I will do!
However I am away all week so will not be delivered until March 3rd.
Both excited and nervous at the same time! |
Did you ever say which maggies you have? If so, I missed it.
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Living Audiophilia vicariously through Uberwaltz.
It's a lot of fun, and on someone else's dime, very cost effective. 8^0
Go Kevin Go
Damn, wish you got the ET LFT8's ......(in your neck of the woods).
The only speakers I regretted selling among-st my Speaker Harem.
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Chris
At the price shipped I could not refuse!
Plus Clayton said there was a 60 day return policy to boot so if I really hate them all it's going to cost is return shipping.
The lft8 were( are) still tempting but you have to draw a line in the Sand somewhere. |
Uber congrats and looking forward to your impressions! Enjoy the agony of anticipation!
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How fun :-) I think Uber in Floridian = fast! |
Tomic
Shhhhh
Dont tell Slaw!
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I guess you missed my question above? |
Oz
Sorry busy week at work.
As I said they are just the baby Maggies, the MMGi which cost me the princely sum of $450 shipped as dealer demo open box.
Part of my reason for looking around is still the fact that its hard to believe a mere $450 could be the ultimate end game in my room although they handily beat out near 9k box speakers .
I guess we will see next week....
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@uberwaltz
"At the price shipped I could not refuse!
Plus Clayton said there was a 60 day return policy to boot so if I really hate them all it’s going to cost is return shipping." Be careful with Clayton if you decide to send them back, which I did. They arrived at his location damaged on Dec. 10th and I’m still fighting with him to get reimbursed. It wasn’t exactly his top priority to open an insurance claim and to manage it as he had my $2950 and what he called "my" speakers. My only recourse was to open a billing dispute through my credit card and they issued me a provisional refund. He has until March 17th to respond. Who knows if I’ll ever see my money again. As for the speakers, I knew the second I plugged them in that I hated them. I know there is a lot of hype on this brand at the moment and I’m sure folks are really enjoying them. But this experience really hit home that I will NEVER purchase speakers that I have not directly auditioned AND I will NEVER ship speakers ever again. If I purchase a set of speakers through a dealer they will handle shipping and I will pick them up. No more direct to consumer for me. Too much risk. |
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Audionoobie.
Appreciate your concern but if I do Return I would be shipping and paying for shipping via my FedEx account.
Meaning I would be the shipper and insurer so I would be the one to initiate any claims if it came to it.
Bought many online HiFi purchases and only had one arrived damaged which was successfully claimed and resolved.
Right now I am not expecting to need to return......
😎😎 |
I have a friend that had MMGs many years ago. He graduated to MG12s, then left the Magnepan world. I will say that the MMGs do a lot of things right and are an absolute steal for the $$. But I also think if you like that sound, the M3 will give you more of it along with other benefits too. I am expecting you to like them a lot.
Oz
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Oooh other benefits! That phrase always makes me feel like a product will also make me look thinner or have more hair. :D
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Audionoobie,
"As for the speakers, I knew the second I plugged them in that I hated them."
What did you not like about them? Do you have experience with magneplanars or any open baffle/dipole, etc?
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@uberwaltz
I've owned M3 TS's and then M3 TM's for four years now and they are a speaker you should enjoy. One word of advice though is to not get to caught up in their efficiency ratings as I've found that the difference between what will work and what is actually necessary to be quite different things. If you really want them to sing they will need the horsepower you have available.
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Jackd
I have no intention of trying them with a smaller valve amp for sure.
Too much is never enough and the BAT should make them sing for their supper!
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Had u been just ever so slight slower on the trigger
or if I had treated my response like jump shooting ducks, I would have very very very strongly advocated for Eminent Technology panels....
imo u owe those a fair shot..... |
Bruces's shop is less than 10 miles from my house and I haven't stopped by to listen to his speakers in many years. Need to get around to it though. |
In a slightly different context than the OP, I went from Martin Logan Odysseys to the Spatial X3’s, with a brief Ohm Walsh 2000 stop in-between. The Ohm’s are nice, especially for the price. In terms of the X3’s efficiency, and my listening room is fairly small, I use a Graaf GM 20 OTL to drive them and it does so to much higher levels than I can stand for extended periods of time, and sounds great great in the process. I switched from the Logans as space was a consideration (from the room in our last house), not because I didn’t like the speakers. That said, I like these Spatials very much, they work perfect for my space and sound great.
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Ahh, a fellow X3 owner. I’m a happy camper with mine as well.
Not to hijack the thread, but how many hours do you have on them?
Oz
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I have owned the LFT8's and they are in my opinion a better design speaker than the Maggies that I have heard (.7', 1.7i and 1.6). The biggest reason for liking them more was they sound great at low levels and they respond very well to tube amplification. I cannot own a speaker I need to crank to sound open. That is something that I require from a speaker design. They also have much more Dynamic bass.
I owned the LFT's for 12 years. I do miss them actually, but now I own the Spatial TM. I can say the LFT's beat the Spatials in upper bass resolution and soundstage height from what I remember. Otherwise the Spatials work better in my room. Overall I feel I like them both equally. |
re: LFT8’s
If he did pursue them to inquire more - I think there is no way that Kevin would have been able to endure the 4-6 week backlog on orders. Someone correct me if it is less.
Audiophile anticipation once a decision to go in a direction is made, can not be stopped. It is a force of human nature that knows no bounds. JMO |
4 to 6 weeks wait....
😱😱😱😱😱 |
@uberwaltz
I own the Spatial M3 TMs and really like them. My room is 10.5’ x 14’ and currently have them positioned on the short wall. They are about 30” off the back wall and I have them toed in toward the MLP.
I added two Rythmik sealed subs and have them crossed at 50-55Hz. Works really well in my room. I am driving them with a First Watt J2 amp as they don’t need much power at all.
Will be interested to hear how they work for you.
Nick
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I had my F-12G's crossed at 37.5 hz and that was more than enough bottom end support in my 22' x 26' room and my M3TM's were 36" from the back wall. |
I am expecting them to arrive Wednesday next week and will be straight into the system.
Will start with them in same position as the Maggie's.
Question for M3 owners.
How do you have them standing?
I mean on spikes or iso footers of some sort?
My Maggie's sit on 16*16*2 maple blocks that are subsequently spiked to the thick rug that sits over the tiled solid concrete floor.
Start with same or? |
4 to 6 weeks wait....
😱😱😱😱😱
I thought Clayton had a demo pair ready to ship? Why the wait? For the same price you could buy the pair that MorganC has on Audio Circle. Oz |
Ozzy
Sorry that reply was my sarcastic reply to Chris post above it as he knows me too well with patience level of zero.
That wait time was for the ET speakers.
Mine will be here Wednesday 😁😊 |
I owned Maggie 1.7i's and just received my new X5's. I'm still breaking them in but the dynamics and bass are better. The AMT driver is very detailed, yet smooth. The DSP and N Core amp handling the bass are a big plus as now my amps simply have to handle from 90 hertz and up. Very nice upgrade.
For those considering EP, remember that these speakers are basically unchanged since Clayton sold to Underwood in 2009. Clayton has gone through 4 generations of speakers and changes since then. Also, I see people recommending the m3 turbos and masters. Those have been replaced by the M3 and M5 Sapphires. I heard the M3's at a show last fall and they are an excellent speaker (one of the best rooms in the show) with the Linear Tube Audio ZOTL10, Lampizator Amber 3, and wired with Anticables. The entire system was going for $9999. Incredible value. |
Your X5s will sound drastically better with more hours. My X3s continued to noticeably break in well over the 300 hour mark. If you think they sound good now, just wait......
Oz
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I have my Spatial TM's spiked into Aurio Ball Bearing Devices. Better imaging compared to spikes and the plastic feet they come with. |
Had several pairs of Maggies. Due
to a down size I needed a speaker for a 12X13 room. Tried the .7s , did not cut it in the room ,with low tube the power. I have Manley Stingray. Went with the Spatial M5's and love them. It took me two years to find something to replace the Maggies ; I had MG II 's with high power in large room. The Spatials and Manley are a delightful combo. |
Ozzy62, I only have about 40 - 50 hours so far. I imagine they will improve as time goes on. |
Ozzy62, also as your X3's broke in, what did you notice in the bass area? The bass seems very natural sounding, not hyped at all as is. Wondering if it develops a little more "push" as time goes on. More like in a rock/kick drum context.........
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I think they're pretty great. I've got X2's. I've
owned many speakers over the years, these pretty much do it all. I'll need to sell them soon as I'm losing my listening room, but they're really keepers. They need some space around them to come alive, but what a big, alive sound they produce. Plenty of nuance and subtlety too. Clayton has been great with me. |
The bass of the X3 is definitely an area that improves with hours. The definition is there from the start, but the impact and depth come later.
Oz |
I had a loved a pair of apogee stages for 15 years until a bass ribbon failure in 2006. To make a long story short, after doing “OK” with a pair of B&W 700 floor standers, I heard a pair of Spatial M3 triode masters at the Bay Area audio show. Bought them immediately. They do have the general feel of the apogee stages but are so easy to drive and much easier to position. Love them. I drive them with a vintage MC-225 in a roughly 15 X 15 room and filling the space is not a problem. I am now thinking seriously of the Spatial X5. |
For this sort of money, and enough space for planars, you owe it to yourself to checkout the Sanders Sound hybrids - electrostatic midrange and treble, transmission line bass, bi-amped with the bass amp included. The electronic cross-over includes room equalization. They sound like the original Quad ELS speakers only with real bass and very high power handling. Much cleaner than Maggie’s or Walsh or anything else. He sells direct with a money back guarantee, and with a lifetime warranty that he actually honors.
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@rolanda
Those speakers are $17,000...that's a huge difference from the price of the Spatial TM's. ($2000 demo model) |
uberwaltz
I have a few questions for you. Which Maggies do you have now, what is you budget, how big is your room and what amp to you have? Those are all important questions.
I had a pair of 3.7i's for 3 years and I thought they were a very special speaker, but, like all audiophiles, we get the urge to get something better/different and I sold them and bought a pair of Audio Physic Classic 30's that I got a great deal on that I couldn't pass up. My friend was the rep for Audio Physic had a demo pair that he was willing to sell me at half of retail with full warranty so I bought them. They were a very nice speaker and they did some things better than the Maggies but I just started to realize that the Maggies are something special. That true ribbon tweeter is one of the best tweeters I have ever heard and Magnepan has finally figured out how to blend that tweeter with that incredible midrange panel so you can't tell were the midrange stops and the tweeter starts and the bass blends beautifully as well. Sure, you need a bigger room and a really good high current amp to fully realize what they are capable of but when all that is in place, they are a huge bargain.
There is a speaker that a lot of audiophiles seem to overlook (not sure why) that just sound amazing. I would strongly suggest that you look into them. The name is Eminent Technology and the model # is LFT8B. If you are lucky enough to have a dealer in your area (there are very few dealers) who has a pair set up properly that you can go listen to you won't believe what you're hearing. They retail for $2500.00 pair. I have them and I honestly prefer them over the Maggie 3.7i's, they are that good. Don't let the price fool you. The fact that they sell for $2500.00 a pair is nothing short of a miracle.
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Scot
I already decided on the M3 Triode but the LFT were a close second and have many champions here as well.
Maybe I made the wrong choice but we will soon see.
And if it comes down to it ET factory is only about a 2 hour drive away....... |
@scothurwitz, the LFT-8b is overlooked for a couple of reasons. 1- Eminent Technology has very few dealers (compared to Magnepan). 2- ET doesn’t advertise, not playing the ads-for-reviews game. In spite of that, the speaker has received a number of rave reviews (Robert Greene in TAS, a couple in UK mags). A big fan of the LFT-8b is VPI’s Harry Weisfeld, who proclaimed it to have the best midrange he has ever heard, in any loudspeaker, at any price. I assume he has heard the original Quad ;-) . But like other products in hi-fi, some are trendy, some aren’t. Maggies are, ET’s aren’t. I compared the LFT-8b to the MG1.7i, and the difference was dramatic (I haven’t heard the 3.7i, but own Tympani T-IVa’s). I can only assume 1.7i owners have never heard the LFT-8b. The LFT-8 has a much friendlier impedance curve than do Maggies, the magnetic-planar panels being 11 ohms (nice for tube amp lovers), the complete speaker 8. Like Maggies, insensitive/inefficient, but Maggies soak up far more power. I don’t want sound negative towards Magnepan (VERY high value loudspeakers imo), but the ET LFT magnetic-planar driver is a far better designed and built driver than Magnepan’s single-ended m-p drivers. Push/pull (magnets on both sides of the Mylar), vapor-deposited low mass foil conductors (in comparison to the wire conductors glued onto Maggies’ Mylar), and stiff metal frames keeping the magnets in place (Maggies have no such frames). The LFT-8b isn’t pretty, but the music it makes sure is. So is the price! |
Did those speakers come Uber? |
Thursday now Ozzy.
I hate waiting... Lol |
Very disappointing
No speakers, no tracking information, no email contact from Clayton.
Bummer!
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All this time I thought you had a tracking number, since you were saying you expected it on Wed. Can't you call him? (Clayton) |
No tracking number but I took Clayton at his word that was shipping Fri ( last week) as we agreed. So knowing location and FedEx shipping times very well I expected Wednesday, then when did not show possible delay and Thursday.
However since Wednesday there has been no email response.
I try not to bug anyone by phone nowadays but may have to tomorrow if no response.
My rebuilt zx7 made it from northern California shipped last Friday to be here Wednesday morning just for an example.
Oh well it will all work out, not worried just a little disappointed as dying to hear them in my system! |
Well flip.
Clayton just replied and not even shipped yet... Swamped were his words.
Hopes to ship tomorrow......
Guess that's what I get for assume.
☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️ |
I have my M3 Turbo S's on their spikes on a thick rug over a wooden floor on a concrete basement foundation. The important thing is that the compression tweeter is at level for me. I was thinking of resting each speaker on a stone/marble or a hardwood slab, but that would elevate the tweeters.
Of course, I could then put my listening love seat on 2x4 blocks - which I did with my Acoustic Zen Adagios.
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