Tomorrow I turn 50, and I don't know where the time has gone. Over the years I have had many different speakers, and I'm now the proud owner of a pair of Bob's Timepiece 3.0's. Before I get into the review (I'll try to keep it short and sweet), a little info about myself is in order. I began playing the guitar in 1965 (thank you Paul, John, George, and Ringo) and have been playing professionally since 1975. I'm not a trained musician. Instead I have been blessed with a pretty good set of ears, so naturally I'm picky about what I hear. I have recorded in several studios and have heard a fair amount of good studio monitors. In fact, I have my own home studio and equipped it with some pretty nice gear. My current mains are Focal Twin 6 BE monitors. I absolutely love these things and bought the 3.0's to use in my 2 channel home stereo system for general listening and checking mixes. My previous setup was a Pass Labs X250.5 powering a pair of Von Schweikert VR4SR Mk2's. I was perfectly content with this setup.......until I came across a small unknown company called SP Tech (this was only about 7 months ago). There was something about these speakers that intrigued me to no end. I still can't pinpoint what it was, but none the less dove in head first and endured the grueling wait and problems that came with it. That was then, this is now. NOW. The sound? My god THE SOUND. I have heard the angels sing. Never before have I heard a speaker play this good right out of the box. Bob has created something very special with this speaker. They are the most natural sounding speakers I have ever heard. The imaging is insane! They are seamless and reproduce everything perfectly (perfectly of course if it was recorded that way). If your tunes were recorded bad, you'll hear it. These speakers should be permanent fixtures in recording studios and living rooms everywhere. It just doesn't get any better than this. If it does, I'd like to hear it. I don't feel a need for a sub with these speakers. There has been some posts about amplification for the 3.0's. I sold off my Pass amp (power hungry beast not to mention the heat) and bought a pair of used Channel Islands D-200 monos. They drive the 3.0's effortlessly. I highly recommend them. Now to the nitpicking. You know, there's really not anything to nitpick about. I guess I could mention something about the 3 piece fronts and the possibility that the 3 pieces won't match up perfectly resulting in "skunk stripes", but that's a quality control issue and I suspect the guys at SP Tech can't hand pick the hardwood to reduce it. Mine look pretty good, but I have seen some Mini's.............the only other thing I can think of is that the right speaker terminals are pretty close to the right handle (the handles enable the back panel to be removed easier) making connections a little dicey if you have big hands or use a wrench to tighten the terminals. These are minor issues mind you, but are noticeably apparent. The speakers came packed in great containers, so you won't have to worry about shipping issues. This review wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention Bill Baker of Response Audio. He was an absolute pleasure to work with during the wait. He was always available when I had a question (or a gripe!) and was as honest as a person can be with his answers. Thanks Bill! I think he's going to post a pic of my system so you guys can see what a Maple pair of 3.0's look like. One last thing. Use room treatments! I can't stress this enough. I see too many systems without it. I recommend GIK for good affordable panels. In the end, I can say that I will keep these speakers for a long long time. I can't see finding anything that will best them, honestly, and I've heard some good speakers. Like I said before, I have heard the angels sing. Thanks Bob, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!! (I'm smiling from ear to ear)
