I've joined the SP Tech Club

spence · « **on:** 19 Dec 2007, 11:56 pm »

I placed my order today with Bill at Response Audio for a pair of Timepiece 3.0 monitors. I wish to thank Bill for his courteous service and willingness to work with me on my order. I will admit that I have yet to hear a speaker by SP Tech, so I'm buying these based on testaments from people like you. I own a fairly nice home recording studio, so I'm up to date on most monitors that are available on the market. Why I've never heard of SP Tech untill recently, I don't know. I guess it's lack of advertising. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to these new speakers. I will use them in my 2 channel stereo system and will see how well my mixes translate from my Focal Twin 6 monitors that I use in the studio. I'm going with the Maple baffle (Hey Bob can I get a tiger flame maple?), but not sure which wood I should use on the sides. I can't seem to find many pics of SP speakers anywhere. It seems like a couple of months ago there were 5 species of wood to choose from, but Bill said I've got 3....Maple, Cherry, and Red Oak. Is Walnut not available as a standard finish anymore? I like the Maple-Walnut combo. If any of you guys have speakers with mixed finishes (preferrably with maple), post some pics if you can. I'd like to see some more examples of these incredible speakers! Any pics will do!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 12:14 am »

Welcome spence....congrats on your purchase of the Timepiece 3.0 monitors.

As for a photo...I do own a pair of the Timepiece 2.0's....an older model.
Here's a shot from awhile ago....(the new one's look better)

Good luck....and happy listening....

Frank S. · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 12:31 am »

Hello Spence. Congratulations on your Timepiece 3.0s. You've chosen a great dealer and person in Bill.

I'll be receiving my Contiuum 2.5s in Walnut/Maple on Friday and be posting pictures shortly thereafter.

spence · « **Reply #3 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 01:04 am »

Thanks guys! I'm feeling pretty good right now. Hey lonewolf42, I really like the classic look of your speakers. In my eyes, that look will never go out of style. I'm guessing that the Standard finishes are my only options unless I opt for the premium woods at an extra cost. My floors are light maple, so I want a maple baffle, but I don't know that cherry or red oak would look that good on the sides. I may have to go all maple. My biggest question is what amp to get. I'm selling off my power hungry Pass Labs amp and thinking about going with the Bel Canto Ref 1000 monos or the Nuforce, but I know little about this type of amp outside of what I've read. The Bels run about $2300 used on Audiogon, and I can get a pair of used Nuforce 9's for about $1300 and have them upgraded to V2 for about $500. Decisions decisions!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #4 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 01:16 am »

Thanks....

As for which finish.....some photo's here...

As for an amp....I'd wait till you have your speakers....test them out...then see what direction you want to go.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #5 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 01:24 am »

I've had good word that the nuforce ref 9s don't have enough power to get the full range of dynamics out of the TP3.0s.

Aether Audio · « **Reply #6 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 01:51 am »

Spence,

Welcome aboard!!!

I just spoke with Bill a few minutes ago and asked him to pass on some of the options that are available to you. I apologize, but Walnut is no longer a "standard" wood species in our offerings. I had planned on it being so until after I got the bill from our wood vendor on the first batch we bought. Ouch... a little more salty than I had calculated. But...it is certainly available and in the case of the Walnut in particular, the up-charge for it isn't that much.

Talk to Bill, but we can work something out at a very reasonable cost - which could (if you like) include the Curly English Maple (Sycamore), that you see in our pic of the Continuum 2.5s (which are on their way to Frank S.)... on our website. Whatever your preference may be, we'll work real hard to get you something that you'd really like and bring it in at the lowest possible cost. I hate to see folks compromise on a substantial investment such as this - especially when they have a good idea regarding what they'd prefer. We have to cover our costs, but beyond that it's seldom much more actual work going with different species of wood. There are exceptions like burls or oily woods, but they are usually quite a bit more expensive to begin with.

We used to have a fixed price for what we call our "Premier Finish," but found it too limited and in many cases unfair to either us or the customer. Now we quote that price on a "per order" basis. Some of the possible finishes and combinations (which are virtually limitless) aren't all that bad from an added cost standpoint and can really make your pair a "one of a kind" - if you like.

As a side note... that's one advantage our customers have that you don't get from a lot of other companies. While it may take a while for us to get them to you, try ordering ANYTHING special in the way of finish from manufacturers that are out-sourcing their enclosures to Asia/South America/wherever. Every enclosure is made here in the good old USA. We're out-sourcing now too...all the way from Illinois!

Add to that the fact that we DO NOT out-source any design that we can't make here in-house ourselves. My business plan is to see to it that no vendor has the ability to shut us completely down.

This is quite in contrast to at least one other company that I know of that was essentially put out of business by a vendor from China. He was extended on his debt to customers and the banks, and was depending on the "balance due" from product sold (that he was to receive upon shipment to the customers) ... in order to survive. Well, the "slow boat from China" showed up with a batch of bad enclosures that couldn't be used. There was no time left to wait on a replacement shipment so...bankruptcy was all he had left. That ain't happening to this guy.

OK... I'm off on a tangent. Coffee break is over and it's time to get back to work. It's another all-nighter to get Ted B. His Revs before Christmas. That and I have Minis constantly biting at my heels and wanting to be prep-ed for a ride on Santa's sleigh as well.

Take care,
-Bob

mixsit · « **Reply #7 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 01:59 am »

Welcome and congrats' from a fellow home recordist Spence.

It'll be great to hear impressions from that angle of comparison with the Focals -no slouches there from the good rep they seem to have.

One thing is for sure, to hear these things pass the real thing (raw signal!) is a treat. -Dynamics and coherence is the pay off. (A treat too since raw sig' -non-limited- never makes it far past the studio doors these days.

Maybe once you're settled in we can trade 'war stories and set-ups.
By the way, I'm running Adcom GFA555... But I wouldn't mind doubling that!

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 02:03 am »

Oh yeah, congrats on joining the waiting for TP3.0 club! I will be using a AVA 550EX (not ultra) to power them, when they arrive. You may well receive yours before mine because of my finances

mixsit · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 02:07 am »

Quote from: SP Pres on 20 Dec 2007, 01:51 am

OK... I'm off on a tangent. Coffee break is over and it's time to get back to work. It's another all-nighter to get Ted B. His Revs before Christmas. That and I have Minis constantly biting at my heels and wanting to be prep-ed for a ride on Santa's sleigh as well.

Take care,
-Bob

That's all well and good... but first things first- let's keep it safe Bob.

Nick B · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 02:18 am »

Hey Spence
Welcome to the SP Tech club

I have upgraded 2.1's and it is a great speaker. I am driving them with CIA D200's that I bought used on Agon. Mine are set at 26db gain rather than 32db (I didn't know and forgot to ask when buying) and they can still easily drive the 2.1's. With good power cords, the D200's are great performers that you can get at a reasonable price
Nick
.

spence · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 02:24 am »

Nice to hear from you Bob! Actually, those speakers that Frank bought are exactly what I was wanting as far as the wood choices, only opposite....curly maple (sycamore) baffle and walnut sides. I'll call Bill in the morning and talk to him about it. He'll probably be calling you to inquire about pricing and such. I just wish there were sample pics of the finishes so I some could mix and match easier! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to using these speakers to see how my mixes translate on them, and to listen to music in general.

Mixsit,
As a long time guitarist, I've always been interested in the recording process, and I've transformed my entire basement into a studio. I've been upgrading equipment over the past year and have a second pair of Focals coming Monday that I was going to use for my 2 channel stereo. That was untill I caught wind of the SP speakers........anyone need a set of Focals?

Hey Nick,
I'll look into those CIA's. Are they power hungry? I'm trying to get away from big power sucking transformers hence my inquiries about the Bel Canto and Nuforce amps. I'm leaning towards the Bels because of the 8 ohm - 500 watt rating. Oops, my bad, I just noticed that the CIA amps were class D...

Double Ugly · « **Reply #12 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 02:40 am »

Welcome to the club, spence, and congrats on your purchase.

The pros who've used them thus far have been pleased, so they should work well for you.

Icing on the cake would be the walnut/sycamore finish. I've seen it... awesome.

Nick B · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 02:44 am »

Spence
The D200's are mini monos and I doubt they draw much at all. Check 'em out at
http://www.ciaudio.com/
Nick

mfsoa · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 02:48 am »

I have some D200s in really good shape that I'd sell, if you don't mind the sales pitch here.

26 db gain, RCA input.

I never tried them on the SPTechs when I had them here (Wolfy's original 2.0s) but what I perceive as the smooth, refined nature of the D200s should complement the super-speedy, dynamic nature of the SPs. And the bass control should be exceptional. That's my guess at least.

-Mike

Bill Baker · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 03:21 am »

Hello guys, I thought I would just chime in here real quick on the CI amps. At one time I was running the D-100's with the Continuums and they did a great job. Do to the Class D design of these amps, they are not power hungry, hot running units. The have not heard the Bel Canto amps but these would obviously have no problem driving these speakers with some headroom to spare.
The only other solid state amp I ran with the Continuums was the Luminance Audio KST-150 which also did a good job.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #16 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 03:28 am »

Concerning Channel Islands...Dusty had his new D-500 watt amps at RMAF...they sounded pretty good. He's a nice guy....

RodMCV · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 03:53 am »

I have a Luminance KST-150 I would sell.
Just p-e-mail me if interested.

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 08:13 am »

spence - welcome. Of the amps you mentioned I would go with the Bel Canto Ref 1000s.

Although there is a limit to what can be deduced from printed specs - one manufacturer's 100W may sound a lot more powerful than another manufacturer's 100W - I would suggest a spec of at least 250WPC into 8 ohms, coupled with 500W into 4 ohms as an indicator that the power supply is up to it. The 500 W into 8 ohms of the Bel Canto Ref 1000 buys you around 4 dB of headroom in my books and if I were doing this again (I have Timepiece 2.1s) I would choose the Bel Canto out of your list - if only for the power.

At the same time, if the opportunity came up I would also jump at a Crown Macro Reference, fan notwithstanding (I'd work on finding a quiet replacement). Most likely the most monstrous force per buck, and from some reports not the dumb beast suitable only for driving subs that other reports would have you believe!

I also record, using the TPs for mixing and mastering, supplemented by a pair of Hsu subs for 35 Hz and down (to 15).

I find I need headroom the most in listening to uncompressed large choirs singing forte, operatic voices and orchestras playing loud (and uncompressed).

For this use, I have not heard anything as good as these. Of course it should be noted I haven't had the pleasure of hearing the Continuums, Minis, or Revelations!

bhobba · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 08:45 am »

Welcome to the SP club. I have no doubt you will enjoy them - as Jim Merod summed it up - they are shockingly naked.

On the issue of power, I must disagree with what others are saying. For nearfiled monitoring in a studio you don't need gobs of power - that D200 someone offred is more than enough - IMHO MUCH more than enough. The SP can go loud without distortion, so the tendency is to wind em up. If you listen at sane levels, IMHO 50-100W, is more than enough. Of course if you want to wind em up you need, as Bob puts it, A BIG ASS AMP.

Thanks
Bill