[Birdbrain]

 I've had my speakers for two weeks. The improvement from however many hours of loud usage I've given them so far is significant. I had to move them back about seven inches from my initial positioning yesterday, so as to move a large parrot cage out to the deck. 
The new position is also an unexpected and huge improvement. Allow plenty of time for trying different distances from the wall. When you find the right distance, holy cow!!!

 I found playing good mono CDs invaluable in positioning my speakers. When you get  a focused, solid image in front of you, and not a left and right image. As a bonus, stereo will now also sound right. Disk two of this fantastic set is an excellent tool for getting things in the right spot.

https://www.amazon.com/Slaughter-Standards-ORIGINAL-RECORDINGS-REMASTERED/dp/B00DVKIZXK/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=homer%20and%20jethro%20slaughter%20the%20standards&qid=1555525013&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull&tag=mfconvert-20


I've played a truckload of different styles of music since I got these speakers. They've played it all just like I want it to sound in my dreams.


I can't believe people are buying Forte IIIs for the price of Triode Masters. I haven't heard the Forte III, but have spent many hours listening to Forte II. The superiority of the M3TM over the Forte II is like 20,000 Light Years. To be fair, the Fortes would suit me better than ever considering a pair of small stand mounted speakers in this price range. Looking forward to further burning in improvement. After last night's listening session further improvement seems impossible. I'm driving them with an Audio by Van Alstine Vision SET 120 amp. Frank tells me it's probably putting out around 50 wpc into the 12 ohm load, and would be operating in Class A at most listening levels. Into the M3 Turbo's 4  ohm load, it would be putting out around 120 wpc. The SET 120 has more than enough power to effortlessy, stresslessly drive the M3TMs to insanely loud levels, with a drop dead incredible soundstage. A wonderful combination. If you were budgeting $2-3k for amplification, the SET 120 leaves you with an extra $1100-2100 to spend on speakers. I'm glad I had an opportunity to get a pair of Triode Masters. They are the bargain of the century at $4k.


edit:if anyone wants to send me, gratis, any kind of amplification, tube, SS, Class D, etc. they feel would thrash my AVA, I welcome the opportunity to give it a fair hearing. 

[Birdbrain]

My helpers.

[Birdbrain]

By the way, I'm using Audio Sensibility Impact SE speaker cables. Don't feel like looking for anything else.
https://audiosensibility.com/blog/products-2/speaker-cables-2/#!/Impact-SE-Single-Wire-Speaker-Cables/p/68871228/category=2595835

[reillyzing]

Hi, how many inches in front of the staircase are your speakers? Have you noticed any issues?
Also, how many feet apart are your speakers..and your room dimensions? Thank you.

[Birdbrain]

Right now the speakers are about 3' in front of the staircase, a little over 6' from the wall behind them. I still can't help myself from incrementally moving them front and back, adjusting toe-in, etc., hoping to find THE perfect spot. They are around 10' apart, 12.5' to my ears. The left speaker is around 4' from the side wall,  the right speaker has no side wall. The house dimensions are 28'x30'. It's impossible for me to say what issues my problematic listening room might be causing, as I've never heard the speakers in a more conventional room. Even in my room, the speakers throw a holographic soundstage, with satisfying bass and zero harshness. I'm so glad I bought them, couldn't be happier.

[Tyson]

Yep, OB speakers just interact with difficult rooms much better than box speakers do.  It's really an unfair advantage

[harley.guy07]

You are very correct that these speakers do better is non perfect rooms. They kind of do well in most situations if you set them up properly to do their thing. I just upgraded from the Nurforce p-8 pre and Nuwave PS Audio Dac to the PS Audio Gain Cell DAC because it was a killer dac and class a preamp in one chassis. The bass on the M3's come to life with this setup, For the first time since owning these I feel like adding the sub with them is not a needed thing but helpful in some situations, But for most of the music I listen to I am quite happy with my new setup. Pure Balanced connections between the Gain Cell DAC and Pass Labs amp help i think as well

[Doublej]

Yep, OB speakers just interact with difficult rooms much better than box speakers do.  It's really an unfair advantage

Why is this? Radiation pattern?

[Tyson]

Why is this? Radiation pattern?

Yep, the radiation pattern just knocks down the side walls, acoustically speaking.  And if they are constant directivity on top of that (and Spatials are), then you get a very cool effect.  Have you ever worn super high end headphones?  There's a purity, intimacy and directness to the sound that's incredible because the headphones remove the room from the equation entirely.  Great OB speakers are like that.  Except that great OB speakers also have chest thumping bass and a massive soundstage.

I've had to deal with acoustically uneven rooms all my life.  I tried a ton of different approaches to deal with the acoustic imbalances (room treatments, sophisticate EQ, etc....)  It was ONLY when I took a chance on an OB design that I was able to get decent sound in my difficult rooms.

[harley.guy07]

To be quite honest it will take a lot of swaying to get me to ever go back to a different design. Just the fact that there is no enclosure to color the sound is a big thing for me, I remember listening to one of Eric Clapton's newer acoustic albums and there is a acoustic solo in one of the songs that made my Dynaudio's cabinets ring like they were calling a dinner bell and that was the last of my time with them. I have very sensitive ears to outside influence with music since being a musician in my past. The only box speakers that seem to be able to get past this effect are ones that use very expensive panels made of aluminum or some sandwich of materials that took NASA to produce and the cost is unheard of, No thank you, I will enjoy the same type of colorless sound with way more money in my pocket with my Spatial's