Kudos vs Spendor

Ok, very personal but I don't like Spendors at all. Slow & boring. I do think Kudos is one of the best out there. 

Not sure how to judge my opinion here. I can't understand how you could choose between so different speakers. 

//Jonas

Are there other speakers you would suggest he auditions ?

The Spendor D7's are not, and I repeat, NOT slow and boring, in fact they are the complete opposite of that description.

Personally, I don't feel that the S20's are even in the same ball park as the D7's.

JO, Agreed,  they certainly offer two different sounds, and i guess thats where my dilemma lies. IMO, the S20's are easier on the eye, so may well be better to live with. But the D7's have a beautiful sound. I did an A+B dem and just cannot decide which sound i preferred. So i am looking to the Forum for considered opinions in the hope that someones previous experience sways me one way or other.

Have you listened to either of them at home with the Nova? Assuming that the answer is no, you really should wait until you can do that before making a decision. Any opinion offered here is precisely that, and won't reflect how the system works in your room. My own view is that either speaker is a bit much for an all in one. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Have you listened to either of them at home with the Nova? Assuming that the answer is no, you really should wait until you can do that before making a decision. Any opinion offered here is precisely that, and won't reflect how the system works in your room. My own view is that either speaker is a bit much for an all in one. 

I have to agree with Hungryhalibut. Although we didn't do an A+B test to compare the S20 against the D7, which was your original question, we did listen to both during our quest for new speakers last year.

Some forum members love the S20 but for us, in our acoustically bright room, it was tiring to listen to. Although there was lots of treble and bass, the midrange didn't seem to match and we thought that the Kudos tweeter was very bright.

The D7 we liked a lot when heard at the dealer demo room but we never home auditioned it, as we found an alternative solution that's physically more in keeping with our room and is happy working close to the wall, which is a requirement. 

We use a 250 DR amplifier, which if I recall correctly, our dealer suggested was the minimum he'd consider as a match for the S20. 

YMMV of course but hope that helps, although it wasn't from an A+B test which was your question

NewNaim16 posted:

Some forum members love the S20 but for us, in our acoustically bright room, it was tiring to listen to. Although there was lots of treble and bass, the midrange didn't seem to match and we thought that the Kudos tweeter was very bright.

 

Our experience of auditioning the S20 at home was exactly the same as you describe. I was disappointed because I thought the speakers looked the part.

Toto15 posted:

JO, Agreed,  they certainly offer two different sounds, and i guess thats where my dilemma lies. IMO, the S20's are easier on the eye, so may well be better to live with. But the D7's have a beautiful sound. I did an A+B dem and just cannot decide which sound i preferred. So i am looking to the Forum for considered opinions in the hope that someones previous experience sways me one way or other.

 

Speakers are a very personal choice I did end up purchasing a pair of D7s last year during my quest for a new system.

Prior to listening sessions I was looking at the PMC 20 23 as they fitted my budget and size but after listening to them during a demo I was very disappointed having heard so many good things about them the dealer then suggested the D7s and after listening to them I was rather taken aback on how good they sounded they were a bit above my original budget and slightly larger than I would have liked  but having heard then there was no going back.

After a long home demo I purchased a pair in the Spendor dark finish and have been using them for over a year and am extremely pleased with them good with all types of music a very strong point for me is how good they are at low listening levels.

As I said a very personal choice indeed and they are certainly not slow and boring.

Other alternatives may I suggest are the wonderful & certainly not boring Neat Acoustic Motive SX1 or 2's.

Or even the new Spendor A2?

...I have Spendor A6s which sound beautifully natural with my 272 & 250...

thanks for these informative replies. They are are a great help to me as an inexperienced HiFi consumer. Particularly the S20 comments as 

I will endeavour to obtain the D7, S20, and ATC SCM 40 from my very obliging dealer for a weekend audition.

I currently have Neat SX1, which i like, but i seem to have fallen into the trap "lets spend some more". Which seems to be a common occurrence here.

thanks

Toto15 posted:

I will endeavour to obtain the D7, S20, and ATC SCM 40 from my very obliging dealer for a weekend audition.

An obliging dealer worth his salt would probably let you have them at home for longer than a weekend - perhaps a fortnight or more. You probably want to give each pair of speakers an extended listen rather than swapping them over too often. 

Toto15 posted:

I will endeavour to obtain the D7, S20, and ATC SCM 40 from my very obliging dealer for a weekend audition.

Would you please report your impressions. If you have a chance, I'd be particularly interested in the D7 with the front grille projecting no further than 530mm/21" and preferably 480mm/19" from the wall.

Will99 posted:

Toto15 posted:

I will endeavour to obtain the D7, S20, and ATC SCM 40 from my very obliging dealer for a weekend audition.

An obliging dealer worth his salt would probably let you have them at home for longer than a weekend - perhaps a fortnight or more. You probably want to give each pair of speakers an extended listen rather than swapping them over too often. 

I agree a weekend isn't really long enough to carry out a true evacuation.

That's quite an evacuation you have going on there!

Stop it Ian. I keep thinking about the morning after a recent Chicken Madras.

Loudspeaker evaluation? I guess we're all different. I was 90% convinced about my recent change after the three tracks with my dealer here, immediately after installation. An evening's listening and a few tracks the next day was enough for me to make a decision.

John.

NewNaim16 posted:

Would you please report your impressions. If you have a chance, I'd be particularly interested in the D7 with the front grille projecting no further than 530mm/21" and preferably 480mm/19" from the wall.

If you are concerned about how well D7s work near a back wall, I have had them in the past on the end of a 250 DR projecting that kind of distance, firing across the width of a 32' X 15' room and they sounded superb..... at least to my ageing ears.

Hi Toto15

I have not done a direct comparison of S20 with D7.  However, I had Kudos C20s for a couple of years (bought after home audition) but I eventually found the treble overly hot for my taste and the bass failed to integrate fully with the treble in my setup and room, so I sold them on.  I heard the D7s at this year's Acoustica show fronted by a 272/XPS/250 system (my electronics) and enjoyed the sound they produced to the extent that I thought they were speakers I could live with in the long term.  So I would be most interested to read the report on your audition.

Incidentally, the interaction between electronics and speakers is subtle and hard to predict, so I do wonder, as HH suggested, if it might be worth holding off on the speaker comparison until you get your Nova (and ideally have it fully run in).  Like others, I find choosing speakers tricky, so I hope your weekend of auditioning helps you to arrive at a system which gives you many years of pleasure.

Roger

You don't say what you're current electronics are with the sx1's. Might be an idea to see how they respond with the Nova before changing them. Do you need a one box solution or could you stretch to two? You probably know where I'm going....... 

My starting point is a Qute + Nap 100. It seems like i would be ready for the 372, 273 whatever it will be badged as when they arrive in the future along with a 250DR. So the Nova seems like a perfect solution for me until then. So i am trying to upgrade the speakers to accommodate both front ends. 

Hopefully i can post my thoughts on the 3 variants soon.

Thanks

It can be difficult to properly evaluate speakers until you have your target electronics in place (as I have found out recently). Is there something about the Neats you really want to change? If you like their sound it may be a better idea to hang on to them and see how far you can take them with better electronics then re-evaluate. 

Hi,

It does seem a rather odd way with system improving here. I agree with Stuart on that I too think that better electronics to bring out the best in the SX1 seems a better option. I don't think a Qute with a NAP100 are up to the full potential with the Neat SX1s but this is just my opinion and nothing more.

Good luck with your search, in the meantime I will be interested with your out comes.

Upgrading speakers to accommodate potential front ends that don't even exist is simply daft. All it achieves is a guaranteed mullet for years to come. It would be infinitely more sensible to keep the existing speakers and use a 272/250 with them now. Then the 272 could be swapped in the future for whatever box replaces it, if having the latest tech is important. Putting a 250 on the end of the Qute could be a potential stepping stone. 

We all keep saying something similar but if the OP wants to pursue the intended path then that's up to them. But why seek guidance in the first place?

Mullets with easy to drive speakers are fine.
Mullets with hard to drive speakers are terrible.

It all depends on the choice of mulleting speakers.

Mullets with not much at the front, even nothing on top - is a pretty rockin look..     Good for rock and heavy metal music.