Songer Audio: Simple is Best!


I have been an avid audiophile for decades. I own a large collection of high end gear that I use in multiple rooms, frequently rotate, and listen to constantly. I attend AXPONA and CAF perennially and regularly visit audiophile friends to experience their systems. I’m really into music and audio!

My long audio journey has brought through my system many different speaker configurations, including multi-driver box speakers (B&W, McIntosh, Raidho, YG, Wilson Benesch), panels (MartinLogan, Magnapan, TSW Apogees), omnis (MBL), horns (OMA), open baffles (PureAudioProject, Linkwitz, Cube), various subs (MartinLogan, JL, Linkwitz), full rangers (DIY, Voxativ, Cube, and Songer). I’ve experienced myriad tube and solid state configurations as well as most analog and digital source types. Additionally, I’ve experimented with numerous DSP and analog processing devices including some state-of-the-art components.

My ultimate litmus test is my long-term engagement. No matter how sophisticated, resolving, acclaimed, or expensive a speaker or system may be, if I find myself disengaged, distracted, or just bored, then I will move on from it. I have found that the systems and speakers that hold my attention most are typically the simplest. I tend to increasingly gravitate to simplicity.

The Songer S1x speakers are both the simplest and the best speakers I’ve ever owned. Source to the minimalist conrad-johnson preamp to a magnificent AirTight 300b amp to the single-driver, full-range, field-coil, Songer S1x speakers is a truly magical combination. These speakers are my favorite that I’ve owned (preferable to even my significantly more expensive and sophisticated Wilson Benesch Resolutions which are otherwise superb speakers). They hold their own to anything I’ve heard at shows.

The Songers have bass that should be impossible from a single driver and a 9 watt amplifier! The resolution is superb, the stage is huge, the dynamics are excellent, they are the epitome of musical and natural, and I could listen to them for hours at a time without ever losing interest. Every time I rotate in one of my other speakers, I quickly gravitate back to the Songers.

I credit this incredible accomplishment to Ken Songer’s magnificent driver design, no crossover, the field-coil motor, a superb cabinet, high efficiency, and the perfect point source single full range driver.

At $45,000 a pair, the Songers may be one of the greatest bargains in high-end audio. They’re in that rarified club with the world’s truly great speakers.

If you’re attending CAF, the Songers are a must listen. If you’re in the $50k price range for speakers, contact Songer and arrange a demo. You will not be disappointed!

One more thing….since purchasing my Songers, I’ve had the great pleasure of getting to know Ken Songer. On top of being a brilliant designer and a master craftsman, Ken is also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in the audio world. I do not consider myself to be his “customer”, I consider myself to be a proud patron of his art!

(This is my current system configuration. It’s a temporary set up. I’m in the process of building new equipment racks and tweaking my cable configurations.)

audionutjeff

@abd1 

Great feedback!  I am so torn on doing subs.  I had a JL f113 and a pair of JL f112 v2 with the CR-1 crossover.  No matter what I did, I could not get them right!  The time alignment is always a challenge with subs!  I have heard such universal praise of the REL subs, I may reconsider them.

Great amp experience!  I’ve not tried an 845 tube amp with the Songers, but I’ve heard they’re great.  I have three friends with Coda amps and they rave about them.  The LTA amps are intriguing, I love the concept of that Berning OTL circuit.  I just was at an audio club friend’s house and he had the legendary Audio Note Onganku amp with 211 tubes.  His all Audio Note system was superb.  
 

Given your love of the Cubes, I see a pair of Songers in your future!  😉 

@mdalton 

I always enjoy my show demos with Rethm speakers.  Wonderful sounding speakers.  Treehaus speakers are terrific and the live edge hardwood baffles are stunning.  The DSP is a dealbreaker for me though.  Their electronics are works of art!  

If you’re looking into subs, in addition to REL, I would encourage you to look into MJ Acoustics, a boutique UK brand.  I just purchased one with a custom walnut finish - to match my resto-mod Altec Santiagos - and have been stunned by his good they are.  And I worked directly with the company founder, who is a delight.  

@audionutjeff 

I had JL subs as well and felt the same. They hit hard and sounded good but I couldn't get them to blend in like the RELs. Depending on your size room, I recommend the S/510's to start. I upgraded to the Carbon Special but it is overkill IMO. I love them but they are more sub than I'll ever need. I know REL has new models out so might be a great time to find some used S/510's.

I'd love to hear the Onganku amp! I got to listen to the Songer's with a pair of 1 of a kind mono tube amps that Pat built for himself and he had a Tambaqui dac. It was stunning and goosebump inducing. One thing I love with my speakers and I'm sure you experience with the Songer's is that they easily reveal any changes you make to your system. Cables, components, anything I change I can immediately tell. Even my wife will sit down to listen and within 1 song will say "something changed" and she is not an audiophile, but she does have better hearing than me :)

If I had the Songer, I would not bother with getting a subwoofer.  The bass would be adequate to me and I find most attempts at integrating subwoofers to be a bit disappointing.  If you do go that route, REL subwoofers are relatively easy to integrate so they might be a good choice.  I've heard reasonably good integration with the "swarm" approach to subwoofers where many smaller subwoofers are employed; the differing locations do a better job of dispersing standing wave nodes.  

I've enjoyed Rethm speakers too.  For its reasonable price, I was particularly impressed with the Rethm Bhaava model.