I see this thread is back, so I'll offer an update on my D7s... I've since replaced my Rogue Sphinx with an LFD NCSE MkII and I absolutely love it with the D7s. The speakers pair beautifully ... Beautiful sound, excellent bass, immense soundstage, and excellent imaging. Not the slightest bit fatiguing, and I haven't experienced the brightness others have reported. Based on my experience with Croft and LFD, I think any British amp will pair beautifully with the D7s.
Atoms for Peace for demoing, nice! Sounds like a good time. The same dealer shied me away from using a 32W tube amp with the D7.
OK, excellent, just thought if brightness was your enemy more panels would be your friend, especially considering the TV screen between the speakers.
Thanks , I think the A7 will not be big enough for my room and (for better or worse) trying to get away from the thin walled BBC sound and the 100s are $$$.
Didn't have a chance to hear them paired. I suspect it would of been fine given my room and listening level.
A nice used pair of SP100s can be had for about $3.5K. I almost bought a mint Rosewood pair down in Texas for $3K. With proper setup, they don't produce any notable box resonance, they simply sound like a very transparent, cohesive, effortless speaker - with spooky realistic imaging - really an endgame speaker. I was really shocked by how they completely disappeared in the room of Acoustic Sounds. Most rooms are not nearly as well-treated, however, I've managed to replicate 95% of that sound in my room without having to go overboard on panels or bass traps. The majority of it comes from giving the speakers enough wall distance. In my case, 43" from the wall to front baffle. Not to denigrate the C7s, but one character I noticed with them in my room was that I couldn't get them to disappear well. They threw a large soundstage but my attention kept being drawn to what I suspect is the flexing cabinet noise you've mentioned. It seemed to be most prominent when played somewhat loud, and with music that has a lot of midbass content - I estimated the culprit to be the 150 to 300hz range. I kept thinking it's rather small port was somehow contributing to this resonance. I haven't heard the same in other BBC style monitors. Probably the least offensive in this regard, ironically, considering the size, are the SP100s - they just disappear. I completely understand any reservations of buying used speakers, which is why I opted to spend $3K for Spatials instead of SP100s. I'm waiting on a pair of Triode Masters to hear whether I finally achieved that last 5% I've been seeking, but my short time with the Turbo S' was very promising. Spatial is scheduled to be at Axpona this year. I highly recommend you check them out if you plan to attend. They also offer a low-risk (shipping one way), 60 day in-home trial.
Interesting about the cabinet resonance issue causing localization. Somehow the warm sound has not affected the sound stage or imaging - the "warmth" even with bass heavy loud songs seems to envelope the center stage with a big warm cloud from which the vocals and music still shine through. Without question the overall tonal balance is affected but they still seem to disappear- and I have heard the same at dealers and shows.
It might be that I didn't allow them enough break-in. I noticed that the Spendors that immediately followed had no trouble disappearing despite their smaller soundstage, larger cabinet and warmer overall balance. The LS3/6s also disappeared very well in the same location. The C7s just seemed to produce a bit of "honk" for a lack of better term - somewhat similar to what I sometimes experience with the Heresys and Tannoys though the C7s had this to a lesser extent IIRC. It might just be that I was asking too much of them in my largish room. Sounds like you're on the right track with the D7s though. I've no doubt they're great. And Spendors only get better after their substantial break-in period.
the spendors have landed! so far a little bright but a nice kind of bright. really fast with no slightly bloated warmth- excellent rock speakers, they go very loud very easily and without strain- "the wall" sounded great. jazz sounds incredible too- trumpets really "pop" . the best compromise between efficiency and refinement? these are rated 89db and they tested at 89db so there is no inflation with that number and they sound like it. makes my rogue CMII seem like a major over-achiever. all this after a few hours. promising future for sure as these are known to take their time breaking in. more to come.....
The most recent D7 setup I heard was superb. The driver suspensions needed two weeks of hours-long daily play to fully even out. The speakers were great out of the box, and got better and better over that time and now sound astonishingly good. Looks like you’ve got yours nicely positioned in the listening room.
thanks. sound stage and imaging are extraordinarly precise. thinner profile baffles and coherent integration are working wonders. i thought my harbeths did piano well but the D7s have them beat already.
thank you. i actually wanted natural oak but they are a special order from the UK and not worth the wait. i do like the dark walnut too though, even better than the $1K premium ebony that the dealer had.
Imaging is also a strong suit of their wide-baffle classics. Even the SP100s are capable of extraordinary imaging - not unlike a mini monitor. I'd like to know the secret, maybe it's in the crossovers. Even the coaxial speakers I've owned/own don't perform quite as well in that regard.
@avanti1960 - I am curious how you feel about bass response now that you have these speakers at home and listened for a bit?
no. dark walnut, natural oak, cherry, and black ash are standard options. white and dark high gloss are premium.
the bass is actually getting better after about 12 hours of moderate loud music. still has some work to do though to match the incredible bass they had at the dealer's. the good news is I know they are capable once run in.
@avanti1960 -- mid last year, I had a speaker thread on the forum where I was looking to buy --- at that time you recommended the D7s Good to see you are drinking your own champagne! (I was going to say "eating your own dog food" but that always sounds wrong) I STILL have not heard the D7 (or D9)........