[spence]

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)

[Bill Baker]

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPENCE   

I am obviously very glad to hear you found the Timepiece 3.0's worth the wait. We had talked several times about what you were looking for and expecting from a pair of speakers. With your recording background, I was confident you would find these to fall into place nicely.

 You were also a great pleasure to speak to and I do hope you will continue to stay in touch as you rack up the hours on this system. We all know it will only get better in time.

 I know other are waiting to see the picture of your system so here it is. Very nice!

[spence]

Thanks Bill !!!

[Robert57]

Great review, spence, and Happy 50th! That is a very compelling read, particularly from a musician. It was nice to see the CI D200's are doing a fine job handling these power-thirsty speakers. Congrats on assembling such a fine, attractive monitoring room. btw, the Timpiece looks great in maple. One minor cosmetic item on my wish list would be for Bob someday to add a black woofer option (with the lovely brass phase plug bullets) for all his Timepieces, including the Minis.

Rob

[ooheadsoo]

Happy 50th!  It's very encouraging to hear such positive feedback from a professional musician. 

[satfrat]

Hi Spence,, nice review. It's too bad this quality issue keeps popping up (I've heard the same from the Mini's) as I have heard the older edition of Lonewolf's Timepieces and the tightness of the bass continues to haunt my dreams.  I really hope Sp Tech can get a handle on their manufacturing humps as it would be criminal to have such a quality design go by the wayside.

You spoke highly on your Focal Twin 6 BE monitors but then again you sound blown away by the Timepieces. So,,,,,,, gotta ask which is your favorite monitor at this point or have you actually done comparisons with the same components so you could obtain an honest opinion? Just had to ask,,,, 


Cheers,
Robin

[Double Ugly]

Happy Birthday and congrats, Spence.  Glad you're happy with the speakers.

[RodMCV]

Eyes and Ears; a gorgeous set-up.

[lonewolfny42]

Have a Happy Birthday spence !!!

Good looking system - TP's looking real good.....enjoy !!!!

                         Chris

[spence]

Thanks to everyone for the compliments. I haven't compared the Twins with the 3.0's side by side, but I can say that both speakers are incredible at what they do. I'd say the Twins have a more present and pristine high end (due to the beryllium tweeter no doubt), but the 3.0's are more natural and smooth sounding. I feel safe to say that if my mixes need or lack something, the 3.0's will tell me. They are a great set of speakers. I've been listening to them for hours with no fatigue whatsoever. I know it's early, but these speakers aren't going anywhere. They are staying put until someone walks into my house and shows me something better. I don't think that is going to happen.

[yooper]

Good read Spence.  I have not had a chance to hear the Timepiece, but I really hope to give them a listen one day. 

Happy 50th Birthday.. 

Mark

[bellhead]

Are the Timepiece 3.0s ruthlessly revealing? I ask that because of your comment:

 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.

Will I have problems with older, popular CDs with some inherent distortion or digititus?
I know some speakers (like my former Aerial 10Ts) were forgiving of bad recordings, of course
at the sacrifice of some detail on better ones. At the opposite extreme were Wilson Watt Puppies,
which were basically and analytical tool that was fine for classical but unlistenable for, say,
R.E.M. or Live (or even Motown).

Thank you for the comprehensive, well-written review.

[spence]

I wouldn't say the 3.0's are "analytical". They are very revealing, but in a very natural musical way. I get absolutely no listener fatigue no matter what CD or album I listen to. I'm beginning to hear things in recordings that I never heard before. Once you hear the 3.0's, you're going to want to own them. I'm done buying speakers. This is the real deal.

Dave

[Double Ugly]

I wouldn't say the 3.0's are "analytical". They are very revealing, but in a very natural musical way. I get absolutely no listener fatigue no matter what CD or album I listen to.

Exactly!