Jeffro Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 This is the very first time I have heard this about any Spendor speaker........very strange! My Spendor ST's which are not too dissimilar to the D7's have never shown that characteristic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio_file Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 I have heard the Spendor D7 on a Naim Nait XS2 (70W) and found the treble very sharp and harsh. It is either due to treble distortion or tonal imbalance. (or both) Note that I have had similar issues (sounding different but similar) using other speakers with the same amplifier. However, some speakers don't have this issue with the same amplifier, for example the Vienna Acoustics Concert range and the Linn Majik Isobariks. I guess I'd have to hear the D7 on a different amplifier to get a better idea, but it suggests it is at least particular about the amplifier you use. On the flip side the D7 had a good mid range detail, as well as taut extended and punchy bass. Apart from the harshness and lack of refinement, the treble was quite detailed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audiofix Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 On 10/27/2016 at 10:44 AM, audio_file said: I have heard the Spendor D7 on a Naim Nait XS2 (70W) and found the treble very sharp and harsh. It is either due to treble distortion or tonal imbalance. (or both) Note that I have had similar issues (sounding different but similar) using other speakers with the same amplifier. However, some speakers don't have this issue with the same amplifier, for example the Vienna Acoustics Concert range and the Linn Majik Isobariks. I guess I'd have to hear the D7 on a different amplifier to get a better idea, but it suggests it is at least particular about the amplifier you use. On the flip side the D7 had a good mid range detail, as well as taut extended and punchy bass. Apart from the harshness and lack of refinement, the treble was quite detailed. Mmmmm, well yes occasionally the D7 can be a difficult loudspeaker, but as someone who has listened to them a lot on an XS Nait I am surprised you are having that problem. By nature the D7 is an open window to the recording and the system driving it. It is a high resolution transducer and unusually so being a Spendor. It does not have as much 'Spendor charm' as other models but I would have to say it is still a very well balanced and cohesive sounding. Where I have heard it come un stuck is on brightish sounding equipment playing a difficult recording coupled with a room that is perhaps acoustically challenged. What CD player or source were you using and what is the room like? Personally I find the treble to be particularly well judged and very clean indeed. Anyway the D9 is here finally and what a loudspeaker! Warmer sounding than its shorter, older brother but still pitch perfect, fast and oh so real sounding!! Bass is incredibly extended and agile. D7 pictured to the right of D9 (with its grille off, exposing its extra drive unit over D7 driver complement). Regards, Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio_file Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 (edited) @Audiofix Firstly I don't know how new any of the speakers at the store were, and they might get better over time. The Naim Nait XS2 does have some treble distortion and can have a spiky treble on some speakers, but I wouldn't call it a bright amplifier. Some amplifiers that definitely sound brighter include Rotel RB-991, Naim SuperNait 2, Naim Nait 5si, Primare i32, Rotel RA-12, and there are many more. I'd say the amplifier is not quite neutral, it has a relatively potent bass with a neutral mid range, both having very little distortion, and a smooth treble other than the localised spikiness on some speakers. However it does have more distortion in the treble than the mid range and bass. I'd say the mid range and bass distortion is much lower than similarly priced amplifiers, but the treble distortion is average for its price. This could make treble more difficult than mid range or bass when matching with speakers. The amplifier does sound harsher when new and also when using certain cables, but I tested using thick decent cables, the Chord Epic. I used the Naim CD5 XS as source and unlike the amplifier, this one is very neutral, apart from a slight emphasis on the bass. I have used this one with other amplifiers and it doesn't really affect the tonal balance much. It definitely has a very smooth treble. The room was heavily treated, and was the main listening room at a hifi store. I haven't heard spendors in my own room yet. I can't say whether the room had issues as I didn't spend more than half a day there, and didn't take any measurements. I did however get similar results in my own room which was a different shape and had a different acoustic, suggesting it might not be the room. I wouldn't rule it out though. I can add that I've tried other Spendors on the same amplifier and found interesting results: The SP3/1R2 has exactly the same issue as the D7, but more localised. The A5 had a similar issue; it was over the same frequency range as the SP3, but wasn't as pronounced. This speaker seemed to have a calmer tonal balance between mid and treble. It was also more bassey. The SA1 (the little one before the D1 came in) didn't have any issue and had a very neutral flat response, no spikes anywhere. However it did lack bass. The tweeter looks to be the same between the SA1, A5, and SP3, with different results. The D7 and SP3 have different tweeters (unless the D7 is just a SP3 tweeter with a different grill), and have the same issue. This suggests it's not the tweeter. I'd guess it might be a weird artifact created by a combination of the crossover in some spendors with the Nait XS2 amplifier. The amplifier has a much higher than normal output impedance, making cable matching more important than usual. This could possibly contribute to the issue. I got exactly the same issue with a few Sonus Faber speakers, but got different results with other speakers. The Vienna Acoustics grand range sounded perfectly smooth. The Linn Majik Isobarik sounded warm and smooth. The ATC SCM range sounded neutral and smooth. The PMC Twenty range had mixed results: the 22 and 24 were very even, but a bit bright, while the 23 had a similar treble spike as the A5, but much less pronounced. After switching to Naim NAC A5 cables the 23 smoothed out. I am not sure if the same would happen with Spendors. That said, all Spendor speakers I have heard suit this amplifier very well when it comes to the mid range and bass. I have heard good things about the Spendor SP2/3R2, SP100R2, A5R, and A6R, and have often wondered if some of those wouldn't have better results. Edited November 8, 2016 by audio_file fixed spelling for isobarik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holliswhy Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 My solution would be KT88 amp with Spendor SP2/3R. Really loved that system. I had the Naim Supernait and CDX2 for a few years. It did sound quite bright, but after some NAC A5 cables, some stock Naim cables, and a few hundred hours on the system, it starts to smooth out. Don't listen to Naim from cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffro Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 On 8 November 2016 at 10:27 AM, Audiofix said: Anyway the D9 is here finally and what a loudspeaker! Warmer sounding than its shorter, older brother but still pitch perfect, fast and oh so real sounding!! Bass is incredibly extended and agile. Hi Andrew, How do my Spendor ST's compare to the D9's? Somewhere between the D7 and D9 I would guess possibly ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audiofix Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 On 11/10/2016 at 8:05 AM, Jeffro said: Hi Andrew, How do my Spendor ST's compare to the D9's? Somewhere between the D7 and D9 I would guess possibly ??? Hi Jeff, Probably the best way to describe the sound of the ST is that it is a less developed D7 but with a bit more weight in the bottom end. Less developed in the sense that the ST is the basis of the D7 in many ways, probably mostly in relation to the cabinet. ie non lossy box design, ie. not just stuffed full of wool to reduce internal mid and high frequency reflections and of course long wavelength standing waves. The ST was the start of trying to build the internals of a box more carefully to reduce internal reflection without inducing a slowing of the sound by just simply absorbing unwanted energy (using great gobs of wool etc). Another big leap with the D7 (and D9) is the tweeter. The concept there is to balance the damping on each side of the diaphragm. Most tweeters have some kind of rear enclosure full of wool or even just a closed space (back plate of magnet assy) but the front face of the tweeter diaphragm is only loaded by the room its firing into. Not particularly well balanced at all leading to non linear excursion relative to the input waveform. The fix is the front 'lens' that loads the diaphragm similarly if not completely evenly to the rear small enclosure. The treble is particularly clean and sweet on either D7 or D9, I'm guessing this is a big part of why. The D9 takes the whole D7 concept to a higher level with a much more serious dual driver bass system using a newly developed bass unit. Midrange is slightly different (and I would say somewhat superior) by employing a driver that doesn't also have to perform bass duties (D7 is a 2 1/2 way). For me the ST is a significant loudspeaker because it shows where Spendor was headed and is indicative of what kind of product they wanted to produce next. A higher sensitivety device with a faster sound offering greater resolution but still with a large degree of Spendor charm. The D7 for me though is the finished product. The ST had a few minor issues that were not completely resolved. The D7 has no issues in my opinion accept the occasional trend towards sounding a bit 'light'. The D9 fixes this and takes the whole idea up a notch. On a recent trip I had a discussion about the design principles of the D7 and D9 with Terry the designer (pictured at the computer) but have successfully forgotten most of it (which is probably just as Terry would prefer...) Let me say though there is an awful lot of subtle details and for a small company that produces their own cabinets, drivers, designs, crossovers, cones etc with a bare minimum of people I think they do an amazing job and produce a product that offers particularly good value for money. They are the real deal, a real manufacturer, designing a loudspeaker for performance with zero input from the marketing dept as there isn't one. Regards, Andrew. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffro Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 Thanks for a very informative reply I'm trying to work out the price difference between the D7 and the ST . The ST at $13K and the D7 at $7.5K....how is that? I absolutely love the ST's,I think they compare favourably to speakers in the $15K region that I have owned .What are their minor issues that you mention? Could only imagine how good the D9 are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audiofix Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 On 11/12/2016 at 9:39 AM, Jeffro said: Thanks for a very informative reply I'm trying to work out the price difference between the D7 and the ST . The ST at $13K and the D7 at $7.5K....how is that? I absolutely love the ST's,I think they compare favourably to speakers in the $15K region that I have owned .What are their minor issues that you mention? Could only imagine how good the D9 are! Hi Jeff, The minor 'issues' are really just a tiny amount of cabinet resonance or at least an upper bass colouration that is very un Spendor like and in most circumstances is not terribly audible. The other thing is just a slight edge on some things in the mid which is un Spendor like but very typical of many well regarded designs from other brands. So no biggy either. The D7 and D9 do not have these issues and in my humble opinion are a sweeter, higher resolution device than the ST that is more cohesive and just plain more fun to listen to. Neither is probably as demanding on the amplifier choice as the ST either. Oh and the reason the ST was as expensive as it was is in most part the inlayed front baffle with interchangeable colour sections. A nice idea but it came at an enormous cost from the cabinet makers. The ST is also a slightly beefier speaker than the D7. It was also originally priced when the exchange rate was less favourable. They would be the three key reasons it was a somewhat more expensive choice. I agree BTW that the ST s performance is way up there. The D7 and D9 both compare well with much more expensive (double the price) alternatives. Those after a serious loudspeaker need to have either or both on their 'must audition' list. Andrew. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio_file Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 @Audiofix here is an update on the list of Spendors I have heard, with my initial impression of the SP2/3R2 compared to the D7 and others: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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