Nice write up snapsc. I am very interested in Jim's speakers and appreciate your comments.
Two Thumbs Up For SALK and the Veracity ST
Salk Veracity ST
For almost six years, I thoroughly enjoyed the Tekton Lores. Their tour of duty was supposed to be 2-3 years but I could never quite pull the trigger on their replacements. One of the unintended consequences is that the list of speakers I wanted to try kept growing (Salk, OhmWalsh, small Maggie, Tekton’s new mid tweeter array, and Spatial Audio to name a few).
Seven words and a video review gave me the nudge I needed. The seven words were: Jim Salk, Reputation, RAAL, Transmission Line, Resale...and the review was of the Salk Veracity ST.
The STs have a RAAL tweeter and dual 6” Seas Excel midwoofers in a 62 lb transmission line cabinet. They are priced at $4400/pair plus shipping (their transducers alone would cost you about $1500 from Madisound). Being only 8” wide and 42” tall the Veracitys aren’t very imposing. In fact, as you cue up the music and hit play, you might be a little concerned that you will be underwhelmed. You would be wrong.
I’ve read that transmission line bass can sound different form ported bass, maybe because the roll off is similar to a sealed woofer. On the STs, the low end is powerful and deep... so much so that you can’t believe that two 6” drivers can do what they are doing. Bass definition is excellent... bass guitar and stand up bass notes are easily distinguishable.
The midrange is detailed without a hint of bite... pianos really sound like pianos... guitar strings, mandolins, violins are just sweet and the clarity is right on.
The top end is open, airy, clear and detailed...the tone/pitch of snares and cymbals are perfect, so are triangles, xylophones, and drum rim shots.
The sweet spot is wide.. at least 2-3 feet and the vertical dispersion 11’ back is good... stand up and the top end doesn’t disappear.
The soundstage is massive... extending 5’ beyond the speakers with excellent depth and believable height and instrument size.
Voices are beautifully and clearly presented.
These are NOT boxy sounding speakers in any way. They complete disappear, even when positioned 10’ apart in my system. The presentation is 5th row... close, but not in your face.
A few musical specifics...
Steely Dan, Countdown to Ecstasy... acoustic guitar strings, triangles, tambourines, vocals... are all amazingly liquid, harmonious, gripping and realistic... just beautiful to listen to.
Keith Urban, Ripcord... this cd has deep, tight, defined, powerful bass... and the ST with its 6” drivers is up to the task. Vocals are beautifully rendered with no harshness and the driving guitar rifts are right there. Two words... clarity and authority.
Andre Bocelli... the power of his voice often pushes a tweeter to sound sibilant... not with the RAALs through the Veracity STs.
Dire Straights, “Brothers In Arms”... massive soundstage... you are completely immersed... things going on all around you.
Jim Croce... snare drums... perfect, guitar picking...really nice.
Rolling Stones... You Can’t Always Get What You Want... when the choir kicks in you feel like you are in Vienna.
Chris Issak... Heart Shaped World... just wow... liquid, powerful, musical, beautiful.
The Carpenters... Karen’s voice and harmonies never sounded so spacious, so clear and so engaging.
Telarc, Chiller, Cincinnati Pops, width, depth, precise instrument location, rosin on the violin bow, the huge bass drum... close your eyes and you are there.
Billy Joel/Ray Charles, My Baby Grand, just one word...stunning.
The Salk Veracity ST is solid, heavy and easily passes the knuckle wrap test. The speaker’s woodwork is better than most furniture... and if you don’t want a wood finish....automotive paint jobs are available and equally impressive. The STs ooze care and craftsmanship. This is a great looking, highly musical, very impressive loudspeaker that has a lot of strengths and no real weaknesses. They will put a smile on your face every time you hear them...and every time you walk by them (almost a piece of art).
The RAAL imparts planar/electrostatic clarity and tonal accuracy while the Seas midwoofers provide the dynamics of a cone speaker. The transmission line takes the low end deep, tight and well defined. Overall, the sound is captivating. Add to that a manageable size and you have a great product... not inexpensive but Salks hold their resale value if you ever decide to take another step on your journey.
Kudos to Jim Salk and his team...Very highly recommended and appreciated.
For almost six years, I thoroughly enjoyed the Tekton Lores. Their tour of duty was supposed to be 2-3 years but I could never quite pull the trigger on their replacements. One of the unintended consequences is that the list of speakers I wanted to try kept growing (Salk, OhmWalsh, small Maggie, Tekton’s new mid tweeter array, and Spatial Audio to name a few).
Seven words and a video review gave me the nudge I needed. The seven words were: Jim Salk, Reputation, RAAL, Transmission Line, Resale...and the review was of the Salk Veracity ST.
The STs have a RAAL tweeter and dual 6” Seas Excel midwoofers in a 62 lb transmission line cabinet. They are priced at $4400/pair plus shipping (their transducers alone would cost you about $1500 from Madisound). Being only 8” wide and 42” tall the Veracitys aren’t very imposing. In fact, as you cue up the music and hit play, you might be a little concerned that you will be underwhelmed. You would be wrong.
I’ve read that transmission line bass can sound different form ported bass, maybe because the roll off is similar to a sealed woofer. On the STs, the low end is powerful and deep... so much so that you can’t believe that two 6” drivers can do what they are doing. Bass definition is excellent... bass guitar and stand up bass notes are easily distinguishable.
The midrange is detailed without a hint of bite... pianos really sound like pianos... guitar strings, mandolins, violins are just sweet and the clarity is right on.
The top end is open, airy, clear and detailed...the tone/pitch of snares and cymbals are perfect, so are triangles, xylophones, and drum rim shots.
The sweet spot is wide.. at least 2-3 feet and the vertical dispersion 11’ back is good... stand up and the top end doesn’t disappear.
The soundstage is massive... extending 5’ beyond the speakers with excellent depth and believable height and instrument size.
Voices are beautifully and clearly presented.
These are NOT boxy sounding speakers in any way. They complete disappear, even when positioned 10’ apart in my system. The presentation is 5th row... close, but not in your face.
A few musical specifics...
Steely Dan, Countdown to Ecstasy... acoustic guitar strings, triangles, tambourines, vocals... are all amazingly liquid, harmonious, gripping and realistic... just beautiful to listen to.
Keith Urban, Ripcord... this cd has deep, tight, defined, powerful bass... and the ST with its 6” drivers is up to the task. Vocals are beautifully rendered with no harshness and the driving guitar rifts are right there. Two words... clarity and authority.
Andre Bocelli... the power of his voice often pushes a tweeter to sound sibilant... not with the RAALs through the Veracity STs.
Dire Straights, “Brothers In Arms”... massive soundstage... you are completely immersed... things going on all around you.
Jim Croce... snare drums... perfect, guitar picking...really nice.
Rolling Stones... You Can’t Always Get What You Want... when the choir kicks in you feel like you are in Vienna.
Chris Issak... Heart Shaped World... just wow... liquid, powerful, musical, beautiful.
The Carpenters... Karen’s voice and harmonies never sounded so spacious, so clear and so engaging.
Telarc, Chiller, Cincinnati Pops, width, depth, precise instrument location, rosin on the violin bow, the huge bass drum... close your eyes and you are there.
Billy Joel/Ray Charles, My Baby Grand, just one word...stunning.
The Salk Veracity ST is solid, heavy and easily passes the knuckle wrap test. The speaker’s woodwork is better than most furniture... and if you don’t want a wood finish....automotive paint jobs are available and equally impressive. The STs ooze care and craftsmanship. This is a great looking, highly musical, very impressive loudspeaker that has a lot of strengths and no real weaknesses. They will put a smile on your face every time you hear them...and every time you walk by them (almost a piece of art).
The RAAL imparts planar/electrostatic clarity and tonal accuracy while the Seas midwoofers provide the dynamics of a cone speaker. The transmission line takes the low end deep, tight and well defined. Overall, the sound is captivating. Add to that a manageable size and you have a great product... not inexpensive but Salks hold their resale value if you ever decide to take another step on your journey.
Kudos to Jim Salk and his team...Very highly recommended and appreciated.
5 responses Add your response
As you can see, I wrote that review about two months ago and I've been thinking about adding a few updates that may prove helpful to some. The usual question that is often posed is RAAL vs Be...and all I can say is having heard both, they are both great when implemented well...meaning good crossover and good midrange pairing. The biggest surprise for me with the RAAL is that the dispersion is much larger than you often read about for ribbons...music really does sound good throughout the whole room and the sweetspot is pretty wide. Often when you buy a new piece of equipment, you spend a couple of weeks and maybe even months listening to the equipment...and if the equipment is up to your expectations, that type of listening fades away and all you really hear moving forward is the music (and when that doesn't happen, I think it is because the brain senses that something is missing). I'm at the point with the Salks that all I'm hearing is the music and I'm no longer listening for what might be missing...because there isn't anything missing. As for the transmission line bass, another positive that I've come to appreciate is how perfectly it blends with my 15" sealed sub...together, the sub and the Veracitys speak with one voice. One thing I've observed is the trend toward larger and larger speakers and I'm sure there are many benefits that can be documented and that people have experienced. I think its worth noting that the Veracity STs...at 42" tall and 62#s have no problem filling my very large room with great sound and 90db peaks when needed. This may not matter to most people but they are "relatively" easy for one person to move...and shipping them is not going to cost $500+. Based on all the comments from Axpona...there are a lot of great loudspeakers available....I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have these Salks for quite a while....but, hmmm....maybe some Maggie LRSs for a smaller room??? |
Hi, I have been searching for replacement speakers for my old Spendor SP-1. I have been listening to Devore Super 9, Proac D30R ( and soon will hear Graham 5/9f) but am intrigued by Salks speakers. The value of his speakers is incredible compared to the above. The only hitch has been the inability to hear them which to me is paramount in picking new speakers. I find reviews don't always capture the true sound; or we all have different ways of expressing in words, what our ears hear. Have you any thoughts on how your speakers compare to the Devore, Proac etc? I am looking for a sound that is clear and detailed but not harsh or too forward in its presentation. Thanks MP |
MP I've only heard the Devore Super 9s....in a show type environment...and they sounded really good...but almost impossible to draw a fair comparison with my Veracity STs. I've had the Salks now for five months and I can only say that they continue to really sound good...not a hint of harshness but really good detail...from top to bottom. I suspect the low end detail and depth is because of Seas units he chose along with the transmission line...and one great thing about transmission line bass is that it usually integrates really well with sealed subwoofers if you choose to use one. Everything I said about the RAAL detail, tone, sound and soundstage remains as I originally posted. I've made one change since my original post...I'm now using a Digital Amplifier Company 2Cherry amplifier...and as I've posted on other threads, the 2Cherry seems as though it has lifted a fog that I hadn't know was there revealing a clarity that you get with a live performance...and zero harshness. Who gets the credit...amplifier or speaker? I'd say both because it takes a good loudspeaker to reveal changes in what is already pretty good equipment. I realize that this didn't help at all...and probably because all three loudspeakers you are considering are great speakers and have great resale markets. Here is a link to possible places you could audition some Salks...and if you dont find anything...post on this page asking for anyone in the area....or call Jim Salk and see what he suggests. https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=88740.0 Also, this might interest you: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=88740.0 And you will often find preowned Salks here: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=104.0 Good Luck |