[Spatial Audio]

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Life can be challenging. For us, listening to good music provides a welcome refuge from whatever is going on in the world. We hope you had a good summer and are looking forward to time with good friends and family this holiday season.

Lots going on at Spatial. Here are a few of the highlights...

Speaker Demonstration

S4 speaker demo available at the Linear Tube Audio listening room

We now have our S4 speakers available to hear at the LTA listening room in Takoma Park, Maryland. (7316 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912) If you are in the area and want to hear some great audio in person, they are generally available Monday – Friday 11a – 4:30p. You can also call them at 301-448-1534 or send an email inquiry to [email protected]

New Products

Silver interconnects – XLR

Check our our new high-definition silver interconnect cables. These are custom made to length and provide superior transparency at a more affordable price than rivals on the market. These are the same cables we used in Southwest Audio Fest in Dallas earlier this year. Available in Black and Gray sheath. A single-ended variant is coming soon. https://www.spatialaudiolab.com/store/interconnects

You can read more here – https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=191869.msg2008057#msg2008057

(Silver XLR Interconnect - Black)

Product development – The Dawn Preamplifier

The Dawn marks the beginning of Spatial Audio’s new Evolution Series — a line dedicated to renewing classic high-performance designs with modern engineering.

Inspired by Don Sachs’s beloved DS2 line stage, The Dawn is a complete re-imagining of his work. Every element was re-engineered from the transformer forward, not to change its character, but to reveal more of what made the original so musically compelling.

(Prototype shown – Production will differ slightly)

At its foundation is an all-new, ultra-low-noise power architecture. A new and improved B+ supply delivers less than 2 µV of ripple, fed by custom potted and shielded toroidal transformers and a 100% film-capacitor supply — eliminating noise that was previously buried beneath the noise floor.

Freed from those power-supply constraints, the original noise-cancellation network in the DS2 could be removed. The result is a cleaner, more phase-coherent signal path that better preserves timing, harmonic structure, and low-level spatial information.

The gain stage itself has been re-voiced around an R-matched Aikido topology, keeping both triodes at identical operating points. This allows the circuit to cancel distortion naturally, without feedback, while preserving the tonal density and dimensionality tube enthusiasts love.

Beyond the audio path, The Dawn introduces thoughtful modern features: automatic tube recognition for 6SN7 and 12SN7 operation, soft-start and high-voltage sequencing, output muting at power-on, remote power control, and a dedicated subwoofer output — all implemented outside the signal path.

The Dawn enters production early next year. We expect to begin taking pre-orders before year end, with first deliveries in February 2026 at a price below $4,000 USD including shipping in the lower 48.

Crossover Upgrades for Legacy Speakers

It’s not surprising that Spatial Audio Lab customers want to hang on to their older open baffle speakers. They sound great! But, could they sound even better? Well, yes! For a fraction of the cost of new speakers, owners of the previous generation of Spatial Audio Lab speakers can experience a fresh, new sound. We offer upgrades on the early (pre-2023) X4, X5, M3, M4 and M6.

Significant improvements are made in sound-stage, more precise imaging and a greater open / holographic presentation. New crossovers for the M3, M6 and X4 are direct replacement. And, you can easily swap between your original and new crossovers to comparison test during the 45-day in-home trial. Both the M4 and X5 require that speakers be sent to Spatial for wiring changes and, in the case of the X5, minor woodworking between the baffle sections to accommodate the new crossover components.

Example - original crossover left, upgrade right

What have customers said about their upgrade?

“I almost can't put it into words without it sounding like an exaggeration. I have some good electronics behind the M6's and the image I'm getting is Stunning! You're hearing so much more around the instruments that you even thought was possible. The performers are so individually well defined! The noise floor reduction is why this is possible. What took me by surprise was the fact that the surface noise on vinyl is so dramatically reduced! People will be backing me up on this down the road! Get the top option guys. With time they'll just get more beautiful,refined!” - Dave W (AudioCircle post)

“… Overall, instruments had increased presence in the sound-stage, better recovery of low level notes (some I never heard before), and quicker transients. Combined, these changes brought the music (classical, rock, jazz) another step closer to reality. Baffle-less speakers like the upgraded X5s sound fantastic with excellent source, amplification, cabling, and vibration control components. (The original X5s sounded very good but the upgraded X5s sound better in my system.) …To current X5 owners, I highly recommend the upgrade as well as the original X5s. “ - George F. (October, 2025)

Music recommendations

As usual, we have some recommendations for your listening pleasure. If you have different speakers available or different components you like to swap in, you may be surprised at how different these tracks can sound.

    “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” by Carpenters – the intro is silly; get past that and this is a highly dynamic track with beautiful vocals and layers that should be well differentiated

    “Une Nuit A Paris (Part 1) by 10cc – another track that takes advantage of a “black background” to pull you into the scene; close your eyes and it’s like you are right there in front of the performers

    “Wicked Game” by Daisy Gray – not the original; but, hypnotic and haunting in it’s own special way

    “Bad As I Used To Be” by Chris Stapleton – this track makes me want to get stuff done

    “Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright – we have been using this song to A/B test changes in our system (interconnects, amplifier, preamp components, tubes, etc) – detail and instrument separation in particular

Thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm!

David Whitt
General Manager