As a 30 + year card carrying member of hi-end, including 4 years as a dealer, I have owned many speakers alternating between box (monkey coffins: MCs) and OB. IMHO, one can get significantly more sound for their money with OB, that is if it is done right: My first OB was; Accoustat 2+2s with both interfaces and servo amps, which I much preferred, several monkey coffins later, Genesis Vs with servo sub, Scaena entry level (6ft towers, IMO the best MC: msrp $9000),OBs of late; Magnepan 3.5Rs (tried everything, but no bueno), a couple others but for 3+ years now Emerald Physics 3.4s single 12" woofer with 1" concentric polyester tweeter with OUTBOARD XOs- which eliminate vibration from being in or on the baffle/base (and it's there where, IMHO, I think the Caladans will fall short). BUT fairly easy to correct but for $3000ish, forgetaboutit. And likely someone will come up with a kick=ass outboard XO to bypass being on the baffle
Most of all, I am excited for all the preorders, as my journey has consistently proven OBs are very special
HTH
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@knock1 Not sure what you're concerned about- the OP expressed concern about ordering the speakers and getting no response/no purchase confirmation for two weeks. I commented that getting no confirmation, no acknowledgement of the order should be concerning as its not typical (despite other well intentioned members commenting that they "heard" that parts had just come in and that the OEM has a good reputation etc. IMO there was reason to start wondering what was going on.
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@speedthrills Why are you the most concerned in here about the subject, not even dealing with Clayton's company?
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@cycles2
I don’t have a dog in this fight since I have no intention of buying a pair of these speakers. That said I did buy X3s from Clayton a few years ago, which are long gone now. The transaction was trouble free and I believe Clayton to be a stand up guy. Unless I’m completely wrong here, I think anyone placing an order will receive what they paid for.
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@roxy54 with regard to the caps it was unintentional, I didnt catch that the caps lock was on…tx
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@ozzy62 @speedthrills You need to fully read the posts. Speedthrills clearly mentions the coincidence of @whiteknee hearing from Clayton after posting to this forum.
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Having a receipt after a significant cc charge should be expected, not sure if email confirmation is the same. Glad it worked out
Long lead times were common from Covid supply chain problems. Many manufacturers were affected. Long lead times. Probably much better nowadays.
Congrats on your Caladan speaker purchase - they seem like a very rare sonic bargain
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I have heard from a good source that Clayton is contracting with Spatial Audio to fabricate the baffles and assemble the Caladans. Spatial has the equipment, a trained and experienced crew, and lots of capacity. This is a good thing for both Clayton and for Spatial. I suspect that they are awaiting delivery of a component or two, but once they start to roll, things should go smoothly.
I, too, have had my card charged, but I’ve been able to get to know Clayton over the years (I bought the original M3s, the Sapphire M3s, and now the Caladans). I’ve been to his shops, and he even personally delivered the Sapphires to my home. I have complete trust and confidence in Clayton. He’s solid. Though I’m anxious to get my hands on the Caladans, I’m taking the view that patience is a virtue and in due time I will be amply rewarded!
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Within 30 minutes of the NRD review, I called Clayton to inquire. He returned my call 3 days later and I ordered. He said I would be in the Nov. que. My credit card has not been charged. I'm fully confident Clayton will come through. He has spent his whole life earning a great reputation. Why would he sabotage that?
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I just realized that the only thing more annoying than all caps is all bold. Very aggressive.
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My order also was confirmed as from "Spatial Audio", and I've yet to receive any confirmation from Clayton Shaw the company. My assumption is that the video caused an overwhelming response, and an influx of orders. Not concerned at this point, but would be nice to have an update at least
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@ozzy62 Little tip back- I did read the entire post and I commented that it was more than a coincidence that only when the OP made the post was he then contacted about his order and the vague "problem with our credit card provider" for them not providing order confirmation. The credit card processor just processes the transaction- which in the case of an out of stock item is NOT supposed to charge in full for the transaction- and the actual seller should be sending a "Thanks for your order, your product will take us two weeks to complete and ship and we'll provide shipping and tracking information when it ships" email to the purchaser. Sketchy process so far and one that the buyer has every right to be both cautious and proactive with.
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@speedthrills
Little tip. It’s best to read the entire thread before you post. He has already received communication from Clayton.
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You should feel nervous- I would. And posters below "assuring you" that all's well and "trust" and "they're sure that everything's fine" are well intentioned but uninformed and don't know anymore than you do. Not getting any response for your order and no communication isn't confidence inspiring. You more than likely got the call from them based an them reading your post right, too much of a coincidence otherwise right? Credit card orders are typically not supposed to be charged in full until an ordered produict ships by the way...hope it plays out in your favor eventually but let us all know.
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Thanks for the reply. I certainly will provide an update, probably in the March timeframe, after they arrive and I’ve had a chance to listen to them with my various tube/ss electronics and room setups.
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You know, yeah Clayton’s new endeavor may be a small shop with limited resources to answer calls etc. (especially after CAF), but the man obviously knows what he’s doing and feels he has something else to say that I find really intriguing given where he came from. Plus, he’s not a newcomer and has an established reputation to protect in the audiophile community so screwing people over is likely not in his business model and certainly not in his best interest. Last, I know there’s at least one review scheduled from an established reviewer, and my money says it’s gonna be waaay positive and prolly use the word “bargain” on steroids so you’ll be happy you got your order in before that review goes live. Take a deep breath and believe — you gonna be rewarded greatly and I’m more than a bit jealous as I’ve hugely enjoyed the Spatial demos at shows and always thought they were among the best in show, especially considering cost. Congrats and please follow up with your impressions if you could.
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So Clayton called me back this evening to let me know that he had my order. There was a snafu with the company that processes the credit card receipts. Seems like all is good for now. They are not building any units yet. He says probably in a week or so when the baffles arrive. Fingers crossed.
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Maybe they're out of business! (psych)
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Last I read on Audio Circle Spatial posted they just received palettes of parts to start assembly. Don't know if that means they are building them or what.
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