Salk SoundScape8 Review

[fernando]

I posted this review on the AVS Official Salk Sound Owner's thread and thought to share with my Emo friends.

SoundScape 8 review after 2 months.

Because I never read any negative Salk reviews I decided that my next set of speakers had to be Salk's. I read a few short SS8 reviews so I thought I could stretch my budget and give them a try.

I placed the order on 17 Nov 12 and received the speakers on 18 Mar 13. Not Jim Salk's fault. Let me explain. The speakers were ready for shipment on 11 Feb 13 but because I was scheduled to travel for a job related training I had to wait an extra month. The speakers were well protected with plenty of foam and cardboard. These speakers made it from Michigan to Honolulu Hawaii without a scratch. The boxes had four deep holes where the foam was visible but no actual damage to the speakers inside.
The craftsmanship and hours put into these beauties was very apparent. They were finished with a perfect deep high piano black gloss. There are no visible seams so they look like they were made out of one single piece of wood. Nice! Heavy (126 lbs each) and solid as well. All around an impressive piece of art.

I power them with a pair of Emotiva XPA-1 monoblocks. The pre-amp is an Emotiva USP-1 and the CD player is an Emotiva ERC-1. I also paired them with a SVS PB13. Since the SS8 arrived I added ATS acoustic panels to my listening room. The living room is 15' by 28' with 9' ceiling. Distance between speaker is 5.5' (limited to that for now), 24" from the wall and my listening position is 11' way. The living room opens to the kitchen which is
much larger.

I'm coming from AV123 Rockets RS850 to Line Array LS6 (which I still think was a mistake to sell) to now the very special Salk SS8.
The sound?.WOW! While listening I'm constantly caught off guard by sounds coming from different directions. Most of the sounds some instruments produce come clearly from between the speakers. Piano and synthesizer notes tend to float outside the left and right speaker boundaries (sound stage?). I can also perceive the location of the instruments and singer within the
soundstage (depth?). All the instruments have a place within the sound stage (separation, air?). The terms in parenthesis are terms that I hear a lot when reading other reviews but never fully experienced at this level until now. Because my music collection never sounded this way I'm constantly playing CD's that I thought didn't sound so well with my old speakers. While very revealing I still like this new presentation much better. IMHO that is also a testament to my Emotiva equipment. These monoblocks never sounded soooo good. Now every weekend, when I get a chance to listen to music, it feels like a holiday that I look forward to every Monday.

To say that the wait was worth it is an understatement.

[Bruce]

Great looking speakers and I listened to them at Salk and they sounded AWESOME.I just purchased the Song Tower Supercharged and will receive them Friday.I went with the 6 inch woofers that JIM is now releasing and they also sounded great .Good luck with many years of great music listening with your 8 series.

[mshump]

Nice looking speakers and set up. Glad you are happy with them !!!

[tweed]

Very nice set-up!

Curious as to the base on the Salk's, is that standard or something you added?

[Deleted]

Absolutely gorgeous speakers! One suggestion - having that left speaker's woofer firing right into the subwoofer cabinet may not be ideal...

-RW-

[garbulky]

rlw Good catch on the side woofer. BTW, gorgeous speakers! Congrats!

[danny01]

Awesome! These are my dream speakers. These are like a super upgraded Selah Tempesta. They must sound amazing.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using proboards

[Deleted]

Very sweet indeed!

[fernando]

May 21, 2013 9:12:31 GMT -5 tweed said:

Very nice set-up!

Curious as to the base on the Salk's, is that standard or something you added?

The base is standard and so are the spikes.

[fernando]

May 21, 2013 10:18:11 GMT -5 danny01 said:

Awesome! These are my dream speakers. These are like a super upgraded Selah Tempesta. They must sound amazing.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using proboards

Danny, they do sound amazing. The SS8's have shown me the way music should be presented.

[fernando]

Thank you everyone for the complements.

[fernando]

May 21, 2013 9:35:08 GMT -5 @rlw said:

Absolutely gorgeous speakers! One suggestion - having that left speaker's woofer firing right into the subwoofer cabinet may not be ideal...

-RW-

RW, thank you for pointing that out but unfortunately that is all the room I have for now. I plan on building an entertainment center to house all my components. It will be low to the floor as to not affect the sound stage.

By the way what you see either side of the speakers are passive radiators.

[edoggrc51]

Curious, how would you compare the Salks to the LS6's??

Btw congrats on the SS8's. They are simply gorgeous!

[fernando]

May 26, 2013 16:06:44 GMT -5 edoggrc51 said:

Curious, how would you compare the Salks to the LS6's??

Btw congrats on the SS8's. They are simply gorgeous!

edoggrc51 I knew this question was coming and I will comment but I'm just not ready right now. Give me sometime and I will give you my impressions. For now I will tell you the obvious, they are very different.

[edoggrc51]

Thanks man! Just curious is all. Look forward to reading your review.

[mirekti]

I must admit, I have only recently heard about Salk speakers. Upon doing some research I must admit I am impressed.
Can you share some more detail now that you own them for almost a year.

I do have few comments on the looks (less important), but this is a matter of taste and I would assume my illness.
The twitter is off center and while it might contribute to the sound image, it also hurts when I look at it.
The mid range speaker is oval, but the base is square. Very annoying.
Bass is black while mid range and tweeter are grey. Hm...

Positive thing is that one can pick his own veneer.
Anyhow, if you could add few more comments on the sound I'd appreciate it.

Had these speakers have the looks of let's say 1028 FE I would instantly buy it. This way a very good strategy will have to be in place to please my wife. :-)
To a certain point she is right. Compare the front part of MA or Focal to Salks, and those Salks look so scattered as if I bought a beautiful box and randomly put some speakers to it. At this price range...

Edit: I just noticed one can simply put the grid in front to reduce the wife factor.

Attachments:

[pedrocols]

Jan 23, 2015 21:19:50 GMT -5 mirekti said:

I must admit, I have only recently heard about Salk speakers. Upon doing some research I must admit I am impressed.
Can you share some more detail now that you own them for almost a year.

I do have few comments on the looks (less important), but this is a matter of taste and I would assume my illness.
The twitter is off center and while it might contribute to the sound image, it also hurts when I look at it.
The mid range speaker is oval, but the base is square. Very annoying.
Bass is black while mid range and tweeter are grey. Hm...

Positive thing is that one can pick his own veneer.
Anyhow, if you could add few more comments on the sound I'd appreciate it.

Had these speakers have the looks of let's say 1028 FE I would instantly buy it. This way a very good strategy will have to be in place to please my wife. :-)
To a certain point she is right. Compare the front part of MA or Focal to Salks, and those Salks look so scattered as if I bought a beautiful box and randomly put some speakers to it. At this price range...

Edit: I just noticed one can simply put the grid in front to reduce the wife factor.

I hope you get a response to your request. However, be mindful that this thread is almost two years old.

[Porscheguy]

I'm jealous!! I heard the Song Towers that another member had and I was impressed. Those Soundscapes are kinda pricey but I'll bet they are amazing!!

Congrats!!

[fernando]

mirekti
Know that I’m no expert and that writing is not one of my better skills hence the reason why I’m not a very active member on the Emotiva forum. Regardless, I frequent the forum on a weekly basis to learn and read about others experiences and stories, even when I have to travel away from home for months at a time. Two of my favorite stories are Garbulky’s and Boomzilla’s journeys.

Since my initial review I have added the XSP-1, ERC-3 and XLR interconnect cables to my system. I listen in direct mode on my XSP-1 to take advantage of the balanced, differential signal. I have also added six DIY acoustic panels that I position in my living room only when listening to music. I have also repositioned the speaker further from the front wall and each other.

I integrated my sub in a way to only complement the speakers. By that I mean that the amount of bass added is minimal. I configured the sub in a sealed mode (all three ports plugged). I have also tighten the bass as much as I could by performing basic adjustments to the sub’s EQ with the help of the manufacturer, the manual and my ears. I mentioned this because IMO it is important that the sub doesn’t distract from the speakers.

First thing that comes to mind when thinking about the SoundScape 8 is the way they have shown me what IMO is a well balanced sound and fast and accurate bass. I’m extremely happy with what I have achieved so far and the sound the speakers produce. Most impressive is the wide sound stage which continues to keep me in awe when listening. Instruments are positioned between and to the left and right of the speakers. The better the music is recorded, the more pronounced and defined the soundstage is perceived. Highs are smooth, mids are real (wood sounds like real wood and metal sounds like real metal) and the bass is fast and present.

As for the looks, I think is one of their strong points and like you mentioned “is a matter of taste”. The piano black finish is as perfect as it can be. In person, these speakers get a lot of attention when people visit. IMO high level craftsmanship.

Fernando

[novisnick]

Jan 29, 2015 19:19:56 GMT -5 fernando said:

mirekti
Know that I’m no expert and that writing is not one of my better skills hence the reason why I’m not a very active member on the Emotiva forum. Regardless, I frequent the forum on a weekly basis to learn and read about others experiences and stories, even when I have to travel away from home for months at a time. Two of my favorite stories are Garbulky’s and Boomzilla’s journeys.

Since my initial review I have added the XSP-1, ERC-3 and XLR interconnect cables to my system. I listen in direct mode on my XSP-1 to take advantage of the balanced, differential signal. I have also added six DIY acoustic panels that I position in my living room only when listening to music. I have also repositioned the speaker further from the front wall and each other.

I integrated my sub in a way to only complement the speakers. By that I mean that the amount of bass added is minimal. I configured the sub in a sealed mode (all three ports plugged). I have also tighten the bass as much as I could by performing basic adjustments to the sub’s EQ with the help of the manufacturer, the manual and my ears. I mentioned this because IMO it is important that the sub doesn’t distract from the speakers.

First thing that comes to mind when thinking about the SoundScape 8 is the way they have shown me what IMO is a well balanced sound and fast and accurate bass. I’m extremely happy with what I have achieved so far and the sound the speakers produce. Most impressive is the wide sound stage which continues to keep me in awe when listening. Instruments are positioned between and to the left and right of the speakers. The better the music is recorded, the more pronounced and defined the soundstage is perceived. Highs are smooth, mids are real (wood sounds like real wood and metal sounds like real metal) and the bass is fast and present.

As for the looks, I think is one of their strong points and like you mentioned “is a matter of taste”. The piano black finish is as perfect as it can be. In person, these speakers get a lot of attention when people visit. IMO high level craftsmanship.

Fernando

Your writing is way above par my friend, you should do so more often. This was an enjoyable read, fast and to the point, not a lot of BS. Please contribute more often. Thanks.  8)