Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Carolina Audio SM3 Speakers by airkitty

Model:	SM3
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$2000
Description:	single driver full range
Manufacturer URL:	Carolina Audio

Review by airkitty on October 04, 2010 at 18:42:55
IP Address: 68.59.22.27 Add Your Review
for the SM3

I am the proud owner of a pair of the Carolina Audio SM3. They are the best speakers I have ever owned or listened too. The speakers embody everything I want in a speaker: accurate reproduction, detailed articulation of subtle passages, wide frequency response, real dynamic capability and excellent W.A.F.. My most excellent wife actually bought the speakers for me after her audition of them. She enjoys them all the time (daily). I had the pleasure of selling mid-hi-fi stereo equipment about 20 years ago. My reference system since then were Quad ESL-63s with various tube amps (Cary, Counterpoint, Berning,???). I visited the Quads many times after I left the employee of the store and always drooled over their sonic abilities. The only two problems I had with them were: narrow zone of listening perfection and constant fear of blowing them up. I was young and wanted to be able to get the Quads to something near reference level - it was not happening for me due to the owners of the store lecturing me on the expense and lack of power handling capability of the Quads. I still dreamed of owning a pair when my ship finally came in - comical. While taking a break from chemotherapy and radiation treatments, I decided to do an internet search for transmission line speakers. The T-lines had the other parts of what I love about listening to music: dynamic capability and accurate reproduction and the ability to reveal real recorded musical details (if designed and built well). I had owned several pairs of Bud Fried's speakers: Q/3s, C3Ls, and O3 and O4 subs. My mom is still rocking the Q/3s after a surround repair. I even had the brief pleasure of owning WATTs series one I believe. OK sorry for the rambling lead up to my first visit with Ronnie of Carolina Audio. His speakers intrigued me as T-lines and he was willing to let me spend a day rocking my own music on his systems. WOW! I found the perfect blend of the Quad's and the Fried's. I went back several more times with my wife and friends. The reactions were always consistent across gender and musical taste - the speakers looked and sounded great. OK, my system is nothing to write home about: Marantz 7002 receiver, Oppo 83 Blu-Ray player, and a Hitachi VCR. The thing was this the speakers sounded awesome in my house almost exactly like they had in Ronnie's. The rooms are similar in size but floors are opposite (carpet vs hard wood) and setup for listening is also opposite (his are on the short wall and mine are on the long wall). OK, so how do they sound?
Fabulous, rich, detailed and warm at the same time. The sound stage is large and can be transformed to massive (wide and deep) with better amplification. I love these speakers. I bought a pair of used little Marantz 700 mono blocks, this is how I can say the sound stage improves with better amplification. The receiver is good but it is not mono blocks. The drivers are small (~3" or ~75mm), but combined with Ronnie's master cabinet building they sound huge. They easily fill my room with a wonderful wall of sound - amazing from this size driver. I can even turn them down to where I'm not disturbing the wife and kids while they sleep and hear every detail of the music - heaven. His company is small, his heart is large, and his design and build of my SM3 speakers was brilliant. How do you get good 50 hz reproduction from a 3" driver - talk to Ronnie at Carolina Audio. He has figured out a sonic reproduction so excellent that I'm running out of words to describe them - can you guys feel me smiling. My wife is watching tv through them now in the next room and they are clear and clean from a room away.
I'm not a pro reviewer - obviously. I appreciate any comments or feedback. I write this review as a proud owner trying to share my love of my Carolina Audio SM3.

Product Weakness:	None yet, after 10 months of ownership.
Product Strengths:	Dynamic capability, wide frequency response, easy placement, and outstanding imaging

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Marantz 7002 110 wpc
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Oppo 83
Speakers: Carolina Audio SM3
Cables/Interconnects: Carolina Audio
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Alt Rock, Jazz, classic rock
Room Size (LxWxH): ~22ft x ~11 ft x vaulted
Room Comments/Treatments: window treatments hunter douglas
Time Period/Length of Audition: 10 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Panamax
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Marantz 7002 110 wpc
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Oppo 83
Speakers:	Carolina Audio SM3
Cables/Interconnects:	Carolina Audio
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Alt Rock, Jazz, classic rock
Room Size (LxWxH):	~22ft x ~11 ft x vaulted
Room Comments/Treatments:	window treatments hunter douglas
Time Period/Length of Audition:	10 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Panamax
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner