[Rick Craig]

Prestigio pair shipping today to the NYC area...

[ricardojoa]

if i remember right, these actually comes with the befier w16 seas mag.

[Rick Craig]

if i remember right, these actually comes with the beefier w16 seas mag.

Yes, that's right.

[danny01]

Can't wait to hear them!

[danny01]

So I've had these for about a week now. I haven't done as much listening as I'd like, but these are awesome speakers and a tremendous value compared to the stuff I have heard in B&M audio shops.  I don't consider myself an audiophile at all, but I appreciate good sound and tend to get "stuck" on negative acoustic attributes in speakers. My current system includes a pair of Emotiva UPA-1 amps, a Parasound 2100 pre(feeding high-pass [>80hz] to UPA-1's), Emotiva XDA-2 D/A, dual Epik Empire subs, Oppo 983 CD player and a PC. Interconnects are BJC LC-1 and speaker wires are Monoprice 12 AWG. I guess one can say that all of this is entry level stuff, and I would agree. But I'm 24, in school full time, and this system is my first foray into audio so I consider it a "starter" system if you will. Prior to purchasing these speakers I had Paradigm Signature v.1 paired with the same equipment. I loved the detailed highs and lush midrange of the Paradigms. The thing that bothered me was the sibilance in the SSSS, FFFF, TTT sounds. It was piercingly painful at high SPLs on some tracks. What I wanted was a speaker that could render all of the detail that the Paradigms did, but without the bright character. I always thought that bright sound and high end clarity/detail were two convergent characteristics and one had to choose a trade off point.

How I decided on Selah: A couple of months ago, I auditioned 2 pairs of Salks with ribbon tweeters from a very nice AC member who let 2 total strangers(buddy and I) come into his home to listen to speakers. He had a pair of Song Towers(LCY ribbon tweeter) and a pair of HT2-TL's that he had bought to replace the Song Towers. The one sentence version of my thoughts are that the Song Towers would be a downgrade from my Paradigm Signatures but the HT2-TL had more clarity and detail than my Paradigms minus the brightness, which was exactly what I was looking for. The HT2-TL was about double what I could spend on a pair of speakers. About 6 months after that audition, I came across Selah. From the website it seemed like Selah and Salk were very similar. Initially, I emailed Rick expressing interest in his Tanzanites. While exchanging emails he recommended, among others, the Prestigio as an alternative to the Tanzanites based on my listening habits. I wasn't even aware these existed as there wasn't a link to the Prestigio page anywhere on his site at the time. I did some Googling and was amazed to find that these speaker used almost identical drivers as the HT2-TL that I could not afford. After a few more emails, I decided to go for the Prestigios, hoping that they would sound as good as the Salk HT2's.

Now for my unaudiophile impressions from a short few hours of listening: It's been a while since I heard the Salks, but if memory serves correct the Prestigios are every bit as detailed, airy and neutral. They portray every guitar strum, cymbal strike with the realism of an unamplified live performance in a small venue. The sibilance of the Paradigms is simply gone. This is a bit of an audio cliche, but I really hear nuances in very familiar recordings that I haven't heard with my Paradigms. I don't know whether this is possible from a speaker change alone, but I am pretty confident in saying that stereo separation is also much better. The imaging is awesome. In some instances, it sounded like sound was coming from behind the listening position. I'm not sure whether that is good or bad, but I never experienced it before in my room listening with only two speakers.

I can't believe I have these speakers! From my experience of the Salks and other high end stuff I have heard in audio shops, I thought that sound this good was way out of my reach as of now. I wasn't sure if buying speakers that I have never heard was a wise decision, but I'm glad I did it.

I do have a few questions though, if Rick or anyone else could help out. I want to upgrade my preamp/amp and add a subwoofer EQ. Right now I'm using the Parasound 2100 for bass management and volume control, but the volume tracking imbalance between L+R at lower volumes is a bit annoying. I only have one source to the preamp(dac does the switching and sends one analog signal to the pre). I was looking at the Peachtree NovaPre and Velodyne SMS-1. With the Nova Pre, there is no subwoofer out, so either the speakers would get a full range signal, or I would have to send analog from the NovaPre to the SMS-1 and use the SMS-1's high pass filter. But I'm not so sure if that is a good idea. Does anyone know if the SMS-1 somehow alters the analog signal when using the hpf? Does anyone know if it does AD/DA conversion to do the cross over? Is there a cost effective solution to add a high pass filter in the analog domain, low pass for the sub(my sub's built-in crossover sucks), and sub EQ without breaking the bank? Another option is the Emotiva XSP-1 which has bass management and seems like an awesome piece, but I'd like to try out other companies.

[AvFan]

Very nice writeup on your new Prestigios and I bet you will enjoy them for a long time.  I was also looking for speakers that didn't have sibilance and after listening to a couple of speakers with ribbons I knew they were in my "speaker" future.  The Prestigio when it first came out inspired my discussions with Rick to develop a MTM kit using the RAAL tweeter but with SB Acoustic mids versus the SEAS.  I've been very happy with the transparent sound over the last few years.

Up until recently I was using an Outlaw ICBM to handle high and low pass filtering.  The concept worked better than the Outlaw's execution as it introduced some noise and began working intermittently so I pulled it.  My preamp outs on my integrated amp are always on so I've hooked them up to my subs and I now run my MTMs full range.  I don't really notice the MTMs working hard to reproduce frequencies below about 80Hz and I set the sub's crossover to pick up where my MTM's leave off.  It looks like you could do this same setup with your Parasound 2100.  I wonder if Rick could weigh in with his opinion of running the Prestigio full range.

I used the Outlaw because I couldn't find but a few high/low pass filters.  If you still want to go with a high/low pass filter you may want to look at Behringer crossovers.  They are active crossovers but one might work in your situation and hopefully other folks can offer some suggestions.   

[jonbee]

Congratulations. Nice review, well written.
Selah is the most un-heralded great builders of speakers I'm aware of. Rick creates truly wonderful speakers that compete comfortably at 2x the price, built with superb parts, true craftsmanship, great customer service and delivered as promised, all for an amazing price.
The "secret" to their sound is that the models I've heard are all very truthful- they don't make a statement, they let the music speak for itself. I think that leads to satisfaction for the long run, which makes them an even better bargain.
I've noted that his speakers aren't on the resale market much. Tempestas are his biggest seller apparently, but to my knowledge there has never been a pair on the resale market, which is almost unheard of in this "hobby".

I suspect you'll be a happy camper for a long time.

[pawsman]

Glad to hear you're happy with the Seas MTMs. I've been incredibly happy with my Selah Ported Veritas; they compare with the best 2-way monitors I've heard for a fraction of the price. The only reason I'd let them go is to trade up to the Tempestas.

pawsman

[Rick Craig]

I've not listened to it but a customer has the Harman HK990 integrated amp and really likes it. For around $1,800-$1,900 you get 150 watts/ch. plus DSP for the subwoofer crossover (both high pass and low pass) and room correction. It will also support one or two subwoofers. For the $ I think this is an excellent deal.

[Jeff K]

I've not listened to it but a customer has the Harman HK990 integrated amp and really likes it. For around $1,800-$1,900 you get 150 watts/ch. plus DSP for the subwoofer crossover (both high pass and low pass) and room correction. It will also support one or two subwoofers. For the $ I think this is an excellent deal.

I might be that customer. I've had mine for almost three years and still love it. I'm using it to drive Selah Galenas. Here's a link to a three-part test that gives more info than most folks would ever care to know.   

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/integrated-amplifiers/integrated-amplifiers-reviews/harman-kardon-hk-990-stereo-integrated-amplifier-with-digital-room-correction-and-dual-subwoofer-bass-management-part-i.html

Stereophile did a review also and rates it class B, fwiw.

[ricardojoa]

You can take a look at minidsp, relative inexpensive but they do have processing on the signal.
It really depends one could hear the difference or not, but when integrating with subs, having the ability to delay signals could be an advantage.

[danny01]

Yeah, to echo another post above, Selah deserves to be more well-known. Over at one of the other big forums Salks are recommended left and right and Selahs seldom mentioned when in fact, IMO, Selah offers a similar sound signature, sound quality, customization and (IMO) better value for those who don't need furniture grade cabinets.

Thanks for the recommendations. I am looking into all the options. The HK is interesting. Kind of like a high end HT pre/pro with a real amp inside. I'm pretty fond of the brand as I had a car with a factory HK system that was the best system (in a car or home) I have heard at the time. I'll probably just pick up an OmniMic for now and see what's really going on in my room before attempting to fix anything.

[Rick Craig]

Yeah, to echo another post above, Selah deserves to be more well-known. Over at one of the other big forums Salks are recommended left and right and Selahs seldom mentioned when in fact, IMO, Selah offers a similar sound signature, sound quality, customization and (IMO) better value for those who don't need furniture grade cabinets.

Thanks for the recommendations. I am looking into all the options. The HK is interesting. Kind of like a high end HT pre/pro with a real amp inside. I'm pretty fond of the brand as I had a car with a factory HK system that was the best system (in a car or home) I have heard at the time. I'll probably just pick up an OmniMic for now and see what's really going on in my room before attempting to fix anything.

Actually we do build furniture grade cabinets if a customer is looking for something different. My cabinetmaker does quite a bit of very high end custom furniture for other clients. The standard cabinets allow us to provide a speaker that fits a tighter budget.

[jonbee]

Actually we do build furniture grade cabinets if a customer is looking for something different. My cabinetmaker does quite a bit of very high end custom furniture for other clients. The standard cabinets allow us to provide a speaker that fits a tighter budget.

Indeed. Top grade cabinetry is very important to me, and my Tempestas are as lovely as anything Salk makes, and that is no insult to Jim Salk.

[danny01]

Sorry if it sounded like I was saying that you didn't offer them. I know that you offer furniture grade cabs, but what I was trying to emphasize was that you also offer pre-built cabinets (which offer tremendous value for those of us with tighter budgets) that, AFAIK, Salk does not.

If I ever upgrade, they'll probably be Tempestas with custom cabinets...

[danny01]

\

[danny01]

Does anyone have experience with Marchand crossovers? I am on the verge of picking up an XM46 XLR-A, but can find no reviews.

[Rick Craig]

Does anyone have experience with Marchand crossovers? I am on the verge of picking up an XM46 XLR-A, but can find no reviews.

They have good sound quality but are a little limited in flexibility compared to current DSP crossovers.

[danny01]

Thanks for the quick reply Rick. For the sub I am going with a minidsp, but would like to stay away from unnecessary AD/DA conversion.  I'm a bit hesitant about using the analog sections and dacs on cheaper DSP's, so I thought the analog Marchand was a good choice. And most importantly, I can afford it. I understand there is also DEQX, but that is way out of reach for me. The Prestigios will be with me for a long time, so if you believe that the Marchand with 2nd order 80hz high pass will pair well with the Prestigios, I think I am set on it unless you can throw me some others that I should read up on... I would appreciate that. Thanks Rick for your advice from day one. I am enjoying the Prestigios immensely.

[Rick Craig]

Thanks for the quick reply Rick. For the sub I am going with a minidsp, but would like to stay away from unnecessary AD/DA conversion.  I'm a bit hesitant about using the analog sections and dacs on cheaper DSP's, so I thought the analog Marchand was a good choice. And most importantly, I can afford it. I understand there is also DEQX, but that is way out of reach for me. The Prestigios will be with me for a long time, so if you believe that the Marchand with 2nd order 80hz high pass will pair well with the Prestigios, I think I am set on it unless you can throw me some others that I should read up on... I would appreciate that. Thanks Rick for your advice from day one. I am enjoying the Prestigios immensely.

Good to hear that you're enjoying your speakers. As a high pass filter the Marchand should be fine. I did take note of your post on the other speaker now using the W16's. About a year ago I was involved in a thread on another site where I noted that the Seas W15 wasn't a good choice for a TL. Apparently my advice was taken and the W16 customers will benefit.