Yes, that’s me, packing up my beloved Spatial M4’s. What’s up with that?
Well, I’ve owned the M4’s for about a year and a half and loved every minute of it. As a matter of fact, I’ll testify that even several hundred hours into their playing time in my rig, they’re still loosening up and sounding more alive and real than when I first hooked them up to my Audio Note Kits Kit 1 SET amp in December of 2015. After all these months, I still have plenty of “Golly, that sounds even better than I remember” moments while listening to music.
And yet, from time to time I’ve gotten the itch: “What about the M3’s? How would they sound in my modest listening room (which is really a guest bedroom)?
How much more convincing would the subterranean synth bass on Lorde’s Pure Heroine or the 5-string electric bass on Steely Dan’s Negative Girl sound with an additional 13 Hz of extension on the low end? And what about those premium crossover parts and the fancy, titanium-coated compression driver on the “Turbo S” model?
These questions remained purely the stuff of fantasy until – a few weeks ago – I was chatting with Spatial’s Clayton Shaw when he mentioned that he had a pair of the top-of-the-Hologram-series M3 Turbo S speakers that came off the production line with a slight cabinet finish imperfection. He offered to let me trade my M4’s up to these “B-stock” M3 Turbo S’s at a price that put them within reach. How could I say no?
So, yes, those photos show me boxing up the M4’s in preparation for returning them to the Spatial Mothership in Park City, Utah. And let me take a moment to praise the design and easy re-usability of the M4 packing materials. Really, repacking these babies was a piece of cake.
The M3 Turbo S’s are due here in just a few days.
More to come… stay tuned.
And until then, be kind to others and enjoy your music.
Steve's Audio Blog 
With great anticipation, I await your adventure with the M3s, particularly how various amplifiers work with them. Burn-in is as much the equipment as it is your own ears.
Hey, thanks Henry. I only own one amp but may try to borrow something with more “oomph” than my 300B SET for the sake of review/comparison. 😀
Rebbi,
It’s been a long time since we’ve communicated. I am roxy54 from audiogon and we have the same amp. I was surprised to find out accidentaly a couple of weeks ago that you had the M4s, because I am considering the M3s! I’m so happy to know that you are loving them so much. I am honestly still having a brain battle trying to decide between them and the Tekton Electrons, but I think the Spatials are going to win, because simple is better and I love the dual concentric like Tannoy which I’ve heard before. Can’t wait to hear your impressions!
Hey, Roxy,
Great to hear from you again.
I can’t speak to the Electrons because I have never heard them. The only Tekton speaker that I have any experience with, and even this was only for a few days, was the Lore Reference. Eric Alexander of Tekton is certainly a clever designer and the value proposition of all of his speakers is quite high. On the other hand, I personally find the plethora of models that he is currently offering to be somewhat confusing. He has so many speaker models available these days that I have a hard time distinguishing what the differences in the lineup are. But again, lots of folks love Tekton and I did like the Lore Reference quite a bit when I spent time with them, and Eric’s speakers have plenty of extremely positive reviews online, so you’re right to be considering them. In any event, if you have a low powered SET or tube amplifier, Tekton (along with Omega, Zu, and a few other high-sensitivity brands) are typically going to be on your shopping list.
It will not be any surprise that based on my own experience, I would go with Spatial. When you look at the design, itself, it’s physically quite simple: three drivers on each side, two of them mounted concentrically, attached to an open baffle. But the more I have spent time with my old M4’s (and now, the M3’s, which are still breaking in) the more I feel that Clayton Shaw has packed a tremendous amount of clever engineering into that “simple” design. The controlled directivity execution, in particular, is a huge element in the “secret sauce” of these speakers. I have SUCH a compromised listening room – it doubles as a guest bedroom. And yet, his speakers sound wonderful even in that environment. Additionally, the concentric driver design (I’d guess) gives them a tremendous amount of coherence.
Anyway, with the 60 day return policy, you really don’t have much to lose except for the cost of shipping.
My two cents! 🙂
I think the M3s speak of too much money + cool factor. Those big 15 speakahs kill.
Hi, Robert,
Thanks for posting!
I’m not sure what you mean by “too much money and cool factor,” though. 🤔