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Re: ACI Sapphire 25th Anniversary Edition Speakers

You wrote: "What speakers would you say that these Sapphires have bested?"

I did some looking before I settled on the Sapphires IIIs. I was looking for something in the $1,000 to $2,000 range, or there abouts. Some of the speakers that I heard in that price range were from Paradigm, Dynaudio, B&W, Theil, Legacy, MagnaPlanar, Meadowlark, and Linn. I don't know if I would say that the Sapphire's bested all those speakers on some absolute basis (I don't know that I'm qualified to come to that conclusion). I can say that I purchased the Sapphire's and feel no regret. Nor do I have any desire to own any of the other speakers I audtioned over the Sapphires. The Sapphires are very competitive in the $1,000 to $2,000 price range.


You worte: "What is the minimum what one would need to make them really sing adequately. I have an 80 watt integrated..."

I have the Sapphire III's which, if I recall correctly, are rated at 91db or 92db. It appears the new Sapphires are are rated at 86db sensitivity. ACI suggested a minimum of 15 watts for the III's and is apparantly recommending about 50 watts minimum for the Anniversary Edition, which seems about right given the difference in sensitivity between the speakers.

How many watts do you need? I using 55 tube watts with the III's and have no complaints. But then again I'm not what you would call a head-banger. I also use the III's with a ACI Force sub. With the Force in the system I also use some 65Hz high pass filters to the power amplifier making it unnecessary for the power amp to work with frequecies below 65Hz. As you are most likely aware, it's the low frequencies that demand most of the power. I leave the low frequencies to the powered sub.

So,how many watts do YOU need? I'm guessing that with a powered sub and high pass filters to your amp you might do just fine.

Will 80 watts (without a sub) "really make them sing"? That's a pretty tall order. ACI has a 30 day no questions asked return policy. You could try them in your home and find out.

I can tell you from one audtion I did, not all watts are created equal. I was audtioning a pair of B&W 805's (which to my mind are somewhat similar to the III's in size and sound) driven by a 125 watt Rotel power amp and the sound was quite acceptable. The dealer then replaced the 125 watt Rotel power amp with a 125 watt Conrad-Johnson power amp. The was an undeniable improvement in ALL aspects of the sound from the 805's. I would say that the C-J amp "really made them sing". So it's not only the number of watts that's important, but the quality of the watts.

I know myself that I started running the Sapphires with a 55/channel Nakamichi Receiver which for its price and age was a good performer. But I must say that my current Sonic Frontiers equipment also rated at 55/channel out performs the Nakamichi by a considerable margin.

In general, my impression is that the Sapphires are a well behaved speaker. I would suspect that the Sapphires will deliver all the quality sound that your amplifier is able to produce. As I mentioned, with the 30 day no questions asked return policy, the Sapphires are a low risk purchase. If you don't like them, send them back.

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