Salk Speakers - Opinions & Advice?

Interesting about S7horton's comments on the Tylers at AKFest. I have not heard the new Decade line of Tylers so I can't comment on those... but as a current long-time Tyler owner of many of their older Linbrook and Taylo line speakers (and having also heard the Woodmeres at THE Show in Vegas before) I would not ever describe the old lines as "lean and bright" in any sense. I wonder if the Decades are really that different to the "old" Tyler family sound? Very interesting observation.

As for Salk, it has been a long time since I heard them, but I remember being quite impressed with their sound (although not enough to give up my Linbrook Signature System). Build quality was definitely the best I had (or have) seen. Jim is a master wood worker, to be sure.

---Dave

I listened to the big Decade at AKfest, powered by Jolida, and would not characterize the speaker as lean. I thought it had ample bass, if a bit wooly, but what I think it did have a glaring upper midrange, lower treble which made it a little difficult to listen to on material which contained a lot of energy in that region. An AK member was using Tyler Decade speakers lower in the product line which I thought more listenable. As I recall, they were powered by Grant.

Often a glare in the upper mid/lower treble area is a mismatch between amp and speaker crossover. Also, tube amps have to be carefully matched to speakers to avoid impedance and phase angle problems. And I say this as a 25 year owner of tubes amps.

I also heard the big Decade at AKfest and found them very detailed but with that slight glare James mentioned. The wooly bass was from the room as it was VERY small and had no treatment whatsoever. I got the impression from the owner of Tyler Speakers that he is in it for the love of audio - he just wanted to let people hear his big design. I also have to say that listening to the big Tylers caused me to really pay attention to the arrangement of the musical pieces being played, the time signature changes, the way the musicians were obviously listening to each other, etc. Hmm, guess you could say the music making ability of the speakers drew me in! It was a very relaxed room, small, low lighting, good music, really good speakers.

I thought the large and small Tylers were quite well made. However, they have a simpler finish than the Salks which are finished to fine furniture grade. I think the Salks would be conversations pieces in a room, the Tylers would be more relaxed and subtle. The Salk room was big, exciting, busy, bustling, and brightly lit. I had trouble paying attention to music (which sound real good through some drop dead gorgeous speakers) as there were so many people and so much going on.

The Salk room had such a wide array of beautifully finished speakers that I was onlyt able to admire the designs, woodworking, and finishing. I'd buy a pair just for that and reward Jim Salk for such design and beauty success.

Often a glare in the upper mid/lower treble area is a mismatch between amp and speaker crossover. Also, tube amps have to be carefully matched to speakers to avoid impedance and phase angle problems. And I say this as a 25 year owner of tubes amps.

I also heard the big Decade at AKfest and found them very detailed but with that slight glare James mentioned. The wooly bass was from the room as it was VERY small and had no treatment whatsoever. I got the impression from the owner of Tyler Speakers that he is in it for the love of audio - he just wanted to let people hear his big design. I also have to say that listening to the big Tylers caused me to really pay attention to the arrangement of the musical pieces being played, the time signature changes, the way the musicians were obviously listening to each other, etc. Hmm, guess you could say the music making ability of the speakers drew me in! It was a very relaxed room, small, low lighting, good music, really good speakers.

I thought the large and small Tylers were quite well made. However, they have a simpler finish than the Salks which are finished to fine furniture grade. I think the Salks would be conversations pieces in a room, the Tylers would be more relaxed and subtle. The Salk room was big, exciting, busy, bustling, and brightly lit. I had trouble paying attention to music (which sound real good through some drop dead gorgeous speakers) as there were so many people and so much going on.

The Salk room had such a wide array of beautifully finished speakers that I was only able to admire the designs, woodworking, and finishing. I'd buy a pair just for that and reward Jim Salk for such design and beauty success.

My company is based in Troy, MI and on a business trip a while back I visited Jim Salk at his home to hear his speakers. Even without proper placement and room treatments I was very impressed. I didn't find them cool in their presentation. They are neutral and have very good low end extension. Also, the designs are well executed as is build quality. A couple of the speakers can be considered works of art and the paint work is automotive quality. I never saw Ferrari Red look so good.

Price wise they are a great value IMO.