AKFest 2010 Coverage

May 3, 2010

The Salk and Van Alstine Room

Salk Sound demonstrated a wide range of its speakers, all with Van Alstine electronics. I had the pleasure of meeting a speaking with Frank Van Alstine himself.

Left to right are the Archos ($3995), the Song Tower QWT ($1795) and the Veracity HT2 ($3295). Since Salk speakers are custom made, they can be had in a variety of finishes and veneers for an upcharge.

The Van Alstine Avastar hybrid preamp ($1799) and the Vision EC DAC ($1299). The Van Alstine components are available with options such as a phono section, tape buffer, balanced inputs and outputs, etc. for very reasonable additional cost, and are also available as kits.

The sources were a SlimDevices Squeezebox and Harmon Kardon HD7325 CD player, which if I remember correctly had excellent reviews when it was introduced a decade ago.

The power amplifier was a 35 watt/channel Van Alstine Ultimate 70.

Shown, but not in use, was a Van Alstine Ultra+ Double 550 hybrid power amp ($2399).

Here are some internal shots of the Insight+ preamp ($899), the Avastar hybrid preamp ($1799) and the Van Alstine Ultra+ Double 550 hybrid power amp ($2399).

The primary system being auditioned consisted of the Salk HT4s ($10,000), driven by a Van Alstine Avastar preamp and Ultra+ power amp. The sources were a Squeezebox feeding a Van Alstine Vision EC DAC and a vintage Pioneer Elite CD player. Remember the “Stable Platter” design?