Spatial X2s arrive next Thursday

Bbarlow690  - how are the X2’s doing?  I’m close to placing an order and would love your quick look impressions.

thanks,
Chris

In a word, they're fabulous.  I've had them playing non-stop since they arrived last Wednesday (a day early!) to break them in.

The first thing that I notice, especially playing all the time, is that there is no fatigue.  They are the easiest-listening speakers I've ever had.

Not a hint of buyer's remorse.

I'm slightly at a disadvantage because I'm running them off my PS Audio Sprout, which drove my prior M2 Turbos just fine, but doesn't have quite enough power to drive the X2s to an optimal listening level.  Oh well.  My Krell KAV-300i is at Krell being reconditioned, and I'll have it soon enough.

They're about 9' apart, and about 7' from my listening chair.  My house is such that there are no side walls within 18 feet, and they're about 2' from the back wall, which is the best that I can do in the space I have.

So, the imaging is pinpoint, with a wide and deep soundstage.  I'm still playing with toe-in.  Clayton Shaw says half-way between parallel to the wall and facing the listening seat is about right, and that's proving to be true. 

Bass is deep and clearly articulated.  No more need for the subwoofer I had with the M2s.  Stanley Clarke's bass on the Rite of Strings CD with Al Di Meola and Jean-Luc Ponty is, well, amazing.  

Highs beat the M2s.  Here's where it helps to have good source material.  Some of my old Bill Evans CDs aren't of the highest quality, and for now, I really want to hear what the speakers can do, so I'm using my better, newer recordings.

In-between, the instrument is in the room.  Piano, guitar, voice, reeds all have a presence that makes you think they're in the room.  As they break in, this feeling only seems to grow.  It's like the speakers are relaxing, taking deep breaths, and opening up a little at a time.

I don't know how to write these things.  All I can tell you is that they're a big improvement over the much-beloved M2s.  I can't compare them to anything else because this is what I've got.  I bought the M2s blind, became an instant convert to open-baffle speakers, and bought these blind.  Now that I have them, there's no need to look around anymore.

Happy birthday and Merry Christmas to me.  Oh, and by the way, the design is stunning, and they look great in white.

Awesome. Thanks for the comments. How do they sound at lower volumes?  Post pictures if you can.  I'm also thinking about white.

They sound good.  With Li'l Sproutie all I have is lower levels, mainly.  If I push Sproutie too high the woofers buzz when there are low, powerful bass notes.  Clipping, methinks.  Since that's not the experience I want, I don't do it.  Lower volume levels eliminate buzzing.  Poor Sproutie is only 25 watts into 8 ohms.

I can get a decent listening level late at night, when the world seems to be quieter.  I've just been doing that, pulling out favorite CDs.  

Fair warning:  The X2s are VERY revealing.  If the recording sucks, you're going to know it.  That's why I've avoided, for the time being, some of my older Bill Evans CDs, because the recording quality isn't that good, and it shows, distracting from the music.

That said, I put in a favorite, and learned that I really didn't like the microphone they used with the female vocalist.  I know her personally, and she didn't sound the way I supposed she should.  Pulled out an old Joni Mitchell album, and was shocked at how revealing the speakers were with her voice.  A different Joni.  Listening to my friend Dan Greenspan play upright bass, I could clearly hear his fingers moving on the strings, and hear him snort.  He takes a lot of grief for snorting when he plays.

Ya know, it's almost an argument for less-than-the-best, if that covers over a multitude of bad recording sins...

Pictures tomorrow, maybe.  Bed time.  Now I'll put them on as background music with my Walkman (yeah, I know, but it serves the purpose, and serves mostly as a tuner plugged into Sproutie for NPR).  Full of piano jazz.  "Shuffle all."  But not too loud.

Nice review. Just imagine how they'd sound if fed properly, something like a mid-power SET amplifier or one of the First Watt amplifier varieties. They look terrific in the pictures.

👍

On Mr. Shaw's recommendation, I installed the spikes and floor protectors on my wood floor.  Yup.  Good idea.  Sound improved.  Bass clearer and tighter.

They continue to break in, but my overall impression is that they are incredibly easy to listen to for a long time.  Nothing stands out, they're just there, and the music seems to me in the room.