[rebbi]

Thanks for the photo for scale - I had pictured them in my mind as being a lot bigger from looking at the advert photos.

 Yes, they are surprisingly "petite" and much less imposing than they look in some of the advertising. Agreed. WAF  on these is also quite high, at least in my own domestic situation.   

[md92468]

Riding out Jonas with my M4s and some Mark O'Connor...pretty blissful...

[rebbi]

Every time I sit down with my M4's, I am astonished at how great they are... I mean, they'd be a good deal at twice the price, but at just under $1300, they're an unbelievable value. If I can tear myself away from listening to music long enough to do some writing, I'll blog about them soon.   

[md92468]

Every time I sit down with my M4's, I am astonished at how great they are... I mean, they'd be a good deal at twice the price, but at just under $1300, they're an unbelievable value. If I can tear myself away from listening to music long enough to do some writing, I'll blog about them soon.   

I know how long and winding the road to speaker bliss has been for you Rebbi...I'm glad you've found a match. I'm loving mine as well...certainly an amazing value.

[rebbi]

I know how long and winding the road to speaker bliss has been for you Rebbi...I'm glad you've found a match. I'm loving mine as well...certainly an amazing value.

Yes... I think I may finally be done.

By the way, i still don't think I have much more than 30 hours on my pair. I can't imagine how much better they might sound at 100 hours!

[md92468]

I'm in the 70 hour range and they do get better, believe it or not....although the biggest changes are surely behind me. Still, there are definitely subtle differences I'm hearing even now compared to a week ago....subtle, but there. They seem to keep getting...easier, for lack of a better word. That effortlessness is so darned impressive, particularly for a speaker that costs $1.3K. I just can't stop listening...I find they're on whenever I have a free minute.

[Manolo]

Mine have over 150 hours, and believe me they keep getting better... Smoother, more open or maybe better described as"more effortlessness"

[md92468]

Mine have over 150 hours, and believe me they keep getting better... Smoother, more open or maybe better described as"more effortlessness"

Good to know, Manolo. Curious what you're driving them with...I'm using a Blue Circle DAR integrated (to great effect)...

[erniek]

Have any of the M4 owners compared the 4 to the 3? I am interested in the M3. My room is about 17 x 20 and I would be able to have them out about 3 feet.
Any comments are appreciated.

[jtwrace]

Have any of the M4 owners compared the 4 to the 3? I am interested in the M3. My room is about 17 x 20 and I would be able to have them out about 3 feet.
Any comments are appreciated.

No idea on the M4 other than what Clayton suggested to me.  I have a similar size room and he suggested the M3.  I have M3 Turbo S on order. 

[Manolo]

Md I drive them with a First Watt F4 stereo amp. 25w/ channel into 8 ohms and 40 into 4.

[mick wolfe]

Have any of the M4 owners compared the 4 to the 3? I am interested in the M3. My room is about 17 x 20 and I would be able to have them out about 3 feet.
Any comments are appreciated.

I can comment on the M2 Turbo in regard to placement. Mine are about 26" from front wall to back of speaker. 3' should be fine for the larger model. I've found the Spatials about as room friendly as any speaker  I've owned. Your room size should be ideal as well.

[rebbi]

Do you all think that the M3 inherently needs a larger room and more distance from the front wall than the M4?

[md92468]

Great amp Manolo...must sound amazing!

As for distance, I keep my M4s relatively close to the wall for storage and "background music," but pull them at least 36" away from the back wall for critical listening. I listen fairly near field (about 7-8 feet away) in a larger room (a 12X26 grand room, which is divided by a half-wall near the center), and the sound stage only "locks in" if they're at least that far into the room.

[mcgsxr]

I have found most open baffle speakers perform best 24-60 inches into the room.

I have run DIY speakers, and currently enjoy a set of Maggies.  At present the 1.6's are about 38 inches into the room.

[dapoun]

I'm also inching towards a pair of Spatial, so keep those comments coming. My room is fairly small, 12'L X 8'W, so near field listening is unavoidable but I've gotten used to it. Speaking with Shaw, he recommended the M4 with at least 18" from the front wall.

Rebbi, we seem to have owned similar speakers, Merlin, De Capo, so your inputs on the M4 would be very helpful and would love to hear more inputs when you do decide to posts a review.

[mick wolfe]

Do you all think that the M3 inherently needs a larger room and more distance from the front wall than the M4?

Rebbi....Don't know if that question was directed to me, but my answer would be yes. In addition, I'm also "assuming" the characteristics of the M1 and M2 will pretty much mirror the M3 and M4. Just about a year ago my friend had the M1 Turbo and I had the M2 Turbo. ( which I still have) My observation at that time was that the M1 with roughly 1.5 times the driver radiating area of the 2 needed more room to breath. That would be both in distance from the front wall and overall room size. That doesn't mean the room has to be any larger than the average  living /family room though. Some of the room sizes mentioned here ( 20 X 17 ) would be ideal. This allows at least 3 to 4 feet of breathing room behind the speaker and 9 to 10 feet to the listening position. In regard to the M2 Turbo, I have used it in a small listening room ( 10 x 11) with reasonable success as well. However you're not going to get that same totally open relaxed presentation achieved with more room volume. The presentation is much more upfront or "front row". Very listenable for sure, but the speaker doesn't disappear with the same effect it does in a larger space. For the record, the M2's reside in my family room which is a fairly large in comparison to the small room mentioned. In this room, they're supplemented with ACI Titan sub. The small room speaker is an Ohm 1000. Nothing I've used in this small room has matched the Ohm.

[genjamon]

Our Tucson group has heard both the M1 and M2's at my place and Mick's.  Our impressions are that the M2's have a bit better imaging.  I also found subwoofer integration was a lot easier with the M2 than with the M1 - the M1's were robust in the bass down to about 30hz or so, making integration with subwoofer tricky.  The M2's don't go anywhere near as low, meaning the mains can hand off to a subwoofer pretty cleanly, much easier to integrate. 

But the M1 had a bit lower center of gravity in terms of timbre/tone, more weight to the sound, and a bigger sound for sure.  M2's will sound plenty big in small and probably mid-sized rooms.  But in larger rooms, the M1 will likely create the more realistic soundstage. 

I would assume the same issues would exist with the M3 and M4, as they're the same basic design, just in a cabinet that's cheaper to manufacture.

[genjamon]

Mick!  Great minds think alike!

[rebbi]

Rebbi....Don't know if that question was directed to me, but my answer would be yes. In addition, I'm also "assuming" the characteristics of the M1 and M2 will pretty much mirror the M3 and M4. Just about a year ago my friend had the M1 Turbo and I had the M2 Turbo. ( which I still have) My observation at that time was that the M1 with roughly 1.5 times the driver radiating area of the 2 needed more room to breath. That would be both in distance from the front wall and overall room size. That doesn't mean the room has to be any larger than the average  living /family room though. Some of the room sizes mentioned here ( 20 X 17 ) would be ideal. This allows at least 3 to 4 feet of breathing room behind the speaker and 9 to 10 feet to the listening position. In regard to the M2 Turbo, I have used it in a small listening room ( 10 x 11) with reasonable success as well. However you're not going to get that same totally open relaxed presentation achieved with more room volume. The presentation is much more upfront or "front row". Very listenable for sure, but the speaker doesn't disappear with the same effect it does in a larger space. For the record, the M2's reside in my family room which is a fairly large in comparison to the small room mentioned. In this room, they're supplemented with ACI Titan sub. The small room speaker is an Ohm 1000. Nothing I've used in this small room has matched the Ohm.

Mick,
I don't know if my original post was aimed at you, but your impressions are very useful, indeed!   
They mirror my experience and intuition.
My room is about 16 x 13 x 8 (ceiling). Right now, I sit around 9 feet from the M4's and the frontmost (that is, outside) corner of the M4's front baffle is around 30 inches from the wall behind. I also (unfortunately - I'd like to remedy this soon) have my electronics in a rather large (but low) cabinet between the speakers - ouch, not ideal, I know, I know. So I don't have entirely free, open space right between them, as I should.
Although I'm tempted by the extra 12 or 13 Hz of bottom end that the M3's have to offer, I fear that they'd be physically dominating in the room and that with my limited placement flexibility, I'd be getting an overly "in your face" presentation. Right now, the M4's sound big, lively, dynamic and tonally breathtakingly real - I've never heard another speaker like them. They are also very good at lower volumes, and they are a fantastic match with my Audio Note Kits 300B SET amp. And this is with under 50 hours of playing time on them, so they're bound to get better.
Interesting you mention Ohm. I owned both Ohm Micro Walsh Talls and then Ohm 100's for a couple of years. While I loved a lot about them, I could never fully acclimate to their presentation. But I certainly know that many people adore them.