X3 Owners' thread

Desertpilot · « **Reply #80 on:** 9 May 2021, 04:52 pm »

Still no word on build progress and shipping for my X3s. I decided to have a little fun and list albums I want to play through them when they get here. I have both stereo and multichannel versions of most albums. I'll stick with stereo to test out the speakers.

Test Disc:
PS Audio's The Audiophile Reference Disc, Volume 1, DSD64

JAZZ:
McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke & Al Foster, DSD64
Marion Meadows: Players Club, DSD64
Aram Bedrosian: A Dark Light, PCM 24/96 (available on his website).

Classical:
Honeck: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, ‘Choral', DSD256, Soundmirror Mix/Master Team. Orchestra and choral.
Wilson: English Music for String Orchestra, PCM24/96, Ralph Couzens; Alex James Mix/Master Team. String Ensemble.
Fischer: Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky; Lieutenant Kijé Suite, DSD256, Soundmirror Mix/Master Team. Orchestra and choral.
Steinbacher: Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams, DSD64, Roger de Schot Mix/Master. Violin.
Rittner: Chopin: Complete Etudes, DSD64, Friedrich Wilhelm Rödding Mix/Master., Piano
Thompson: Schubert: String Quintet (with Double Bass), DSD64, Daan van Aalst; Jared Sacks Mix/Master Team. Double Bass.
Rattle: Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust, DSD64, Jonathan Stokes, Neil Hutchinson (Classic Sound) Mix/Master Team, Choral plus soloists.

These are the albums I will focus on for testing. Each with a specific instrument/vocal. This will be loads of fun.

Can't wait! Marcus

sarora9 · « **Reply #81 on:** 9 May 2021, 05:14 pm »

Breakin period is 300 hours.

Desertpilot · « **Reply #82 on:** 9 May 2021, 06:28 pm »

Quote from: sarora9 on 9 May 2021, 05:14 pm

Breakin period is 300 hours.

I agree. I'll "endless" loop music 24/7. But, they better sound exceptional right out of the box. 300 hours should make them sound better and better. My new DAC will need some burn in time too. I guess I'll be doing a lot of listening (LOL).

Marcus

Desertpilot · « **Reply #83 on:** 11 May 2021, 02:53 am »

I just downloaded in DSD256, Rachmaninov: All Night Vigil by Gloriæ Dei Cantores. Recording Engineers: Brad Michel, Dan Pfeiffer. Yes, I have the Bruffy version as well. I am adding this to the list of albums to try with the new DAC and X3s. Check the YouTube link for a sample and reviews. Just breathtaking choral. Plenty of deep male voices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjFi_g_iOIY

Marcus
Las Vegas

morganc · « **Reply #84 on:** 11 May 2021, 04:21 am »

Quote from: Desertpilot on 9 May 2021, 06:28 pm

I agree. I'll "endless" loop music 24/7. But, they better sound exceptional right out of the box. 300 hours should make them sound better and better. My new DAC will need some burn in time too. I guess I'll be doing a lot of listening (LOL).

Marcus

Mine were not exceptional for quite a few hours and I bought mine used! However the prior owner only used a low powered tube amp. These require lots of power over quite a few weeks to months to fully open up. They sounded good when I got them ,but now they sound exceptional. Also I tweaked components, cables, placement, etc.

Desertpilot · « **Reply #85 on:** 11 May 2021, 01:15 pm »

Quote from: morganc on 11 May 2021, 04:21 am

Mine were not exceptional for quite a few hours and I bought mine used! However the prior owner only used a low powered tube amp. These require lots of power over quite a few weeks to months to fully open up. They sounded good when I got them ,but now they sound exceptional. Also I tweaked components, cables, placement, etc.

Understood. I have heard this from everyone. I have the Parasound Halo A52+ amplifier. The first 10 watts is Class A power then A/B. Max power to 2 speakers, 8 Ohms, is 225 watts. I've used this amp with my current 4 Ohm SVS Ultra bookshelf speakers with no power issues. I am sure the X3s will be a substantial upgrade in sound over my bookshelves. But, as you said, burn in is important.

Marcus

MichaelHiFi · « **Reply #86 on:** 18 Jun 2021, 04:25 pm »

Quote from: morganc on 11 May 2021, 04:21 am

Mine were not exceptional for quite a few hours and I bought mine used! However the prior owner only used a low powered tube amp. These require lots of power over quite a few weeks to months to fully open up. They sounded good when I got them ,but now they sound exceptional. Also I tweaked components, cables, placement, etc.

So when I get mine setup, will you help me out with setup? I mean, we've done this before. And why do we almost always end up with the same speakers?

What's up Morgan! I ordered the X3's this past weekend from the "The Show". Now I sadly need to sell my Usher Tower XL's. Hope these speakers are as good as some say they are. Lena still regards the LS6's and the Gradient Evolutions her favorite speakers. Partly why I'm hopeful the Spatial X3's can get close to the Gradients in soundstage and give the speed and dynamics of the the line arrays. I know you've listened to the LS6's bu did you hear the Gradients in our room?

morganc · « **Reply #87 on:** 19 Jun 2021, 05:18 am »

Guess we both just have excellent taste

I never heard the gradients so can’t comment there.

The X Series are super fast and detailed with excellent staging.

I love mine paired with a tube pre for a tiny extra bit of warmth.

But as mentioned earlier....they need a long break in!

Sure hope your golden ears in the family loves them ! I think she will! What’s the current wait time?

doggie · « **Reply #88 on:** 19 Jun 2021, 12:05 pm »

Quote from: morganc on 19 Jun 2021, 05:18 am

What’s the current wait time?

My X5's just got shipped after 10 weeks. Add up to one more week for freight delivery depending on your location.

I bought these after hearing the M5 Sapphire at Linear Tube Audio with their excellent Z10i amp.

I have no doubt that the wait will have been worth it.

geerock · « **Reply #89 on:** 19 Jun 2021, 01:51 pm »

I'm not sure where people are coming up with the idea you need high watts for break in or even for normal playing. With the sensitivity of X5's or even X3's you will never get more than 20 watts out of your amp. And it won't be for long as you will be at ear splitting levels. X5's cruise along at "normal" listening levels of about 82 decibels at 4 or 5 watts. Now to get 10 more decibels you have to double the wattage. So you are at about 8 to 10 watts to get to 92 decibels which is getting up there. So 16 to 20 watts gets you about 102 decibels, and if your listening at over 100 decibels for very long well......good luck down the road with your hearing. So many guys are running things with small watt amps and loving them. One of Clayton's favorite amps with his speakers is the LTA10 that's maxes out at 12 watts. He played it at shows, and loud when asked, at about 6 watts. Guys that are running class A for the first 10 watts are lucky because they basically never have to leave class A during a listening session. The sensitivity of these speakers just don't use, nor need, more than a few watts.

abomwell · « **Reply #90 on:** 19 Jun 2021, 02:54 pm »

I read it takes twice the wattage to increase volume just 3 dB which is a very small increase See here: https://jlaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/217201737-Doubling-Power-vs-Doubling-Output?mobile_site=true

Al

geerock · « **Reply #91 on:** 19 Jun 2021, 03:16 pm »

Quote from: abomwell on 19 Jun 2021, 02:54 pm

I read it takes twice the wattage to increase volume just 3 dB which is a very small increase See here: https://jlaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/217201737-Doubling-Power-vs-Doubling-Output?mobile_site=true

Al

You're forgetting to account for the sensitivity of the speakers. But....whatever you say. With what youve posted a flea watt amp, or even the LTA10 wouldn't be able to get Spatials above moderate listening levels. And I had an LTA at one time and had no problem getting to LOUD. music with a ton to spare on the volume dial. I've seen some guys here post that you need 200, 300, 400 watts per side to make sure they have enough "headroom" and it's just laughable when talking about 95 to 97 sensitivity ratings.

Desertpilot · « **Reply #92 on:** 19 Jun 2021, 05:09 pm »

Quote from: geerock on 19 Jun 2021, 01:51 pm

...Guys that are running class A for the first 10 watts are lucky because they basically never have to leave class A during a listening session. The sensitivity of these speakers just don't use, nor need, more than a few watts.

This is good news for me. My Parasound Halo A52+ theoretically stays class A for the first 10 watts.

Marcus

MichaelHiFi · « **Reply #93 on:** 20 Jun 2021, 02:37 am »

Quote from: morganc on 19 Jun 2021, 05:18 am

Guess we both just have excellent taste

I never heard the gradients so can’t comment there.

The X Series are super fast and detailed with excellent staging.

I love mine paired with a tube pre for a tiny extra bit of warmth.

But as mentioned earlier....they need a long break in!

Sure hope your golden ears in the family loves them ! I think she will! What’s the current wait time?

I think 4 weeks but that puts us at potentially moving out of state. Home is nearly ready but there is so much bad energy surrounding this home, lots of unknowns.

Well, if you love them, then we can't be far off. Lena is not a fan of bad bass, and most speakers have bad bass due to unfriendly rooms -generally. Our room will be dedicated to 2 channel and 1 wall will have rockwool...

Having some control on bass output turned me to the X series. Already liked the naturalness and stage considering it was a hotel room.

The Ushers are sensitive to source with bass. And I mean even with a brilliant Dac, the USB feed is critical. I don't have any low powered tube amps but liked what the LTA integrated was doing.

Gradients are amazing in staging. I swear I got up from my chair and walked around the musicians, and I was alcohol free! Lets see what the X3's will do in their own room.

sarora9 · « **Reply #94 on:** 22 Jun 2021, 11:27 pm »

I spent some time rearranging my X3s and have managed to set them up better. I used a dayton usb mic. I wanted to note a few observations that may be useful to others.

(i) The subwoofer driver is really only crucial below 70 hz or so. You can check this by turning off the subwoofer power and measuring the output.

(ii) A consequence of (i) is that the subwoofer level cannot really be set by ear (at least for nonexperts). I realized I had set mine too high, by about 4-5 db. After fine tuning the level is set with the knob at around 4pm for me. Going by ear I had set it to 5:30 pm, which I now realize was fatiguing. Suddenly the music is more relaxing and clearer and it measures flatter.

(iii) I moved the X3s away from the half wall (see the picture in the opening posts of this thread) and in front of a full wall. (My awesome wife said she could live with that

Then the bass is pretty flat down to about 31-32hz, falling rapidly beyond that.

(iv) I started with the two speakers almost 5 ft in front of the wall and moved them back 2in at a time. The sonic differences in sound from a 2-inch move were sometimes quite noticeable. The final placement is around 3.5ft from the wall. I'll still continue to fine tune it.

(v) I still have a little peak around 75hz and have a -3db cut in roon dsp.

aniwolfe · « **Reply #95 on:** 23 Jun 2021, 05:00 pm »

Tweeter Height: As a X2 owner, I believe the tweeter is very similar or exactly the same as the X3/5 tweeter. Any case, I can't emphasize enough the importance of having your ear height very close to the middle of the Beyma AMT tweeter. The vertical dispersion I found to be lacking so if you are sitting too high or too low your missing out big time IMHO.

Tyson · « **Reply #96 on:** 2 Jul 2021, 10:40 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 11 Feb 2020, 04:28 am

I'm not an X3 owner but I do have some experience with OB speakers. I actually think your space is decent. Certainly not fundamentally flawed....

I'd like to amend my initial statement. I AM NOW AN X3 OWNER!!!! Order placed today, 6 week wait time - can't wait! Woot!!!!!

geerock · « **Reply #97 on:** 2 Jul 2021, 10:43 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 2 Jul 2021, 10:40 pm

I'd like to amend my initial statement. I AM NOW AN X3 OWNER!!!! Order placed today, 6 week wait time - can't wait! Woot!!!!!

Congrats! Now the wait.

Tyson · « **Reply #98 on:** 2 Jul 2021, 10:59 pm »

Quote from: geerock on 2 Jul 2021, 10:43 pm

Congrats! Now the wait.

Well, I do have a pair of Super 7's in my main system downstairs so I am hardly suffering in the meantime, haha. The X3's are for my 2nd system upstairs in the main living area. I have hotrodded Klipsch Forte III's there now, which I love very much, but I think OB sound has ruined me for life

geerock · « **Reply #99 on:** 2 Jul 2021, 11:39 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 2 Jul 2021, 10:59 pm

Well, I do have a pair of Super 7's in my main system downstairs so I am hardly suffering in the meantime, haha. The X3's are for my 2nd system upstairs in the main living area. I have hotrodded Klipsch Forte III's there now, which I love very much, but I think OB sound has ruined me for life

Speaker Lab or Serenity Acoustics?