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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
tonnesen
151 posts
 

For folks located in Colorado - Ken Songer will be in Colorado the last week of May, and I would be happy to host a small group to meet with Ken and listen to his S1x speaker with his A3 tube amplifier.  

I'm located about 8 miles north of Lyons, and the system is located in a bedroom, so I would probably want to limit the group to about ten people, with a priority for those who have a particular interest in Ken's speakers. Please let me know if you are interested. I'm also checking in with the Colorado Audio Society, and if there is interest, I'll coordinate with Ken on planning an event.

songeraudio
7 posts
 

Thanks so much for offering to host a listening event next month, @tonnesen. I’m really looking forward to hearing your system, and to meeting and talking with those of you in the Audiogon community who are able to join us.

Mr. Tonnesen will be taking delivery of a beautiful A3 in Gonçalo Alves (Tigerwood) next month, giving us a chance to drop another pin on the map in Lyons, Colorado - and to spend a few days exploring one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

While many of you may have experienced the S1x and A3 at shows, gatherings like this are a wonderful opportunity to explore the technology and design philosophy behind the work in greater depth, and to spend some time getting to know the people who design and build it.

We hope to see you there.

larryi
4,578 posts
 

If you are keeping records on your customer's systems, perhaps you can share information on such things as the kind of gear used with your speakers.  

Post removed 
songeraudio
7 posts
 

Thanks for the question, @larryi  - I’m happy to share a few recommendations based on experience with the S1x in both client systems and show environments.

With a single-driver field coil loudspeaker like the S1x, amplifier matching tends to matter more than usual. Because the system presents the amplifier with a continuously varying impedance curve across the full bandwidth, the amplifier’s behavior into that load can become more audible. I’ve likewise found that amplifier output impedance can influence the perceived tonal balance and low-frequency character.  Low damping-factor tube amplifiers, in particular, often pair very naturally.  Current-source solid state amplifiers can be a great match as well.

By contrast, very high damping-factor voltage-source solid state amplifiers can produce bass response that feels more tightly controlled, but also noticeably diminished in perceived fullness. The field coil driver is already highly self-damping, and the outcome with a high damping-factor amplifier pairing is often an overdamped overall presentation.  

I’ve had excellent results with a wide range of amplifiers. Some brand favorites include Takatsuki, Air Tight, Whammerdyne, Shindo, Trafomatic, Conrad-Johnson, and Audion. AGD’s GaN amplifiers have also been a surprisingly good match, owing to their output-stage behavior. And while I try to stay measured in discussing our own work, I will say the A3 has been the most consistently convincing amplifier I’ve personally heard with the S1x.

On the digital side, Lampizator, Mola Mola, and dCS have all paired very well.

For streaming, we’ve had consistently great results with Innuos, from the Statement down through the Zen Next-Gen. Barbaric though it may sound, I should add that even a well-configured computer running Audirvana Studio can perform at a very high level. It’s flexible, widely compatible with streaming services... well worth trying, even if only as a baseline reference.

For power, PS Audio PowerPlants have served very well. At the higher end, Stromtank power sources are mind-bogglingly good.

For cables, Atlas is a very sensible and musical option. At the more ambitious end, the Graceline 3 Black Cat cables we’ve used at recent shows have been, to my ears, superior.

Of course these are just personal observations rather than universal prescriptions, and as always, system context matters.  But I hope it’s helpful as a starting point.

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