Kudos 707

Dave J posted:

Really? That’s odd, I’d say that involvement is the very thing that Kudos are best at, but as we know, speakers are so subjective.

Are there any other speakers that you’ve found involving or is it only everything made by Naim?

The Dynaudio Contour speakers at the aforementioned Acoustica Show last year sounded the most musical to me. The biggest let down were some big Focals at the end of  a Statement pre system which sounded like overblown PA speakers.

I have to agree the Dynaudio contour speakers at the Acoustica show were pretty special. I think they had a good room and listening was relatively close to the speakers.

Chris Dolan posted:

For comparison - Titan 606 on left, Super 20 on right  

Modest increase in size but better looking. I'll be interested to hear what the 606s and their bigger brother can do.

It does show how subjective speakers can be, and dependent on the room interface. I changed from SBLs to Kudos Super 20s, and in preference to (admittedly second hand) SL2s (and several others considered at the time), as I found the Kudos speakers the most involving and musical - and I am a huge fan of SBLs and SL2s (but not Ovators).  

So how are the 606's settling in Dave. I saw them in situ on the Kabin (they do look superb) so wondered how you were getting on ?

James

I’m pleased to say that any concerns about choosing them in preference to the 707s were completely and utterly blown away - as I was - when I played the first few tunes.

These are truly stunning speakers.

I’d spoken with Dave at Kudos before they arrived and he’d advised giving them a good 200-300 hours before making any decisions, saying that I might even question why I’d bought them but to bear with it.  Not a bit of it. They were fabulous from the first few notes (Pitch Black “It’s the Future Knocking”).  God, they groove. They totally engage. The tweeter is just... fabulous, utterly fabulous and the bass, oh the bass. Real grunt, totally unexpected in my listening room.     (Trentemoller “Take Me into Your Skin” was a wow!). As satisfying as my Isobariks were many years ago in a perfect listening environment, but so, so much more.

Three nights on the trot have been very, very late indeed as, gratifyingly, they completely work @ 7.00 on the dial, as they do at 12.00. The play list is currently at 268 tracks.

Could you ever say that a £9,000 pair of speakers were a bargain? I think you can; these are tremendous.

Excellent - that's really good to hear (no pun etc..). Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Dave 

My pleasure!

That appears to be a great result - congrats on making a good call in the dealer's listening room - potential gamble pays off!  Presumably from the comments from the other Dave, things will only get better as they settle in - hope that's how it plays out for you (and that your family enjoy their new earplugs!!).

Peter 

Thanks Peter, yes, it was inevitably a relief that they have worked so well and, theoretically at least, there’s more to come. 

Been running them 24/7 at a “discreet” night-time volume but my wife commented this morning about the music that woke her at 3.00 am. Ear plugs it is then.

Congratulations Dave, always nice to read a happy ending. Enjoy!

That has to be one of the more optimistic interpretations of the phrase "something's gotta give".  Good luck with that one!!

Peter

Dave J posted:

Three nights on the trot have been very, very late indeed as, gratifyingly, they completely work @ 7.00 on the dial, as they do at 12.00. 

very interested  to read they work well at low volume. On the list as potential change from SBL at some point ...

Paired with Naim 555DR/552DR/300DR my recently acquired Kudos 606 sound absolutely fantastic. They replace the SL2 I felt were not meeting my expectations. 606 provide quality treble beyond belief. Medium is excellent and bass goes deep down. None of these qualities are lost at low volume and that is also amazing.     

Phil the Geezer posted:

Paired with Naim 555DR/552DR/300DR my recently acquired Kudos 606 sound absolutely fantastic. They replace the SL2 I felt were not meeting my expectations. 606 provide quality treble beyond belief. Medium is excellent and bass goes deep down. None of these qualities are lost at low volume and that is also amazing.     

Phil, may I ask what source you are using?

Are the 606s a big step up from the S20s then? Worth the chop and churn?

To 707 owners - how big is your living area? I'll put up a picture of how my system will be situated...

MangoMonkey posted:

Are the 606s a big step up from the S20s then? Worth the chop and churn?

 

Er...YEAH!

nigelb posted:

Phil the Geezer posted:

Paired with Naim 555DR/552DR/300DR my recently acquired Kudos 606 sound absolutely fantastic. They replace the SL2 I felt were not meeting my expectations. 606 provide quality treble beyond belief. Medium is excellent and bass goes deep down. None of these qualities are lost at low volume and that is also amazing.     

Phil, may I ask what source you are using?

My source is Naim CD555. My listening room is 4.50m x 3.50m. When I first heard a pair of 606 at the Indulgence Hi-Fi show and then at a retailer, I was not overly impressed probably because of the large listening rooms. The home demo in my much smaller environment was stunning. WOW, what a result.   

Phil the Geezer posted:

nigelb posted:

Phil the Geezer posted:

Paired with Naim 555DR/552DR/300DR my recently acquired Kudos 606 sound absolutely fantastic. They replace the SL2 I felt were not meeting my expectations. 606 provide quality treble beyond belief. Medium is excellent and bass goes deep down. None of these qualities are lost at low volume and that is also amazing.     

Phil, may I ask what source you are using?

My source is Naim CD555. My listening room is 4.50m x 3.50m. When I first heard a pair of 606 at the Indulgence Hi-Fi show and then at a retailer, I was not overly impressed probably because of the large listening rooms. The home demo in my much smaller environment was stunning. WOW, what a result.   

Thanks Phil. I have only heard the 707s (in passive and active modes) at a dealer demo day and at a small show fronted by very decent Naim sources/amplification and I was very impressed on both occasions. It is the 606s I am really interested in though due to cost and size considerations. So It is interesting to hear from 606 users.

MM - Smallish. About 4 x 3 metres; thought the room 'vents' via the arch.

Side cheeks (which extend about an inch from the rear of the cabinet) are 23 cm or 9" off the back wall. Isobaric bass loading enables the 707's to work  well in my room, delivering deep, clean tight bass with modest back-space.

I ran 'em with grilles to start with, but 'naked' gives a little more clarity.

John.

Clive B posted:

The Kudos 707, together with the PMC Fact12, is on my list of possibles in case there is a need to replace my Naim NBLs. Currently I'm leaning more towards the Fact12s.

Hi Clive, just about to replace active NBLs / 3 nap250.2s trying a preowned pair of Wilson Sasha's passive nap500dr,,,,, really hoping for the best of course. I just find it really difficult to audition speakers.If it doesn't work I'll return to nibbles?

MangoMonkey posted:

Are the 606s a big step up from the S20s then? Worth the chop and churn?

To 707 owners - how big is your living area? I'll put up a picture of how my system will be situated...

 

3.5m x 7.5m