This review is limited to the SALs in a bi-amped open baffle configuration, using Eminence Beta 15s for the low frequencies. I have never owned or listened to other wide band drivers, and my comparison here is with electrostats in the same biamped setup.
A little context: A few years back I bought the First Watt B5 crossover. I had always wanted to add dipole woofers to my Quad ESL 57s, and the B5 worked well in this role, even though it was designed for use with wide band drivers. Time passed, and I got the itch to try out a wide band speaker. Also, it’s good to have a backup speaker for the Quads. They need servicing every 10 years or so, unless they have had a total overhaul recently. A fellow forum member sold a pair of the SALs to me a few years back. They came with notch filters to tame a spike in their high frequency response.
Eventually, I got around to using the SALs. My setup was pretty close to the one Nelson Pass recommended. I liked them best crossed over at 160 Hz with no baffle step compensation and the notch filter in place. I used both the Amp Camp Amp and my Heathkit UA1 EL84 tube amps for driving the SALs. My listening space is a long basement, with the speakers on the short wall with a large record shelf behind them, and the speaker about 4 feet out from the records. My listening space could benefit from thicker carpeting on the floor and some deadening on the side walls. It’s an unfinished basement, and the sonics are not ideal.
Obvious things: The SALs are impressively well made, with cast aluminum baskets and heavy magnets. Be careful with tools around these speakers, or they will get sucked onto the powerful magnets.
The SALs are really easy to drive. Even my underdamped EL84 tube amp could control them. They are of course much more efficient than ESL 57s. The listening window is pretty much ideal for my tastes – narrow enough to give the immediacy of a panel speaker, but wide enough for two people.
I had a lot of fun with these drivers. Well recorded pop music, like “A Tribute to Joni Mitchell” really shined on these drivers. There wasn’t much to choose between the SALs and the Quads when it came to vocal reproduction. Male voices were presented superbly, and once I put the notch filter in place (and got used to their presentation as always happens with a speaker over time) female voices were almost as good as the Quads. That’s high praise coming from a Quad aficionado!
As others have noted, these speakers image really well. They seemed to be the best of both worlds in this regard. They have the immediacy of panels, with most of the precision of a good two way monitor (like my friend’s JM Lab mini utopias).
As you might expect with a wide band driver, high frequency performance was compromised, even though the notch filters helped. There’s not much going on above 10Khz, and the treble could sound a little ragged at times. Saxophones had a very in-your-face sound – a little like the way I remember the Denon DL103 sounding. My room no doubt contributed to the problem. The Quads, being more directional, are less sensitive to hard walls and floors.
After a couple of months optimizing and enjoying the SALs I switched the Quads back in. There were some striking differences. With the Quads, plucked strings had a stunning clarity. At the same time, the overall sound was sweeter, especially in the high frequencies. Sound emerges from the Quads with an indescribable quality – orchestral music is well delineated but seems to hang together and swell in waves. Or maybe let’s just leave it at indescribable. While the imaging seemed less precise than what I heard from SALs, you could perceive the room’s contribution to the music, the decays and resonances, in a way that was uncanny. Finally, even though both speakers were crossed over at 160 Hz, big differences could be heard in the bass reproduction. The Quads have an amazingly tuneful and articulate way of presenting bass overtones that the SALs do not. Double bass from the Quads is heavenly.
I could easily live with the SAL drivers – they are excellent. I prefer them overall to the JM Lab Mini Utopias that I listen to regularly when visiting my friend. But as a lover of panel speakers, it is not surprising that I like the Quads better than either of those speakers.
A little context: A few years back I bought the First Watt B5 crossover. I had always wanted to add dipole woofers to my Quad ESL 57s, and the B5 worked well in this role, even though it was designed for use with wide band drivers. Time passed, and I got the itch to try out a wide band speaker. Also, it’s good to have a backup speaker for the Quads. They need servicing every 10 years or so, unless they have had a total overhaul recently. A fellow forum member sold a pair of the SALs to me a few years back. They came with notch filters to tame a spike in their high frequency response.
Eventually, I got around to using the SALs. My setup was pretty close to the one Nelson Pass recommended. I liked them best crossed over at 160 Hz with no baffle step compensation and the notch filter in place. I used both the Amp Camp Amp and my Heathkit UA1 EL84 tube amps for driving the SALs. My listening space is a long basement, with the speakers on the short wall with a large record shelf behind them, and the speaker about 4 feet out from the records. My listening space could benefit from thicker carpeting on the floor and some deadening on the side walls. It’s an unfinished basement, and the sonics are not ideal.
Obvious things: The SALs are impressively well made, with cast aluminum baskets and heavy magnets. Be careful with tools around these speakers, or they will get sucked onto the powerful magnets.
The SALs are really easy to drive. Even my underdamped EL84 tube amp could control them. They are of course much more efficient than ESL 57s. The listening window is pretty much ideal for my tastes – narrow enough to give the immediacy of a panel speaker, but wide enough for two people.
I had a lot of fun with these drivers. Well recorded pop music, like “A Tribute to Joni Mitchell” really shined on these drivers. There wasn’t much to choose between the SALs and the Quads when it came to vocal reproduction. Male voices were presented superbly, and once I put the notch filter in place (and got used to their presentation as always happens with a speaker over time) female voices were almost as good as the Quads. That’s high praise coming from a Quad aficionado!
As others have noted, these speakers image really well. They seemed to be the best of both worlds in this regard. They have the immediacy of panels, with most of the precision of a good two way monitor (like my friend’s JM Lab mini utopias).
As you might expect with a wide band driver, high frequency performance was compromised, even though the notch filters helped. There’s not much going on above 10Khz, and the treble could sound a little ragged at times. Saxophones had a very in-your-face sound – a little like the way I remember the Denon DL103 sounding. My room no doubt contributed to the problem. The Quads, being more directional, are less sensitive to hard walls and floors.
After a couple of months optimizing and enjoying the SALs I switched the Quads back in. There were some striking differences. With the Quads, plucked strings had a stunning clarity. At the same time, the overall sound was sweeter, especially in the high frequencies. Sound emerges from the Quads with an indescribable quality – orchestral music is well delineated but seems to hang together and swell in waves. Or maybe let’s just leave it at indescribable. While the imaging seemed less precise than what I heard from SALs, you could perceive the room’s contribution to the music, the decays and resonances, in a way that was uncanny. Finally, even though both speakers were crossed over at 160 Hz, big differences could be heard in the bass reproduction. The Quads have an amazingly tuneful and articulate way of presenting bass overtones that the SALs do not. Double bass from the Quads is heavenly.
I could easily live with the SAL drivers – they are excellent. I prefer them overall to the JM Lab Mini Utopias that I listen to regularly when visiting my friend. But as a lover of panel speakers, it is not surprising that I like the Quads better than either of those speakers.
SAL in a MLTL
Hi
I have heard the SALs running full range in an OB, I live just 10 minutes from Frank.
These are the best full range drivers I have heard, the imaging is superb. This is something I find very important.
I have simulated the SAL in a MLTL, see enclosed. I have not build these yet, but it looks very promising. There is a lift in the bass, but I expect that the baffle step will compensate for this.
With less than 10 watts the SPL reach 105 dB without reaching the limits of the driver.
Hi
Bjørn
Hi
I have heard the SALs running full range in an OB, I live just 10 minutes from Frank.
These are the best full range drivers I have heard, the imaging is superb. This is something I find very important.
I have simulated the SAL in a MLTL, see enclosed. I have not build these yet, but it looks very promising. There is a lift in the bass, but I expect that the baffle step will compensate for this.
With less than 10 watts the SPL reach 105 dB without reaching the limits of the driver.
Hi
Bjørn
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