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Spatial Audio Hologram M4 Turbo S Speakers - A Review

I received these speakers about three weeks ago and with a bit of run-in on them, maybe 75-100 hours, I am prepared to say that they are simply stunning speakers.  I have a bit of a bind in my room in that I only have 2-3' from the rear wall to position them, which is about what Clayton Shaw from SA said would be workable.  I heard his former design, the Audio Physics OB speakers, at an audio show a couple of years ago and was very impressed with them, but was waved off when I learned that the AP speakers needed 4-5' of clearance to perform their best.  Clayton now has his own company and the Holograms incorporate major design improvements from his earlier designs for Audio Physics, not least of which is their performance much nearer the back wall.  

Most notably, these do not sound like any speakers I have ever had and I have had a nearly a dozen over the past decade in my room.  I listened to them with a pedestrian SS amp to break them in (note:  don't form any opinion of them until they have a least 50 hours on them) and then swapped them for an excellent 6L6 tube amp with 6 wpc.  With the tube amp (and my tube preamp), these speakers just simply blossomed with a huge soundstage and a very warm liquid sound.  There is no question that the speakers mate very well with tube amplification.  I then swapped my venerable CJ MF-80 SS amp into the system thinking that they might lose the holographic soundstage and warmth, but as it turns out, the CJ amp provides a bit more control on the LF response and gives up only a bit of the warmth and liquidity that the tube amp provided.  So, my take is that they respond very well to both tube and SS amplification, but with good gear, reveal provide much better performance.  

The M4's have such an effortless, uncongested sound to them that seems very coherent from the LF to the HF.  They are neither forward nor laid back, they just make the music sound tonally correct and realistic.  If I had more room for placement, I might consider the M3's, which go down to 32hz whereas my M4's go pretty flat to 45hz.  No worries with the M4's, I am very happy with the LF response and if I get motivated, I might hook up my REL sub to catch that lower octave.  No doubt due to the open baffle design of the speakers, I sense an openness to the sound that I haven't ever experienced in any speakers I have had.  They are very detailed, with a clarity to the spittle sound of Miles' trumpet and a palpable leading-edge attack to Ron Carter's  double bass that just is simply amazing.   The sound from bottom to top with these speaker continues to astonish me the longer I listen to them.  If think they might tend to a bit warmer presentation, to my ears, but only slightly so.  Overall, they are very balanced.  

Clayton has a generous no-hassle 60-day trial with these speakers because it is a fair bet that few buyers will not be very happy with them.   I am just a guy who has loves jazz and have been in the quest for great sound in my system for the past 45 years so that is my point of view in this review.  I am not going out on a limb in saying that I think Clayton has significantly moved the ball ahead, from technological design and production standpoint, with his Hologram speakers.  I simply marvel at the pure enjoyment I am hearing with these speakers... just such pure enjoyment.    

For $2K for the M4 Turbo S version, I can't fathom a more fulfilling audio product than Clayton's speakers.  I urge my music-loving friends on this forum to think outside the box (speaker) realm and consider what Clayton has created with his well-engineered and beautifully-constructed  line of of Hologram speakers.  At least, seek out his room at the next audio show and give them a listen.  Cheers, Whitestix






whitestix
whitestix OP
719 posts
 
rjhd and mktracy,
Here is the latest from an M4TM owner who upgraded from the Turbo S speakers.  I haven't held on to a pair of speakers for over a year for many years, but I have had the Spatial Audio speakers now for 2+ years and I fancy them more all the time.  The Turbo S speakers have a 4 ohm load which I thought really benefitted from a more potent amp.  However, the Triode Master's present a 16 ohm load, much more compatible with a lower-powered tube amps.  I love the sound of the TM's with my McCormack DNA .05 with 100 wpc of SS power, but I recently auditioned my system with Don Sachs Kootenay 120 tube amp and was pretty much blown away.  The SQ of the speakers is excellent with the McCormack amp, but hugely more three-dimensional with the Don Sachs ~60wpc KT88-based preamp, no question.  The tube amp handled the LF with the same authority as did the McCormack, which completely surprised me as this is often my rub with tubes amps... flaccid LF response.  The speakers were nearly holographic, reminding me of my Linkwitz Mini's, which are truly holographic.

Mktracy, your front end would be well matched to the M4's, but I would definitely recommend the upgrade to the Triode Masters.  It is a no-brainer.  Planar speakers have a openness often not matched by box speakers, but the clear advantage of the Spatial Audio speakers is that they sound very good even when listening off-axis.  The Maggie's suffer in comparison. The TM's also have a considerably greater LF response at least perceptually.  Since I got my TM's, I haven't felt the need to hook up my  REL T7 subwoofer. 

I hope this post is informative.  I posted a longer review of Don Sachs's Kootenay earlier on this forum.  I also have Don Sachs 6SN7 tube preamp and admit to being a devotee of his excellent, and affordable, gear.  
mktracy's avatar
mktracy
91 posts
 
Thank you Whitestix for the info. The M4TM really do have me intrigued and looking for more info. I love my ARC LS25 preamp using Amperex 7dj8 tubes. Not sure about a tube amp as I like the bass slam and control that a ss amp provides. Been thing class D amp but believe current is better than voltage. Any SS amp recommendations to use with the M4 Turbo and possible TM speakers.
whitestix OP
719 posts
 
Mktracy,
There are lots of blog reviews of the Spatial Audio speakers to inform you owners' impressions of them.  Your amp and preamp are, in my view, simply stellar and a fine match for the speakers.  If you room can accommodate them, the M3TM are the way to go as they have quite a bit more LF response, but that said, I am satisfied with the low end response of the M4TM.

Dunno if I posted this above... I did elsewhere, but I auditions my speakers for an audiophile with large box speakers last week and he called up Clayton at Spatial Audio and purchased a pair of M3TM for to replace his current speakers,which are twice the cost of the M3TM's.  He said he is giving up on box speakers after hearing my speakers.  You have glimpse of the magic of OB speakers with your Maggie's, but they suffer, if I may say so, from tepid bass response and a narrow sweet spot in comparison. However, the Spatial Audio's, by design, have an expansive soundstage and are easy to drive with tube amps given their 12 ohm impedance.   

Clayton offers a 60-day audition of them so you can draw your own conclusions in your listening room.  If you do give them a try, please be aware that they take a good long time to break in.  At 100 hours, they settle down and after 250 hours, pretty much the full magic is revealed. Make no judgments until they have run in for a spell.  Clayton informs me that he gets very few returns.

I admit to being a homer for Spatial Audio speakers because they are simply the most engaging speakers I have ever had during my 45-year progression in audio.  I hope this is helpful.  


aldoallen
29 posts
 
I will second everything whitestix  has said. I own the M4 TM's and initially tried them with a Cary Rocket 88 tube amp and an Audible Illusions L1 tube preamp. The tube amp was a factory certified preowned unit from Cary that I had just purchased and had new kt-88 tubes in it. The speakers sounded good but the bass just didn't sound quite right. I tried both the triode mode (30 watts) and the ultralinear mode (60 watts) and it didn't seem to help. I purchased a used CODA 10.5R solid state amp that was in mint condition and it was absolutely a night and day difference. The amp is not big at 100 watts (8 ohms) but the first 25 watts is in Class A. Teamed with the Audible Illusions preamp, the speakers sound incredible. My room is 10' by 20' with an 8' ceiling. The speakers are set up 3' from one of the short walls and 1' from the side walls with nothing between the speakers. One of the nice benefits of these speakers is the lack of room interaction. No booming bass whatsoever. I also don't feel a need for a subwoofer.
mktracy's avatar
mktracy
91 posts
 
Thank you whitestix and aldoallen for all the info. With Christmas almost upon us I will look into picking up a pair of M4TM's just after the holidays but will get a hold of Clayton and speak with him. Happy Holidays to you both and again thank you for the info and your time.
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