[newzooreview]

On wood or tile floors throw pillows will also work and can be removed after listening.

Or lots of big fluffy dogs!

[Desertpilot]

We've successfully hijacked this thread to discuss break-in.  So, I might as well join in.  I feel like I am not a member of the club because my experience isn't all that bad with my X3s.  Of course they are a significant upgrade over my old bookshelf speakers.  Maybe that's why I am so thrilled with the X3s.  I received my X3s in mid May.  90 days of listening about 2 or 3 hours a day puts over 200 hours on them.  I have a large rug with a thick pad on the floor (laminate over concrete slab).  I use GAIA IIs.  I have GIK diffusor/absorbers and bass traps behind each speaker.  My room is part of our "great" room (40 feet wide, 30 feet long and 12 foot vaulted ceiling).

Results?  They sound fantastic.  Wide and deep soundstage (speakers disappear).  Magnificent music reproduction.  Maybe I need to get an "expert" over here to listen and cringe.

Marcus

[newzooreview]

Maybe I need to get an "expert" over here to listen and cringe.

I don't think anyone here has claimed to be an expert or has questioned the validity of what you hear in your system.

[Mr. Big]

WE all share our listening observations, nothing more or less. I am sure what I hear in my room is different than what you hear. My power cords, gear, and my room acoustics are unlike all others. So I can say what I hear, that is until I swap out a Hurricane power cord for a Firebird power cord, then insert a Tornado power cord, then I have to write about a different perspective in what I am hearing or by removing an ARC panel from between my speakers then just that one change and I hear a different sound from the top to bottom. There just are no Absolutes. In the end, it takes knowledge, experience, and the ability to try something different that makes one find the sound they enjoy hearing.

[Ozspace]

That's it for about 200 hours of playing time. They sound listenable right now. Nothing horrifying.

I'm using a Benchmark AHB2 amp. Holo May KTE Dac and Holo Serene KTE preamp.

Thank you for the unboxing information and photos.

I thought that the X3 would be the likely speakers for my room etc, but it looks like the M3  or X4 is the more likely choice, so it has been great to see the unboxing and set-up of your speakers.

Because everything in my system is pretty ancient (like me), I will be going new all round, and after lots of reading reviews etc, I decided in the last 2 days that Benchmark AHB2 amp , Holo May DAC  (probably May/possibly Spring) would be in there, with a decision to be made about whether to go with the Benchmark pre or the Holo pre.....and then today I read your thread.

Now that you will have a lot more hours up, are you happy to share your latest thoughts about how your speakers are going, and how they are working with the other elements in your system?

Because there will be some time involved in getting the Spatials to Australia, hopefully everything else can be well "run in" by the time the speakers get here. 

Thank you,
Paul.

[birdyblabla]

Any News on your M3 Sapphires? What is the sound like a few weeks later?

[newzooreview]

Any News on your M3 Sapphires? What is the sound like a few weeks later?

The Sapphires have continued to open up, reveal more detail, relax, deepen in soundstage, and sound more and more like natural, realistic music from top to bottom. They seemed to go through a somewhat significant shift in all of those good directions about three weeks ago, around the 800 hour mark.

Others have noted that they might continue to improve or go through another bump in improvement at 1200 hours, but I'm at the point where I am not listening for evidence of break-in, just listening to music.

One change that I made since last posting was to change my interconnects and speaker cables over to Anticables. I now use the Level 4.3 XLR interconnects and the Level 3.1 speaker wires with banana plugs. This made an obvious difference in detail retrieval and bass texture with nothing lost in other aspects. Spatial Audio clearly knows what they are about when using the Anticables at audio shows.

I suppose my update would be: 1) give it 800-1000 hours and 2) try the Anticables.

[geerock]

Newzooreview
Yeah I've had several brands of cabling in my system and I always go back to Anticables...including power cords.  Really a great cable at a great cost.  I remember when I first tried the PC's I was shocked at the immediate and obvious positive change that I heard.  Nice thing is you have 30 days to try them and they have an upgrade program too.

[minatophase3]

I suppose my update would be: 1) give it 800-1000 hours and 2) try the Anticables.

A while back I tested about 8 different speaker wires with a friend.  We had the Anticable 2.1 and 3.1 as well as 6 other brands costing as much as $3,000 / pair (I am fortunate to have a local dealer that will let me try different things for free as long as he has demos).  We were both surprised at how well the Anticables did.  The 3.1 are quite a bit better than the 2.1 and while a couple of the more expensive speaker wires sounded better than the 3.1 on my system, the 3.1's held their own, they were only bested by wires that were 4 or 5 times the cost.  They are the best bang for the buck of all the speaker wire I have tried.  Yes you can get better but it will cost you.

[RonN5]

newzooreview

It’s been a month since your last post here. Could you provide an update on your final speaker positioning from walls and from listening position… and what are you hearing.  Two of my impressions of the M3 are dynamics and realism.

[doggie]

@newzooreview

Thanks so much for the unboxing post. I am moving and also considering selling my X5's as part of the downsizing.

When I started to pack the speakers into the original boxes I could not remember how the packing was arranged. Your post was a life saver!

Best,
Paul

[newzooreview]

Sure thing. It will help me too, since I'll need to sell the M3 in advance of my own move.