[doggie]

Dear Spatial,

As an owner of some great X5's I would like to get some clarification on warranty and support. On your web page you state:

     "Spatial provides a 5 year limited warranty on all our products. (90 days on tubes)"

Does this mean that if my X5s purchased from Spatial Audio Labs are ~3 years old then they are still within the warranty period and available to be serviced by Spatial Audio Labs with replacement parts all available by you?

Thanks for any clarity you can provide.

[Spatial Audio]

Great question. We posted a response for this under our Frequently Asked Questions section at https://www.spatialaudiolab.com/resources

How can I get support for an older Spatial Audio Lab product? (M-series, X3/5, and older models)

Former owner, Clayton Shaw, is still an active part of the community and is available, on a best-effort basis, to assist with any questions you may have on these older products. You can reach Clayton at info@claytonshawacousticlab.com
Unfortunately, the manufacturer of the M-series tweeter stopped production on the Sapphire driver and they are just no longer obtainable. We are searching for a suitable replacement and/or upgrade kit for customers in need and will post more information if and when we can.

A little more background on that... at the time we worked with Clayton to restart the company, the X4 was the only viable speaker model based on availability of components and he agreed to provide ongoing support for the legacy products as he had a much better understanding of what that would entail as well as having some spare parts, etc.

[Daryl Zero]

I'm not understanding that answer. The warranty is with Spatial Audio which gets assumed when you buy the company to offer whatever support is needed as per the terms of the warranty. I'm not sure whether Doggie is asking whether the warranty passes to a second-hand buyer or just for himself.

As to questions, Clayton is working on his Caladan speaker which, according to buyers on Audigon, takes months to get. Things seem pretty busy for him.

[Spatial Audio]

To be more specific, the organization formerly known as Spatial Audio Lab, went out of business. As the owner of those assets (and liabilities), Clayton was able to sell certain assets, including the name and other intellectual property that we acquired. A new organization was formed with the same name and some of the same personnel. Clayton provided guidance and direct assistance last year as we re-established industry relationships and cleared out the backlog of outstanding X4 orders. As busy as Clayton is with his new company, I do know first hand that he does take time to assist previous customers.

[Mr. Big]

To be more specific, the organization formerly known as Spatial Audio Lab, went out of business. As the owner of those assets (and liabilities), Clayton was able to sell certain assets, including the name and other intellectual property that we acquired. A new organization was formed with the same name and some of the same personnel. Clayton provided guidance and direct assistance last year as we re-established industry relationships and cleared out the backlog of outstanding X4 orders. As busy as Clayton is with his new company, I do know first hand that he does take time to assist previous customers.

It would be good customer service to support those who purchased Spatial Audio speakers they all came with a warranty and there should be care given to those buyers, if we are passing the buck and saying Clayton who no longer makes Spatial speakers, it gives me pause to consider buying from Clayton or Spatial Audio. Both cannot be trusted when a speaker is purchased and then says sorry tweeter is no longer available and you're out of luck if you need one with NO attempt to find a tweeter that could be used even if the customer had to purchase a new crossover. Claytons did this before starting a company, then selling and beginning another, but you would think there would be customer care for the customers who purchased speakers in good faith.

[Early B.]

It would be good customer service to support those who purchased Spatial Audio speakers they all came with a warranty and there should be care given to those buyers, if we are passing the buck and saying Clayton who no longer makes Spatial speakers, it gives me pause to consider buying from Clayton or Spatial Audio. Both cannot be trusted when a speaker is purchased and then says sorry tweeter is no longer available and you're out of luck if you need one with NO attempt to find a tweeter that could be used even if the customer had to purchase a new crossover. Claytons did this before starting a company, then selling and beginning another, but you would think there would be customer care for the customers who purchased speakers in good faith.

It's unreasonable to expect a new company to support products they didn't make or sell. Fortunately, Clayton will continue to provide support for the products he developed and sold under his old company despite being under no obligation to do so. That doesn't normally occur and it's a major benefit to older Spatial Audio owners.

Regarding your tweeter example -- sometimes stuff happens that is beyond the control of the manufacturer. When a tweeter is no longer available, it's unreasonable to expect a boutique speaker manufacturer who has gone out of business to find a replacement tweeter (or custom order them) to fit into the existing cabinet, design and build new crossovers, and make all of this available for the handful of former customers who may need it.       

[Spatial Audio]

If someone has an older Spatial Audio Lab product that is broken, we are willing to attempt repair on a time & materials basis. Send us an e-mail at supportteam@spatialaudiolab.com with the details. We can talk with you about your expectations and what we think the outcome may be. As someone said recently, "a working speaker is better than no speaker."

[morganc]

The most common failure on the X series is the Sub amp.  It’s an easy fix.

[doggie]

If someone has an older Spatial Audio Lab product that is broken, we are willing to attempt repair on a time & materials basis. Send us an e-mail at supportteam@spatialaudiolab.com with the details. We can talk with you about your expectations and what we think the outcome may be. As someone said recently, "a working speaker is better than no speaker."

Thanks for the update on your position regarding supporting previous models from Spatial. This is a big help for those of us who need to sell our Spatial speakers to either trade up to one of your new models or simply downsize by necessity.

Yesterday I lost a sale for my X5s because the very motivated buyer could not get a call back from Clayton after may tries. He would have proceeded if he felt confident that you intend to honor the Spatial brand. You inherited a lot of "good will" when you purchased Spatial and this is a very good way to keep that momentum going. In the long run maintaining this support policy will benefit you by impressing potential new buyers and by maintaining customer loyalty of existing owners.

Best,
Paul

[harley.guy07]

I have owned the M3 Turbo S model since I bought them new in 2016, and they have a 20-year warranty on parts. I sent Clayton an email at his new business asking whether this warranty would still be active and if replacement parts were still available, never heard anything back from him. I do understand that this is an older model and parts might not be available but when I bought these speakers the great warranty was one of the selling points. But if something happens in the future I wonder if I will be able to get any help since all of this has taken place. I do understand that a 20-year warranty is quite a long time in the high-end audio world but it would be nice to know if this coverage is still in place. My speakers have worked flawlessly and hopefully will continue to but it would be nice to hear that from the source if I still have coverage or not. If one of my tweeters goes out or a woofer coil goes out, what am I to do with them? Who am I to contact if I get no reply from Clayton on this.

[RonN5]

Most of the audio companies are small companies and it is impossible to predict whether they will be around 1,3, 5 or even 20 years to make good on a warranty issue...which means that they buyer needs to take all of this into account with the purchase...if you assume a worst case, would you still buy the product knowing it may not be fixable to the original specks?

And if you do buy their product and the company is sold or goes out of business, should you immediately sell the product to minimize all of your risks?

One of the reason I bought Salks back in the day was because they were using off the shelf drivers and the "customized part" were the cabinets and crossovers....even though Salk is no longer here, the drivers they used are.

It would be great if all companies would make information available as to what drivers they are using and whether they are significantly modified from the factory original...but alas, this doesn't happen all that often and realistically, how helpful would it be to buyers of planars, stats, etc.

I don't blame the new Spatial...they didn't assume past liabilities...very typical of what happens when most companies are sold.  I also don't blame Clayton...he has already said he is months behind on past orders...seems to be getting a lot of future orders...so, does he really have time to answer hypothetical questions..."what if's" about products that haven't broken?

[aniwolfe]

New Warranty Label idea ....."5 Year Warranty Maybe" 

The good thing about most (not all) of the Spatial speakers is they used very durable pro drivers. Probably the reason for the  20 year warranty. The only parts that I have heard that might have issues are the Sapphire tweeter and the X model subwoofer amps.

[Charles Xavier]

Actually my buddy spoke with Clayton the other day and mentioned the tweeter issue with the M3 Saphire and Clayton said the Caladin tweeter may work but it depends on the M3 and how the tweeter was mounted. I guess there was 2 ways of mounting the m3 tweeter. Surface mounted or flush mounted

[Mr. Big]

Most of the audio companies are small companies and it is impossible to predict whether they will be around 1,3, 5 or even 20 years to make good on a warranty issue...which means that they buyer needs to take all of this into account with the purchase...if you assume a worst case, would you still buy the product knowing it may not be fixable to the original specks?

And if you do buy their product and the company is sold or goes out of business, should you immediately sell the product to minimize all of your risks?

One of the reason I bought Salks back in the day was because they were using off the shelf drivers and the "customized part" were the cabinets and crossovers....even though Salk is no longer here, the drivers they used are.

It would be great if all companies would make information available as to what drivers they are using and whether they are significantly modified from the factory original...but alas, this doesn't happen all that often and realistically, how helpful would it be to buyers of planars, stats, etc.

What should have been done was secure a stock of the drivers for warranty reason..Duh! Smile

I don't blame the new Spatial...they didn't assume past liabilities...very typical of what happens when most companies are sold.  I also don't blame Clayton...he has already said he is months behind on past orders...seems to be getting a lot of future orders...so, does he really have time to answer hypothetical questions..."what if's" about products that haven't broken?

[kd4ylq]

harley.guy07,
                     I was very positively influenced by the 20 year warranty when I bought my M3 Turbos new also. Now we know (and probably should have suspected) that an extended warranty is nothing more than a marketing ploy and probably worthless in actuality. I don't feel too bad about it though, nor should you. The speakers really sound fabulous and should give exceptionally good service for a very long time, which will make the cost of ownership seem trivial even if they die and become useless at some point in the future. Don't even think about the resale value being reduced by this, just enjoy them for what they can do and be happy! 

[RonN5]

Bryston still has a 20 year warranty...and even though the company has morphed ownership is still honoring its 20 year warranty and continues to offer new buyers a 20 year warranty.

In reality though, it probably makes more sense to "research" the "problem" rate users have had with a product you are considering and if it is extremely low, let that speak to the longevity of the product vs counting on a long warranty.

[zybar]

I have owned the M3 Turbo S model since I bought them new in 2016, and they have a 20-year warranty on parts. I sent Clayton an email at his new business asking whether this warranty would still be active and if replacement parts were still available, never heard anything back from him. I do understand that this is an older model and parts might not be available but when I bought these speakers the great warranty was one of the selling points. But if something happens in the future I wonder if I will be able to get any help since all of this has taken place. I do understand that a 20-year warranty is quite a long time in the high-end audio world but it would be nice to know if this coverage is still in place. My speakers have worked flawlessly and hopefully will continue to but it would be nice to hear that from the source if I still have coverage or not. If one of my tweeters goes out or a woofer coil goes out, what am I to do with them? Who am I to contact if I get no reply from Clayton on this.

Same here...mine arrived 8 years ago yesterday and I have had zero issues with them!

While I do have confidence that Clayton will do what he can to support them, I am also realistic about these lengthy warranties from almost any audio company (there a few out there who can and will honor the longer warranties).  I factor that into my buying equation and decision.

George

[doggie]

I probably should have just titled my thread as "Support Clarification". Currently there seem to be two ideas being discussed here. The first is warranty length and the second is the status of repairs when a company changes hands. Ever since Spatial changed hands I have been thoughtful of what might happen to our ability to have our speakers repaired, especially when relatively new speaker models were suddenly considered as legacy and no longer produced.

Luckily David Whitt recognized our concerns and has provided assurances regarding repairs of now previous models. In my case he phoned me and we have traded several emails. He even offered to contact a buyer for my X5s who had become shy over support status. Luckily I found another buyer who was motivated and I was able to sell my speakers.

To be clear, I would not have sold my speakers if we were not moving to a condo with far less space and a downstairs neighbor. The X5s have worked flawlessly and I consider them to be end-game speakers.

[Mr. Big]

I probably should have just titled my thread as "Support Clarification". Currently there seem to be two ideas being discussed here. The first is warranty length and the second is the status of repairs when a company changes hands. Ever since Spatial changed hands I have been thoughtful of what might happen to our ability to have our speakers repaired, especially when relatively new speaker models were suddenly considered as legacy and no longer produced.

Luckily David Whitt recognized our concerns and has provided assurances regarding repairs of now previous models. In my case he phoned me and we have traded several emails. He even offered to contact a buyer for my X5s who had become shy over support status. Luckily I found another buyer who was motivated and I was able to sell my speakers.

To be clear, I would not have sold my speakers if we were not moving to a condo with far less space and a downstairs neighbor. The X5s have worked flawlessly and I consider them to be end-game speakers.

These are great speakers and the one thing they do as well as my Love of Quad ESL speakers is they make the sound reproduction sound live-like in the room. They could have done better (Clayton) by stocking replacement parts for issues as they arise and that happens more often than not. Not till a product hits the field with real in-world use will you find a part here and there that has issues. The one thing they could do is offer a better crossover due to the box design that the speakers have Sapphires M3s etc.

[Daryl Zero]

I probably should have just titled my thread as "Support Clarification". Currently there seem to be two ideas being discussed here. The first is warranty length and the second is the status of repairs when a company changes hands. Ever since Spatial changed hands I have been thoughtful of what might happen to our ability to have our speakers repaired, especially when relatively new speaker models were suddenly considered as legacy and no longer produced.

Luckily David Whitt recognized our concerns and has provided assurances regarding repairs of now previous models. In my case he phoned me and we have traded several emails. He even offered to contact a buyer for my X5s who had become shy over support status. Luckily I found another buyer who was motivated and I was able to sell my speakers.

To be clear, I would not have sold my speakers if we were not moving to a condo with far less space and a downstairs neighbor. The X5s have worked flawlessly and I consider them to be end-game speakers.

Glad you were able to get a buyer and it is great that David was willing to help and provide assurances. I love my X5s but realize that there have been some issues with the woofer amps and hope that support will be there if I need it (outside of warranty as I bought these 2nd hand). I met David and others at PAF last year and thought they were definitely good people.