Hello all.
I have had 2 private messages regarding the Sapphire speakers. So I thought I would start an owners thread. Maybe there are more of you out there that I had thought... maybe not too, let me know.
I would love to hear what you have to say about these speakers. I have heard positive, neutral, and negative comments. I want to hear what the owners have to say, listeners have to say, and anyone who wants to talk.
Most comments that I have seen include people that were comparing these speakers at Tweeter or just were weary of the line (which they should have been since they are out of business and do not support their product any longer). That said I love my sapphire speakers, but there are some negatives as well, but with anything I could find negative... I am a pessimist!!
My A/V set up... I have these in my loft (which as of now is the entertainment room). We watch Movies, TV, and listen to music on a Panasonic 42" 1080i Plasma, Toshiba HD DVD player, Yamaha DVD-2500 upconvert DVD player, and have a Pioneer Elite CD changer (almost 8 yrs old now... still working like it did day one though), all this is hooked up to a Onkyo TXSR805 AV receiver (had this system hooked up to Denon AVR-3808ci, but do to space on my a/v rack, had to move my Denon down to the small Family Room, where I run my Infinity Interlude system, which replaced my Sapphire 6.1 SAT1500's.
MY Sapphire Speaker set up:
The set up is as followed: 2 fronts are the ST3's, the Sapphire Center, Surround Side Sapphire Dipoles, and the Surround back same thing Sapphire Dipoles, I have Martin Logan Dynamo as my subwoofer, tried out the Sapphire subwoofer... and it is the only speaker I HATED from Sapphire and luckily returned it b4 they had all sales final at my local store which went out of business.
Indifferent:
I do not listen to SACD's on this system as this system is not really set up for that with the Dipoles as my surrounds. I have listened to mutli channel music b4 on these and it sounds ok, more do to the setup I think then the speakers themselves.
Positives:
The build quality of all these speakers are great. They are heavy, the grilles fit snug and tight, and the weight is so evenly dispersed in the towers.
I also like the look of these speakers. They are more narrow then my Infinity IL 40's or my old Def Tech BP10's. They are a little longer than the two mentioned but not by much (now only talking towers here about size). The towers also have a glass top which to me is kinda classy. I think the black with blue S symbol is a nice touch not flashy but it adds a little style.
Ok now to the sound... In surround these speakers really shine!! The sound to me both musically and movie wise is clear, not hollow sounding, and not pitchy. The dialogue in the movies are perfect as the voice matching to my ears sound excellent. Movie sound in my mind are crystal clear and the surround Dipoles make the movie just wrap around you. When watching "Gone Baby Gone" during the scene at the park at night you could hear the crickets and bugs... and then bang... gunshots ring out around you... you start ducking for cover... not really but sound is that good to me.
Musically these speakers sound excellent with some music and sound just good to ok with other types of music, (I listen to all types).
When I want to listen to my remastered Kiss (70's Kiss, not 80's Kiss), Cream, The Doors, Duran Duran, Thompson Twins, Andrea Bocelli, Queen (or any Freddie Mercury), Samantha Fox, Debbie Gibson, Charlie Daniels, Alabama, Garth Brooks, or any instrumental movie soundtack/Disney Instrumental/Classical music these speakers again SHINE! The sound stage is centered and the sound clarity even with the Doors, Kiss, and Cream are just awesome. I do not get any hum or white noise sound while listening.
Negatives:
Though if I want to listen to 80's Kiss, Motley Crue, Sum 41, Linkin Park, Scorpions, Helloween, Pearl Jam, Seven Mary Three, Green Day, or any music you want to play loud with heavy guitar, bass, drums, and screaming vocals then these speakers do not hold up to the Infinity IL40's or my old Def Tech BP10's.
When I turn up the volume, (at least on my Onkyo and the old Denon 3805), the sound quality loses some clarity. It becomes fatiguing to listen to (not as bad as Klipsch Reference which make my ears fell like they are bleeding) and you begin to lose the vocals. You can listen to this music at lower levels... (kinda loud- 25Db but movies and other CD's at -12Db to -10Db) but I want to shake the walls when listening to the above music...
Now when you crank it up for a movie or the music listed in the positive section you do not lose that clarity and the speakers sound perfect, can not figure out why... but my buddy that comes over all the time... says there is a major difference too. For instance... we were having a new years day party and b4 football began, I put on some Frank Sinatra and even some Matt Dusk and cranked the sound and it was perfect. Then I threw in the Back in Black CD from AC DC and bam... distorted sound (mind you I did not adjust the sound)... then threw in Jazz CD that my buddy had in his car... and it was crystal clear (again did not change the volume)...
So a negative I guess would be inconsistency. With that said... they are out of business and not supporting there product at all anymore... I hope if anything goes wrong within the 3 yr warranty period (which I still have 1 and half years left on), that Tweeter will take care of me, I think they will, but still a concern and therefor a negative.
What friends and family say when they listen to these speakers:
Overall my friends and family love these speakers. They comment all the time that they sound so clear and the sound stage in stereo mode is very wide. Everyone that watches movies with us, say that the sound is very good.
One family member though does not like these speakers at all. He says they sound muddy and hallow. He also comments that the high sounds (cymbals and bells and such) are too sharp while the low end sounds (bass) sound hallow and overall do not match.
So as you can see, to me and others that have listened there are positives and negatives... but hey I got the entire 7 speaker set... for just under $1000... though now I can say, with all honesty, after listening to these for so long and comparing them to the Mirage, Polk, (I think Boston) and Klipsch when I bought them, I would have paid full price for these... it would have been between the Sapphire and Polk. I am very happy with my purchase as I got a $3000 set that sounds like a $3000 set for less than $1000. Who could complain!?!
So come one come all, Sapphire owners, people that have heard em in action, and anyone that wants to make a comment or ask a question... FIRE AWAY!!
I am sure this thread will be ignored... but I wanted to say my 2 cents anyway... and wanted to tell the world I am a FAN.
Have fun!
