Very good imaging and soundstage; Overall tonal balance is good, but not perfect; Bass does not go very deep, but the bass that it produces is tight and musical. Easily the best speaker that I've heard for less than $1200.

Slight thinness in lower midrange; Slight harshness in the upper frequencies which is sometimes noticable in female sibilants. Could be a bit more revealing of low level detail.

The Sapphire IIIs are the best speakers that I could find at their price point. I was willing to spend a little more, however, so most of the speakers that I compaired the Sapphires to are about twice as expensive. The Sapphires competed favorably with the speakers that I listed above, but the Sapphires did not come out on top. (I ended up going with the considerably more expensive Dynaudio 1.3SE, which I thought was the best of the bookshelf speakers that I listened to.) ACI was willing to take back the Sapphires with no hassel at all.

If you have a budget of, say, $1500, then there is really nothing that can touch the Sapphires. But if you are willing to spend in the $2K and slightly above range, then you should also audition the speakers I mention above.

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilus 805, Sonus Faber Concerto and Signum, Dynaudio 1.3MKII and 1.3SE, Spendor SP3/1

Easy to drive, Audophile sound quality

Finish is not as high quality as the sound

After countless hours auditioning monitors in the $1,000 to 2,000 price range. With the help of the reviews, I decided to take a chance on ACI. These speakers definitely require a break-in. At first I thought I made a major mistake. After about 30 hours at mid-volume, the Sapphires really started to produce accurate sound. At around 50 hours they seamed to disappear, I could not detect any coloration when listening to the CD's I have been using to audition other monitors. I found the Sapphires very satisfying when reproducing female voice. The Sapphire's soundstage is very wide, and they image with an accuracy that I did not hear from any of the monitors I auditioned including the Paradigm active 20 ($1,600 a pair). I'm also impressed with the service I got from ACI. The Sapphires are a 2-way monitor, and do not have, nor should they be expected to be capable of thunderous low-end performance. I had planned to add a sub to my system all along, since I wanted the small size of a monitor style speaker. They go as low as any of the monitors I auditioned, and certainly as low as my 2nd choice active 20. With well over 100 hours on the Sapphires, I am more than ever convinced I made the right choice. So convinced that I've added a third Sapphire for center channel duty, and a Titan to fill out the low-end and for home theater. I'm driving the Sapphires with a Denon AVR3200, 85 watts a channel. These speakers are very easy to drive, which you would expect with a sensitivity of 90db. They will play loud. Coupled with the Titan this is a very satisfying system. My tastes run from classical, to jazz, to folk. This system can handle the complexities of a full symphony orchestra, complete with faithful reproductions of cannon in the 1812 Overture, produce excellent image placement of a small jazz combo ala Miles Davis, and reproduce female vocals that bring Holly Cole into my listening room. I'm very happy with my ACI choice.

Similar Products Used:

Monitors from B&W, Linn, NHT,Paradigm,Sonus Faber,PSB

How can you actually get more for your money in a state of the art mini-monitor? By purchasing factory direct from the helpful folks at ACI, that's how.
Four years ago, I built a set of Sapphire IItis in kit form that I had ordered from the factory. After several years of happy use, I decided that I wanted to try the latest version, the Sapphire III. Both use a smallish box with a sloping front to time align the drivers. The III utilizes a Scanspeak soft dome tweeter along with a Focal kevlar mid/bass. The box, incidentally, is built like a tank and utilizes aperiodic loading, whatever that means. I guess what I'm saying is that for the money, one gets a superb cabinet along with state of the art drivers.

How does it sound? Smooth and with a deep, wide soundstage! This speaker only lacks in the deep bass. This can be solved with the addition of a subwoofer, simply done because the Sapphires lack any hint of bass tubbiness and blends beautifully. The Sapphires are easily driven with moderate power. I use tubes.

Incidentally, I still have my Sapphire IItis. They're not for sale.

Words I use cannot begin to describe the extent of my delight and amazement at the performance of the Sapphire IIIs and the Titan Subs, but I'll try! What CD did years ago to improve the sound of audio, these speakers have done for my CD player. With the range and level of detail that these speakers are capable of, I often find myself giggling in delight. The Titans fill the room with a large, clean low end with fluid depth, and as the need arises, a subterranean impact that pulses through my concrete and quarry tile floor to be felt at the listening position! The Sapphire IIIs are a dream. I have never put much faith in speaker reviews, because I think that listening is such a subjective thing, but listening to the Sapphire IIIs has brought home the reality that fine speakers do disappear, letting the music come through as if the band were set up in my living room. If I close my eyes while listening, I could swear by the sound from the Sapphire III/Titans that there were refrigerator-sized speakers in the
corners of my living room, that's how large it sounds to me.
Now that I've written this letter and nailed down my position on the SapphireIII/Titan speakers, I'll turn around and be amazed anew at the sound of these speakers. Pardon me, I have to go. Bob James is demonstrating his piano prowess in the other room!

I am a very proud owner of the ACI Sapphire III and Sub I, I have ZERO financial interest (or financial gain) for mentioning them.
I have just upgraded from the Sapphire IIti.

The Sapphire IIIs have unsurpased center staging. Even my non audiophile friends swear that my center channel speaker is on - until I actually un hook my center channel speaker's wires. I have heard many very high-end speaker systems, some $10,000 +, but none of them have compared to the Sapphire III in center staging. It is almost freaky when a recording starts with a centrally positioned vocal then the sound stage opens up with an envoloping sound.

The sound is quiet and warm and reveals several background noise that are masked in other speaker systems. I am know able to hear tounge and check noises, instrument key presses, etc. The previous modles too me were overly bright, but the Sapphire III now has a new tweeter and crossover upgrade that removed the layer of brightness out of the highs.

These monitor speakers very much need the bass boost of the ACI subs. I use 2 Sub Is. (deep, quick, powerful, low, and undistorted bass) However, you will never even know they are there until a low bass note. They attack and quickly retreat.

As for the company, ACI was able to answer many technical quesions (proptly with in 24hrs by e-mail) that were necessary to input in a software speaker placement package called Virtual Ears. These questions were very techincal and most mfg would probably not even know what these values mean.

The best news is you can build them for yourself. Here is their URL:
http://www.audioc.com/s32.htm

It looks like they have a Holiday special for $599 and free shipping!!!!!

I have saw no other speaker that offers so much quality for such a low price. Maybe the multi-thousand dollar speakers sound a little better - they should.

good returns policy

I ordered the DIY kit. What a joke. The assembled crossover looked like it's from a science project. The components are available on the net a lot cheaper. The sound, well not impressed at all. I returned them immidiately.

I ordered the DIY kit. What a joke. The assembled crossover looked like it's from a science project. The components are available on the net a lot cheaper. The sound, well not impressed at all. I returned them immidiately.

I've been "living", with this speakers for about two months, and i feel "free" to share my "experiance" with fellow "audio-entusiasts"-on budget-! Yes, these speakers cost around 1k (DIY available for <700)factory direct through www.aci.com. Audio Concepts "Sapphire II" are older version of ACI "Sapphire III". The differences are, in the selection of drivers and tweeters. The older "Sapphire II" uses for mid/bass "Focal" 7K011DBL (discontinued) and "Focal" T120KT(modified) kevlar tweeter. The newer "Sapphire III" uses, "Focal" 7K4211DB for mid/bass, and "ScanSpeak" 1"hand-damped textile dome, ferro-fluid cooled tweeter. Both, mid/bass, "Focal's" are 7"kevlar sandwich layered cone, with rubber surround. Apparently, the new "Sapphire III" has somewhat "smoother" highs! ACI "Sapphire" are two-way **"aperiodic" loaded monitor with sloped baffle. Freq. resp. 64hz-20khz +/-3db anechoic Sensitivity: 90db@1watt/1meter, Impendance:6ohm,(smooth impendance curve from, 4.6ohm, min. to 9.2ohm max) Size: 16"h x 10"w x 10"(bottom dept)Weight 60lbs, pair. RMS power:15-200wpc. The enclosure is made of 3/4 Willamette, high density (50lbs.cu.ft)MDF, and with *extensive interior bracing. It passes "knucle rap" test! The crossover is "first order" tuned at +/-6db, and made of high quality parts. Everything looks very good from inside-out! The "craftsmenship" and parts quality, far exeeds the price tag on these "handsome" monitors. But, how about the sound? I had opportunity to test, and compair "Sapphire's" with Linn Tukan minimonitors, and Monitor Audio CE-3 gold, slim floorstanders, in "reverbant" than, idealy "threated" and later "stuffed"(dead) 20'x 15' room. The amp was Linn Majik integrated(33w-8ohm) the Cd player Linn Karik II, and various cable (kimber PBJ, Linn "analogue" Transparent The Link, Linn-400 speaker cable) In compairason with Tukan, i felt i listened more of my "source" components than the speakers. More "neutral" and less "in your face" of the speaker. Hwever Linn Lajik was "accused" of being not too "involving" amp, so Tukan might have ad some "dance" to it? But i didn't feel that i had lost anything! Only slight midrange "detail", that Tukan is better at...but at cost of "listening fatigue" on the long run! Natural timbre was what "Sapphire's" were wery good at. Monitor audio was slightly "euphonic" and forgiving but had "punchier" bass (two 6' mid/woofers) but not as defined as "Sapphire". Tukan in comp. with both hardly had ANY bass! As i said "Sapphire" is much more neutral of the two. I had more pleasure listening Sapphire's than Tukan's or MA, at long periods of time, in different settings, be it:Lively room (wood floor, less furniture)or acousticly "ideal"(rugs, bookshelfs etc...)ACI's far exeeded my expectation in correctness in Timbre, neutrality and musicality! On John Williams "The Guitarist" the performance of Carlo Domeniconi (trac-6) the great amout of air and energy could be felt, out of his guitar, without being "offensive". Just a natural "bite" of the acustic instrument. The same was for the Wagners "Siegfrid funeral" as the orchestra was building up, and the final "climax" was easy for "sapphire" to explore sudden exursions. On "Bossa Nova" compilation of Brasilian music on Verve, made ACI expose less than perfect "recording" with not of hint of "forgivness". Voices on Mozarts, Magic flute" were present and easily "traced" as they walked the stage, back and forth!! On "Passion" The Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack, the flute, duble violin finger cymbals were not smeared, the fine detail of "obscure" instuments could not have been mistaken for anything else. The Luke and Locomotive and Robert Lukas explored the best out of ACI Sapphires! Life's energy, and rythm...you havent hear the slide guitar, till you hear it through the Sapphires. The same was with Dave Brubek's "Take Five", the sax had that "bite" (i said that already)that you'll deffinitely give you goose-bumps! Over all ACI Sapphire are "Best Kept secret" in the Hi-end world, especially with the performance it can stand "neck to neck" with some finest speakers more than twice the price. The only speaker that poses the similar traits as the Sapphires is Tylers Acoustics Tylo, but with more detail than ACI, However, at the bass range even though the spec's "stoped" at 64hz, my "stereophile" test dics no. 2 went down to 32 hz!! Highly recommended option for "audiophile-music lovers" withthe search for speaker that can live long, long, time with, even if upgrade their source or amplification...i know i will! For the proffesional review's check: http://smr-home-theatre.org/Reviews/aci_sapphire/ http://smr-home-theatre.org/reviews/aci_sapphire_2/ for more info on ACI sapphire: http://wwn.hway.com/audioc/speakers/sapphireiii/sap3white.htm

By Eldragon on 09-24-00