Spatial Audio open baffle speakers, who has them? Worthwhile change from Maggies?
Of late have been eying the Spatial Audio line of open baffle speakers and like what I have seen and read so far. Now I am extremely happy with my baby Maggies which have easily bested any and all box speakers in my room ( that I can afford anyways!). So looking for opinions and views from actual owners of said open baffle speakers, what did you change from and what are the real strengths of the Spatials? Not short of horsepower to feed them even though they do not need much juice by all accounts but you know the old saying, " too much is never enough!" Thanks in advance.
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
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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...... 😎😎
@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.
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 .
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.
Due to room and equipment layout all speakers have to be at least 3 ft from back wall, 3 to 4 ft from sidewall and approx 7 to 8 from my listening sofa.
Hence the probable reason most box speakers failed miserably and the Maggie's excelled.
My listening room is a finished basement: 18x30x7.5. The Spatials are about 3 1/2 feet from the back wall, toed-in slightly, 9' apart, and some 11' from my listening area. They pack plenty of punch and low end presence powered by a Pathos Classic Mk3 (140w @ 4 ohms).
Spatial speakers if you get one of the better ones are much better than Maggie's in bass weight ,detail and great midrange and highs as well.You must put them with very good cables, amp and preamp as well for best sonic results.Good luck.
Oz Pretty sure they are a good fit room size wise. But it's a big move mentally for myself as have gone through so many speakers that have all left me wanting in one way or another until..... The Maggie's. So yes why am I even looking? Lol.
No way my room can handle Maggie's of that size! I am very happy with my Maggie's but loath to even consider the next size up as I think would be too large for my room tbh.
I do not believe the Spatial Audio M3 will overpower my room.
I've had Maggie 3.6Rs and now have Spatial M3 turbo S's. They both perform flawlessly. The Maggie's project a bit more presence because of their size, but the Spatials images are pinpoint without being clinical.
The Spatials are slightly more flexible with power.
@berber99 - Yes, they are sold as a kit, and need subs to be full range. They were not difficult to build, but took about 50 hours including building the stereo open baffle subs. See my post
I didn't have a chance to listen to them first, but I was convinced after watching many of Danny Ritchie's (the designer) Tech Talks (https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=165408.0) that he knew what he was doing, and had a similar perspective on what was important as I did. If you are interested, contact Danny at GR Research and he can put you in touch with someone near you (of exists) that would be willing to demo them. I'm in Portland, OR.
@uberwaltz - The NX-Oticas are a bit out of your price range, particularly if you add the subs which I think are necessary for most music. But GR Research has other options that would fit your budget if you are interested. Many are not yet listed on their website, so give Danny a call.
I haven't heard the Spatials, but I have owned four sets of Magnepans (MG1, MG2, Tympani IV, MG3.6r) and now own a set of GR Research NX-Oticas.
Over the years, I went back and forth between Maggies and dynamic box speakers. Each time I owned the Maggies, I missed the lively dynamic sound provided by good dynamic-driver speakers. When I had box speakers, which included some well regarded products such as Duntech Sovereigns and Revel Studios, I missed the huge deep sound stage, excellent clarity, and tight non-boxy bass that the Maggies produced.
The NX-Oticas are the first speakers I've owned that deliver the best of both worlds. I don't know if the Spatials produce the same kind of sound, but I would definitely recommend giving OB dynamic speakers a try.
In response to Tomic 601’s query- I am using the term Kevlar like to make an analogy between how a Kevlar vest essentially stops or prevents a bullet from penetrating a Kevlar vest - the analogy here being the propriety membrane having enough tensile strength like Kevlar from stopping or preventing resonances from occurring on the membrane. This material is unlike Maggie, Apogee, Martin Logan in that it is not solely a Kapton or Mylar film - which in and of itself will exhibit resonances when it has played and very high volumes.
We are dealers for GT Audio Works planar speakers. They are a must audition and have a ton of rave reviews. Herb Reichert from Stereophile stated they can go toe to toe with any speaker system out there cost no object. unlike maggies and other planar magnetic designs they use a Kevlar like membrane that is non resonant, copper traces not inferior aluminum and most importantly no crossover.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
