Kudos Event at Signals

I am a bit in love with the 707s - I really wish I hadn't heard them  

J.N. posted:

I attended the event today. My thanks to Alastair and Andy of Signals and Derek and Dave of Kudos for a most enjoyable (and potentially expensive!) musical experience.

The 707's (on 552/500) sounded flippin' gorgeous. Ditto the 606's on 252/300.

The fun continues tomorrow.

John.

...and compared to your Titans, John?

Clearly a home dem would be necessary to replicate room and source variables, but the 707 sounds sweeter, more lucid, detailed, rhythmically sure-footed and focussed. For a large floor-stander, it sounds fast. The sound-stage is improved too. Very deep bass (if on the recording) is still very well controlled courtesy of the isobaric loading.

A full length grille on a single enclosure makes the 707 look more attractive too. It's about four inches shorter than the 88.

John.

Thanks, John. A compliment to the 707s, indeed. 

Mike

Chris Dolan posted:

I am a bit in love with the 707s - I really wish I hadn't heard them  

Yes, sorry about that Chris 

Hope all is going well for Alastair and Andy at their event.

KR

Peter

Chris Dolan posted:

I am a bit in love with the 707s - I really wish I hadn't heard them  

Think I'll put on hold another trip to Rearsby

"

Hope all is going well for Alastair and Andy at their event.

KR

Peter"

Thanks Peter. Our little chapel is a happy place this afternoon. If maybe a little warm.

I`m thinking to buy those 707s`,,how do you compare my sl2 speakers to Kudos707 as an a upgrade step? for my nds/555ps 552/500dr and sl interconnect on fraim

I use SL2s and have heard the Kudos 707s. What you get with the 707s is deeper bass and that clear, detailed almost crystalline treble that seems common to a number of modern speakers. It sounds impressive to begin with but is wearing after a while.

Trouble is they sound artificial compared with the SL2s which in contrast sound a lot more natural and relaxing to listen to, so much so that you can forget they are there.

You really need to listen for yourself, ideally over an extended period to make up your mind.

I found that change NACA 5 for SL speaker cable and then treble opens up too.

I have a pair of 707s at home on demo at the moment. They sound good but they are quite big, a lot bigger than my S20s

elkman70 posted:

I have a pair of 707s at home on demo at the moment. They sound good but they are quite big, a lot bigger than my S20s

2 weeks should do it, please let us know, your final verdict!

"At a rather loftier price point (£13,000 in fact), the new Kudos Titan 707 arguably turned in my favourite performance of the whole show"

There's no place like Home!

Allante93!

One week in. They do sound good. Lots of deep bass which is nicely controlled with no boom and they are only 32cm from rear wall.

They have a very natural voice to my ears and are a little less harsh than the S20. However, I wouldn't say that the S20 are harsh. Just my way of making a comparison.

There is lots of depth to the sounds with more layers. That's the best way I can describe them.

Tempted. Yes. But, they are a lot bigger than the S20s.

meni48 posted:

I`m thinking to buy those 707s`,,how do you compare my sl2 speakers to Kudos707 as an a upgrade step? for my nds/555ps 552/500dr and sl interconnect on fraim

I changed SL2's for Kudos Titan 88's (on DR'd 500 series kit) nearly six years ago and have been very happy with them.

I'm joining Elkman with a 707 home demo. They are coming on Wednesday. I shall of course report my findings.

John.

I attended the Signals event too with a friend who wanted to assess the new range - a nice environment with the three systems in different rooms for each of the three speakers.

You definitely hear the same 'family' sound between them all as the range progresses, as might be expected, but nice to hear. These particular Kudos speakers did impress me - and more than the previous range that I also liked but felt had more character that you would either get on with or not. These were far more seamless and open in their presentation of the music to my ears and were very well integrated.

The 606 and 707 were particularly impressive in terms of ergonomics - I really like the look of the design. These two speakers appear quite slim but give a big open sound with plenty of depth and space when present in the music. When we swapped the larger 808 for 707 in the large room Statement system they performed remarkably well and did not collapse the performance. The larger 808 had better scale and deep bass articulation as you would hope it should have at the price difference, but you did not get the huge loss in performance when going to the 707, just a tailoring-in of the scale and deep-bass.

In the end the friend I arrived with was highly impressed with the 606 prototype and I can see a sale there when the production run begins. As for JN above, who I also met at the event - then unless they really don't work in his room I think there will be a 707 sale from what I heard.

As for me - I already have my room-friendly Ovator S800s which I'm very content with, but it is so nice to hear the evolution and improvements to the new Kudos range. At a previous event I'd not got the same impression when I first heard the 808 in another room and different system, but it was very at home in the Signals chapel of HiFi on Statement.

DB.

Just get a pair of S/H DBLs. All you'll ever need and save c10k 

Jonn posted:

Just get a pair of S/H DBLs. All you'll ever need and save c10k 

Well, if you're talking passive, but to compete with today's modern speaker technologies, one would have to Activate those DBLs.

Not Cheap!

Two additional 300 DR/500 DR! Ouch! 

Snaxo 362, SCDR to power the Snaxo, don't even mention the Full Loom!

Music>ST>SL>SA $$$$$$$!$!!$$$

If one is not considering the Active Route, 13 K pounds, for a pair of 707s, sounds like an bargain!

JMHO!

Allante93!

PS. Not to mention the WAF factor!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not the ears! LOL.....SQ!

The 707 comes with removable links for Active use.

But they sound great passive. Nice touch to have the option though.

DB.

Darke Bear posted:

The 707 comes with removable links for Active use.

But they sound great passive. Nice touch to have the option though.

DB.

Just seems odd, That Focal/Naim Speakers don't have that option!

At least Naim is still in the Active Market, and collaborating their Snaxo technologies, with Kudos.

Allante93!

My comments on the 707s were based on an active system (2x 300DR) so impressions of analytical hifi sounding but not particularly natural or easy on the ear still stand.

Would still prefer passive DBLs with a 300 or 500 to either Kudos 707s or 88s ( haven't heard the latest 808s).

Not convince that "modern speaker technologies" are necessarily an improvement over older technologies, hence the continued popularity of SBLs, SL2s, DBLs, Briks, Quad ESLs etc which represent amazing vfm given their performance standard.

Jonn posted:

{My comments on the 707s were based on an active system (2x 300DR) so impressions of analytical hifi sounding but not particularly natural or easy on the ear still stand.}

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Was this with Naim's Snaxo???

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{Would still prefer passive DBLs with a 300 or 500 to either Kudos 707s or 88s ( haven't heard the latest 808s).}

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Do you prefer Passive DBLs. Over Active DBLs???

Allante93!

Enjoy Your Music, The Why!

Not convince that "modern speaker technologies" are necessarily an improvement over older technologies, hence the continued popularity of SBLs, SL2s, DBLs, Briks, Quad ESLs etc which represent amazing vfm given their performance standard.

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Some Would think, gains have been made with the passive crossover design, being aided with computer technologies alone.

Amongst them, Lawrence Dickie, Founder of Vivid Speakers, David Wilson,  Alex, Sabrina, Alexandria, Sasha, just to Naim a few!

Hi  J.N. - sounds like it was a fun event. What were the 606s like? They look good in the photos I've seen.

Had the pleasure of listening again to the 808 at Cymbiosis yesterday, stunning

JonR posted:

Hi  J.N. - sounds like it was a fun event. What were the 606s like? They look good in the photos I've seen.

Hi Jon,

They look and sound like a scaled-down 707, which I guess was the objective. Interestingly, Derek commented that the 606 was a more difficult trick to pull off than the 707, due to the size of the cabinets and maintaining the quality of componentry and bass loading within retail price constraints.

John.

J.N. posted:

JonR posted:

Hi  J.N. - sounds like it was a fun event. What were the 606s like? They look good in the photos I've seen.

Hi Jon,

They look and sound like a scaled-down 707, which I guess was the objective. Interestingly, Derek commented that the 606 was a more difficult trick to pull off than the 707, due to the size of the cabinets and maintaining the quality of componentry and bass loading within retail price constraints.

John.

Thanks, John.

You've now got me wondering what "retail price [constraint]" Derek has in mind....!