Prestigio

Rick Craig · « **on:** 17 Apr 2009, 04:46 pm »

Enjoy!

kip_ · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Apr 2009, 05:43 pm »

Beautiful! Are those 4 or 5" woofers? Bass extension?

Rick Craig · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Apr 2009, 06:04 pm »

Quote from: kip_ on 17 Apr 2009, 05:43 pm

Beautiful! Are those 4 or 5" woofers? Bass extension?

Seas W16's which are close to a 6" woofer. I'll have two versions, one sealed (like this pair) and one ported (a little larger cabinet). The nearfield measurements will be posted later but suffice to say that the W16 has greater bass extension and impact than any of the other Seas 15cm frame drivers.

chrismercurio · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Apr 2009, 06:14 pm »

Those look great. How much are they? Base price anyway...

cadobhuk · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Apr 2009, 04:09 am »

But those are not the prestige drivers. Shouldn't it be "Excelsior"?

Looks like a killer configuration, whats the price?
The news page says you're gonna add all the new designs to the site but none are there yet..I hope its not one of those projects that get postponed till they're forgotten.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Apr 2009, 06:19 pm »

Quote from: chrismercurio on 17 Apr 2009, 06:14 pm

Those look great. How much are they? Base price anyway...

$2,100/pr.

Includes deluxe crossovers, composite damping material, and shipping. This is an introductory price and these easily could retail for 2-3 times; in fact, I recently came across a 2-way using the same woofer (only one woofer per side) for $7,000/pair. We can do custom veneers as well, $2,600-$2,800/pair.

djdube525 · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Apr 2009, 09:40 pm »

Curious... for a home theater application... how would you compare these for mains/centers vs Tanzanites/Sardonyx combo?

rahimlee54 · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Apr 2009, 09:56 pm »

Those probably sound even better than they look, I should really ride that way sometime and check out your shop.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Apr 2009, 11:58 pm »

Quote from: djdube525 on 18 Apr 2009, 09:40 pm

Curious... for a home theater application... how would you compare these for mains/centers vs Tanzanites/Sardonyx combo?

Better than the Tanzanite for L/R and fine for a center if placed vertically.

AvFan · « **Reply #9 on:** 19 Apr 2009, 08:08 pm »

Rick: The Prestigio looks really nice and verrry tempting. I'm looking forward to reviewing the nearfield measurements. If I plan to use these with a subwoofer would you recommend the sealed version? Are you planning to offer these in kit form and if so, what would be the cost? Also, not so long ago you introduced the Garnet MTM. I know it is subjective, but how would you compare the Garnet and Prestigio? Is it as simple as whether someone prefers a ribbon or dome tweeter? And how would you describe the difference between the Prestigio's metal mid-range drivers and the ceramic ones in the Garnet? Thanks!

Rick Craig · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 Apr 2009, 01:51 pm »

Quote from: AvFan on 19 Apr 2009, 08:08 pm

Rick: The Prestigio looks really nice and verrry tempting. I'm looking forward to reviewing the nearfield measurements. If I plan to use these with a subwoofer would you recommend the sealed version? Are you planning to offer these in kit form and if so, what would be the cost? Also, not so long ago you introduced the Garnet MTM. I know it is subjective, but how would you compare the Garnet and Prestigio? Is it as simple as whether someone prefers a ribbon or dome tweeter? And how would you describe the difference between the Prestigio's metal mid-range drivers and the ceramic ones in the Garnet? Thanks!

Here's the sealed box response curve...

This is -3db @75hz and -10db @41hz. Perfect for crossing to a subwoofer at 80hz. If you need a lower crossover point (50-60hz) you can go ported (nearfield measurements coming later). The ported version is a good option for combination music/HT systems where the owner prefers to run some (or all) music without a subwoofer. Most of our subwoofer customers tend to run sealed monitors because are subs work great with both music and HT.

It's difficult to compare the Garnet and Prestigio without hearing them side-by-side. I can say that the Prestigio is a better overall speaker but not by a huge margin. The Seas motor and suspension are superior to the Accuton and running ported full-range the Seas is the clear winner (bass dynamics and extension). Midrange quality is exceptional for both - probably a tossup there. I tend to prefer ribbons and overall the RAAL is better to me for detail and it has superior horizontal dispersion.

The 70-20XR tweeter is for OEM use so I won't be offering this in a kit. If you look at the driver cost you'll see that the assembled speaker is actually not more than what a kit would cost; in fact, this may have the highest percentage of parts cost versus selling price of any high end speaker on the market. I did a review of another MTM in the same price range and the parts content cost was a fraction of the Prestigio. Simply put, this is a lotta speaker for the $.

chrismercurio · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 Apr 2009, 04:35 pm »

Rick,

These look outstanding. What is the overall sensitivity 1w/1m?

Best,

Chris

cadobhuk · « **Reply #12 on:** 20 Apr 2009, 04:58 pm »

So is this the "extreme MTM monitor" that was mentioned before?
Is the amorphous core an option for the tweeter?
I gotta say it's an overall insane product at that price and if more people knew whats worth what in audio, there'd be a thousand orders already placed on these by now.

obiwan11 · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 Apr 2009, 09:42 pm »

Wow, I didn't realise this was the 70-20XR, assumed it was the 70-10. Certainly makes more sense to use the 70-20 in an MTM. That sounds like excellent value for money, even with our (aussie) bad exchange rate at the moment.

Scanspeakguy11 · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 Apr 2009, 10:04 pm »

Rick,

Just curious on a couple things:

1) Why is the tweeter not flush mounted?

2) How does the w16 mag cone compare to the 15w revelators? Both have the surround closer to the flange and both have approximately 95 sqcm of surface area? The revelator clearly beats the w15 mag cone in bass, does the w16 come close to the ScanSpeak in bass?

Thanks,

Jake

ttan98 · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 Apr 2009, 11:52 pm »

High quality drivers, well designed crossover and cabinet equals to good to excellent sounding speakers, unfortunately the price is high too.

Possibly a challenge would be using low to mid-priced drivers, equally well designed crossover and cabinet equal a more competitive priced speakers that will sound good too.

I am sure you(Rick) have done both.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Apr 2009, 12:49 am »

Quote from: chrismercurio on 20 Apr 2009, 04:35 pm

Rick,

These look outstanding. What is the overall sensitivity 1w/1m?

Best,

Chris

88db.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #17 on:** 21 Apr 2009, 01:59 am »

Quote from: cadobhuk on 20 Apr 2009, 04:58 pm

So is this the "extreme MTM monitor" that was mentioned before?
Is the amorphous core an option for the tweeter?
I gotta say it's an overall insane product at that price and if more people knew whats worth what in audio, there'd be a thousand orders already placed on these by now.

Yes, to the extreme.

The AM core is an option.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #18 on:** 21 Apr 2009, 02:12 am »

Quote from: Scanspeakguy11 on 20 Apr 2009, 10:04 pm

Rick,

Just curious on a couple things:

1) Why is the tweeter not flush mounted?

2) How does the w16 mag cone compare to the 15w revelators? Both have the surround closer to the flange and both have approximately 95 sqcm of surface area? The revelator clearly beats the w15 mag cone in bass, does the w16 come close to the ScanSpeak in bass?

Thanks,

Jake

The tweeter frame is designed to be surface-mounted and isn't very thick (though quite stiff). The tweeter response curves are exceptionally flat so there are no diffraction issues. The W16 has a larger surface area and competes very well with the Scans.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #19 on:** 21 Apr 2009, 02:18 am »

Quote from: ttan98 on 20 Apr 2009, 11:52 pm

High quality drivers, well designed crossover and cabinet equals to good to excellent sounding speakers, unfortunately the price is high too.

Possibly a challenge would be using low to mid-priced drivers, equally well designed crossover and cabinet equal a more competitive priced speakers that will sound good too.

I am sure you(Rick) have done both.

Sure it can be done - I do it all the time.