Selah Audio SA-1 initial impressions

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Mad DOg

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Selah Audio SA-1 initial impressions
« on: 9 Sep 2004, 06:40 pm »
After placing myself on the RC3R home demo tour and then waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting only to be disappointed that the tour had stalled due to damages to the speaker incurred in shipping, I wasn't sure I wanted to sign up for the SA-1 home demo tour this time. All that changed when a few other AC members expressed interest in hearing them and suggested we gather for a group listen.  :idea: Since I was going to be hosting a listening session soon, this seemed like a great idea!  :idea:  :idea: Now all that was needed was to contact Rick Craig to see if he could accomodate us for the date of the listening session. After trading a few PMs, Rick agreed to send the SA-1 out to me the first week of Sept.

The SA-1s arrived last week double boxed. The inner box is suspended within the outer box by styrofoam corner protectors in all 8 corners. Within the inner box the speaker was covered with a plastic bag. Rick also takes the additional precautionary measure of placing a piece of tape over the front of the ribbon tweeter so that the suction when removing the plastic bag will not damage or cause the ribbon to become misaligned.

My first impression when I pulled the speakers out with their grill on was that they looked like Biro L/1s without the exposed tweeter. The oak cabinet was identical with the exception of the port location. A quick PM to Rick confirmed that this is indeed the case. Apparently this cabinet comes standard with the SA-1 kit when purchased through Madisound. There is the option of nicer cabinets in other finishes are available when the SA-1 is purchased from Rick.

The SA-1 monitor is a 2 way with a driver compliment of a Fountek ribbon tweeter and a 7" Vifa XT18W09. The tweeter looks very similar to the Aurum Cantus tweeter that I've heard in the past in Aurum Cantus' own Leisure 2D and the GR Research Criterion. Having heard the AC L2D and GR Crits in the past, I found them both to be too polite for my tastes. So would Rick Craig's speaker designed with a mix of drivers I had heard in other speakers sound polite as well? And would the dispersion characteristics of the ribbon create a super narrow sweet spot as the other 2 speakers exhibited in the past? That's what I wanted to find out.

Within minutes with the SA-1, I discovered the answer and it is a resounding NO! Rick Craig's SA-1 really BOOGIES!  :dance: In my room, these speakers were more detailed, dynamic and engaging than any $850 speaker has a right to be! According to Rick, the Fountek tweet measures nearly identical to the AC tweet and the AC tweet was supposed to be far more detailed than the Vifa XT ring radiator or any other silk dome tweeter. I had never found that to be true until I heard the SA-1. In this application the Fountek ribbon indeed sounds more detailed than the Vifa XT ring radiator. The detail is not harsh or edgy though, rather smooth and extended. The midrange is extremely engaging! The bass is on the warm side-a bit warmer than I prefer, but extends down nicely for a monitor.

So far the 2 way ribbon equipped SA-1 has really shown me what no other 2 way ribbon speaker has before which is when properly implemented, a 2 way ribbon monitor can be engaging, musical and addictive! A more detailed review will follow in the near future...

But for right now, I'm raising this toast to Rick Craig for a SUPER JOB of making an amazing sounding speaker for the price. :beer: Great work, Rick! I sincerely hope that more folks will begin to discover your speakers! They are affordable and simply magical!  :drums: Most importantly, they offer serious VALUE which is important in my book!

I would highly recommend folks to give Rick's products a listen...Here is a designer who not only designs speakers that measure well, but most importantly also sound great! He definitely knows good sound!