@bubba12, did your song3’s come with the metal or bamboo midrange driver? What did you have prior? The Salks are very high on my list.
The hawks do do sound great and fit the space perfectly. I just really want to go to a 3-way and hopefully get more midrange and midbass detail and energy, and not have a metal tweeter. I got the hawks for $1200 used and for that price they are fantastic. I might even keep them and put them in the bedroom since they’re so small.
$3000 Speaker Search
I'm celebrating my 20th year working for the same company this coming spring (knock on wood). I decided to treat myself to some new speakers to celebrate. My budget is about $3k. I generally purchase used/demo gear only, but I'm open to something new since this is a special purchase for me. I stream music only and my current system is a Primaluna Dialogue One integrated, Eastern Electric MiniMax Dac Plus and Totem Acoustic Hawks. I like the Hawks a lot but I think the highs are a bit "etchy" and sometimes a bit bright. I'd prefer a 3 way speaker and something more efficient that the Hawks since I'm pretty committed to the tube integrated. I generally listen to indie rock, jazz, and acoustic rock. I listen to a lot of other music, but these are the genres most important so the speaker must excel with string and percussion instruments as well as vocals. I'm also more interested in a speaker with excellent imaging and soundstage over detail, but I also want a natural and dynamic sound. My listening space is a nook off the main living space. It's supposed to be a dining area I think. It's about 11x12, but open on one side to about 1000-1200 sq ft living space. You can watch this youtube video to see my system and room. Since the speaker is in my main living room it will have to be a good looking speaker, preferably in a wood finish, and it can't be huge.
I'm looking for any suggestions given my equipment, music tastes, room, and preferred genres. My current favroite is the Salk Song3 or maybe Song3-A, even though I haven't listened to them. I had Songtowers before and loved them so I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with these, but not sure if going the Song3-A is worth the extra money for me. If you have any other suggestions let me know. I'm in Portland, OR so I have a lot of good brands to listen to around here but its not a huge audiophile town. Thanks!
I'm looking for any suggestions given my equipment, music tastes, room, and preferred genres. My current favroite is the Salk Song3 or maybe Song3-A, even though I haven't listened to them. I had Songtowers before and loved them so I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with these, but not sure if going the Song3-A is worth the extra money for me. If you have any other suggestions let me know. I'm in Portland, OR so I have a lot of good brands to listen to around here but its not a huge audiophile town. Thanks!
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ELAC loudspeakers https://www.elac.com/product/as-61/?r=us Andrew Jones. TAD. Infinity. Focale. I may have missed others he has designed speakers for or with. His new ELAC stand monitors come in exactly where your budget lives. Check out the CES 2017 accounts on his latest iteration. They interest me a lot. The other lengthy list already provided is loaded with plenty of good choices. I’d have said the Tannoy at $2600 given just the Article from Stereophile. Room size though might be an issue. Silverline makes a nice little floorstander too that might interest you. it sure interested a lot of folks when it was first introduced. The Prelude. . Easy to drive too. Good luck. |
Audiokinesis Prisma is dynamic, tube friendly and very adjustable. http://www.audiokinesis.com/prisma.html |
I always see Salks paired with pretty hefty amps; I'm not sure if that's a cause for concern, or just what the manufacturer prefers. The Song3 did look & sound real nice when I heard them last year, though. The best advice is to demo as much as you can; ideally bring your amp to see if it's a decent pairing (unless you're okay with another an upgrade). I happened to fall in love with the ProAc Studio 148 after listening to one song (discontinued; I believe the DT8 is the replacement). It just let the emotion through--without sacrificing either treble or bass extension--more than anything else I heard in that price bracket assuming your standard living room look. And this was with my humble Dayens amp; I've just upgraded to a First Watt M2 amp (amazing!), with even less watts (40@4ohms) and have no issues with power or loudness. Looking at cordobaman's list only the Tannoy and Zu stand out as being both more efficient and traditionally attractive. Hope this helps. |
All good options. I would definitely consider the Elacs, but doesn't look like they're very efficient, and I would want a floor stander. I had the B5's, B6;s and UniFi bookshelves before and liked them all, especially for the cost. I considered Zu and may try some, but the style is hit and miss and I'd have to have my wife's approval on that. Tannoy's are a definite possibility and I wish I could afford a set of floorstanders that have the alnico driver. Maybe a used pair will somehow come up within my budget. I posted a message on the Salk forum and Jim said they had used tube amps with the Song3's and they sounded great. I do have a Peachtree Nova 220se that I could use for more power but I prefer the sound of the Primaluna/Eastern Electric combo overall, but I think the PL and Song3's should be fine. |
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