PRAT Soundstaging Imaging Tonally rich Harmonically accurate Handles all types of music well

Leans a little to the clinical side. Best used with a tube amp or like me, with an integrated tube/ss hybrid.

The Spark IIIs are an absolute joy in my system (Unison Research Unico Integrated, Rega P25 w/ Benz Micro Glider M2, Modded SONY SCD-777ES, Cardas Neutral Reference ICs and speaker cables). I was a little apprehensive when I bought them because they were replacing the legendary Spendor SP1/2 speakers with that incredible midrange but lack of bass. I was afraid that the midrange would be dissapointing. After 2 weeks of pure bliss I can honestly say that I am not missing anything. The Spark III sound is full, liquid, tonally accurate, harmonically rich, and SPOOKY real. The bass is deep and accurate. And man do they image! Soundstage is HUGE and players are rock solid within the field. I have owned many speakers over the years and I can honestly say that these are the best in my system so far. I prefer a musical speaker with a wide genre of music. I listen to jazz, classical, opera, techno, country, classic rock you name it. If it's recorded well I enjoy it. As a musician truth of tone and timber is vital to me and the Spark IIIs have it in spades!!!!!

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Terrific imaging and build quality

none

Overall an excellant speaker, my APs have been a perfect match for my relatively small listening room. Before purchasing these speakers I auditioned many different options including Martin Logan Aerius', Proac Response Ones, and Magnepan 1.6s. I found the Sparks to have the best soundstage and low end of the bunch. The build quality and styling is also superb.

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see above

bass, holographic soundstage

none at this price

I spent some time comparing the Spark III to the Proac 1.5 using a Rega Planet and Exposure 60 wt. integrated amp. The Spark had incredible bass for a small floor stander. The speakers seemed to disappear and the high end was smooth and nonfatiguing. These speakers are fast and lively. The Proacs in comparison probably had a little smoother midrange and a little more high end detail, but no where near the bass presence. I found the Spark's presentation more appealing and for a thousand bucks less, a much better value.

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proac 1.5

goes very low for this size speaker,good soundstage.

after a while you want a more neutral sounding speaker playing for you.

I used this speaker just for a while,because a was very impressed by its deep and holographic sound.i used different amps. and cables but my oppinion was that if you listen for more than a ,lets say 10min.,you want a more neutral sounding speaker.for rock ore not critical listeners this speaker wil do.not bad at all but not for me.

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audio physics tempo II,B&W CDM7SE.

huge soundstage, great bass

none

I feel the need to add to the commentary about the tweeter. After two extensive auditions, with the Rega Planet used as the front end, I had similiar feelings about the treble, (Lack of detail, possibly rolled off.) I auditioned them again with a megabuck Wadia CD player ( can't remember the model number)and was blown away by the detail. This last audition was the clincher. I ordered a pair.
The literature states that the high frequency extention goes to 40K. It seems that these tweeters will give you as much high frequency resolution as your front end is capable of giving.

Big soundstage, airy, accurate, very good bass

nothing

Very amazing speakers, i think that price it is best buy.It is very neutral and accurate speakers and soundstage is big and airy like dunlavy"s.I think dunlavy,ap spark 3 and acapella fidelio is best(neutral) small speakers what i have ever heard.happy listening tapsa

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dunlavy, acapella fidelio

soundstage, bass depth and impact

somewhat lacking in absolute vividness and natural timbre

I have been auditioning speakers for a while and I just wanted to share a bit about these nice speakers. They are, overall, quite musical and possess the sweetness, pace, and detail to make them a VERY pleasant addition to a modest system. I decided against them as they seem to be just slightly behind some other speakers I have listened to in terms of vividness and natural tone. One example is in multi-instrument rhythmic music where the music comes through forcefully but you can not distinguish as readily the type of instruments, and thus you cannot enjoy its unique tonal character. Overall, as I said, quite nice on the whole, though. Especially for the price.

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Vienna Acoutics, Merlin TSM, Ruark Talisman II, Revel, B&W, Tyler

Fast and clean overall. Amazing bottom-end

A bit forward in upper range

I auditioned these at Audio Outlet in Mt. Kisco, NY. These were practically new and in need of break-in time. I was able to compare these to the Pro-Ac 1.5 using SS and tube amps of similar wpc. I found the SparkIII to be very clean and uncolored. They sounded better through tubes. My preference at the price point would be the Pro-Ac because of their sweet mids. The Spark wins the bass award. I would need to hear the Hales and Josephs before I could make a buy decision. I did like both of these better than the Martin Logans at the same price point.

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Pro-Ac 1.5

deeeeep and wiiidddeee soundstage; stunning bass; astonishing dynamics; ability to disappear as sound source

lacks that last nth level of airiness and goosebump factor--which costs much bigger bucks

The 2 finalists in my home audition shoot-out were what I consider to be the finest giant-killer-for-the-money speakers available: Magnepan 1.6's and these Spark IIIs. I had both speakers for several days for a home audition. Unfortunately, I am putting together my first real system and couldn't use the same amp to drive both speakers. In any case, both speakers had the same wire (low end Tributary), preamp (Rougue Audio 99), and front end (Denon DVM-3700 and Bel Canto Dac1). For the the Sparks, I borrowed an Audio Research 100.2 solid state amp. [Quintessence Audio, by the way, is a fabulous dealer.] My 19' x 18' living room is untreated and very live, and has a big tv in the middle of the soundstage (for music listening, drape a thick comforter over the tv to drastically improve the soundstage--or better yet have a dedicated music room!) The speakers were a full 5 feet from the back wall, 9 feet apart, and 4 feeet from side walls.

First off, these speakers look fabulous and would complement any modern decor. That said, the sound is simply superb. The depth and width (remember, they're 9 feet apart!) of the soundstage (but NOT height) is outstanding, and the disappearing act these speakers pull is just plain excellent. For example, track 2 on Bela Fleck's "Best of" cd has the 5-member band spread out and distinctly imaged as they go through their call-and-response routine. Moreover, the layering was fantastic. The drummer was clearly BEHIND everyone else, the bassist was behind the banjo player but in front of the drums, etc. Ditto, for Beethoven's 9th symphony, where it was clear where the sopranos, tenors, percussion, soloists, etc. were standing on the stage.

Smooth, airy highs (not state-of-the-art though, but then my amp wasn't either) were the order of the day. A good test was Wynton Marsalis (trumpet) and Kathleen Battle barouque duets. The sound can be grating in the highs if not reproduced correctly. Not an issue here, and it was clear they were in a reverberant cathedral.

Before I get into the truly staggering aspect of this speaker, let me make a few things clear about my biases. My tastes span a huge range of musical styles, but I simply must have my bass. Proper bass reproduction not only enhances obvious bass-heavy R&B or organ fugues, it also contributes to communicating the weight and presence of large recording venues--which makes music sound more realistic. That's why I own the magnificent Rel Storm III subwoofer. But note that all my auditioning was done without the sub.

OK, now that you know that I am indeed a bass freak, you can now judge what I have to say about this speaker in a much better light [recall that these puppies were 5 feet out from the back wall]. The bass WEIGHT of these speakers is marvelous and the bass DYNAMICS are simply staggering! The best way to describe what I'm talking about is to talk about what happened when I popped in the Living Presence version of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, which includes live cannon fire. Because I live in an apartment, I had the volume up only moderately loud. I hadn't heard this piece in a while, so I wasn't anticipating the sudden entry of the cannon fire. Well, when it did hit, I wanted to flee the room in terror! It was absolutely, @!#$!% stunning! Listening to my James Brown "Best of" cd, I could feel the bass groove. No, it doesn't go to 20hz, but take it from a subwoofer owner: You do NOT need a sub on these and you do NOT need to put them 1 foot from the wall to hear bass.

If you are married, these speakers (4" wide, 38" tall) simply must be at the top of your must-audition list. For the rest of us, ditto. I ended buying the other giant-killer, the Magnepan 1.6's, for $1675; they raised goosebumps in the palpability department a little more often than the Sparks--and every other speaker under $5,000 (which is why The Absolute Sound recommended systems issue had the 1.6 in several systems ranging up to $80,000). But I already know my speakers when I get married and the wife says my "room divider" Maggies have got to go....

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Incredible soundstage and presence

slightly rolled-off high frequencies

I went into the store intending to purchase these speakers and walked out questioning them. I was a huge fan of the Spark but thought they lacked deep bass and was sure that the addition of a second mid-woofer would resolve that issues. The speakers were used in conjuncion with a CJ CD player, Densen pre and power amps and siltech cables.

My first impression was great soundstage and presence, easy to listen to and not fatiguing. But I was wondering what happened to that incredibly detailed high end of the original Sparks. I was told that the entire speaker was redesigned from the original Spark, including changing the tweeter. Unfortunately, that was what I liked about the original.

I guess that I will now audition the Thiel 0.5 and 1.5, and Meadowlark Kestrel.

The speakers are solidly built with a beautiful finish, and now have a grill over the drivers. I would rate them a 4 out of 5 for 1)dollar value, 2)presence and soundstage, and 3) detail without fatigue.

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