2. speakers
  3. 153542-139155

Salk bookshelf or Dynaudio bookshelf? Or something else?

Hi folks,

I'm considering Salk speakers but may not have them close enough to audition them.
Could anyone compare the bookshelves with my current leading prospect, the Dynaudio Evoke 10 or Special 40?

Here are some facts that relate to my situation:

ROOM: either 13x10 ft; 7 ft ceilings or 15 x 27ft w/10 ft ceilings.
POWER: Adcom separates (535L 60w/ch. with GTP 400 preamp)
MUSIC TASTES: mostly jazz and classical but a fair amount of rock.

CURRENT SPEAKER MOST LIKELY TO BUY: Dynaudio Evoke 10 or Special 40

SALK ITEMS CONSIDERED:
SongSurround I
WOW1
SongSurround Plus
Supercharged SongSurround

SPEAKERS RULED OUT:
Focal 906
B&W bookshelf (I forget the number)
Dali Oberon
Elacs of any kind
Martin Logan

Finally, has anyone tried the Salk 30 day trial for bookshelves? What did that cost in shipping, overall? (A rough estimate is fine.)

Thanks again for your time and insight.

Best wishes,

David in Denver

P.S. There are Totems in the area but I have not heard them yet.
128x128hilde45
helomech
1,521 posts
 
Salk makes such a wide range of products, with a wide range of driver types, that I think it’d be impossible to ascribe a house sound. It appears that linear frequency response is one of their design goals, but that doesn’t mean all their speakers will sound similar. Even a 1db dip or peak at a midrange frequency can drastically influence the speaker’s voicing as heard by a listener.

I believe Salk offers a trial period, but if I’m not mistaken, it’s only for speakers finished in one of a few standard veneers, and not for every model they make.

 If I were shopping in this price class, I’d be most interested in Salk's version of the Philharmonic BMR monitors:

http://www.salksound.com/model.php?model=BMR+Monitors
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
Budget ceiling?
I'd take a long hard look at the Carbon 7's. http://fritzspeakers.com/
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,819 posts
 
@soix -- thanks for pointing me at usaudiomart. I assume there are some guarantees about what's purchased there? Or is it like Craig's list -- caveat emptor?

@holomech I believe I can trial some of the smaller speakers but it's true this should be double-checked. Regarding the suggestion you make, I'm reverting back to looking for a smaller office/desktop speaker, so the Philharmonic is a bit large and expensive for that. But for the future... hmm.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,819 posts
 
@twoleftears Budget ceiling: I'd say $1700 or so, max. As for the Carbons, given that I'm just seeking something smaller for my office, the size of the speaker seems a bit much -- and the price is now a bit high. I started out musing about the Dyn Special 40s but now those seem too large for the room and probably will not sound very rich given my present power (Adcom 535 60w). I'm glad to see another vote for Fritz and I'm bookmarking them because clearly they have people's attention.
mesch
3,410 posts
 
I have used my Macbook Pro with Pure Music playback program playing CDs ripped as AIFF files into a DAC. Also usb input is asynchronous, placing DAC in charge of data stream vs. computer. . That would make for an improvement over compressed files. The Pure Music Program costs $129 and uses itunes as archiver.  

There are other playback programs. if interested in continued use of your Macbook Pre I would start a thread under the Computer Audio section asking a specific question oh how to improve your sonics using one.  
More to discover