[Dracule1]

Ridge Street Audio Sason LTD/SI:

Wow! What can I say about these beautifully crafted speakers?  They completely disappear with wall to wall soundstaging and naturally precise imaging.  They are oh so smooth, detailed, and utterly nonfatiguing. They were about the only speaker at the show that I could just relax and listen to hours on end.  You just emotionally connect with the music through these transducers. I had Robert of RSA play Somewhere Over The Rainbow/It's A Wonderful World by "IZ" a Hawaiian singer who lost his battle with obesity at a young age.  It almost brought me to tears.

They were being driven by all Ultra Fi gear including their 20 watt(?) SET amps, DAC, and transformer volume control.  All RSA wiring too. I would have loved to hear the Sasons with more power, like the 100 watt Atmasphere MA-1 amps. I had the pleasure of meeting Rhythmace4218 who already owns a pair driven by MA-1.  He confided the MA-1 will give the Sasons real bass impact which surpasses a highly respected 300 watt solid state amp.

The upgraded SI version is 5 inches shorter than the standard version because they moved the Xover into the base stands.  The stands are now necessarily taller to keep the same overall height. IMHO, the SI version looks much better because they look more proportioned.  The older version looked a little pot bellied with the wider base and shorter stands.  Just awesome aesthetics.

Let me just add that Robert and Steve are first class acts.  They are genuine music guys who are down to earth and easy to talk to.  Kudos to both of you.


Podium 0.5 Speakers:

I must admit I was sadly disappointed with the sound of the their flagship P1 speakers at the '07 RMAF.  It's treble was very grainy and irritating, and the presentation just didn't seemed right.  This year their smallest speaker produced some of the most endearing sound at the show. It was hooked up to some very expensive electronics (Art Audio Jota 22 watts? at $18k, Esoteric digital, Memory player, etc).  But the synergy was there in spades.  The presentation was similar to the Sason's, but slighty cooler sound with wonderful imaging and staging. Because they are crossoverless, the have a very coherent sound - as coherent as the Sasons.  Piano and vocals sounded natural as one can hope for. Bass was very tuneful - stand up bass was in your room real, but lacked the deep extension of cones. But what do you expect from a panel speaker?  But there was one quality that bothered me.  The treble was still ever so slightly grainy and irritating. I'm not sure if I could listen to these for hours on end if the music contained a lot of treble energy.  These speakers can still draw you into the music like the Sasons.  Overall, these were my second favorite. And the price is still reasonable at $6k (but going up to $8k in couple of months) in terms of performance, but not really in terms of aesthetics and build quality. The Sasons take top honor for that IMO.  Peter, the dealer/distributor for these speakers, was a real gent. 

Sorry, these were the only two speakers that really stood out in the end for me.  I heard the mega expensive speakers from Acapella and Lansche (both using ion tweeters), YG acoustics, Hansen, Scaena etc.  None of them could emotionally draw me into the music like the Sason and Podium.

[AliG]

A buddy of mine thought that the Sason speakers had one of the worst sound of the show. He bought a $15k Von Schweikert speakers instead. So who should I trust? 

[alotaklipsch]

A buddy of mine thought that the Sason speakers had one of the worst sound of the show. He bought a $15k Von Schweikert speakers instead. So who should I trust? 

Trust YOUR OWN EARS dummy

Seriously, we all hear things different, that is why there is no best....BTW, IMHO the Sassons rock, but, do need a sub, for true full range.

[Dracule1]

I heard the $15k VS speakers.  It has a new treated paper midrange cone that sounds great.  I was initially impressed by the speakers, but the more I listened the less organic they sounded to me.  May be it was the metal bass cone or the ribbon tweeter.  They can sound a little bright which always gets to me in the end.  The soundstage was a little shallow but it could have been the room.  Actually both times I listened, the midrange started to break up, not sure if it was the tubes going bad in the Audio Space amp/preamp.  There are so many factors that goes into a loudspeaker setup especially at a show.  I can only tell you what I heard in the room at the show.  I can't predict the potential of a pair of speakers in a proper room. BTW Albert Von S.  is a real enthusiastic gentleman.  We had great time talking about his new speaker.

It not about who you trust, as no one has the same set of ears.  My opinion only.  I'm sure there will be a lot who disagree and agree with me.  Hey this is for fun, for the music.  Don't take it too seriously.

[DaveC113]

I though the Sassons were one of a few speakers that stood out from the rest and didn't cost as much as a house.

[zybar]

I though the Sassons were one of a few speakers that stood out from the rest and didn't cost as much as a house.

They aren't that inexpensive at $10,550.00 list (according to the RSA website).

Lots of good new and used choices at $10k.

George

[zybar]

Ridge Street Audio Sason LTD/SI:

Wow! What can I say about these beautifully crafted speakers?  They completely disappear with wall to wall soundstaging and naturally precise imaging.  They are oh so smooth, detailed, and utterly nonfatiguing. They were about the only speaker at the show that I could just relax and listen to hours on end.  You just emotionally connect with the music through these transducers. I had Robert of RSA play Somewhere Over The Rainbow/It's A Wonderful World by "IZ" a Hawaiian singer who lost his battle with obesity at a young age.  It almost brought me to tears.

They were being riven by all Fi gear including their 20 watt(?) SET amps, DAC, and transformer volume control.  All RSA wiring too. I would have loved to hear the Sasons with more power, like the 100 watt Atmasphere MA-1 amps. I had the pleasure of meeting Rhythmace4218 who already owns a pair driven by MA-1.  He confided the MA-1 will give the Sasons real bass impact which surpasses a highly respected 300 watt solid state amp.

The upgraded SI version is 5 inches shorter than the standard version because they moved the Xover into the base stands.  The stands are now necessarily taller to keep the same overall height. IMHO, the SI version looks much better because they look more proportioned.  The older version looked a little pot bellied with the wider base and shorter stands.  Just awesome aesthetics.

Let me just add that Robert and Steve are first class acts.  They are genuine music guys who are down to earth and easy to talk to.  Kudos to both of you.

The Atma-Sphere MA-1's output 140 watts of Class A power into 8 ohms and 160 watts of Class A power into 16 ohms.

I have a pair and for my tastes, they are the best pair of amps I have owned or auditioned.

Right now they are driving the four 15" woofers in my Emerald Physics CS2's better than any solid state amp has!   

http://www.atma-sphere.com/products/ma1.html

George

[sts9fan]

He could have been talking about an older versions that did in fact put out 100w into 8ohms

[pardales]

I heard the Sason's at AKFest this past Spring and thought they sounded good. They had a marble/stone enclosure that was really unusual. They weren't my favorites though and are out of my $$ league. It sounds like they have undergone some major revisions since then.

[mcullinan]

A buddy of mine thought that the Sason speakers had one of the worst sound of the show. He bought a $15k Von Schweikert speakers instead. So who should I trust? 

Trust YOUR OWN EARS dummy

Seriously, we all hear things different, that is why there is no best....BTW, IMHO the Sassons rock, but, do need a sub, for true full range.

Plus the exact same speaker will sound different depending on the electronics that are in front of them. So listen to them in your own system. Which I never do,  but you should.
Mike

[twitch54]

For me it was the Merlin / Joule Electra room that was in my top five, but those 180k Focal's did sound incredible !

[TomS]

Definitely the Kaiser's from Germany, followed by Scaena line sources.  The Reference 3A Grand Veena's were also very good, as well as the RSA Sasons.  Of course, ALL of those are out of my price range but it's nice to dream anyway

[jtwrace]

agree on the Kaisers.  AWESOME!!!

[DaveC113]

I though the Sassons were one of a few speakers that stood out from the rest and didn't cost as much as a house.

They aren't that inexpensive at $10,550.00 list (according to the RSA website).

Lots of good new and used choices at $10k.

George

Right, as I said they DON'T cost as much as a house.... only as much as a good used car. Still out of my price range....

I agree with the Merlins, they were great too.

[Geardaddy]

Sadly, I was not at the show but Dale Pitcher from Intuitive Design was.  He did not have a room this year, but did have time to meander and hear other systems.  He thought the Reference 3A Grand Veenas were outstanding. 

[richidoo]

A lot of the Kaisers beauty was those big 50W 845 amps. I agree, it was a high point of the show. The RAAL tweeters have a lot of natural detail. The huge room had a lot of echo, but it flattered the system overall. I talked to the exhibitors after the demo, they are very smart, very nice guys. I hope they get some traction here in US. Robert Harley enjoyed it and I hope he mentions the exhibit in the mag.

[Dracule1]

Yes, $10k is a lot of money.  But the build quality, aesthetics, attention to detail and the excellent sound IMO justifies the price.  My Hyperion 938s do not disappear like the Sasons and has nowhere near the build quality and aesthetics of the Sasons, but the Hyps cost half as much and built out of MDF.  The crossover parts on the Hyperion are pretty pedestrian, whereas the Sasons use parts from Dueland (capacitor and soon resistors) which are probably the best you can get at the moment.  RSA specializes in cables so the Sasons benefit from their best cables.   I could go on about the details in the Sasons but are better described on their website.  The only limiting factor is the real deep bass (below 30 Hz) which Sasons don't do.  For the price, most people expect bass into the 20's which I understand.  But I can name alot of speakers in this price range that can even get to 30 Hz.

[twitch54]

In case anyone is interested some of us "Logan Guys" did a write up with pics from the show, here's the link.....

http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7410

[Marbles]

Definitely the Kaiser's from Germany, followed by Scaena line sources.  The Reference 3A Grand Veena's were also very good, as well as the RSA Sasons.  Of course, ALL of those are out of my price range but it's nice to dream anyway

Out of your price range???   

Some of us know better....

[Marbles]

In my room the Sason's sounded pretty good, to sound their best they really need to be pulled into a room a long way.  I'm sure a hotel room would not do them justice unless it was a VERY large one.

The two best systems I've ever heard had only one thing in common, Sason speakers.