My New Review of the Spatial Hologram M4 Open Baffle Speaker

Thanks so much for the kind feedback. I really enjoyed writing it.

Map,
Yes, Clayton is a very smart fellow. I've never met him but he impresses me as a guy with a vision who's very methodical about how he brings the vision to reality.
I wish you lived closer... we could have a field day with the M4's - trust me, you'd love them!  :-)

Doug,
Thank you for the kind words!

Nonoise,
I had looked at the Tonians - for awhile there was a dealer selling some version of your speaker on Audiogon and I was very tempted because I've heard that they are quite wonderful. Enjoy!

I saw where somebody online wrote about having moved up from the Turbo to the Turbo S and thought the Turbo S was a substantial improvement. When I spoke with Clayton about the difference, he joked that at our age (late 50s) unless we had an unusual amount of hearing above 14,000 Hz, there might not be that much difference. :-)
What I have heard over and over again is that the better crossover parts that are used in the higher end models do make quite a difference. That's why my M4 pair is the (no longer available) base model, but with the better crossover parts. Hope that helps.

Map- 
I think that you would love the M4.  And with the 60 day home trial, you have very little to gamble. 
 Really, everything I said in the review was deeply felt. I think they are extremely special.And, yes, I am planning on holding onto them, unless I decide to trade up to the M3, up for that last bit of low and extension! :-) 

Al,
So nice of you, Al, thanks for the technical help and also for the kind comments.

rja,
Happy to message you off the forum but can't figure out how to send a PM on the new Audiogon. Can anyone enlighten me?

rja: personal message just sent - thanks to Almarg for showing me how to do that!

finsup: Thanks for the kind words.
So much comes down to what you value in a speaker, what kind of presentation you like and what your budget is.
As small-ish monitors go, I think the Fritz's are wonderful and well worth considering. I think that the Carbon 7 SE, in particular, is a great all rounder that, as I wrote in my review, was much more compatible with a SET amp than I'd have expected "on paper." I am less inclined to offer a strong opinion on the Carrera as a value proposition because I suspect it would have performed even better with a more powerful amp than I have at my disposal. But there's no question that the Carrera is a classic Fritz product: well built (especially that cabinet!) and fitted with premium drivers, with balanced, non-fatiguing sound and shocking bass extension for the cabinet size.
Yes, I am working within a strict and rather tight budget, which is one reason that the Spatial's impressed me so much. They are quite great regardless of price, but especially for what they cost.

For what it’s worth, I haven’t tried corner placement. I think you’d have to ask Clayton whether that was a good idea. He recommends either a far-field or near-field placement – and these options are detailed in the Owners Manual. On the other hand, my setup isn’t exactly compliant with either of those two set up recommendations, and I’m getting great results. I think there really is something to be said for the "controlled directivity" concept as implemented here in terms of "taking the room out of the equation" with placement.