, with my rig . . .I fear the possible SS8 "investment" may necessitate another amplifier investment!!!!! Sound familiar? Where does it all end? You may have the end game down pat!

SCompRacer

See, that's the thing. They sound fantastic in that large space! I brought them home and plopped them in place where my old speakers were and didn't get the same bang. I was disappointed at first. I had gotten spoiled, lazy, as I knew my other speakers well and knew what to do with them in regards to best placement. I had to go back to school....move, listen, move listen. I even ran room sweeps. Patience! (What's that....lol)

Did he have the same setup, Van Alstine pre, Emo amp? Lots of amp discussion over there.

tonyb

Good point Rich. Plopping them down in the previous spot is what most would do anyway. When they don't get the same or better sound it becomes the speakers fault.

Then again, most don't have a big dedicated room to work with and have little wiggle room in the average home for placement. Too much furniture, heavy carpeting or drapes, rooms that open to another, etc. The lesson is to experiment as you did. A few inches can make a big difference. The other lesson, is gear matching and putting some thought into it. Right tool for the right job as I like to say.

Can't imagine you not being happy with your system at this point, could be your retirement system...lol. Looks and must sound stellar. Congrats again , the only thing left to do is throw a party and invite your half naked drunken Polk buddies over.

SCompRacer

I have to share the living room with wife Tony so the west wall is the only remain in place setup for me. A south wall setup works best. Speakers extend further into room, nearest back wall around 25 feet away. Just some corner loading with bass due to both speakers near corners but the stacked Tri-Traps calm that down. She has a chair set up on the south wall to watch the bird feeder and birds sitting on the snow fountain cherry tree in the morning. Even get a hawk that sits there and challenges Jasper the cat. I mess with that, and like man who make war all day I get no peace at night....lol

agfrost

I stopped by to visit with Rich for a while this afternoon, and it would seem he's onto something with the newest incarnation of his rig. I had heard (and enjoyed!) his Innersound rig several times, but this goes beyond. Beautiful finish on these Salks, and oh-so beautiful to listen to. Thanks for your hospitality as always, Rich!

SCompRacer

Thanks Jay! It was good hooking up, been a long time. Would be nice to get the RAS band back together for a day.