Salk Song 3A or Song 3 BeAT?

reggy

I ended up going a completely different direction ultimately, but I was able to audition the Song 3A at an owners house, using my integrated. They are very nice speakers with a very very clean, detailed and pretty dimensional sound. Bass is solid though perhaps not quite as deep and strong as I had expected from the looks. I could easily live with the 3A and the finish is impeccable. I don’t know the encore at all. As far as the 3 beat, if one likes the detail of the 3a but wants a slightly warmer presentation, I understand the 3 beat would be the way to go and I hear it has a slightly sweeter top end but I can't confirm. With the 3A I would probably pair it with electronics that err slightly on the warm side.

I've heard them all at Jim Salk's shop and ended up buying the pair of Encores he had.  I don't care for the Accuton midrange on the 3A as I find it too 'edgy'.  A bit too strident on my ears.  It was a close call between the BeAT's and the Encores but both my wife and I preferred the Encores.  Encores had a wider and deeper soundstage (probably due to their ability to go lower) which is what I was looking for.    As with all Jim's speakers, the finish is flawless.

@og33 That sounds wonderful. I wish you many years to come for those speakers. I hear the sound of the Salks is first and the finish is second. And what a finish it has.

That's not too strange you prefer the Encore's, it does have a higher price, but would you say they would be suitable in a medium size living room?

How much better is the Encore's compared to the beats in terms of overall listening enjoyment to details and vibe.

I would certainly be ok with the soundstage albeit narrower of the beats if it is still very good. Would you say the Encores is a must compared to the beats without a subwoofer?

Thanks.

reggy

after discussions with Jim Salk, i went with the BeATs, which are currently in the hands of FedEx, and should arrive in a couple of days.  

I was looking at either the BeATs or Encores, but due to musical taste (all over the place, but with generous amounts of 70s-90s rock/metal)  he suggested the BeATs would be more forgiving than the 3As or Encores on lower quality recordings.   He also mentioned that as i do not listen to EDM or need LFE for movies, i would probably not miss the extra bass from the Encores. 

 I'm replacing 20 year old  Magnepan 1.6s that died and Monitor Audio RX 6 Silver (were in secondary system until Maggies died).  The  RX-6 will go back to the secondary system.

reggy,

I think most people might prefer the BeAT to the Encore.  At the time I was looking I could have purchased either at approximately the same price as the Encore pair was Jim's show demo.  I really did like the BeAT but I think most might prefer them over the Encore.  In my case I was looking for a bit more bass and the Encores have that.  My current room is not huge but we have 12' ceilings and they do fill the space.  Bass might be a bit overpowering in a smaller room.   For me, they are the best overall Salk speaker I've owned, and I've owned a lot of them.