[griller]

Every adjective that I've heard to describe these does not come close to how good I think they really are. I waited patiently first, to get the approval to order, then to get the funds, and then for the ACI crew to build and ship. About the same wait as a pregnancy. And yes, these babes are worth that wait and more. Lots lof people have talked about all the details of soundstage, bass slam etc. I'm just going to say for now that these just really make me want to drop everything and listen. In fact right now, I'm out of here, I need to spend some more time just enjoyiing what I waited so long for. Thanks ACI for a SUPER job!

[ajayrav]

and they only get better......

Ajay

[DR]

Congrats Griller!

DR

[richidoo]

griller,
I guess now you know you made the right decision!   You got a lot of good advice. I think your new speakers are among the very best offered by any vendor involved with AC.  It will take some time to grow into them, new speakers are a BIG change. But your good impression will grow as time goes by as you learn how versatile and neutral they are.
Congrats!!!
Rich

[Eric]

Congratulations! make sure you let us know how they continue to improve and blossom

[Mike Dzurko]

Sorry you had to wait so long . . .  but the good times are just starting to roll. Thanks again!

[griller]

I want to say a serious thanks to DR, Ajay, Rebman and all the others who've previously posted their reactions to these speakers. You people were a big part of getting me to get moving. And now I am so glad I did!

I have owned my share of good audio gear and have been able to seriously audition a lot more over the years.  What I’m hearing from these Sapphires right now is just plain freaking me out.  I figured they’;d be very good. The  Emeralds  and Force XLs in my HT have far exceeded my expectations. These Sapphires do so many things extremely well and I’;m just not hearing any real failings.  I will try to report back, but really, I just want to spend as much free time as possible enjoying music on these sweethearts. I’d put them up against ANY pair of speakers out there in the $2k-$5k range and I’ll bet they’ll outmusic some that sell for way beyond that.  Hey, these are the perfect speakers for this crummy economy. All you audiophiles who thought you had to burn big bucks to be able to enjoy music can keep it in your dwindling investments and spend some pocket change on the Sapphire XLs and be in musical  heaven. 

[bpape]

They are truly something special.  That's why we continue to show with Mike at RMAF and why I decided to partner with him with my Korato gear last year (and again in this upcoming year).  They do the one thing that is critical for any speaker, or any piece of audio equipment for that matter - they make you want to sit and listen to music.  That's what it's all about.

Bryan

[DR]

Griller,

I know by now that you are really freaking out over the Sapphires! Since I am in a condo and my room doesn't appreciate being bass loaded from three points, I am having excellent results crossing the Sapphires over at 85hz to the force. I am going to have to take these over to my brothers just to hear them full out. I just love the mids and hi's these things reproduce. So natural and not ever harsh!

DR

[Turnandcough]

I would really like to hear these. Any chance ACI will be at the upcoming FSI in Montréal?

[Mike Dzurko]

I would really like to hear these. Any chance ACI will be at the upcoming FSI in Montréal?

I'd love to do FSI, but right now we're only fitting one show per year into the schedule and that's RMAF.  I would consider loaning a pair of Sapphire XLs to the right company looking for a pair of great speakers to demonstrate their audio gear.

[jrebman]

Griller,

Sorry so late here -- just catching up on things.  Glad you are enjoying them, and glad I could play a small role in your decision to go ahead and get them.  As Bryan said, they just want to make you sit down and listen to the music.  I went to listen to my SB3 on loan to Bryan and Mike, I sat, I listened, I listened some more, and I bought.  What more can I say?

Congrats,

Jim

[CSI]

Griller,

Just got back in town and see that you took everyone's advice (including mine) on the Sapphire XL's and now they exceed your expectations. Don't be too surprised. They exceeded mine too and I've owned more speakers than most folks on this forum (been at it for more years). They just get better with time and they'll bring out the best in whatever electronics you choose to use with them.

Congratulations!

[griller]

I’ve now had these little miracles for over 2 months. This might be the first set of speakers I’ve owned that I like better the longer I have them. I want to make a couple points about them.

First, a brief audition does not do these speakers justice. You need to really listen. It’s obvious these are designed to be for the “long haul”, not just sound good in a quick shoot out or store audition. FWIW these do change quite a bit as they run in. They sound good right out of the box, but get better with time.

Second, I’ve read that they’re not the last word in transparency or detail. I say rubbish. If it’s on the recording, these babies will let you hear it. They will NOT etch it for you like some speakers do, I’ve come to the conclusion that is mostly a false detail. These speakers are honest. I’ve heard that word before used to describe them, and the more I listen, the more I agree.

Third, the XLs do NOT need a subwoofer. The bass these reproduce continues to make be scratch my head. How something this small has so much guts. Sure, I’ve heard small speakers that thumped before, but that ain’t these. These have real, quality bass that goes amazingly deep. For music use, a sub is definitely optional unless you’ve got a pretty large room. I have played with adding my Force XL and yes, on some recordings it is a useful improvement. I will eventually buy a pair of Force, but in the meantime, I know what I’m missing, and I can easily live with it.

Fourth, they’re a heck of a lot easier to drive than the specs suggest. Mike explained it is more than just the impedance and sensitivity specs and he’s right. These will play with just about anything. Throw them on a cheap receiver and they sound better than you’d expect. Improve the front end and power and you’ll be glad you did.

I can’t recommend these highly enough.

[jrebman]

Griller,

Agree completely.  They just keep getting better, detail retreival is better than my Adagios, and all in correct proportion in the mix, the bass is completely satisfying and of very high quality (still haven't hooked up the sub yet), and the RWA Signature 30.2 amp drives them insanely well -- which is to say with plenty of power for loud volume, but while preserving dynamics at the same time -- no small feat for a 30 watt amp.

I've said it before, but I've only owned one pair of speakers that were less expensive than these, and to date, these are the best I've had, and by a substantial margin.

Still have a good deal of setup and tweaking to do to get the whole setup with the Force dialed in, and then with a few room treatments, I should be set for the very long haul.

An audiophile friend stopped by a few weeks ago -- a guy with an all Audio Note system, and who has never had much good to say about my systems, was strangely hypnotized by what he heard and remarked that I had "finallyput together a truly high-end system (even if it cost about 1/3 as much as the most expensive system of mine that he heard.)  He was impressed .

-- Jim

[miklorsmith]

Twice as nice at 1/3 the price, we all should be so lucky (or good).