Spire owner comments welcome

[tonepub]

As part of a new series of reviews we are working on, we will be doing some "long term" reviews, much like the car magazines do with long term (usually one year) car reviews.

The review of the Spire is going up this issue (finally, I know) and I've had the chance to really use this speaker in a few different rooms with about thirty different combinations of amplification.

I'd like to include a few owners comments at the end as well, which I think would add to the depth of a review like this.

I'm looking for about two paragraphs and would like your comments, negative or positive. Send them to my email box, [email protected]

The three best ones will get printed and receive a $20 gift certificate from Music Direct.

Thanks!

 

[RichTeer]

As part of a new series of reviews we are working on, we will be doing some "long term" reviews, much like the car magazines do with long term (usually one year) car reviews.

The review of the Spire is going up this issue (finally, I know) and I've had the chance to really use this speaker in a few different rooms with about thirty different combinations of amplification.

I'd like to include a few owners comments at the end as well, which I think would add to the depth of a review like this.

I'm looking for about two paragraphs and would like your comments, negative or positive. Send them to my email box, [email protected]

The three best ones will get printed and receive a $20 gift certificate from Music Direct.

Thanks!

Finally! (I would've replied sooner but have been away for a few days)

I'll try to put together a couple of paragraphs and send them your way. What's your submission deadline?

 

[tonepub]

Hi Rich:

We are getting close to deadline, and interestingly enough, no one has bitten on this. Send what you can asap!

Thanks

 

[RichTeer]

Hi Rich:

We are getting close to deadline, and interestingly enough, no one has bitten on this. Send what you can asap!

Thanks

Will do (sometime in the next day or two)!

 

[FISH_MAN]

perhaps you should do a search and compile a composition of what some of the members here have said. this would possibly be a more honest and straightforward representation of peoples thoughts. you may need Toms written permission as I believe he owns all the intellectual property on this site .

 

[tonepub]

No, I'm looking for something a little bit more comprehensive than that....

 

[daveneumann]

Jeff...just sent you an email

For others interested, here are my comments:

Spire Comments:

While I have been a long term admirer of Martin Logan speakers for their uncolored and fast presentation, I never found a pair that I could actually live with. The discontinuity between the electrostatic panel and the bass always led me in another direction when choosing speakers. That is...until I heard the Spires.

After living with Quad 2805's for several years, I was doubtful that I would be satisfied with any other panel speaker. But the Spires had all of the transparency and openness that I loved about the Quads, plus they did the entire frequency spectrum very well. A Quad midrange plus real bass with impact and treble has is more than just a hint of the upper registers of music.

The midrange of the Spires is pure and uncolored. There is even more musical detail there than I heard with the Quads, but they are never analytical. The presentation of the Spires is overall more relaxed with a bit of a seductive quality. An audiophile friend who has been in the hobby much longer than I summed it up as "the Quads demand your attention" whereas "the Spires just pull you in to the music."

The bass has been a nice surprise. They play as low as I need to get the full enjoyment of rock. Kick-drums and electric bass have real impact and weight. Bass is tight and tuneful, not sloppy or muddled. And the bass flows as part of the overall presentation, not disconnected or trying to keep up.

Imaging is precise with players solidly affixed across the stage, but the imaging is not what I consider to be "pinpoint" but rather a more natural presentation like you get with live acoustic music. The soundstage extends well behind and outside of the speakers if that exists in the source material. Careful setup and system matching has paid off. I found that adjusting rake angle so that the speakers are almost vertical has created more solid images and a more immersive listening experience. While I wanted my tube amplifier to work, ultimately a solid state amplifier was a better match in my system.

The best thing I know how to say about these, or any speaker system, is that I can listen for hours and at the end of my listening session I am relaxed, rejuvenated and look forward to tomorrow or the next time I get to listen.

System:

Sources: Raven One TT, Graham Phantom II, Dynavector XX2 MkII; Music Fidelity A5 CD Player

Preamp: McIntosh C2300

Amp: McIntosh MC402

Wires: Cardas Golden Reference Speaker; WSS Balanced Interconnects; WSS Phono; WSS & Cardas power cords

Power: Audience Adept Response 6

Room: Dedicated listening room over garage 12' X 23' X 8'

 

[RichTeer]

Comments just emailed!

 

[Bernard]

Comments just emailed!

Why don't you post them here Rich.

BTW I hope the fires in Kelowna did not impact you.

 

[RichTeer]

Why don't you post them here Rich.

BTW I hope the fires in Kelowna did not impact you.

Will do, although they're very brief (to keep within Jeff's 2-3 paragraph limit).

Thanks for asking about the fires. Apart from smoke in the air, we're not affected by the current one. Jenny's company was on evac alert a few weeks ago from the Glenrosa and Rose Valley fires (dunno if they made the national news), but that's it (so far; fingers crossed). My Mum was evacuted in the last big fires here, back in 2003. Thankfully she didn't lose her house, but (if you'll excuse the plug) her experience did inspire me to create a (not very successful, I'm afraid) business around an online inventory management system, called My Online Home Inventory, which can be found at www.myonlinehomeinventory.com.

 

[RichTeer]

Here are the comments I sent to Jeff about the Spires. I deliberately kept them very brief:

My reference speaker for the last decade or so was the Spendor SP1/2, renowned for its neutral midrange. Although the Spendor's reputation is justified, it can't compete with that of the ML Spire. The Spire takes midrange neutrality and transparency to a whole new level. The whole frequency spectrum--not just the mids, but bass and treble too--is reproduced with a clarity that is at times (with the right source material) breathtaking, yet never etched.

The Spire's imaging is both deep and wide; I've heard images wider and deeper than my modest 16' x 19' room's boundaries. (The echoed thwack of the bass drum near the beginning of Fritz Reiner's reading of Lt Kije [Living Stereo LSC-2150] is but one example of this.)

I could go on, but the Spires are, quite simply, the best speaker I have had the pleasure of auditioning in person.

My system:

TT/arm: Forsell Air Reference
Cartridge: Lyra Parnassus
Preamp: Audio Research SP-9 Mk 2
Power amps: PrimaLuna ProLogue 7s
Phono IC: Nordost Frey
Pre to power IC: home made
Speaker cable: QED 4-core
Accessories: Target and SolidSteel stands, Furman power conditioning, Mission Isoplat