ProAc DroRS Vs Spendor D7

About 6 weeks ago I had the chance to listen to ProAc's D20 and D30 -- that was with a Supernait 2 and a 282/250DR. I thought they sounded rather nice with both amplifications, but especially the 282 system. No flabby bass whatsoever,  but we didn't listen to bass-heavy modern music, but a broad range of classical music.

I have never heard Spendor's D7, but some studio monitor a long time ago. Can't recall the model -- was too underwhelmed to remember. But I observed that Spendor's floorstanders are well reagarded here.

You list Dynaudio's Contours, but don't mention them later on. A few months ago I heard them at the Acoustica show in Chester. Thought the Dynaudios sound lush. Unfortunately these are out of my price range.

I have PMC's 25.23 with my modest XS2/ND5XS combo. I think PMC is another Great British loudspeaker manufacturer one should have on his/her audition list.

What's your system?

I didn't find Proac a good match for Naim, but that was only one speaker, and one system, I'll say nothing about the other possibilities, obviously.  If you're listening to these speakers though, why ask us?  No idea what the rest of your system is, but I'd recommend arranging a demo with something similar to your own kit; your words suggest that you haven't.  

MILPAI, I've never heard the new ProAc's but did end up buying the D7s last year, to be fair they weren't really on my radar I listened to some PMC speakers and they were not to my liking the dealer suggested I try a pair of D7s and like you I was amazed at how well they sounded with a wide variety of music.

I tried a pair at home prior to purchase my room size is 15 foot by 17foot plus a bay window ceiling height 8 foot 6 inches so much the same as your room. I have them either side of a fireplace just over 7 foot apart and about 15inches out from the wall with a tad of toe in and they sound superb with a lovely soundstage.

Speakers are a very personal choice and  are very of dependant of the room I would strongly recommend you have a home demo prior to purchase of your chosen speakers if not see if you can come to some arrangement with the dealer to return them if you are not entirety happy with your choice when you get them home.

Hello Milpai and welcome to the Naim Forum.

I have auditioned the Spendor Statement and the Proactive D30R. The Spendor speakers were absolutely transparent to the electronics that preceded them and were totally neutral. This is a very good performance. However, they never made music come alive and be emotionally engaging when I had them.

The Proac D30R on the other hand just sounded immersive, full of life and emotionally engaging. Ye, I liked them.  The only speakers that I have heard come close to their performance at that price point are the Kudos S10/S20. 

However, such conclusions were drawn after listening to the speakers with very high calibre Naim electronics.  The same speakers driven by a Supernait or similar would not have sounded so musical.

So, what are the electronics that you plan to use with the new speakers? Experience indicates that this is crucial.

Best regards, FT

Thank You for the responses folks. It does help me.

I had posted a link to my system. But looks like we should not be doing that and I don't want to break any forum rules. My system comprises the following:

Power Amp: Parasound A21

Preamp: Promitheus Reference C-Core dual mono (TVC)

Source: Teac CD-1000

Cables: Clear Day Audio RCA, XLR and double-shotguns for the loudspeakers.

Room is treated and dedicated for audio only. It is 15 feet X 18 Feet X 8 feet. The Quad 21L are 5 feet from the front wall and 3 feet from the side walls. Distance between the loudspeakers is about 8 feet. I sit about 9 feet from the loudspeakers. All the distances are within 1/8 inch error tolerance. I will soon be changing the Teac as well. 

I have managed to find another dealer (7 hours away) in another metro are who carries both these loudspeakers. I plan to talk to them first and then see if I can visit them. But the possibility of visiting them will not happen till end of October. And to tell you the truth, I want to buy a loudspeaker soon.

I have Kudos C20 with SN2 and I suggest you, if possible, to give them a try, or S20.

I have not listened to either Spendor models, but they do seem to get very good reviews/owner feedback.  However some say they can be slighty "in your face" depending on system/room.  I assume great for rock etc. - they are not the mellow Spendor of old apparently ! What brand / set up do you have for electronics , naim ?   

I have the ProAc D48R and you can see my naim system in my profile. I have a room 15' x 36' x 8' and the D48R is a true delight to listen every time. Sweet, realistic & detailed treble, fine mids for vocals acoustic rock & deep, defined bass with a truly wide soundstage and great at either very low or loud playback. I know an in house demo. can be a pain or not possible at all depending on dealer support. I got the ProAc after many, many hours of work trying to find "the one" speaker to upgrade to. In the end it was a leap of faith as no demo. was possible and lucky for me it worked out beatifully in the end. Do your reasearch and if you are lucky to have a final in house demo. between the 2 speakers you are looking at,  you should really not go wrong with a final choice.

With your room size at least do a comparison in:

1. Your own room / system or

2. At the very least in a similar size room at the dealer with electronics as close as they can get to your system.

Then narrow it down to the 2 speakers that could work well in your room i.e. no bass boom/overblown / or weak bass / brighter treble / duller treble etc. and go for a final demo. from there.

I suspect the D48R and Spendor D9 may be too much speaker for your room size, but you can never really be 100% sure until they are in your room playing.

Final point, not sure about Spendor, but my D48R took about 500 hours to come on song and show what they are truly capable of.  So factor that in with any speaker demo.

Good luck !

I have the D40R with the 500 system.  They have a lot of bass with the down firing woofer which we tamed with Herbie's Fat Gliders.  You need to be careful positioning them.   Not too close to the wall.   Now I love the way they sound.   My wife loves the rosewood look.   They draw a lot of current and you need more amp than their ratings indicate.     Else they will sound suboptimal and fatiguing.     You get a lot to like with the ribbon tweeter.    There is lots to like in the right system   

I get nothing but compliments.  Proac does a good job.  But these won't be my final speakers either.   

Not much Naim, is it? Assuming you want to have Naim boxes in the future, I would suggest sorting out the black boxes first. In the Forum, it seems conventional wisdom to settle for electronics first before moving on to speakers. 

These pieces of equipment are unknown to me so I've been googling. It seems that the power amp is a 250 unit that costs £2,600. The CD player, when made, cost £800. I've no idea about the preamp, which is a passive unit. I've heard the Spendor D7 and they seemed ok, but I would suggest that all the speakers you are looking at are far too good for the CD player, and could ruthlessly expose it. If it were me I'd get a really good source sorted out. You don't say if you are considering Naim equipment, but if you are, the CDX2 would be a good place to start. Whatever you do, listen to the speakers at home. The opinions of others are only that; opinions. Speakers are a very personal choice. 

MILPAI.   Your system seems pretty balanced as it is. The Quads are a lot of bang for buck. Parasound amps are known to be like Arcam amps - nicely neutral - but with a bit more oomph.  

If your not thinking long term of upgrading everything, I would advise looking elsewhere.

As discussed many times, there are a few different approaches to building a successful system. Some think that finding the right speakers for the room - then putting the system behind it is ideal. Some prefer to build up the system first then find the right speakers.  Others might like to get everything at the same time with help from a knowledgeable dealer.

Deciding where you think you are with it all will help you choose the speakers.

milpai posted:

....to tell you the truth, I want to buy a loudspeaker soon.

Hurried loudspeaker purchases are very likely to end in disappointment. Take your time and listen to several until you're confident that you've got one that works for you. 

@Skip,
I have followed your responses on this forum for quite some time. Thanks for the advice. My current loudspeakers are 5 feet from the wall behind them, and 3 feet from the side wall. I have space to move a loudspeaker a foot further into the room. The distance between the speakers is actually 9 feet. (So what I mentioned in my last post was off by a foot). I can move the speakers a feet or 2 closer and that way leave more space from the walls on the side and behind. My amp is rated at 250 watts @8 ohms.

@Timo,
I really do not plan to change the amps and preamps in the next year or 2. But Thank You for the sincere advise.

@Hungryhalibut,
I have followed your responses on this forum too. Thank You for investigating on the equipment. You are so right, and the CDP is on my mind too. Depending on how much I end up spending on the loudspeakers, I have 2 routs for the source. Either go with a Oppo UDP-205 for now and then later buy a nice outboard DAC OR the second option is to go with a high end SACD player (the lowest end in the line) like Esoteric/Luxman/Marantz (SA-10). I have about 30 SACD and try to get them whenever I have that option.

@Tobyjug & @Chrissu
Thank You for the valid points you make and the advise provided. Noted. Yes, the Quad 21L are SUPER bang for the buck. They have been in my system for 12 years. This purchsae is not in a hurry. If you look at my posts on other forums, I have been searching for the past 2 years. I have been to AXPONA 2015 and 2017 here in the US. I did listen to a lot of loudspeakers and narrowed the choices to the ProAc and Spendors.

I fired up my system after almost a week and the Quads sound divine to me. I believe it is the room treatment and the placement that helps this. The Spendor and ProAc dealer did not have as much precision placements or treatments that I have in my room. I played the CDs that I demoed at the dealers last weekend, and I found that the Quads are not bad. But I do need that slight more bottom end and top extension. With the Cassandra Wilson's "Blue Light Till Dawn" CD my system sounds a bit upfront, but with Dave Brubeck's "Time Further Out", the system is properly laid back. I don't think I would enjoy a "up-front" sound and would like to have a sound that has proper depth. With that regards another loudspeaker that I liked in the demo was the Dynaudio Contour 30, which sounded lushy, but am worried about it's lo sensitivity and my system matching, especially I have a TVC and not an active preamp.

Folks,

I wanted to update that I have decided to go with the ProAcs. This is completely based on my listening preference.

Thanks