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REVIEW: ACI Sapphire III Speakers Review by Aaron T at Audio Asylum

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I spent many hours auditioning monitors in the $1,000 to 2,000 price range. I considered the reviews, (there are a TON of Sapphire reviews over at Audioreview and other places. Finally, I decided to take a chance on the Sapphire IIIs. At first I thought I made a major mistake and that I'd be taking them up on their money-back guarantee. However after about 50 hours, the Sapphires really started to sing. At around 100 hours they seamed to disappear, I could not detect any of the problems I’d heard with the other monitors I auditioned. The B&W 805s sound very similar, and probably would have been my first choice if they weren’t twice the price. To me, the Sapphire IIIs and B&Ws are very close, and when I took that extra $1000 and added the Titan II sub, there is no comparison! I find the Sapphires very satisfying when reproducing female voice. The soundstage is very wide, and the accuracy of image is better than the Paradigm active 20s and about equal to the B&W 805s.
The Sapphires are a 2-way monitor, and do not have, nor should they be expected to be capable of gut wrenching bass. They go as low as any of the monitors I auditioned, certainly as low as my 2nd choice B&Ws, and lower than the Active 20s.
With well over 300 hours on the Sapphires, I am convinced I made the right choice. So convinced that I've added a Titan II to fill out the low-end. These speakers are very easy to drive, which you would expect with a sensitivity of 90db. They will play loud. Coupled with the Titan II this is a very satisfying system. My tastes run from classical, to jazz, to folk. This system handles the complexities of a full symphony orchestra, complete with faithful reproductions of bass drums and pipe organ. They produce excellent image placement for Miles Davis, and Holly Cole is right in my living room!
I’d recommend the Sapphire III/ Titan II combo to anyone looking for great music and looking to spend $2000-$4000. Oh: not only do they sound great, they are built like quality furniture. Beautiful real wood. And, the staff at ACI has always been prompt and courteous, they even shipped out some replacement cables that day when UPS lost the original order.



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Topic - REVIEW: ACI Sapphire III Speakers Review by Aaron T at Audio Asylum - Aaron T 13:10:20 10/16/00 ( 14)