[hmen]

The speakers arrived about an hour ago. It took about 15 minutes to unpack. Clayton told me they would be a substantial improvement over my M3TM’s and he wasn’t kidding. I ordered them in cherry and they look great. I’m running them off my 30 WPC Atma-Sphere S30’s and they’re rocking.
 I’ll give a more detailed review after 100 hours.

[sumoking]

Thanks for sharing!
Can you post a picture of your speakers?
Cheers!

[Shakeydeal]

 Congrats! Waiting for further details and pics.

[Shakeydeal]

Ok, at leaat give us a sneak peek. Just an initial observation........

[glynnw]

You are killing me!  Today I almost had myself convinced that my M3TMs sounded fabulous and the X-3 might be different, but better?  No way.  Now you go and burst my bubble.  Where can I sell some blood?

[hmen]

Here it is






Sorry the pictures are sideways.
 
These speakers have exceeded my very high expectations. I’ve played them for about 10 hours. I placed them where I had my M3’s and have not moved them at all. Nor have I adjusted the bass level. The bass is solid, musical and slamming. The imaging is incredibly precise and The the tweeter is smooth as silk. The dynamics are incredible. 

Does anybody want to weigh in on whether I still need the bass traps before I take them down to see how it sounds?  I’ve heard you don’t need them with OB bass but I’m skeptical.
   

Howard

[Shakeydeal]

Man those are beautiful. They are larger than I imagined.

How is the lateral presentation? Although my khorns don't have quite the front to back depth of most speakers, they do provide a wall to wall, room filling sound. I've had very few loudspeakers in my room that can do what they can in that respect.

It's going to be a tough wait for the next few weeks. I'm really looking forward to getting my pair.

Shakey

[yakbob]

Thanks for the photos and initial impressions hmen! I look forward to any more thoughts you can share as you get used to them. Any comparisons/contrasts between these and the M series will help those of us considering the jump. 

Shakeydeal, the speaker size may be an optical illusion. This appears to be a basement setup, and I'm guessing the ceiling height is less than the typical 8 feet.

[Shakeydeal]

I was actually looking at the speaker compared to the height of the TV and the equipment rack. Looks like they are damn near 5 ft. tall.

[Dave G]

47 inches tall, according to the specs posted August 3 in the New X Class Product Announcement thread

[Dave G]

hmen,

Once you’ve had some time with the speakers, I’ll be particularly interested in your thoughts on how they work with your Atma-Sphere amps.  I’ve got a pair of M-60s.

[rollo]

  Enjoy !!! They look marvelous. Perfect size as well for most rooms. No external Sub a big plus. OB at its best oh my !!


charles

[Tyson]

The tweeter that is in the X3 is one of the very best in the world, not surprised at all that it's a major step up over M3. 

Same with OB bass.  When you first hear OB bass on a speaker like the original M3 you are usually struck by the amount of musical detail and clarity in the bass that's just not possible with a regular box style speaker with most rooms.

BUT, with a speaker like the X3, you add a powered woofer and suddenly you're like "oh, THERE'S the slam I was missing before".  Yeah, that thing is a great design, can't wait to hear them next month at RMAF. 

[hmen]

Man those are beautiful. They are larger than I imagined.

How is the lateral presentation? Although my khorns don't have quite the front to back depth of most speakers, they do provide a wall to wall, room filling sound. I've had very few loudspeakers in my room that can do what they can in that respect.

It's going to be a tough wait for the next few weeks. I'm really looking forward to getting my pair.

Shakey

The image has depth, both in front of and behind the speakers. Laterally, they go from wall to wall and occasionally gives the illusion of being wider than the room. The height is ridiculous. Can someone explain why it sounds like Xylophones seem to bounce off the ceiling.

hmen,

Once you’ve had some time with the speakers, I’ll be particularly interested in your thoughts on how they work with your Atma-Sphere amps.  I’ve got a pair of M-60s.

My M-60’s are being shipped out for repairs today so I substituted their little brother.  It’s hard to describe how well Atma-Sphere amps work with ribbons. I used them for years with my VMPS RM40’s.  I’m beginning to question if I even need the M-60’s for these speakers. The S-30 is definitely up to the job.

It is a basement setup with a 7 foot ceiling. The speakers are about 6 inches taller than the M3’s.

[Shakeydeal]

Thanks for the reply. I'm sure they are only going to get better from here. Keep us posted as things progress.

Shakey