Hi fellow Spendor owners, I just got a demo pair of D9.2s. The dealer said it had at max 100 hrs on it. When I first plugged them in, the treble was very harsh even with minimum toe-in, my ears actually hurt after an hour of listening. The sound was very disjointed and incoherent between the drivers. I could hear different drivers trying to do their thing but not the musical presentation as a whole. That might be partially attributed to transport temperature. Since then I've put another 75 hrs of playing on it, and the sound has gotten a lot better. The coherence of the sound is really coming together, and the hardness of the upper mid and treble has really calmed down. Now the transparency is incredible and the detail and depth of soundstage is the best I've had in my room and my last speaker was almost $20k retail. The only thing is that it still sounds a bit thin, especially when put up on spikes which really seemed to reduce mid-bass vs. sitting on hardwood floor. I'm driving them with a Plinius SA-102 class A amp that never had problem with sounding thin with other speakers. Has anyone experienced this? Any tips are appreciated.
When speakers are still winter-cold immediately after delivery it's possible to damage something, though it happens only rarely. Typically, the time needed to unpack and handle them into position and connect them allows enough temperature increase to avoid damage. You don't mention speaker positioning in the room or your seated height. Ideally with D9 speakers a seated position that puts ear height slightly above or slightly below the plane of the tweeter suits far more people extremely well compared to ear height directly inline with the tweeters.
I live in the south, so winter temperature is still very mild. Currently the speakers are slightly toed-in and about 7.5ft apart while I sit 8ft from each speaker. The tweeters are roughly at ear height. The treble and tweeter is no longer shrill, actually rather sparkling and insightful, but it just lacks some tonal density and body, possibly in the mids. Perhaps the spikes raised the mid woofers too high? Is the Spendor mid woofer known to be very directional?
The Spendor midrange and associated driver are expansive, detailed, accurate and help provide excellent instrument and voice separation and soundstage. I think you’re on the right track with respect to the spikes - taller or shorter spikes, or no spikes at all, e.g., stiff pads instead - can be used to adjust tweeter height relative to your listening position. It’s probably best to wait for at least a week while your hearing is adjusting to the new sound in your room, shedding retained memory of what your preferred music sounded like with the previous speakers, before making any height or fine positioning adjustments. I think that after another week or so is when you’ll get the most from fine tuning.
When I used Gaia's on D7's the bass became a bit more extended and tightened as well. I'm not sure however they will provide @divertiti with the mid-range tonal density and body he is seeking but they provided a nice improvement overall. They didn't change the midrange character from my memory (it's been around a year since I sold my D7's).
they do need at least 225 hrs or so to reach near maturity with respect to bass and treble. that was my experience with the D7. bass should be tight and extended and there when the music calls for it- even sub bass does really well with the t-line style port. possibly some of the best bass in a speaker i have heard. definitely check your interconnects and speaker cables too- avoid using silver, silver plated or known bright cables. if your wood floor is suspended the interface between the floor and speaker will definitely matter. mine were spiked through carpet to concrete basement floor and it worked well. suspended wood floor will need some form of isolation. all that being said they are most definitely a neutral speaker to a fault and bass and midbass will never be slightly more pronounced or fuller, which is why i sold mine. but- do not give up. as you listen and learn what they excel at- imaging, clarity, sub bass, appropriate mid bass but most of all a speed and dexterity that leaves most speakers shaking in disbelief, the spendors are a truly remarkable speaker and very difficult to duplicate. i regret selling mine. try to re-think that all speakers need to sound warm and full- all speakers should sound as fast, clear and refined as these spendors. peace.
Great speaker choice. Spendor speakers requires a long 'break in' time. My Classic 2/3 opened up after 300 hours, and continued to improve after passing that mark.
They’re great i have them on my spendors... easy to manoeuvre around as well and look good...i have soft wooden floor, very springy..
I’ve thinking about them because my floor is softish too, 2nd floor in a wood frame house. My imaging is good now but if can eke out more improvements, why not? Just wish they’d go on sale, the price seems to hold steady at $249Cdn per set
Thanks all for sharing your thoughts, you guys were spot-on. I will share some updates below: 1. It definitely needed more burn-in, I did a few more nights of playing music plus a couple more nights of different white/pink noise, it sounds a lot more balanced now. 2. @avanti1960 's call about silver in cables was very accurate. My DIY speaker cables had some silver plated KLEI banana plugs, and they were the culprit of bright and tilted up sound. When I took them off and went bare-wire into the amp, the sound became much less bright and more balanced, but still sounded thinner than I'd like. Oddly enough when I switched in a pair of Signal Cable Silver Resolution which has 4 silver conductors and 4 copper conductors for each channel, the sound is even more balanced and much fuller in the mids and bass. 3. The positioning and tilt of the speaker is very important too. I had it on spikes where the back spikes were lower than the front, thus the speakers were tilted back ever so slightly, and that produced a more open and airy, but thinner sound. When I switched the spike discs front to back, so the speakers were tiled forward towards the listening position (ever so slightly again), the mids became much fuller and bass got better too. These are tiny adjustments that made a big difference. 4. I then put on Isoacoustics Gaia III that I had before, and the sound got more clear and the bass was more defined again. The only thing is the D9.2s are right at the weight limit for Gaia III, I wonder if they are working optimally or I need to get Gaia II. The Spendor D9.2s are apparently transparent to the nth degree, in fact I have never had a pair of speakers respond to the slightest change in cabling or even connectors the way these do. I feel like to really get the best out of them, as well as to tailor them to personal taste, a lot of experimentation will be needed from source to cables.
I will echo the same as @avanti1960. They do not add ANY midbass to the music. If more warmth in the mid and upper bass is what you are after maybe tubes or warmer sounding class A amp like Pass.
I have had the D7's for 4 and half years listening through multiple amplifiers. This is a perfectly succinct assessment of the D7's.
I went with the D7.2 after spending some time with the ATC SCM40. I felt they weren’t a million miles apart overall...however, I felt that the D7.2 provided the low end depth that the ATC had, but also provided a little more transparency and detail. In addition, the ATC’s weren’t practical as they were a nightmare to move. It’s not so much the weight...it’s the weight together with the dimensions and the finish of the ATC’s which made it difficult. I also felt the ATC’s dominated my living space a little more. I am running them with my Class A Krell integrated amp, sounds pretty warm overall. I rarely find them bright...unless the recording is particularly leaning that way.
The Gaia's were a blessing and a curse for me on my D7.2's. After using a similar produce under my amplifier with great results, I was excited. Bass and mids were definitely better controlled. However, I lost some sparkle in the highs. This prompted me to twice revert to the stock spikes seeking to verify there was an actual issue. There definitely was. I then went down a rabbit hole of swapping tubes in in a effort to regain the very realistic/three-dimensional highs I once loved. I never did regain that sound. This was especially frustrating as I had recently spent countless hours rolling tubes on my Line Magnetic 805 in a successful attempt at dialing-in the sound. I finally convinced myself that the improvement in bass control outweighed the (possibly subtle) loss of high-end detail. Any normal individual wouldn't notice the difference, mind you. But, I can. And it still pains me. The what/what not question will never leave my brain. I was COMPLTELY happy! No complaints! But, I questioned if it could sound better, as all of us here have done. Wish I'd have never gone there.
Over a year in with the Spendors I can without a doubt say they are the best speakers I have heard under 10K. They just keep getting better. The sound is so fast and revealing it's addictive. Lesser speakers just sound soft and vague in comparison. For example, I have a pair of KEF LS50W II and they sound good no doubt, but are more polite and lack the clarity of the Spendors. Not a fair fight, but just an observation.
I'm about to try out both D7.2s and SCM40s this week. I must admit that aesthetically the Spendors are streets ahead- the ATC SCM40s look plug ugly! I also think they might be a bit too large.... decisions...
congrats, two fine speakers. the D7.2s need a lot of break in time to sound their best. listen to the imaging, which speakers will hold vocals solidly together, especially female vocals? which ones might scatter the vocals about as if the singer is moving slightly? which ones sound pinpoint? if this is important to your listening, there will a clear winner in this category.
i didn’t actually mind the look of the ATC’s. However, they are a massive pain to move aswell. I tried the satin black pair and the finish is a nightmare for blemishes and marks so don’t get them if you go for the ATC. The Spendors are also much more practical in this regard. They are also much easier to drive. In terms of sound, they are closely matched and what works for you might depend on your partnering equipment.
