spatial audio m3 or tekton perfect set

Happy Spatial M3 Turbo S owner here. The open baffle design creates an an amazing sound stage. More info on what you're looking to achieve with the upgrade would help. If you have any specific questions on the M3, fire away. I feel these will be easy to find used once the X5 and X3 get released as owners look to move up the Spatial line.

The Tekton Perfect Set 15 is on my short list for my 2nd (home office) system. I'm mainly waiting until more reviews are available. Given the number of happy Tekton owners, they look like a solid bet for my needs in this system.

@gochurchgo,

most of my critical listening is jazz based, but that includes artists like Ron Carter. 

Bass heavy recordings in my collection include Jill Scott, Eryka Badu, Tool, and rap artists like Talib Kweli.

I am running dual 15” sealed subs in my system which are eq’d with an SVS AS-EQ1, a discontinued but invaluable piece of equipment.

I have tried the M3s with subs out of the system, and in my room the low end was missed. But, I have a terrible room for bass. Small in dimensions, huge in volume due to a 2 story height, and also open to the rest of the house. I’ve run the dual subs with every speaker pair I’ve owned.

It sounds like you might prefer the M3 with some sub reinforcement, or at least eq or tone controls. They don’t do deep bass in large rooms, but they’re strong in areas like soundstage and in creating a “live” sound that I find addicting.

let me know if I can help with any other questions.

@gochurchgo, you might want to look into Tekton's offerings. While I haven't heard them personally, there is no shortage of positive reviews in their lineup.
If used/semi vintage towers are in the running, consider a pair of KEF R107s. I've owned this speaker for 5 years and thought it would be the last one I would own...but it turns out I'm a fickle DINK. :-) These towers (when used with the required KUBE equalizer) create incredible bass with a quad of 10" drivers in a bandpass configuration. This pair I could easily drive without subs and have all the tuneable bass needed. Restored pairs with KUBE could be had for 2k or less. You would need to run separates, or an integrated with PRE OUT/AMP IN jacks in order to use the KUBE EQ.

@dvdboulet
If you haven't yet, you might want to check out the Spatial forum over at audiocircle. Reports on the X5 and X3 are starting to trickle in there.
People who've heard both the new M and X series state the AMT driver offers more controlled directivity (like the old M3's point source nature), where the sapphire dome is more widespread and potentially offering a wider sweet spot. Surprising to me is that people specifically mention the great bass response in the M3 Sapphire where one review I read on the X3 mentioned subs could be a requirement for bass lovers.

The X5 was going to be my next speaker until I lucked into a great deal on the Tannoy Legacy Arden. I only mention the Arden since you're interested in bass. This speaker allowed me to take (2) 15" sealed subs out of my system. They offer an acoustic weight that I've not gotten out of any other speaker in my home.

Best of luck with the Spatial research, Clayton has some amazing engineering talent.