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In Reply to: RE: REVIEW: Spatial Audio M3 Sapphire Speakers posted by Dr.Phil on September 08, 2020 at 20:09:17
After 6 days of playing them they have changed night and day, the woofers have opened up and become much more dynamic, deep and the midrange has gained body and the highs extended and airy. I will comment on this in a few weeks. How much change? I pulled the subs out of the system. Anyone who buys these needs to allow time for those woofers to open up, if not you will want to give up, don't they only need time in use. These are not thin or bright sounding, they are dynamic sounding, depending on your past speakers that can take some adjustment. Mid-bass has improved as the woofers loosened up. Much more output now from the lower mid-range down, but the clarity of the midrange and highs remain. I am sure these will continue to improve over the next month, so I will update this post then. So far these speakers is living up to the high expectations set by owners and reviewers, and Clayton himself. He has built a classic at a great price.
PJB
Follow Ups:
Hey DR PHIL!
This is a fantastic review - and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much.
These SPATIAL AUDIO M3 SAPPHIRE speakers appear to offer a lot for the money - not cheap, but competitive [I believe] - but there are precious few reviews available. On that basis, I am very surprised that there has not been more feedback and chatter around your excellent review here.
The M3's virtues are very well explored by you in your review - particularly in comparison to your beloved [legendary] QUAD ESLs.
Obviously, the M3s sound is different to the QUADS, so I wanted to ask you the following question:
Do you think a SPATIAL AUDIO M3 SAPPHIRE owner - hearing the QUAD ESL for the very first time - could be persuaded to "upgrade" to the QUADS?
Or are the M3s simply a better all-round proposition?
You are talking two different speakers, I can tell you a few Quad owners I know have the Spatial's and said it is the only speaker they could live with after Quads. One sold theirs as I did. The Quads center there sound wonderful, they are enjoyable to listen to, but you don't have the top and bottom of the extensions and of course, room depended on the dynamic range but having said that what they do right is dam good and better than many 20K speakers I heard while I owned them. The one strong point of the Quad is that wide launch of the music wave, from across the whole panel, so in that sense, things sound larger, not higher but more of everything in the room. I did an update on my review and tried the 4-ohm taps on my amp, and wow what an improvement, now I have what the Quads did right, but now with the added top and bottom, better imaging, and some of that larger size that makes instruments sound real, plus you don't have to worry about arcing the speakers if you drive them louder as you did with the Quads and mine were even better in that department after Electrostatic Solution did a full rebuild from the panels to the power supply and they could play loud enough for me, but a good kick drum coming in might cause the speakers to arc, with the M3's not worried what so ever, and for the 1st time I can feel the bass pressure hitting me if in the recording. Quads were great, would buy them again in a heartbeat, but I no longer miss them, the M3's do all the Quads can in many areas but now with no concerns of dynamic range peaks. I told my wife I now have peace of mind. M3's are superb.
PJB
I am a long-time Quad owner. The only other line of speakers that have made me stop & take notice were Spatials. Having heard them several times at various audio shows, I was very favorably impressed & plan to buy a pair at some point. I won't get rid of my Quads, though.
Today I finally found the best spot for the M3 in my room, after moving them in and out, closer and then further from my seat, and then after these breaking in, I wound up about where I had my Quads, and this spot when I first received them was the spot I felt the bass/Mid-Bass was lacking. Well no more. I played a big symphony Dvorak Symphony No. 7. This was one of the recordings I played on day one, so I felt this be a good one to see how far these speakers had come. Well, night and day might be a touch rich, but dam close. The weight was there now, the Tympani drum was there and the more realistic that I've ever heard it, the low rosin tone of the cellos was nicely rendered in fact the whole section was there now in full. The midrange was still very open, and alive, so the improvement in the mid-bass down did not color the midrange on up. This recording sounded like a Merurcy Living Presence should, Next, I played the same movement but now from the Cleveland Orch, under George Zell, they had their own sound, and being from Cleveland I have heard the Cleveland Orch, and this recording came across as the orch. sounds, rich full and 100% Cleveland Orch, the recording is typical for Columbia back then, a touch hot in the strings, but the M3's still gave you an enjoyable listening, even with the slight touch of the strings being hot on this recording, not the speakers.The big thing about these speakers and well any speaker is finding the right spot to make them work in your room. I had them more spread out and toed in so the hit me between my neck and shoulder. I then toed them in another 1/4" and the sound stage lock-in, but I was still feeling something was not as focused and as could be, so I walked behind my chair, about 18" and listened and sure enough, the whole presentation was lock-in and sounded like you were listening to a full-sized orch as one would live. This told me I had to pull the speakers close to getting this same imaging and sound, so 3" in for each speaker, checked toes-in and played the recordings again and bam nailed it, Speed, Dynamics, Bottom End, all there.
2nd thing I've learned depending on your seating and distance, you have to try both sizes of spikes, in my room the smaller set makes the tweeter hit me to direct and throws off the balance so more upper midrange and highs, take the spikes off and just use the cone fit that you interest the spike into brings a big improvement in presence, and dynamics, I could live with that, but I added the taller spikes and kept a lot of what I liked with no spikes, but gained in detail in the bottom end. So for now the tall spikes are my choice.
I've read where some say the vocals sound hollow, well it's not the speaker it is your setup, your tilt is off on the speaker from where you are sitting, so if you're using the short spikes, then try the taller ones, also toe-in you must play with it, so in other words, its takes no time and effort to get them right and NO different than any other good speaker.
Everything Clayton says about his speakers is a fact, we cannot hear them at a dealer so it is good to know what he says is not just a sale pitch but honest information. On top of that he willing to talk with you, and in fact called me to see how the speakers were coming along and answer some questions that I had but had no info to understand some of my concerns about toe-in and how it affects this speaker, etc. He answered every question and give me all the time I needed. The main thing he said and something he hears a lot is where the bottom end, and in almost every case they call him back in a month and said "I am glad I allowed the time to let the woofers break-in. Well, I can a test to that, add me to the list. Buy these expect a break-in period that just the nature of the beast. These speakers also do not break up as the dynamics increase, sometimes, I have to turn the volume down because they can soar as the music demands it, getting used to this dynamic range takes some getting used to. Finally, my wife says "they really sound good" that means a lot because she is not an Audiophile, she just enjoys the music, but today she said from downstairs the Cleveland Orch sounds terrific it sounds like they are in Severance Hall. (This is where they perform). Great acoustics.
A friend of mine purchased Shanahan speakers and they told him about a year, in fact, warned him, the speaker has 17 drivers, I spoke with him about mine, and he said Clayton is most likely right, his took almost a year to come into there own. So he told me also to hang in. Also, corner bass traps are a must, they are misunderstood by the general public, they don't kill bass they improve bass, Clayton suggests for me to by a 2nd pair and use them from floor to ceiling in the 2 corners behind the speaker, I may try that down the road, the pair I have now are doing just fine to my ear if it keeps getting better wow!
Well to end this, I will say those who own these know how good they are, for the money a value off the charts. I am sure over the next 2-3 weeks this will continue to improve. They love my McIntosh 400 watt, the ease and dynamics are unmatched in any speaker I've owned, perhaps my Dynaudio Confidence 5's were good in that area, but not close to the M3's. I also must note due to the size and weight these are easy to move and position by oneself in fact easy even when the spikes are on, you can toe them in and out with ease. Even moving them side to side is doable.
So if you have interest in open baffle speakers, then give Clayton a call, he will help you pick the right speaker for your room, for mine, it was the M3"s not the X-series. and he was correct. Call me one happy customer, and glad I took a chance on these speakers, hang in with them learn them, set them upright, and then sit back and enjoy for many, many years to come. The only change I may make is to add a tube preamp, just to see what tubes might add. Speakers, I think I am finished for a long time. I have 2 world-class sounding speakers now the Quads ESL 63's and the M3's. Not sure I'll keep 2 sets so I might sell the Quads and just enjoy the M3's, and let someone else enjoy my Quads who may have never heard them in their life.
Hope my feedback is helpful to folks with an interest in OB speakers. :D
PJB
Edits: 09/15/20
Update. I have been living with the M3's for several months and they have fully broken in, the bass is impactful, clean with authority when on the recording. After they had settled in I wanted to try the 4-ohm output from my McIntosh amp, I read online where that was suggested and I had not tried it due to wanting them to burn in 1st. What was so enjoyable on the 8-ohm tap, turned into another speaker using the 4-ohm output taps. Highs, midrange, bass, imaging, depth of field, soundstage, and details became more natural with more dynamics. The improvement was not shocking because I heard this once before using the Dynaudio Confidence 5's when the 4-ohm outputs were used but that was years ago and I had forgotten about that speaker. So if you have an amp that allows you to try different outputs, as all-tube amps do, and McIntosh better solid-state amps do by all means give them a try, and if you open baffle Spatial Audio speakers it is a must. Just a superb speaker.
PJB
Edits: 06/19/21
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