Ridge Street Audio Sason Ltd. Loudspeaker


In a recent search on the discussion forums page, I stumbled across a few bits written on the RSA Sason Ltd. Loudspeaker. I admittedly have always been partial to the simplicity of a two way design. I was intrigued, however was unfamiliar with the product, so I went to RSA’s website to investigate further. I really wasn’t prepared for the aesthetic appeal these two ways possess (they’re visually stunning). I was also pleasantly surprised to find that RSA is a two hour drive from my home.
I called Robert at RSA and had a lengthy conversation about the Sason, and became interested enough to arrange an audition. BTW, Robert and Steve at RSA are probably two of the nicest fellows and are very accommodating.
Upon arriving, I can confidently say that any photograph of the Sason’s does not even remotely do these speakers justice. They are aesthetically first rate with an exhaustive attention to detail.
The RSA listening room is 19x12x7.5. The Sason’s are placed approx. 11 feet from the wall behind them, and 3 feet from the side walls. This near field position puts your ear about 6 to 7 feet from the speaker. Once I had seen the Sason’s and listened to Robert describe some of the design philosophies, I expected a lot from this speaker, however I was not prepared for what occurred over the next 13 hours. Yes, 13 hours - did I mention that Robert and Steve are really accommodating? The first couple of hours I used RSA’s system for evaluation, which included a highly modified, moderately priced Marantz cdp running direct into a pair of Pass Aleph 30 stereo amps that were vertically bi-amping the Sason’s. The Majority of cabling was RSA’s own Alethias with one pair of Poiema!!! Signature I/C’s linking the cdp and Pass amps. I really wasn’t familiar with the sonic traits of any of these components. I did take my McCormack DNA-2 w/ SMC rev. A amplifier which I used in the system later in the day. The room had some home made acoustic treatments consisting of egg crates surrounded by a wooden frame. These were placed at first reflection points and other strategic places. The room also had a few small tapestries hanging on the walls.
Although I don’t get into detail about each cd and the tracks used for comparison, here is a list of the cd’s I used for evaluation.

Jesse Cook-Vertigo
Cowboy Junkies-The Caution Horses
Diana Krall- Live in Paris
Stanley Clarke- East River Drive
George Skaroulis- Generations
Kotaro Oshio-Starting Point
Chris Spheeris- Eros
Isreal Kamakawiwo ‘ole- Facing Future
Tracy Chapman- New Beginning

In the first few moments of listening I was amazed by the Sason’s ability to completely disappear. I can only recall one other instance where another loudspeaker disappeared to this degree, which was the Avalon Eidolon a few years back. I have to believe a lot of this is attributed to the use of the granite cabinet, which seems to remove all cabinet colorations, leaving the drivers to do their thing. While we’re on the subject of drivers, I would like to point out that the Sason’s are fast……..lightening fast. Now that I have spent some time with the Sason’s, I better understand the Free Energy concept, which is outlined on the RSA website.
The second thing I noticed about the Sason’s is their incredible ability to render the timbral accuracy of instruments. The Sason’s truly conveyed the rich, woody character of a cello. They also managed to capture the size, authoritative nature, and beauty of a grand piano. I have always thought the piano was one of the most difficult instruments to recreate, but the Sason’s get the overhang and decay of notes just right. The Sason’s also reproduce the leading attack of notes correctly, whether it be the piano, acoustic guitar, or upright bass. The rendition of female vocals was astounding and life like. The Sason’s manage to give you that realistic “in the room” interaction with the performers. When listening thru the Pass amps, I got the sense that the sidewalls of the narrow room were a minor issue, however after switching to my DNA-2 the sidewalls seemed to disappear. I did get the impression that the Sason’s could easily fill a much larger room.
The Sason’s are very balanced across the audio spectrum. The highs were some of the smoothest I’ve heard. The upper registers were incredibly detailed, articulate, sweet and so convincing. The integration between the two drivers is superlative, and the notes seemed to hang in a three dimensional space. The midrange was superb, transparent and free from colorations, and had the ability to preserve the organic elements of instruments, which made it easy to be drawn into the presentation. The bass was tuneful, tight, fast and when called upon, visceral. I was taken back by not only the quality of bass, but the quantity of deep bass the Sason’s reproduced. They are indeed full range. I was also surprised at how dynamic these speakers are for a medium sized two way monitor.
One of my priorities has always been imaging. The Sason’s imaging capabilities are nothing short of magic. The soundstage was wide and tall, but not exaggerated. The Sason’s produced a generous amount of air and space around individual instruments, while still preserving the performance as a whole. The depth of soundstage was one of the most impressive I’ve heard. If your looking for an upfront in your face perspective, the Sason’s are probably not for you, however they don’t put you in the cheap seats either. I think they strike a nice balance between the two. These speakers seem to connect the listener in an emotional way to the performance unlike any I’ve heard. The ease and flow of music from the Sason’s allows the listener to forget about the equipment and be enveloped in musicality.
Late in the afternoon I had the opportunity to spend several hours talking with Steve Rothermel, the primary designer of the Sason. Steve was a wealth of information, and in great detail, described his design philosophies and all the technical features of his creation. Steve is very specific as to the design applications. There are no afterthoughts or band aids with his designs. As I mentioned before, there was an exhaustive attention to detail that went into designing the Sason’s.
In the past twenty years I’ve been very fortunate to have spent many listening hours with alot of great speakers. I’ve owned the Sonus Faber Amati Homage, Avalon Eclipse, Avalon Eclipse Classics, Vandersteen 3A’s, Martin Logan Quest Z’s, and currently use Magnepan 3.6r’s. I have extensively listened to Kharma’s, Genesis, Proac, Aerial Acoustics, B&W, and many other brands. There are traits I admire about all these speakers, however I can honestly say I don’t remember the last time I was so impressed with the overall sound of a speaker. If you can live without a handful of hz at the deepest bottom end, then IMHO I believe the Sason offers the complete sonic package, at least to my ears. I certainly give consideration to the fact that all listening was in an unfamiliar room with primarily unfamiliar equipment. I am looking forward to auditioning the Sason’s at my home with familiar surroundings and electronics. If last weeks experience with the Sason’s is a true indication of performance, I will more than likely be purchasing a pair as soon as my finances allow. I know I have somewhat glossed over some of the details regarding this speaker, however I am trying to keep this to a manageable length. I will do my best at trying to respond to any questions regarding my experience with the Sason’s. Happy Listening.
rhythmace4218
Thought I’d add my comments here, rather than write a new review. This past Saturday, Darrin (thread initiator, Rhythmace4218) and I drove to Laporte, IN to hear The Ridgestreet Audio Sason LTD.

Darrin and I have been good friends for the last 9 years and have both been chasing “audio nirvana” for some 20 years. Our taste in music is somewhat different, but I believe both of us have “matured” similarly in what we expect/strive for from a music system. I’ve even grown to appreciate his music tastes and he mine, though he still seems to be unable to get past Dylan’s voice (such a shame)…he’s not alone…my wife is similarly repulsed, though willingly joined me in 2006 to attend a Dylan concert (in the rain)…a fine woman and great wife if I may say so!

The Sason’s, sourced from a modified $500 Marantz CD Player direct into two stereo 30w/ch Pass Aleph 3’s, vertically biamped, are the best speakers I’ve ever listened to!! I’ve owned or listened to several SOTA level systems in the past 20 years and have never had music so convincingly communicated to me through a stereo system. Try as I might, I find it difficult to describe this experience. Language seems inadequate. I’m an engineer and in my left-brained dominated mind I fumble the words and phrases necessary to communicate this experience. I’m sure a student of literature, poetry or art would fare much better.

It’s become cliché to suggest a music system is capable of “transporting one to the live or studio event”. The Sason’s did this more convincingly than any other music system I’ve heard. And while the gap between being at a concert and hearing a concert on a system, even as extraordinary as this one, is still large, the gap between the Sason’s and the next best system I’ve listened to is almost as great. FYI…I’ve heard the US government is beta testing a true “transporter” in Roswell as I type (wouldn’t that be fun to demonstrate to your audio friends…press play and poof you’re standing in the Greenmill listening to Patricia Barber play “If this isn’t Jazz” J Until the US Government releases the technology for commercial development, the Sason’s will do me just fine!

What I experienced from Robert’s system, of which the Sason’s are certainly the centerpiece, is having the emotion of a fine performance clearly communicated to me while being mostly unaware that I was listening to this performance through a stereo system. Sure, I was aware of the space in which the recordings were made, position of performers on a 3D stage, differences in mic’ing, and screw ups in mixing and mastering to a degree I’ve never experienced before, but also, and much more importantly, the subtle phrasings and intonations that allowed me to believe I was “feeling” the artists’ state of mind too. Even though I was there to evaluate/critique the speaker (the fun, but also not so fun part of this hobby), after 10-30 seconds or so into a track, I would completely let my guard down and allow myself to be bathed in the performance. I’m not that “easy” even in my own listening room!

As you may have discerned, listening to the Sason’s was a bit revelatory for me. It was one of those experiences that make you realize that the path you are on just won’t get you to your destination. In the past, I’ve been down similar paths of incrementalism…a better amp here, more resolving source there, etc, each making significant improvements in the bass, treble, transients, micro dynamics or macro dynamics, etc, but ultimately falling short of bringing me closer to the emotional and/or artistic content of the music. It’s also why I’ve chosen not to use the typical audiophile vocabulary in my report here. Those above have done so very eloquently and I would completely agree with Darrin (Rhytmace4218), Dat1, Tedmbrady, and Ehider on most of the “audiophile particulars”. I was just plain “moved” by this experience and chose to focus on this instead. For a left brained person, an experience that lets you connect deeply with your right brain IS revelatory!

Robert and Steve…thank you for your extreme hospitality! I still can’t believe that we were there for 14 hours! Time really does fly when you’re having fun!

To anyone within a reasonable drive of northwest Indiana, you owe it to yourself to visit Robert and Steve to hear what this speaker can do. Prior to hearing the Sason’s, I would have defined “reasonable” as a drive of 4 hours one way. Now, for me anyway, it would be time and money well-spent doubling that and paying for a hotel to leave enough time to really get to hear them. I’m buying a pair!!! And to echo what Darrin said in his original review…these speakers are drop-dead gorgeous!! I’m going with the Emerald Sea granite!!!

Jordan
"...Changing hardcore LBD folk to Right Brained Dominated one at a time since 1782!"

Okay, so maybe that's not too good a slogan for RSAD.

Regardless, Steve and I want to say Thanks Jordan! for the kind words. We enjoyed your visit and I'm glad you did too.

I gotta say too that to have impacted you as you describe and you being an LBD type, this brings great satisfaction. Music certainly isn't an intellectual exercise even when we try and make it that sometimes. Since hearing one of Steve's early designs back in '88, I've come to expect more than excellent hi-fi from a playback system.

Also, being a musician, I trust I have a pretty good clue as to what it takes and what it is to connect with music on an emotional level and for me....hi-fi ain't it.

Both Steve and I are very satisfied that the Sason Ltd can set a new bar and change enthusiasts expectations of what is possible from a music system. For you and our other clients to affirm that lets us know that we're not as goofy as I wonder about us sometimes.

Meow!

Robert
RSAD
Just thought I would revive this thread to hear anyone's long-term impressions of the Sasons. I have not seen a used one offered at any time, so I would think that's a good sign.
And I have not seen any negative comments.
Thanks in advance.
Fantastic Speakers all around ..I'm off the Audio Merry Go round for good

My main focus now is expanding my music liabrary