Hi Cmpromo:
I own Salons and also ran Dunlavy SC-III's for five years.
My "evolution" with Salons should be interesting to you. I first heard the speakers at Lyric in Manhattan, and thought that they were dull and lifeless. They were being run with all-Levinson Reference gear (33H monos, 32 preamp, and the 31.5(6?) transport and top processor), and I chalked it up mostly to the Levinson front end, which I have never cared for. Several years later, I again heard them at Lyric, this time run with the 436 monos, but with a variety of other non-Levinson gear. This time, they sounded extraordinary -- on Freddie Freeloader, I could hear the echo of Coltrane's sax move 3/4ths of the way across Columbia's huge E. 31st studio where that session was recorded. Everything sounded incredibly right and I bought the speakers. I use them with tube monos and a good analog rig that really makes them sing.
As for criticisms, the Salons fall down a bit in coherence in comparison to more expensive speakers that feature better crossovers (Kharma, Avalon). I can't say that I hear crossover points and they ARE coherent, but there are better speakers in this regard. My other criticism is that they are only of average efficiency (87 db.), which requires them to be used with amps having horsepower.
In comparison to the Dunlavys, they are not a time-coherent design and I have never quite captured the holographic intimacy that the Dunlavys provide in the sweetspot. The Salons are much more transparent and detailed, however, have a much larger sweetspot (they sound really good off-axis), and are overall much better at conveying the impression of real instruments and performers being in my listening room. In short, to my ears, the Salons are clearly superior.
The above contributor may have a point about the Salon system you heard having been accidentally hooked up out of phase (that would explain the deadness and lack of detail). And having the speakers ten feet off the front wall is odd, as they need much closer proximity to the front wall in order to get proper bass reinforcement from the rear-firing port (that would explain the poor bass).
One final comment -- the Salons are very neutral as speakers go and will give you the sound of whatever electronics they are being driven by.
PS - I have a friend who also went from Dunlavys (big SC-V's) to Salons, and I'll let him know about this thread.
I own Salons and also ran Dunlavy SC-III's for five years.
My "evolution" with Salons should be interesting to you. I first heard the speakers at Lyric in Manhattan, and thought that they were dull and lifeless. They were being run with all-Levinson Reference gear (33H monos, 32 preamp, and the 31.5(6?) transport and top processor), and I chalked it up mostly to the Levinson front end, which I have never cared for. Several years later, I again heard them at Lyric, this time run with the 436 monos, but with a variety of other non-Levinson gear. This time, they sounded extraordinary -- on Freddie Freeloader, I could hear the echo of Coltrane's sax move 3/4ths of the way across Columbia's huge E. 31st studio where that session was recorded. Everything sounded incredibly right and I bought the speakers. I use them with tube monos and a good analog rig that really makes them sing.
As for criticisms, the Salons fall down a bit in coherence in comparison to more expensive speakers that feature better crossovers (Kharma, Avalon). I can't say that I hear crossover points and they ARE coherent, but there are better speakers in this regard. My other criticism is that they are only of average efficiency (87 db.), which requires them to be used with amps having horsepower.
In comparison to the Dunlavys, they are not a time-coherent design and I have never quite captured the holographic intimacy that the Dunlavys provide in the sweetspot. The Salons are much more transparent and detailed, however, have a much larger sweetspot (they sound really good off-axis), and are overall much better at conveying the impression of real instruments and performers being in my listening room. In short, to my ears, the Salons are clearly superior.
The above contributor may have a point about the Salon system you heard having been accidentally hooked up out of phase (that would explain the deadness and lack of detail). And having the speakers ten feet off the front wall is odd, as they need much closer proximity to the front wall in order to get proper bass reinforcement from the rear-firing port (that would explain the poor bass).
One final comment -- the Salons are very neutral as speakers go and will give you the sound of whatever electronics they are being driven by.
PS - I have a friend who also went from Dunlavys (big SC-V's) to Salons, and I'll let him know about this thread.