Salk bookshelf or Dynaudio bookshelf? Or something else?

Thanks, Verdant, for your reply. What I'm looking for in terms of sound is clarity and precision in midrange with adequate and accurate punch in bass. It's ok for it not to rattle the furniture, I just want to be convinced that a jazz upright bass sounds like itself. I'm a middle-aged guy, so I have no illusions about what I can hear, but I want good staging.

My Adcom is from roughly 1993 or so. It has not had any work done. I'm not sure what I'd be asking someone to do. Advice appreciated and some sense of what it might cost.

Thanks for the amp details and turntable suggestions!

I have not sold my CDs, luckily, but it would mean a lot of re-ripping. Oh, and I need a disc ripper, now that my Macs don't have them anymore. (Oh, technology, I love you and yet you make so much trouble.) Perhaps I just go the subscription route. I listen to Spotify all the time, anyway.

What you should decide first is which room/system you want to upgrade, or where the speakers will ultimately end up. Will they be in the larger room? The smaller room? Placed close to the wall, or well into the room?

A small bookshelf like the Evoke10 will be too small for your larger room, especially without subs. The larger Special 40s could overload your smaller room, depending on your taste, but the Special 40s will certainly require room to breathe for best bass response, based on what I see in the Stereophile measurements. So if you can’t pull them away from the wall in your small room, the 40s are probably a no-go.

If you can’t audition anything locally, stick with products you can return or purchase under a trial period. Ascend Acoustics, Spatial Audio, Zu Audio, and Omega are all comsumer-direct brands that offer generous trial periods. Of these, I only have experience with Spatial and I feel they offer one of the best values out there. They may be beyond your budget but they do compete with many speakers of twice their retail cost. Since you mentioned wanting accurate sound of upright bass, you’d be hard pressed to beat an open-baffle design at any price.

I was having issues with my Carver and it needed to be re-soldered.  After about 15-20 years, you want to have any electrolytic caps replaced.  The service on my Carver was $400 and it sounds like new. The reality is, Carver was probably not as well made as Adcom in that era so the situation might not be as negative.  

The need for caps will be driven by use.  If used regularly, you will see that they will have ballooned out due to heat through time.  

Good CD Rippers can be had for modest amounts of money, the bigger issue is the amount of time.  

Regarding speakers, I make one that would be a good choice. It was explicitly praised by Part-Time Audiophile for it's delivery of upright bass but is pricier than what you are looking at $3999.  


Harbeth's would be a fine choice.  ATC has a speaker in that price range that would be interesting. A little pricier, you could look at the Devore Gibbon 3XL though it is also a bit pricier at $3499 

@helomach: Which room? That's a good question. I suppose I'm just working on the smaller room setup for now. They will be close to a wall.

I think the 40s are a no-go for now — but presumably, they could always emerge later. This fact returns me to the intial thread question: Salk or Dynaudio Evoke 10? I'm now leaning Salk but I'm yet to hear a lot of argumentation using the details of the speakers' acoustics given my other constraints — though some here have said that my Adcom isn't up to the task. I guess I need to see that for myself.

Thanks for the additional brands to consider — I've not heard of Ascend Acoustics, Spatial Audio, Zu Audio, or Omega so I'll take a look.

Appreciate your taking the time to write up your thoughts and address what I've been asking. This is truly a special community here at Audiogon. Thank you.

@verdantaudio: Thanks for the info about your Carver. I may at least get an estimate about my Adcom if issues arise (I get some drops but I think it's just the pot.). No ballooning, I don't think, is happening. Thanks too for the info about cd rippers and the speaker you make, as well as the others. When I get to the point where I'm buying new power and setting up a larger room, I may be in touch!

Dave