Background
Positioning
The X3’s will sound good no matter where you put them. They have a wonderfully even off-axis power response. I’ve even run them very close to the front wall (about 18 inches) and they sounded fine.
But what about optimal position, you ask? Well, in my room it was about 5 feet out into the room, a bit closer together than I’ve run most of my other speakers, and pointed straight ahead. This is different than my usual setup. Usually I have the speakers farther apart and then toed in to that the tweeters point at my shoulders. And the X3’s sounded fine like that in my space too. But on a lark I tried them pointed strait out and the soundstage really expanded in my room. Then I tried them a bit closer together (again, on a lark) and the soundstage ‘fill’ improved quite a bit in my space. I suspect a lot of this is a result of my VERY imperfect room. If I had a room with regular dimensions and even loading (and no giant dining room table between them), my old way of position might still be best. But really, no matter WHERE you put them, they always sounded great. These are the least fussy speakers I've owned in a while.
OB’s and Bass
OK, quick lesson on why OB speakers RULE in the real world. If you have a dedicate room with excellent dimensions and the ability to do aggressive treatments (including giant bass traps), then an OB speaker is probably not necessary. I’ve heard several systems where box speakers absolutely crush it in a dedicated room like that. But my space is NOT a perfect space like that. Haha, not even close! And I found out with my last speakers, even very very good box speakers will struggle in a space like mine.
Why? Mostly it’s due to uneven room loading, particularly in the BASS. If you don’t have a truly full range speaker, then it’s not quite as bad. But if you want full range sound, then OB is by far the best solution, IME. Because a box speaker produces bass like it’s a pulsing sphere. Which means that it creates lumpy room modes in all 3 dimensions. And it pressurizes the room in an unpleasant way. OB speakers (because they are dipole speakers) fire acoustic energy forward (in phase) and backward (out of phase) which results in bass cancellation to the sides. In a real world (imperfect) room like mine, this is a BLESSING. It not only removes the unpleasant bass pressurization, it also removes one of the major room modes by never exciting it in the first place. Very elegant solution to a normally intractable problem!
Excellent review! After reading your review, I repositioned my X5s further outside of my listening position, but shy of firing straight ahead. I was shocked at the sonic improvement with this positioning. I’ve always lingered with my X5s aiming the AMT either just outside of my ears or just outside of my shoulders. I tried toeing them out further in the past, but not this much.
Also, I was wondering how big of a difference is the low frequency with the X3 vs. X5? Have you or anyone in this forum compared the X3 vs. X5 bass frequency differences? I feel like I should have bought the X3 as I’m assuming the 15” subwoofer produces more bass impact over my X5s? Just curious….
Also, I appreciated the details on the myriad of amps used with your X3s. I’m curious how Luxman SS gear would sound with Spatials? In fact, I’d love to audition; Luxman, Audio Research, Carver, Holo Audio Serene preamp, and Zesto. If anyone has heard any of these components with their Spatials, please share your impressions. I have PrimaLuna EVO 400 series and I auditioned an LTA preamp and amp. I like them both, but I think the LTA edged out the PrimaLuna with the details. I’m still holding tight with PrimaLuna at the moment and waiting on a few things to decide on some component swaps.
Thanks for sharing!
