New Kudos Titan 707

I've always been a fan of Kudos speakers, particularly the Titan, but the increase in price of the new 808 version over the original seems excessive. I've not really heard the 808 properly, the room correction with Linn amplification in use at the demo I attended didn't appear to be properly set up.  it's good that the 808s are offered for active use, but a real shame not for Naim amplification.

analogmusic posted:

9 to 12 k?

oh well. 

If one reads CES 2017 stereophile report hi end rooms have much less visitors this year.

How many people are that interested in a 9 to 12 K speaker? Raise your hands please

 

That suits me, more space for us high end owners 

Polarbear posted:

analogmusic posted:

9 to 12 k?

oh well. 

If one reads CES 2017 stereophile report hi end rooms have much less visitors this year.

How many people are that interested in a 9 to 12 K speaker? Raise your hands please

 

That suits me, more space for us high end owners 

Too right PB - Bristol gets far too sweaty.

If they are 60% the size of their bigger brothers I will buy them

Jonas Olofsson posted:

Yes. I guessing here but maybe 60% of what a 808 costs. But I don't know yet. 

//Jonas

The Strat (Fender) posted:

From somebody who until very recently was  a Dynaudio owner but now in the Kudos camp I would say that both brands work exceptionally well with Naim electronics.  The advantage for me of Kudos was greater fluidity, better definition and easier room integration.   On the other hand in the right surroundings - they like space and power - Dynas are a compelling listen.

Regards,

Lindsay 

I owned a pair of Countour S3.4 prior to my T88's. I agree with The Strat's summary. Dyn's are a very good speaker and pair well with larger Naim amps- my 250.2 ( at the time ) just did not have the grunt to power them well and would trip due to heat soak regularly. Although a larger speaker, my T88's are a much easier load and played well with the 250.2. More dynamic from top to bottom , as they should be relative to the increased cost. As always, do the demo if possible..

ATB,

Mark

tonym posted:

I've always been a fan of Kudos speakers, particularly the Titan, but the increase in price of the new 808 version over the original seems excessive. I've not really heard the 808 properly, the room correction with Linn amplification in use at the demo I attended didn't appear to be properly set up.  it's good that the 808s are offered for active use, but a real shame not for Naim amplification.

It could be done with Naim amplification, if you were OK with a different source from North of the border.

I would be suprised if this was under £10k.  I suspect it would be more in the £10k to 12k bracket, maybe a touch more.

That leaves room for a T-606 at under £10k.  Model numbers matching the diameter of the bass driver(s).

Also suspect that all the Titans will be isobaric.

Looking forward to hearing the T-707s - hopefully Acoustica will have them at the Chester show in March.

Had an email conversation with Derek. 60% of what 808 costs will probably be very close to actual price. 

606 could be an option or why not Super 30?

//Jonas

I shall be auditioning

analogmusic posted:

9 to 12 k?

oh well. 

If one reads CES 2017 stereophile report hi end rooms have much less visitors this year.

How many people are that interested in a 9 to 12 K speaker? Raise your hands please

 

Raise, raise... 

Own the Super10, but will have a closer look to the 707 if possible 

analogmusic posted:

9 to 12 k?

oh well. 

If one reads CES 2017 stereophile report hi end rooms have much less visitors this year.

How many people are that interested in a 9 to 12 K speaker? Raise your hands please

 

I's quite a hell of money but  even the so much praised Focal Sopra 2 &3 are 9,5 and 15k+ respectevely.

I never heard a Kudos product, but as far as i see and i can't understand their kind of engineering is probably one of the best possible match with Naim electronics. This new one could be a good substitute for  the now deleted S600 (for the record i' ll keep mine for a long time). 

Regards

Roberto

Jonas Olofsson posted:

With the law of diminishing returns kicking in we can expect to get 85% of the sound of 808 for the price of 60%. 

I wonder what part of the sound they have decided the listener can do without hearing?

Innocent Bystander posted:

Jonas Olofsson posted:

With the law of diminishing returns kicking in we can expect to get 85% of the sound of 808 for the price of 60%. 

I wonder what part of the sound they have decided the listener can do without hearing?

Well, the part that's more important than that produced by the Super 20, but less important than that produced by the T-808 of course.  Obvious! 

I heard about these a while back and was very excited at the time by the prospect of an "808-lite" that fits into a smaller listening environment.  I love what the big Titans do but, sadly, can't fit them into my listening room so I'm really looking forward to hearing them and would certainly be in the market for a pair.

Our man in Leicester is an enthusiastic Kudos dealer; I imagine he will have a pair a little before, or as soon as they're commercially available. He will be well placed to comment here on their performance with the various levels of Naim kit.  I wonder if he still has a pair of 135's in his demo armoury

I hope all the excitement here is well founded. I found the 808 underwhelming at best and can only imagine what the underwhelming "lite" will sound like. This after 4 plus hours near Leicester, with 500 series toys.

Good luck chaps.

Dave

You can't say that. Kudos can do no wrong, surely?

Bodger, how is the pairing of NAP 500 and 802 D3?

Good to sometimes hear both sides of the Kudos story.

Now Mangomonkey did say he might let his Kudos S20 go....... 

Hungryhalibut posted:

You can't say that. Kudos can do no wrong, surely?

Well - it's true sometimes in our enthusiasm things get over-hyped.   And I was somewhat underwhelmed by the S20s until I heard them in my room on my system.  

Regards,

Lindsay

analogmusic posted:

 

Now Mangomonkey did say he might let his Kudos S20 go....... 

Yes but he's a chameleon he is!

I haven't heard Kudos so can't comment much on it, but honestly Lindsay the price puts me off.

Dynaudio, B&W, ATC make their own drivers. 

Proac D20 R is around 2800 GBP, which is a quite a bit less than the 4400 GBP S20.

Analog - the 808s are clearly a hefty price tag but I can honestly say after extensive demos the S20 at £4,400 outperformed other speakers at £6K+ on my system.  Didn't get to ATC though - you can't do everything!

analogmusic posted:

I haven't heard Kudos so can't comment much on it, but honestly Lindsay the price puts me off.

Dynaudio, B&W, ATC make their own drivers.  

 

I've no idea whether I'd like the Kudos, and am unlikely to hear them, but good speakers, especially if you want full bass done well, tend to cost a lot...  On researching very recently For insurance purposes I learnt that the nearest equivalent to my speakers currently produced cost £15k new, so I'm already in/above that ballpark, so I might be tempted to listen if I had to replace mine.

As for the list, PMC, Tannoy and  KEF also make their own drivers, while some manufacturers work with OEM drive unit manufacturers like Scanspeak to create drivers suited to their specific requirements, in effect no different from making their own.

Innocent, I have heard quite a few speakers by now since I started my Naim journey back in 2010.

I would politely disagree, speakers do can do good bass do not need to cost a lot of money.

Proac studio 140 MK2 can deliver very deep bass and is well priced.

As Derek of Kudos has said "it is the tweeter that makes or breaks a speaker"

analogmusic posted:

Bodger, how is the pairing of NAP 500 and 802 D3?

 

Good to sometimes hear both sides of the Kudos story.

Now Mangomonkey did say he might let his Kudos S20 go....... 

ANALOGMUSIC,

This thread is now much more fun than it was.

The 808 are not cheap and the only other comparably priced speaker I tried around this time was the Magico S3. The Magico's were better than the 808. By some way.

I really wanted to like the 808 and was a bit (positively) biased once I got to THAT shop. I found the 808 fast but shouty. Bass was not the real deal for me. I thought they needed a second bass driver.

The 802 D3 did it all for me. So I bought them. I refused to hear the 800 D3. Bit of a step up in price at this point. I did hear the old 800 D2 side by side with the 802 D3. D2 still good, D3 better by a margin.  

You pays your money and takes your choice. There is quite a price range for the speakers being bandied around above. Apples and oranges going on here.

I don't agree the tweeter makes the speaker either. You need it all to work and seamlessly too. Kudos is waaay too much tweeter. The 4 hour dem was probably 3 too long.

Dave