A couple of people have asked me about the Sasons in addition to and/or compared to the Adagios. Below is a copy-and-paste of an email I sent to someone this morning.
I'm sure I'll get flamed for my assertion that the Sason "might be the best speaker on the planet" but based on my experience (which, admittedly, isn't as vast as many on a'gon) I believe the Sasons may be the best speaker (to my ears) because they sound less like a speaker and more like life than any other speaker I've ever heard - and by a wide margin.
One note on the Sasons before I copy and paste: the pair I heard were in a very small room (maybe 12x10x8) and only had 60 hours on them, so they were nowhere even close to broken in. I think the Adagios I heard only had 100 hours on them or so. The bass response on the Adagios may get even better with more time on them, and the bass was already surprisingly good, as I may have written before.
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I'm happy to tell you what I think of the speakers. Both speakers have such distinctive strengths that I don't think opinions could vary much as to the character of the speakers, although some people may prefer one over the other.
As background, let me say first I currently own nOrh mini 9.0's with the Murphy-designed optimal crossover, hand-build with the best components available by Jim Salk. The nOrhs are known for their fantastic mid-bass, soundstaging, and imaging. I've not found a speaker (of any kind) at $5k or less that I like better overall than my nOrhs (although I've found several that I'd take over a stock pair of nOrhs in a heartbeat.) The only exception to that statement might be the Adagios.
Let me start by saying the Sason is unlike any other speaker I've ever heard. I've not heard Maggies, but I've heard Conrad Johnson and Martin Logan speakers plus a host of dynamic driver and line array speakers, and the Sason doesn't sound remotely like *any* of them. There's so much air, and the image is so holographic, it's eerie. I've listened to several speakers that people say "convey a sense of air" and they all still sound generally like other speakers, just a little better at instrument separation. The Sasons are so much better at separation and air that it can't even be compared with any other speaker that I've heard. I listened to some $100k McInosh line arrays the same day I heard the Sasons, and let me tell you, the Sasons are almost as good, and even better in terms of air, soundstage, and space. I haven't heard the $20k monitors that people say the Sasons can compete with, but after hearing floorstanders that range from $500 to a hundred thousand, I find myself seriously doubting there is another speaker in existence that can compete with the Sasons in terms of soundstaging and "air" or separation of instruments/performers.
The only concern I have with the Sason is the pair I heard only had 60 hours on it. I believe Rob and Steve are using highly-modified Scanspeak drivers, which are notorious for taking hundreds of hours to break in. Even the stock Scanspeak drivers in my nOrhs took probably 500 hours to get really settled in and sound like they do now. So although the air and soundstage is already presented at 60 hours on the Sasons, it sounds like you aren't getting anything below about 500Hz on them. You hear the sounds and know they are there, but it's not "right" yet. I'm sure once the Sasons break in the tweeter cools a little (not that it's really hot now, especially compared to a stock Scanspeak tweeter) and the woofer really comes to life with a tremendously rich mid-bass and bass, but that will take at least a couple hundred hours, and then they won't really be all they can be until 600 hours (which is Steve Rothermel's assertion.) I have a hunch that, due to the modifications to the drivers, it may take a bit longer than that. I have to tell you, though, that if the Sason drivers break in and sound as good tonally as my nOrhs - and they should sound even better (otherwise why modify them, unless that's the secret to the air and soundstage) - these speakers will, to my ear, be the best speakers on the planet in my experience. I fully expect that to be the case, and if it isn't I will probably return my pair and just stick with my nOrhs for now. But I doubt I'll have to return the Sasons. They're magic, plain and simple.
Now that I've gushed about the Sasons, let me do a short comparison of them with the Adagios. The Adagios have a ridiculously "clean" sounding top end. The ribbon tweeter they use bests every other tweeter I've heard (including the Sason's) in producing a clean, lightning fast top with amazing decay. High-pitch percussion, such as cymbals and triangles are perfect. Overall, the Adagios are just so fast, detailed, and transparent that I just closed my eyes, tapped my feet, and enjoyed not just music, but life. I had so much fun listening to the Adagios that I stopped listening intently for every little nuance and just enjoyed them. They're the only speaker, Sasons included, that have ever made me do that. I'll bet the Adagios mated with an REL ST-series sub would be a combination that could last a lifetime.
In conclusion, I would have to say that unless the new $7500 price tag of the Sasons doesn't bother you at all, I'd go with the Adagios. They don't do the air like the Sasons - nothing does - but the soundstage and imaging are amazing and they're the most "fun" speakers I've heard. And at $3700 (or even at the new $4300 price) they are a steal compared to their competition. If you want what might be the best overall speaker on the planet and are willing to pay $7500 for it, go with the Sasons. The Sasons will compete with anything at any price, and best almost all if not all the others, so at $7500 they're a steal. $7500 is $7500, though. That's a lot of money.
Please feel free to send me any questions you might have. I'm happy to help in whatever way I can.
Howard
