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Tarheel

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11 hours ago, rplace said:

Let's hear some feedback on those spatial speakers @Tarheel

Clarity is the biggest improvement with ample bass (two 15" speakers) and a sweet mid range.  First reflection is no longer a problem in that sound to the sides is largely self cancelling.  The listening sweet spot is larger, not confined to one seat in the room and sound is not beamed at you like a boxed speaker often does but seems to radiate forward in a hologram.....hence the name.   I have tried powering them with the tubed horn monos and the mids are luscious and with the ATI 1502 the bass has more slam and seems more cohesive and tight.  I am using the tubed preamp with the SS ATI though so tubes are in the chain.

 

All this is not to say that you can't find the occasional bad recording that makes everything sound nasty.  But put on some John Lee Hooker such as Chill Out or Healer or maybe some Sonny Rollins Way Out West or Diane Krall Live in Paris and sit back and enjoy

.

Bottom line is I love them.  They will be first string for the foreseeable future. 

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1 hour ago, Tarheel said:

 I am using the tubed preamp with the SS ATI though so tubes are in the chain.

 

All this is not to say that you can't find the occasional bad recording that makes everything sound nasty.  But put on some John Lee Hooker such as Chill Out or Healer or maybe some Sonny Rollins Way Out West or Diane Krall Live in Paris and sit back and enjoy

.

Bottom line is I love them.  They will be first string for the foreseeable future. 

The big chunky ATI for power and the tubed pre to condition the sound.

I ended up with very good results here doing that for my phono.

Glad you're that pleased with them, I can imagine the soundstage is way different than what I can appreciate here.

They're as fascinating as they are aesthetically pleasing.

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2 hours ago, Tarheel said:

Clarity is the biggest improvement with ample bass (two 15" speakers) and a sweet mid range.  First reflection is no longer a problem in that sound to the sides is largely self cancelling.  The listening sweet spot is larger, not confined to one seat in the room and sound is not beamed at you like a boxed speaker often does but seems to radiate forward in a hologram.....hence the name.   I have tried powering them with the tubed horn monos and the mids are luscious and with the ATI 1502 the bass has more slam and seems more cohesive and tight.  I am using the tubed preamp with the SS ATI though so tubes are in the chain.

 

All this is not to say that you can't find the occasional bad recording that makes everything sound nasty.  But put on some John Lee Hooker such as Chill Out or Healer or maybe some Sonny Rollins Way Out West or Diane Krall Live in Paris and sit back and enjoy

.

Bottom line is I love them.  They will be first string for the foreseeable future. 

 

=== but I’ll be damned ‘Heel - your first paragraph is describing the 402 horn — maybe I’ll save my hard earned pennies —?

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3 minutes ago, richieb said:

 

=== but I’ll be damned ‘Heel - your first paragraph is describing the 402 horn — maybe I’ll save my hard earned pennies —?

Never spent any real time with that horn but if it's doing it for you why change?  Don't put the little lady back to work just to support your habit!  I think someone bought the Spatials in Plano anyway.

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14 minutes ago, Tarheel said:

The car talk was interesting the other day.  I stumbled on a good article "What Winner's Drove by David Traver Adolphus from 2013.  It talks about the 62" Impala SS "lightweight" and the progression of the 348ci.

Google it.

Grumpy Jenkins, one of the best.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Tarheel said:

Clarity is the biggest improvement with ample bass (two 15" speakers) and a sweet mid range.  First reflection is no longer a problem in that sound to the sides is largely self cancelling.  The listening sweet spot is larger, not confined to one seat in the room and sound is not beamed at you like a boxed speaker often does but seems to radiate forward in a hologram.....hence the name.   I have tried powering them with the tubed horn monos and the mids are luscious and with the ATI 1502 the bass has more slam and seems more cohesive and tight.  I am using the tubed preamp with the SS ATI though so tubes are in the chain.

 

All this is not to say that you can't find the occasional bad recording that makes everything sound nasty.  But put on some John Lee Hooker such as Chill Out or Healer or maybe some Sonny Rollins Way Out West or Diane Krall Live in Paris and sit back and enjoy

.

Bottom line is I love them.  They will be first string for the foreseeable future. 

 

I concur with everything Tarheel says here. 

 

Acquired mine Saturday from a local Craigslist sale. Super happy with them!

 

One of my main goals was to eliminate the "harshness" the Forte IIs produced in our living area. It wasn't bad if you were sitting right in the sweet spot but any location outside of that was just unpleasant. For example... our living room has a large French door style opening into the kitchen/dining area, minus doors. Whenever I had the music going while cooking or eating dinner, the sound from the Fortes was always unpleasant even at low volume levels. With the Spatials, this off axis sound is fantastic.

 

The sweet spot is fantastic as well. There is zero "boominess" in the room, or adjacent. With the Fortes I would get a bass drone in certain spots of the kitchen and some of the corners of the living. Imaging is large, vocals and instruments are accurate. I really can't say a bad thing about them. They are somewhat similar to a horn speaker in that the compression driver uses the mid cone like a horn.

 

Not to knock on the Forte IIs, with a treated room they are great speakers especially for the used price. I just could never get them sounding right in our living area. They will be up for sale here as soon as I get some good pics.

 

Thanks to Tarhell for his advice on the M3s!

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44 minutes ago, Tarheel said:

Never spent any real time with that horn but if it's doing it for you why change?  Don't put the little lady back to work just to support your habit!  I think someone bought the Spatials in Plano anyway.

 

=== now you tell me. Got her on the night shift at Waffle House 6p - 6a. Things a bit tense around here - she ain’t too happy —

And she did want me to identify Tarheel at the next Gathering — 

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