[Geoff868369]

Hello Everyone,

First post to Audiocircle.

So, I'm considering the M6 or M4 Sapphires given the positive reaction they have received thus far. Being open-baffle is a new concept for me, never heard an open-baffle speaker before. Closest speaker that resembles the Sapphire's are the Magnepan LRS but these cost £1100 in the UK which seems extortionate in comparison to U.S pricing. Most importantly, they have my partner approval, being wife-friendly & portable is always handy.

Since living in England will not be able to demo beforehand and any potential returns will be pretty expensive in shipping costs. So, for any Sapphire owners on this forum, are there any speakers that you have first-hand experience with that offer similar sonic characteristics to the Sapphire's?

Any positive feedback will be most appreciated. Just need to know what I am purchasing beforehand.

Ps. Seen New Record Day You-tube videos and they do sound very promising as much as you can attain from a You-tube video.

[loki7177]

Welcome to the forum.  I have had my M3 Sapphires since March of 2020.  I have also owned LRS'.  I have a really bad room mode, +15dB at 50hz due to it being square, 14' x 14' x 8'.  I had thought eq would be the only way to treat it until I discovered the Maggies and open baffle speakers.  The LRS' are great little fun speakers.  I like the Maggie sound so much I wanted to upgrade to the 3.7i but they were too big for my room.  That lead me to other open baffle speakers.  I heard and loved the GT Audioworks speakers with open baffle subs.  But I didn't want to drop 20-30K on speakers.  They also would have been too big for my room.  Next I started to look into open baffle speaker with dynamic drivers like Spatial and Pure Audio Project.  I had heard PAP at an audio show before and weren't impressed.  I started looking into Spatials and learned how well they did at Capital Audiofest in 2019.  I emailed and spoke to Clayton and was sold. 

As to their sonic characteristics, I am not sure they sound like anything I have ever owed or heard.  To me the most striking characteristics are how clean and neutral they sound in the upper and mid frequencies and how tight and fast the bass is.  These speakers do not excite my room mode so now I have big tight bass without any boominess.  Open baffle design doing exactly what is advertised.  The upper and mid frequencies are the most coherent, clean, clear, and neutral I have ever hear along with the GT Audioworks.  I am no speaker designer or engineer but I think it may have something to do with some features they have in common.  The GT Audioworks system consists of a full range planar driver and separate open baffle subs.  The planar is crossoverless.  I believe what makes these two speakers so coherent and neutral is do to the fact they have a single driver that produces most of the frequency band and the fact they have no crossovers.  Crossovers, even well designed ones can cause phase shifts, time delay, and rob transparency. 

[Geoff868369]

Hi Loki,

Thank you for expressing your thoughts regarding your M3 Sapphire's. Much appreciated.

Like you, my attraction to the Spatial Audio line is in their design philosophy and engineering, where open-baffle design seems to result in less room excitement, especially those living in smaller living spaces (my living room is 13'5" by 10'9" by 8ft). Initially, my speaker search led me down the standmount path, given the spatial restrictions of my room but the M6 is proving to be very alluring prospect and besides my partner loves their aesthetics and their presentation of sound.

Glad to hear you haven't experienced any boominess in your space, since room treatment can be quite imposing on modest size rooms like ours.

Would you say these speakers are more dynamic and resolving than your previous Magnepans LRS? As I'm a bit of a rocker at heart, having a speaker that is too resolving might cause listener fatigue. From my limited experience with Magnepan dealer in the UK, never experienced any fatigued with the LRS, just found them wanting in presence and authority in the lower mids. Will the Sapphire's provide that 'umph and heft'?

[loki7177]

I think M4 or M6 would be perfect for your room.  M3 would probably work too but I would run it by Clayton.  I probably would have went M4 if they were available when I bought mine.  I do have room treatment but in a small room you cannot have enough to treat room modes.  The LRS are great speakers especially for the price.  In fact I think all Maggies up to the 3.7i are fantastic for the price.  But the quasi ribbon models do not hold a candle to the Spatials.  They are definitely way more dynamic and resolving than those Maggies.  The Spatial's highs were edgy at times in the beginning but after 50 hours or so they calmed down a lot.  By the time mine reached 200 hours they were detailed and smooth.  I have not experienced any sense of fatigue since the initial 50 hours.

[Mr. Big]

Many times there have been many, many owners' impressions on this site. Can find many.

[franSSS]

Hello Everyone,

First post to Audiocircle.

So, I'm considering the M6 or M4 Sapphires given the positive reaction they have received thus far. Being open-baffle is a new concept for me, never heard an open-baffle speaker before. Closest speaker that resembles the Sapphire's are the Magnepan LRS but these cost £1100 in the UK which seems extortionate in comparison to U.S pricing. Most importantly, they have my partner approval, being wife-friendly & portable is always handy.

Since living in England will not be able to demo beforehand and any potential returns will be pretty expensive in shipping costs. So, for any Sapphire owners on this forum, are there any speakers that you have first-hand experience with that offer similar sonic characteristics to the Sapphire's?

Any positive feedback will be most appreciated. Just need to know what I am purchasing beforehand.

Ps. Seen New Record Day You-tube videos and they do sound very promising as much as you can attain from a You-tube video.

Best to ask Clayton Directly. Give him a drawing of your room as well as the measurements. You can even call him on whats app if need be. He is most helpful. Plus he designed the units. He may have a better understanding of which unit will work best. Sometimes far far better getting the right size speaker than getting the speaker you like. too many people buy what they think they like instead of being guided by the specialists. Give him an idea of your final gear as well.

[Geoff868369]

Thanks for the constructive feedback gents.