I'm still working my way through a broad array of music to get my ears wrapped around what the SCSTs do and how well they do it. I want to get a good feel for the sound and differences from what I’ve heard before. That takes at least 50-60 discs worth of music, and I’m probably halfway through. I listen overwhelmingly to classical, so my impressions are based primarily on recordings of acoustic music. So the below is incomplete and can be fleshed out more, and most likely will be.
I can say that RAAL is among the finest tweeters I've heard. It's in the same class as Focal beryllium and Dynaudio Esotar2 tweeters, and current production Quad electrostats. I was apprehensive about getting the RAALs initially since I’ve had some less than stellar run-ins with ribbons before, but this one is so clean and clear that I have changed my mind, at least about what is possible with ribbons. There may be just a bit more energy than I am used to way up high with cymbals and the like, but this is in the 10 Khz+ range, so it’s not exactly like there’s too much going on. Besides, cymbals are far clearer than I was used to using regular SongTowers, Joseph RM 25s and RM 22s, and other speakers. I can say that other high pitched instruments like piccolos sound better than before, and solo violin and small chamber ensemble is starting to demonstrate the presence and bow-resin-on-string sound that I have heretofore heard only in concert.
Bass and mids are as good. For my room (10 x 13 x 7.5), the SCST puts out about the perfect amount of bass. And it is clean and detailed like few speakers I’ve heard; it surpasses even the RM 25s, which with my set up and room outperformed even some ultra-high-end rigs in stores (eg, McIntosh & Sonus Faber Stradivari Homage – way too ‘woody’ a coloration). I’d have to say that in terms of systems I’ve heard, these speakers at least match Dynaudio Contour S5.4s, Focal 1028 Bes, and Avalon Opus in terms of speed and clarity, but the SCST has more weight than the first two. This is due more to the rooms, of course, but the point is that the SCSTs, with the lovely little W15s, are comparable to extremely pricey speakers. Indeed, I’ll take the SCST bass over, say, the Sonus Faber Homage floorstanders any day. Yes, better is out there, and certainly much deeper and weightier bass is out there, but that’s not my primary focus in this area. And better will cost more.
The mids are superb. They are cooler than the regular STs, but that’s because they are more neutral. Combined with the RAAL, the speakers often sound brighter than most speakers, but that’s only when the source recording is bright. When I select something that is not bright, it doesn’t sound bright. Not at all. And the detail is most impressive. I also recently got my paws on some Beyerdynamic Tesla T1s for headphone listening, and while they are a bit more detailed – as they should be – the SCSTs come surprisingly close to matching them. Even well known music can offer something new. With the familiar rock and jazz that I listen to, some new details or at least more cleanly delineated details have emerged. For classical recordings, and in particular larger scale works (concertos, symphonies), it is now easier than ever to follow just one melodic line or section of the orchestra, if I choose to do so. Voices are better across the board, and are so smooth and clean that they sound almost real. Indeed, I was listening to the local jazz station and heard a song that came as close to live music in my room as I can recall, and I have been listening in the same room for a decade. So yeah, I’d say the SCST is pretty good.
For those who may be interested, my system is as follows (I’m an electronics first type of guy):
Turntable: Rega P7 + Dynavector DV20XL
CD: Naim CDX2
Tuner: Naim NAT05
Phone Preamp: Naim Stageline
Preamp: Naim NAC282+Supercap 2
Amp: Naim NAP300
