Hey Tarheel,
it's great to hear that there is another Spatial convert in the RTP area. I'm just outside Chapel Hill, the "Southern Part of Heaven" as the realtors repeat incessantly. My M3T's took a very long time to break in (I didn't count the hours, it was more like years), but now I love the heck out of them and am thinking of buying a new pair of M3 sapphires to create an independent second system in the location where I originally had the M3T's. I was very surprised at how good the M3T's sound now that they are oriented across the short dimension of my living room - so much so that now I can't imagine moving them from that spot. Now want a new pair of Spatials to fire down the long dimension of the LR! What is your preferred speaker orientation, signal sources and amplification chain?