Speakers to beat the Kudos X2

PMC 20.23s (in amarone)

I didn't get on with the smaller Kudos speakers... They just don't sound seamless and integrated to me. at least in my house. Titans different story however...

I went for another ATC last time I auditioned Kudos speakers... I went for ATC SCM19mk2 (large stand mounts). Works a dream with my NAP250.2.. Nice bass drive, renown classic ATC mids, extended non shrill highs and dynamics to die for... And a level of detail and insight that is headphone like. (With the right stands)

I disagree with this. The room I listen in is 9ft by 20ft approx., and I listen across the shorter width. I used PMC GB1i speakers for a while and they were totally unsuitable, much to much bass for instance. I demoed PMC20.21 and 20.22, the smaller (20.21) were what I ended up with. I did not try smaller floor standers from Kudos or Neat, perhaps I should have but the 20.21s are fine.

Simon has just described how I find my PMC twenty.22s. I had to do a bit of experimentation in my listening room as regards placement, acoustics and stand spiking (bare concrete floor) but the room is larger than the OPs hence my thoughts tend to agree with charles that (for the room) the 21s might be better.

I'm curious as to why you want to replace your X2s, and what the rest of your system is. I'm very fond of mine, and if the rest of my system 'outgrows' them, I've no idea what I'd replace them with, especially as I don't really want bigger boxes in the room. (Sorry MM, that is an entirely unhelpful reply!)  

If you have a solid wall to put them up against, and an amp of at least XS/SN2 area, with a decent source..... then a used pair of IBL's could rock your boat. Be careful though, you may end up using them in your main system, which is fine as you could buy 2 sets for the price of your X2's.

A room that size presents quite a challenge.

I would go for non-ported speaker - nSats perhaps, which i have used before and liked.

Ray

Ray, i am very successfully running SL2's in a room 7x10ft, and have previously used IBL and NSat in there too. Of the three, the SL2 sound the best, but the IBL run them very close.

Graham Audio LS5/9.

Modern proof that the BBC got it absolutely right 30 years ago.

Jan

P.S. I'm using them in a room measuring 11' x 14' x 7.5' (W x L x H) powered by the Supernait2. The wide open and natural midrange on these speakers simply has to be experienced. They also image very precisely, as they should considering that they were used by the BBC to compare live vs recorded music and had to allow the recording engineer to hear exactly how microphone placement affected the final result. I'm using them in a 2.1 home-cinema / music setup and I've dropped any thoughts of adding a centre channel. Voices are uncannily realistic and precisely placed where they should be.

I've not heard better integration between a tweeter and a mid-woofer in my 30 years of listening to speakers. The obvious challenger here is the Harbeth 30.1, which is an LS-5/9 based design, but uses a smaller (1 in.) tweeter. The Grahams use the larger Audax tweeter, which goes down to 800 Hz, so can be better integrated with the 7.8 inch mid-woofer.

They remain a BBC thin-wall design, so do not do well for large rooms when listening off-axis at high volumes, as the side panel resonances are audible, similar to Harbeths. Place them however in a smallish room and forget about buying anything else for the next 30 years.

Not cheap, but you buy once and buy right.

Jan

I agree with you though - it's hard to find speakers that do everything these do that work as well in a small room.

I did try the 20.23s  - had them for several months. They just didn't sound as engaging as the x2, so I let them go two weeks ago.

The Totem Arros I tried sound great too, but not as open as the x2s.

I heard the credos - they were better than other stuff I've heard, but sort of monochromatic.

Not tempted by the Grahams then?

IBLs don't use a gasket and sealant - that's the SBLs and DBLs.

If you are concerned about "bass extension" then IBLs probably aren't going to be the right speakers for you.

Somewhat counter-intuitive, but DBLs have been known to work amazingly well in a small room.  Just ask their designer, Roy George...

Contact: info at grahamaudiousa dot com to find a dealer.

How low do you need to go for the bass? They also make the LS5/8 with a 12 inch mid-bass unit...