I don't remember the sizes. But they will cost you couple of grand. I just received a pair of fully rebuilt Quad ESL 57 by Quads Unlimited. I will see how these classic babies compares to the Sasons. They say the midrange of the 57s are the best. |
yup pricey but if they deliver the goods they are worth it
At some point in time I wil consider this avenue
what sizes would I need ? |
I can't tell you for sure, because I didn't get a chance to hear Sasons with other caps. But they're expensive as hell. |
no Dueland in my Sasons
Something I may consider down the road
is it worthwhile |
It's unfortunate you're so far away. I'm in Texas. Doe you have the Dueland VSF or CAST caps in your crossover? I kinda went overboard with the CAST caps and Dueland CAST resistors. The crossover per speaker weighs around 35 lbs I think. |
I reside in Toronto Canada
If you're ever in this neck of the woods give me a shout
I will look out for your pictures |
Yes I'm planning on posting pics of my system. I'm waiting for a pair of restored Quad 57. Once I get that dialed in, hopefully won't take more than a week, I'll have time take pics.
Pat, where do you live? |
Wow you have to provide pictures some day !
Or I definitely have to come by for a listen
Enjoy
Pat |
Hi Pat, finally dialed them in...about 12 feet 3 inches into the room, about 40 inches from side wall to tweeter, and 2.5 inches toe in. I use a laser distance measuring device. I'm sitting about 2 feet from the back wall in my 22 feet long room. I have enough acoustic treatment along the back wall, with both diffusors and absorbers, to tame the annoying directly reflected sound from the back wall and tame the bass boom inevitable near the back wall. It's the best sound I've gotten in my two years of experimenting. It's amazing the kind of soundstaging/imaging and clean/extended bass you can get from these speakers. Having them 7 to 9 feet into the room just didn't take full advantage of what these speakers can do.
I have carpeted suspended wood floor on 2nd story of my home. It is impractical to use the supplied spikes, because I need to move the speakers once in awhile to have access to the attic. I am using Herbie Audio Labs Giant gliders (4 per speaker). As you know, each speaker weighs over 220 lbs with the stands, and even with the gliders I have trouble moving them around...the gliders tend to slip off the base. It takes awhile for the speakers to physically "settle" into the carpeted floor every time they're moved into new position.
I'm trying to achieve not just excellent sound but also an aesthetically pleasing listening room with the room treatments and components. |
13 feet only in my dreams !
I'm sure it sounds great
Are you using the supplied spikes or any other footer on the sasons ? |
Pat, I tried further experimenting with speaker placement 7 to 9 feet away from the wall behind the speakers. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound as good having them about 13 feet out. I get a little more detail, but the energy/drive is gone and the sound staging collapses more. It's just less engaging. Hmm....I think I will place a may be around 12.5 feet and fiddle with the absorbers and diffuser more to see if I can get a better balance. At 13 feet, I was sitting to close to the back wall. I've noticed in my room, several inches can make a significant difference. |
Looking forward to seeing pics of the completed
room thanks for the input
Enjoy your system(s) |
Hi Pat, my speakers are about 3 feet from side wall (wall to tweeter). I don't have any pics yet, but will post when all room treatments are completed. Yes, the more space, the better the Sasons will sound. My Sasons will probably be between 7 to 9 feet from the wall behind them, when everything is finalized. |
I'm sort of doing my own thing
I can't have my speakers 2/3 into the room
The speakers are approx 4 feet from the back wall and I listen nearfield
I have realized these speakers need room to breath how far do you have them from the side walls
Any pics would be appreciated
Pat |
IME, the amount of room treatment required depends more on the room than the speakers. Of course, dipole speakers require different combination of treatments than monopole speakers. At this point, the soundstaging and imaging are life-like...huge when required and intimate when called for. The tonal balance is nearly perfect to my ears. Haven't yet confirmed it with sound pressure meter. I found out the sibilance on vocals were caused by slap echo/flutter in the room, not my electronics, wires, or speakers. The diffusion pretty much got rid that problem.
Yes, I saw your room. Seems like a difficult room given the irregular room shape, but sometimes that works to one's benefit.
Are you going by Roberts recommendation on speaker placement, literally 2/3 into the room with listening seat nearly against the back wall? This can give very good sound stage, but I've encountered too much problems in other areas...bass boom, flutter/echo and sibilance especially on vocals. |
Wow i'm suprised the Sasons need that much treatment
I'm a big proponent of room treatments however in my room less is more
Take a look at my system pics here on Audiogon i've used mostly absorption GIK as well
Still playing around with placement
Pat |
Hi Musicfile, I built a dedicated music room 15.5 x 22 x 10 feet. It has double sheet rock walls and two dedicated circuits for audio. Unfortunately, I had to tame some nasty room modes and slap echo. All my acoustic treatments are from GIK Acoustics. I have two corner traps stacked on top of each other (8 feet tall when stacked, 8 total) for each corner of the room. The 1st and 2nd reflection points are treated with 244 bass traps (total 4). The middle of front wall behind the speakers is a Monster bass trap. Right behind the listening chair are a Monster bass trap and Soffit trap which are placed on their sides. This really tamed a bad room mode at the listening position. Ind addition, I have 4 Grid diffusers high up on the back wall and 2 Grid diffusers on each side of the side wall high up near the back to tame bad slap echo at the listening position (i plan on adding one more on each side). Furthermore, on the front wall I have a matrix of 2 x 3 Grid diffusers (total 12) flanking the 244 bass traps. I did this because I'm planning on getting a pair of dipole electrostats.
I know this sounds pretty overboard, but you don't know what you are missing in music until your room is treated properly. The distortion caused by the room itself is so much greater than your speakers or electronics, taming room acoustics, I think, is the most important for your system. |
Dracule
I'm interested in hearing what room treatments you're using with your sason's
The speakers don't need much treatment based on my experimenting in my own room |
I'm very happy with the sound now. I'm finishing up room treatments. |
Dracule1, wondering how you like the sound of your Sason with Duelund Cast cap? |
Thanks Rubinken. I am leaning towards placing diffusers behind the speakers too. |
Dracule 1- I use two RPG Skyline diffusers behind my Sason's. As you know, you'll have to experiment with the acoustics within your own room. Enjoy the Sason's when you get them! |
Do you guys use aborption or diffusion panels behind your speakers? |
Ahh the room is the one thing in my system I would love to change ..maybe in another lifetime have a look at my system pics ..it's quite a conundrum
The Sason's do sound good though no changes in the works anytime soon just enjoying the music
It's good to hear from you again
How's sunny Seatle ? |
Greetings to you Pat! How are you doing taming the anomalies of your sound room?
As for teaching, ugh! Here in the states, sadly, weÂ’re pressured to focus on teaching rather than learning. On quantity of measurements (tests) rather than expanding the quality of thinking. Fill-in-the blank tests is the game of No Child Left Behind, which does not develop sorely needed creative problem solvers & communicators. Edumacrats could learn a thing or two from the audiophile community about how misleading it is to only look at numbers. But don't get me going... And donÂ’t let me hijack this thread, as the SasonÂ’s deserve greater recognition & exposure. |
How's the teaching going Rubinken
I thought your setup sounded familiar
Pat in Toronto |
Dracule 1, two MA9S1's drive my Sason's. The bass and pinpoint 3D staging is excellent, much better than with my Edge NL10.
For me though, I'm mostly moved by a truthful midrange- accurate timbres & subtle overtones. I'm content with the musicality/synergy of the Sason's and my aging Marantzes. Exploring music & musicians rather than hardware is my journey now. There's a point when we gotta say "good nuf" with 'da schtuff'
(As I write this, Thomas Stanko's new CD Dark Eyes is playing. Highly recommended!)
|
If you want good bass the dodd monoblocks can give you this in spades and won't break the bank if you get them used. Having heard the Sasons with both ss and tube amplification I think the Dodds match up quite well
Then again i'm biased I own a pair |
Aggielaw, holding onto speakers for 3 years is like a lifetime to some audiophiles. Congradulations. I hope I will enjoy my Sasons as much as some of you. Seems like you like the McCormacks for amplification. Is this what you settled on after auditioning other amps? If so what were they? |
Rubinken, I think the MA9S2 has been supplanted by the Jones Audio amp ($19k, yikes) that was just reviewed on 10audio site. The Marantzes are beautiful, and I'm sure they kick ass driving the Sasons. But again those are some expensive electronics. My custom mono amps were over $6k and to me that's pushing it. I'm always interested to hear how the Sasons compare to other speakers. Are you driving the Sasons with the MA9S1s? How deep and punch is the bass with them? |
I've had my Sason's for about two years. They were the first pair built with outside xover etc. I'm totally enjoying them. In my opinion they outperform my original wood Avalon Monitors and SF Guarneri Homage. Image superbly.
fwiw, they sound phenomenal with the relatively unknown Marantz Reference stack, the MA9S1 mono amps and SC1 preamp. (If you're curious you can read about the updated "2" Marantz stack, which is used now as reference electronics at 10audio http://www.10audio.com/marantz_ma-9s2.htm ) |
I've had mine for 3 years now, and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. |
I heard the Atmaspheres are great with the Sasons but the price is steep...Sigh..may be one day. Is it just me or do people have problem spending more money on the amps than the speakers? |
The best i've heard the sasons paired with is with Atmasphere amps
The synergy between them is really something special |
They perform very well, but I have desires to try out some others. I am switching to a Luxman L-509a II integrated amp. The speakers sounded better at the show I heard them at than I have duplicated at home, they were using Ultra Fi tubed gear. |
What is lacking about the Sasons that you want to change?
Please tell us what amp is comming and let us know how it compares to your Mac. |
Yes, I still have a desire to venture out. That said, I have new amplification that should be here tomorrow that I am curious to see how it mates. |
Hi Brian, I have 200 watt tube mono blocks that were designed by Bob Carver and Tim de Paravicini (of EAR fame) using vintage transformers. According to Bob, they sound better than the massively expensive Carver Silver Seven tube monoblocks (remember those?) and have 1 ohm tap for the Apogee Scintillas (his favorite speaker).
Saw your system thread. Are you still contemplating on replacing the Sasons? |
What amplification are you using Dracule1? |
musicfile, the new sasons are smaller, 5 inches shorter and weigh only "110" lbs, now that xcovers are in the stands. But with integrated stands they still weigh around 250 lbs afters the stands are filled with lead shot and sand as recommended. I'm glad to hear you still have your sasons. I ordered mine with dueland CAST caps, expensive but hope it will be worth it.
I will definately let Agonners know how they sound. |
I have my Sasons and thus far im happy with the sound I do wish they were smaller and lighter. |
I never heard them but please report back with your thoughts when you're ready. Good luck with your purchase - very intriguing speakers. |
