Open Baffle vs Box

I went from Maggies, to Emerald Physics(the original designer, Clayton Shaw, owns Spatial), for tube-driven main speakers, in my actively bi-amped system. Needed the added efficiency. Same openness/spatial realism and instrument size/excellent imaging, as my various pairs of planars(Acoustat and Magnepan fan, since 1981).   I could easily get along, without my SS-powered woofers, running my Emerald Physics/tube monoblocks full-range.

btw: Emerald Physics also offers an electronic EQ, they call their, ’Bass Optimization Module’(BOM), which allows you to dial in the Bass, to suit your room/speakers/tastes. (https://www.emeraldphysics.com/products/bom)

I am a Spatial X3 owner and I must say, these are the real deal. No apologies offered for ANY genre of music. They do it all equally well.

Oz

agreed and unfortunately I only know what I read. I, too am an apartment dweller and might be forever which is where Spatials we’re first recommended to me. I’ve put it out there on the Spatial forum that I’d like to hear them from a local and in 30 minutes I’d know what I want to know about them. Seems there are no locals who have them who also post there.

i keep scrubbing them off my list but they keep being re-added. On paper they check all the boxes (with bass being the unknown quantity). If I could just add subs then I’d go that route.

I recently acquired a pair of Maggie .7s and believe they might better fit your needs in an apartment, especially if max SPL is a concern. Unlike the other Maggies I've heard (1.7 & 3.7), the .7s produce real midbass punch, and seem a lot less current hungry. I drive mine with a 160 watt/ch/4 ohms amp. The VU meters rarely peg above 50 watts - that's in a room of about 1365' cubed. 

The Spatial M4s liked to be played loud and I often found myself nudging the volume knob until I was pushing 95db peaks. It's not like they sound anemic at low volume like many speakers; it's just that they urge you to keep cranking, probably because they have super-high power handling and are capable of loading a small auditorium. Not once did they reach a distorted playback level before my ears gave up first. The Sapphires have different drivers of course, so could have completely different behavior for all I know. 

With the .7s, I find the 70-75db range sufficient for most listening. That wasn't the case with 1.7s which wanted to play at 80db+.

I would take the M4s over 1.7s and 3.7s any day, but the .7s are a different animal and I consider them competitive with the entry-level Spatials.