Speakers between 5-7,500

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

That's true, however Clayton Shaw says the Spatials only need to be 3' out from the front wall to perform very well. This is the same distance my Harbeths are from the front wall. He specifically designed them so they wouuld work better in real living spaces than audio showrooms.

Physics are physics with a driver radiating a front and a rear wave that either sum or cancel depending on position/room mode. Very often that can also be used to an advantage to tailor the sound to taste. Any speaker regardless of design benefits from careful positioning in any room. Some rooms are way more problematic than others.

In my own approx 30x30 finished basement which is my listening room, fine tuning the Harbeth 30.2 took quite a bit of work in a quest to bring out the bass without comprimising the soundstage or overall coherence and focus. It was less than a 1/4 inch that finally did it. However, I am also sure there are countless other possibilities which I may never even discover at this point since I’m happy with the result and that’s good enough for me.

[JMD]

I've owned a pair of the M3 Sapphire's predecessor, the M3 Triode Master, for over four years and used them in two different systems in rooms of very different dimensions. I experiment with distance from the front wall in both rooms from two feet to five feet. In both rooms ended up very close to the three feet distance so it will work. Right now I am listening to a pair of C7-ES3's at our second home and they are farther from the rear wall than that.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Physics are physics with a driver radiating a front and a rear wave that either sum or cancel depending on position/room mode. Very often that can also be used to an advantage to tailor the sound to taste. Any speaker regardless of design benefits from careful positioning in any room. Some rooms are way more problematic than others.

In my own approx 30x30 finished basement which is my listening room, fine tuning the Harbeth 30.2 took quite a bit of work in a quest to bring out the bass without comprimising the soundstage or overall coherence and focus. It was less than a 1/4 inch that finally did it. However, I am also sure there are countless other possibilities which I may never even discover at this point since I’m happy with the result and that’s good enough for me.

Your points are well-taken, Serge, but the physics of an open-baffle speaker and a box speaker are not the same, nor are the room modes created by either type. How each speaker type sum or cancel is not the same.

[David S.]

Stated as having a "large room," and nobody is going to suggest Magnepan?

Heck, a pair of 1 year old 3.7is can be had under $6k, and if you're lucky, you might find some 20.whatever in the given budget.

Just my thoughts...

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Your points are well-taken, Serge, but the physics of an open-baffle speaker and a box speaker are not the same, nor are the room modes created by either type. How each speaker type sum or cancel is not the same.

Stephen, I would imagine if open baffle design was a clear advantage in any way, we'd see a whole bunch more open baffle speakers instead of very costly boxes with inert materials or sympathetic resonance wood cabinets... Imagine how much money can be saved in all we needed was a frame and good quality drivers in it.

[jdal]

Bache Audio Tribeca. The version using the Eton Woofers is my preferred speaker at my house. My other speakers are Quad ESL 57s (rebuilt by Quads Unlimited) and Audio Physic Tempo Plus. The Bache’s use a modified wide band driver that operate between 500-8k, and it’s augmented by a super tweeter and two 8 inch woofers. Very simple crossover. The sound is coherent, balanced, and holographic..

[Masterlu]

jdal... Welcome to AA!

[rushca01]

Revisiting as I’m still no closer...

My gut keeps going back to the spatials but I have been interested in the gr research nx oticas but not sure I would personally be happy with my ability to finish them correctly and lastly used Focals (1038, or Kantas).

[PHC1]

Spatial sells direct. Do they have an at home trial period? If they do, that may be the best approach.

[Tom Schmidt]

Originally Posted by rushca01

Revisiting as I’m still no closer...

My gut keeps going back to the spatials but I have been interested in the gr research nx oticas but not sure I would personally be happy with my ability to finish them correctly and lastly used Focals (1038, or Kantas).

Over the past 8 years or so, I've had TAD Evolution One's, JBL M2's, and most recently Focal Sopra No2's for a couple years. I was also one of the earliest customers of Clayton's with the Emerald Physics CS2's which were my introduction to commercially OB done right. He has come soooooo far with the introduction of the M3 Sapphires and X series.

I've had a pair of the X5's (active sub, AMT's) for a couple months now and am not looking back. You can pair them with most any amplifier (quieter ones) with good results, and they're quick to reveal the strengths and weaknesses. I have an LTA microZOTL preamp and LTA Ultralinear (20wpc tube) power amp, which sounds very good, but also Cherry Maraschino DTM's, Apollon Purifi 1ET400's, and Nord Hypex 500's for a variety of low cost SS options. Each has its own charms on the X5's, but I've not heard anything that sounds "off". You just can't go wrong.

In terms of distance from the front wall, mine are 4' out, which interestingly is the very same spot most of my others were.