[mrotino332]

Hi Ric,

Ok that's what I will do, break them in and then adjust and see what sounds best.  Thank you for the recommendations on the footers as well.  I actually just spoke with Clayton as he wanted me to call to let him know the speakers arrived safely.  He pretty much echoed what others have said and he prefers the X5's toed in so the tweeters are firing directly at your ears or just outside your ears but of course he mentioned to experiment as to what sounds best for you as far as soundstaging and imaging. 
He also mentioned that distance from the back wall and side wall is dependent on the room so you just need to experiment as to what gives the best bass response and soundstage imaging/depth at your listening position.

[ric]

I have my M3's in about the samepposition as you, but mine are toed in so that the tweeter line crosses in front of the listening position about a foot in front of my head. Laser markers help. Good luck!

[Audiophile58]

Great speakers but should have a built in processor ,and app for the Bass.
Just look at SVS for a great example ,the engineers said for under $100 in
Parts ,you have a fully adjustable bass management app ,you just hav3 to pay a web guy to set up your app .100 x easier and you can change bass when need per changing sing and output it makes sense my friend has 2 of the subs.first ones to incorporate 50
Bit bass processing from Analog devises. The M5, and M3 great speakers ,the bass management is the only glaring weakness. Listen to customers and potential customers
So what if you have to charge another $500 well worth it to have that flexibility on the fly.

[mrotino332]

I believe most speakers are passive for bass and not adjustable.  But if you do want bass adjustability then I guess that's one key difference between the M series and X series.  You can adjust the bass level on the X and I do find it useful as some cd's/recordings are recorded at different bass levels so the option to adjust it is there.  But you still have to get up and separately adjust the bass level for each speaker to match bass output and cannot of course adjust it remotely from an app.

[Shakeydeal]

One listen to these speakers set up correctly and you will know you are hearing pitch correct and accurate bass. The DSP in the xover has already been set by Clayton and does a very good job. Having more things to fiddle with is not always a good thing, it can be down right mind numbing. The X series is set and forget. Sometimes simpler really is better.

Shakey

[bbybaudio]

I agree with Shakey, the subwoofer amp with built and programmed by Clayton DSP works really well with the X3s and X5s. One just needs to adjust the subwoofer amp gain to match the gain of the main amp. On another note for Shakey, wondered if you received the spikes you showed a little while ago for use on your X3s, and if so, what are your thoughts?

[Shakeydeal]

I didn't get the Track Audio spikes, I bought these instead

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/tiptoes/feet/feet-yung-ylc-black-chrome-1-3/8-tall-1/4-20-insert/

They work great and the sound did improve. The spike goes all the way through the carpet and pad and makes contact with the concrete slab. Exactly what I wanted.

Shakey

[Don_S]

I have used these in the past. Good if you want something taller. I only see 1/4-20 threads.

Gold plated: https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/tiptoes/feet/feet-yung-yblcg-gold-plated-long-subwoofer-tiptoe-2.15/

Black Chrome:  https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/tiptoes/feet/feet-yung-yblc-black-chrome-tiptoe-2.15/

[sarora9]

I agree with Shakey, the subwoofer amp with built and programmed by Clayton DSP works really well with the X3s and X5s. One just needs to adjust the subwoofer amp gain to match the gain of the main amp. On another note for Shakey, wondered if you received the spikes you showed a little while ago for use on your X3s, and if so, what are your thoughts?

Note that the subwoofer amp in X3/X5 are connected directly to the speaker cables. It doesn't get line level input. So the goal is not to match the gain of the main amp but to allow a good match  with room acoustics. My bass setting in X3 (in  a v. large space, far from front wall) is 2 notches before max level.

[bbybaudio]

Sarora, thank you for that info. I initially set X5 subwoofer amp levels using 60 Hz and 40Hz warble tones, and then just listened for final adjustment.

[bbybaudio]

The X5s continue to put a smile on my face every time I play music. Last night enjoyed Etta James, Blue Gardenia more than ever.

[mrotino332]

To say they've exceeded my expectations is an understatement.  I only have about 30 hours or so on them so know they will improve even further which is crazy to think they will.  Listened to some Patricia Barber and Brad Shepik Trio last night; the upright bass and drums sound incredibly realistic, best my system has ever sounded.  I can roll driver tubes and have found the RCA blackplates and Amperex bugle boys the best so far.  If I want a slightly warmer sound I can use the Mullards.

My primary guage when listening to various stereo systems is the amount of time I can listen and essentially not be bored or my mind wandering while listening.  With these speakers I can listen for hours and no fatigue or boredom ever sets in.  I don't find myself switching songs like I did in the past or having to raise the volume to enjoy the music.  The ability to play well at low volumes is another added bonus with these speakers.

[Jprod]

What amps are driving those speakers?

[mrotino332]

I believe you are asking me.  I'm driving them with only a 30 watt/channel class A integrated hybrid amp Pathos twin towers.  It's an older integrated but have not had the need for more power as I've always used speakers that were 90 db or more efficient.

In the past I had compared the Pathos to both upper end Sim Audio and Edge electronic separates at around 250 watt/channel and a few of us who listened all preferred the pathos but the speakers were 91 db efficient for the comparison.  I think it's a combination of class A, single ended and the ability to change the sound of the amp with different input driver tubes but who knows.  It's a very fast amp.
But the Pathos runs hot and definitely sounds better with speakers above 4 ohms preferably 8 ohms so the X5 is a very good match.  If you use speakers below 5 ohms supposedly it reverts to class AB.

I know I'm barely raising the volume half way and already the speakers are more than loud/dynamic enough but the X5s play amazingly well at even much lower volumes which is unsurpassed in my experience.