[craig]

Hello folks,
I'm a proud owner of a pair of Sapphire III LE's with rose-wood side-panels.  I drive them with an Integra 5.3 receiver and couple them with a modest Aperion 8" subwoofer.  I personally think these speakers sound and look beautiful...with the grooved black front and top with the wood panels, kevlar woofer..yada yada...

In the past few years, this model has gone through some radical changes..going from the my model..to the 25th anniversary edition..to the current XL edition.

Can anyone or has anyone done an audio comparison of these generations of speakers.  They have gone through some radical changes in both box design and drivers.. and was wondering how these are reflected in their sound.

Thanks,
-Craig

[Mike Dzurko]

Craig:

I was thinking others might chip in as there are quite a few folks who have compared two or more generations of Sapphires. But since no one has so far 

Let me start with quotes from the recent review by Paul Cervantes, at UltraLinear Audio:

"Audio Concepts has been making Sapphires, in various forms, for decades. I’ve heard many of the
iterations and have always come away impressed but never overwhelmed. While better than good,
they just didn’t cross the precipice to greatness. Then came the Sapphire XL. . . . .

Though the folks at ACI are too modest to use the appelation, the Sapphire
XL is a true reference speaker, and that is not a term I use lightly. Highly
recommended for immediate audition."
*Note that Paul had previously heard Sapphire III LEs and 25th Anniversary Sapphires.

As the guy ultimately responsible for the sound of our speakers I agree with Paul. With each new generation of Sapphire we've tried to make consistent improvements without giving anything up . . .  not always easy to do.  I've spent many, many happy hours with each generation providing great music. I must say, at this point, I really don't see how we're going to improve on the XL . . .

[craig]

Thanks for the input Mike,

Actually, I was interested more in some descriptives like..."lower bottom end" or "higher amound of detail in the high frequencies".....stuff like that.  Even before the Sapphire III LE's, I recall that you once had a Ti tweeter.  Were they considerably brighter?  

[Mike Dzurko]

Thanks for the input Mike,

Actually, I was interested more in some descriptives like..."lower bottom end" or "higher amound of detail in the high frequencies".....stuff like that.  Even before the Sapphire III LE's, I recall that you once had a Ti tweeter.  Were they considerably brighter?  

Craig:

The original Sapphires used a kevlar tweeter, then went to a Titanium tweeter. With the Sapphire III we did a complete redesign going to the ScanSpeak silk dome tweeter . . . . much smoother thatn the Ti, yes I'd say the Ti was bright in comparison.