[dnhs-trey74]

New here:

I see the Spatial, Gr-Research and other open baffle speakers here a lot.  Here is the can-o-worms question from the bloke that is totally new and open about them.  Yeah, I know  :

Which do you recommend and why?

[Cheytak.408]

I kept hoping someone would post something here to answer the question.  I'm on the naughty list and not sure this will display, but here goes.

They are both great speakers.  I owned Super V's, but a friend talked me out of them.  I've listened to Spatials.  Both are dynamic, open and fast.  There are differences in presentation for sure.  It comes down to your tastes and whether or not you are a competent woodworker.  I'll soon be building a pair of NXtremes

The Spatials are a tidier package.  The GR speakers take up more space due to outboard subs.  It is a question of time and budget.  The GR speakers can be considerably less money, but shipping to Australia would be expensive.

Bottom line:  I don't think you could go wrong with either.

HTH.  I know this is kind of a non-answer, but those are two great choices.

[Tyson]

I own the Spatial X3's and a pair of the GR Research Super 7's (plus I've extensively demo'd the NX series at Danny's).  If you have the space and the skills, I'd say go for the GR Research speakers.  You'll get very high performance from them.  On the other hand, if you are not great at woodworking and don't have space for a 4 piece speaker system like the NX-Otica, then the Spatials are the way to go.  Exceptionally high performance in a very compact package and is a visual piece of art. 

From a pure performance standpoint, it's a tossup, so make your decision based on the other factors mentioned above.

[mcgsxr]

I built and played around with DIY open baffles for around a decade.  Liked that.

Also really liked the commercially available Magneplanar 1.6QR.

Have not personally heard the high end GR OB's, did hear a smaller set of speakers from them with an OB top section and boxed bass lower section. 

A local Spatial owner has invited me over to hear those, once we're done with the plague I will go for sure.  Curious about those.

Like Tyson, I think the magic is in the listening.  I don't currently use OB speakers, but would again if life stage changed and I could.  I really enjoy the musical presentation that OB gives.  And I miss it when I use boxed speakers.

[dnhs-trey74]

Thanks gents.

I wonder if there are any GR speakers close to Cairns?

[markf31]

For the more price conscience audiophile, I will throw in Caintuck Audio for consideration. I listened to a set of these powered by a Decware Zen amp at a Capital Audio Fest around 2015 or 2016 and was blown away. The combination of the full range single driver and and open baffle makes the speakers disappear.