[lonewolfny42]

Back in late winter of '04, I signed on to the Selah demo tour of the RC3R. They arrived not in the best of shape. Banged up, grill broken, and things loose inside the cabinet (later found out when JoshK received them). Shipping does take its toll on equipement...has to be packed really well. Tho they sounded ok, I never wrote a review. But I thought I did not hear them at their best.

Fast forward to now.....a different story !! Rick Craig sent me a PM..."want to try the SA-1's , their in your area"...sure !!! The SA-1 arrived in great shape , packed better , looking like a million bucks..... [/list:u]
They are very well built, nice finish (reddish Oak), heavy for a two way (30lbs.). The spec's are

here....and the picture too. A two way, ribbon tweeter and 7" woofer.[/list:u]

I've only listen to a few speakers (GR Research , VMPS) that contained ribbons. All of the speakers I now own use dome tweeters. So when I started listening , it was a different sound than what I'm use to. Also , at the same time the speakers arrived , I had the Aspen AKSA 100N+ on hand to demo as well. A lot of listening going on... [/list:u]
I used the AKSA, my Krell KSA-100 mkII, and my Carver ZR 1600 w/ 8th. Nerve mods to power the SA-1 in my listening. Preamps were ARC SP-9 mkII and Philly Audio 7A. Digital, EA Turbomod ECD-1 DAC, and as transport EA Turbomod 7700. A Phillips CD-80 was used as CDP, straight into preamps at times. Cables were Ridge Street Audio Midnight Silver ED. II. Extra digital cable, Acoustic Zen Silver Byte.[/list:u]
OK.....so how'd they sound ??? At first very different !! They had excellent bass responce for a 2 way. Thats what I noticed first. And turning up the volune , they held together very good (98db). As for the ribbon, very smooth. I thought it might sound piercing, but I was very surprized!! A nice , totally balanced sound !!! [/list:u]
I played all types of music to test these speakers. On the classical, never sounded congested on complex pieces. Rock, came thru loud and clear....good bass. On jazz, smooth, nice details, good soundstage. I could not find any weak points in these speakers....and I listened very closely. [/list:u]
Now I don't have the biggest room in the world, small , 12 x 12 , but the SA-1 filled it quite well. I had them on 24" Osiris stands, and they projected a very good soundstage and a nice sweet spot  !![/list:u]
As for value, excellent. If you can build it , its $460.00. Already assembled , $850.00. I see they have deluxe crossovers available, don't know if I had that, but I was very happy with what I heard. I can't get over the price !!! To me, "ITS VERY INEXPENSIVE" for this speaker..... [/list:u]
So how did it sound when compared to those Keelin speakers your always raving about ????? (i know someone is thinking this )[/list:u]
Mmmm,... they sounded very good. Both sound very good !! But ...in the bass area , the edge goes to the SA-1. It was a little stronger. Mids and highs were very close. Both clear and detailed. And in my opinion , both companies have put together two excellent speakers for the price !!! [/list:u]
You know what's great....both of these companies are here on AudioCircle, and both have a demo tour going on so you can hear them in your system and in your own home !!! Now where else can you find that !!!! [/list:u]
To end my review (and I'll admit, I'm not the greatest reviewer...either I like what I hear or I don't, just my preferences) I'd like to thank Rick for the demo. You did a fine job on building the SA-1. A really good speaker !! Thanks for doing the demo tour so others could hear your speaker and make up their own mind on its value. Your future line array thats coming out must really sound good...if its anything like what I hear with the SA-1 ! [/list:u]

Thanks again...all the best !! [/list:u]

Chris [/list:u]

[Enrico]

Thank you for posting your impressions.

So how did it sound when compared to those Keelin speakers your always raving about ????

I don't know what speaker this is; maybe this is because I don't browse around that much on Audiocircle. Can you let me know which speaker you are referring to?

[JoshK]

Very nice write-up.  I wish I could hear them too.  I've been itching to hear that mid/tweeter combo.   Now I really want to hear them.

[lonewolfny42]

Enrico,

The Keelin is a speaker made by Shamrock Audio. They have a circle here.[/list:u]
JoshK,[/list:u]
Thanks ! Why not PM Rick and have a listen , sounded good. The speakers are in good shape now , packed well. I hope their trip is better than the RC3R's. As you know, always subject to rough handling when on tour.[/list:u]