When reviewing speakers, I go through a particular ritual. I hook them up and just start living with them for a while. This satisfies the "break-in" crowd that believes that speakers need some sort of break-in (like new shoes I guess). I'm not one of those people. I always note my first reaction to the speakers to compare with my final evaluation. In this case, my first reaction was a raised eyebrow in surprise at what I heard. My first blush was a good one - a rare feat in my book. The official review was done with both a Denon AVR-2307CI powering a Rotel 1085 and the Emotiva RSP-1/RPA-1 combo. The Salk speakers seemed to play well with both combinations. Any mid-fi receiver should have no problems powering these speakers.

My next step is usually to put on a couple of albums with side to side pans to determine placement and toe-in. That done, I grabbed my trusty Rives Test CD II to determine if these claims about their bass response was all hooey or had a basis in reality. As I stuck the CD in and started it playing, I gathered together the stuff I'd need for the evaluation - paper, pen, laptop, etc. Much to my shock, I heard a low rumble. The first track on the CD is a 20Hz tone and I was hearing something from the SongTowers! Shocked, I turned around and checked it out. Sure, some of it was a bit of port noise (only really discernable from up close) but much was actual sound. The volume was low (probably 20dB lower than the rest I was about to play) but it was there. The second tone was 25Hz and the volume increased dramatically. On the fourth tone (40Hz) the speakers really hit their stride. Bass extension - oh yeah.

But extension isn't what it is all about. Plenty of speakers can honk notes at you without any hint of musicality. My reference speakers are the RBH TK-5CTs (cousins to the EMP 30T) which retail for under $1000. The TK's have served me well and have held up against speakers way above their price range. One thing they have going for them is a side-firing 8" woofer which provides a tremendous amount of bass. Sure the prices are different as are the sizes (the RBH's are about 75% the size of the Salks) but both tout their bass response. Plus, I can't have two speakers in the house and not compare them.

Yello - The Eye

I hate that I use this album so much but I do. It just has what no one else does - tons of tracks that use phase variance to simulate sound moving around the room. I often (and did in the case) use this album when determining placement and toe-in. There are also a lot of tracks that have a good amount of bass (and bass sweeps) as well as rich female vocals. The SongTowers did well with this material presenting a good amount of bass extension while keeping a richness to the sound that was quite evident. At first I thought the RBH's beat out of the Salk speakers in extension but decided that I was hearing more boom and not lower notes. The Salk speakers seemed more natural in their bass notes than did the RBH TKs. The overall presentation was very lifelike (for the type of electronic music it is) without being overly bright. The soundstage wasn't the widest I've heard but it was sufficiently large for the space.

Lorna Hunt - All in One Day

The first track on this album is a very good song for female vocals as and has a nice deep kick drum. Starting with the drum, I was surprised at the realism. At a high volume, the bass was both lifelike and tactile. The SongTowers seemed to have very little problem pushing out a lot of bass without any sign of strain or port noise. Lorna's voice on this track tends to be a bit fatiguing and the Salks didn't hide this. Not only that, but her vocals were extremely forward. Like "in your lap" forward. Something about the range of her voice seemed to put her very far forward in the soundstage (more so than I have ever heard before). The effect was a little strange and at times unnatural.

Rusted Root - When I Woke

This album is absolutely brutal to speakers - tons of percussion and instruments all playing over the top of each other. Add to that, a male and two female singers in most songs. Many speakers will degenerate into a muddy mess when presented such challenging material. Not only did the Salks stay together, but they presented a more coherent picture than I have ever heard before. I was not hearing things I didn't know I wasn't supposed to not hear (confused? It makes sense, believe me). Where I was used to a "full" sound, I now recognized it as a "muddy" presentations on lesser speaker systems. The Salks had an unbelievable separation between each and every note. You might be thinking I just could have said they were "detailed" and left it at that. Well, sure, but what fun is that?

Bang & Olufsen Vol. XIII - The Sound of Perfection

Yet another album I use way too much in reviews. Here, I was looking for a number of things including female versus male vocals and detail. Once again I noticed that female vocals were closer to me in the soundstage than the male vocals (not as bad as before but still noticeable). I also noted a number of instruments that were much more lifelike than I was used to. There was a kick drum that had the exact right note, a high hat with just the right cling, and more. I also spent some time comparing the performance of the RBHs to the Salks. I hate to put down the RBHs but I have to say in comparison to the Salks they were muddy. There, I said it. Of course, remember the RBHs are less than half the price of the Salks so I would have hoped they would perform worse (even though in the past they compared favorably to higher priced speakers). I also compared the bass on the RBHs to the Salks and found that I honestly thought they sounded remarkably similar. The RBHs seemed a little boomy at times but the Salks seemed a little weak at others. I kept scratching out my notes and adding new ones just to change my mind the next moment. I did think that the linearity of the Salks was better and their bass detail was better at lower volumes. On the high end, it was no comparison. The Salks crushed the TKs in detail - there was just so much more there with the Salks. That being said, I still think the RBH's are a great value at their price. I also think that the Salks are an equally good value at their price point. Since the TK's received (at my recommendation) the Audioholics 2007 Product of the Year Tower speakers under $1k award, this is high praise indeed.

Conclusion

While I rarely gush over speakers as much as I have the Salk SongTower QWTs, please note that they are not without their imperfections; just like the imperfections I could find on a supermodel if anyone would ever let me close enough to inspect one. The imaging is very good, the bass very deep and linear, and the detail is amazing. Female vocals sometimes come off as too forward, the soundstage is not as wide as I'd have hoped, and the speakers themselves are pretty large. Overall, though, the Salks are a very, very good speaker in a very, very pretty package. With the option of choosing your own veneer and upgrading drivers, there is a pair for everyone.

Salk SongTower

$1695 ($1895 as tested)

Salk Sound
2700 Long Winter Lane
Oakland, MI 48363
(248) 814-8062
www.salksound.com