SPATIAL AUDIO LAB
August 2023 Updates
By: David Whitt
Introduction“Hey, Spatial Team!! What’s going on over there?”Glad you asked! We have been receiving questions from fans and people new to the audio world. Some of you have known Clayton, Cloud, and Ryan for a while and others have heard about “open baffle” design and want to know more. So, we will be putting out more content on a regular basis (at least monthly). We don't want to be “spammy” or “sales-y”. We prefer that the products speak for themselves. Toward that end, we have been heads-down getting stuff done.
X4 Updates and Other ProductsSince March, we have done quite a lot to re-structure the organization to bring the X4 back to the market. Why the X4? Why not the “M”? What about the X3 and the powered X5? Great questions. First, there were quite a few orders on the books for the X4. If you were one of those people, THANK YOU for your patience and for giving us an opportunity to deliver on a very special listening experience. The X4 was made even better with the optional upgrade to a “cost-no-object” crossover variant, which most of our X4 customers took us up on.
No M? We love the M. If we could get the components for the M, we would bring it back. We haven’t given up on it. But, we are busy working on alternatives that we think will make a lot of people happy at a more affordable price... the Q6. If you were at Pacific Audio Fest in June, you may have heard a prototype.
X3? X5? Serious consideration for adding these later. Emphasis on “later”. If they do make a comeback, there will be meaningful development and tuning to ensure they are the best they can be and serve a purpose. Right now, there is plenty of room in our portfolio for great products that meet the varied desires of our audiophile community - room size, amplifier preference, music type, listening style, and, of course, budget.
Business StrategyFrom a business standpoint, we won’t bite off more than we can swallow in what many people are forecasting to be a challenging economy. (Hope for the best - plan for the worst.) We are committed to a measured investment and growth plan that ensures continuity of operations and building confidence in our ability to deliver outstanding value.
Partnership with Don Sachs and Lynn OlsonOther big news? Don Sachs (
http://www.dsachsconsulting.com/) and Lynn Olson (
http://www.nutshellhifi.com/library/index.html) are partnering with Spatial Audio Lab to bring their “Revelation Series” 300B mono block amplifiers and preamp into production. If you were at Pacific Audio Fest in June, you had a chance to meet Don and Lynn and to hear a nearly-finished example. These have been a passion-project of Don and Lynn for years with a seemingly endless cycle of tuning and experimentation to overcome the challenges inherent in making high(er) power, high-performing tube equipment for people who are relentless in their pursuit of the “ideal sound”.
Don will be personally training Sam, Cloud, and Ryan to build this very special trio. Production is scheduled to begin in October with first deliveries in November. (If you are interested in something special in time for Christmas, you can call Clayton at 435- 640-1294 about putting down a deposit!)
Revelation Amplifiers and PreampFrom Don and Lynn - “The Revelation Amplifiers and Preamp combine the most linear vacuum tubes with the most linear circuits possible ... fully balanced throughout, input to output, with precision custom-designed transformers. There is zero feedback, local or global, so the signal goes straight through the circuit on one pass, with no signal recirculation, comparators, or issues with transient stability or phase margin. All active devices are in true (thermal) Class A, all of the time, with no Class D time- slicing, no Class AB switching transitions, and no device saturation or high-order distortion from MOSFETs or bipolar transistors.
The classic Western Electric circuits of the 1930's have been brought into the 21st Century, with state-of-the-art power supplies with 130 dB of isolation ... not just from the incoming AC power, but from section to section. Distortion from the power tubes never cross-modulates with the input or driver, even at full clipping, and recovery is instantaneous. The power supplies for the 300B's have reserves eight times greater than the steady-state power rating of 27 watts. The preamp has a 60-watt supply!”
We are still negotiating all of the components and costs. But, we expect final pricing to be $20,000 for the pair of mono blocks and $4,800 for the preamp, plus shipping. A 50% deposit is required for the initial production run this year, with the balance due at the time of shipping.
Ultralam Equipment PlatformsFinally, we have had a lot of requests for Ultralam equipment platforms. You can expect to see these on the website before the end of September in different sizes to fit our amplifiers, preamp, turntables, etc. These are made from the same material that we use in our X4 speaker baffles and will include GAIA feet or carpet spikes.
As always, we appreciate your continued interest and support. Drop us a line on the support page, and we will get back to you. Or, give Clayton a call, and we will talk with you directly.
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David Whitt,
General Manager
