@drrsutliff I keep hearing about that magical midrange on the Spendors and I have to say that I am intrigued. How are you enjoying your D9s? Do you use a subwoofer with yours? How would you describe performance in the highs?
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@soix
I'm looking for a speaker that has lots of clarity and detail but with no shrillness in the highs that would cause fatigue. Looking for more of a full/rich midrange for those vocals but also some punchy, quick bass as well. Likely my description is a bit general but hoping that helps!
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Heard the Spendor D7's today. Quite impressed at the performance in the high range - airy yet clear with good detail (falls short of the A3 here but it is enough). The midrange is beautifully smooth and lush. Bass on the D7's was good but not eye opening. I can only imagine that the D9's would be able to dig deeper in the low range and solve that piece of the puzzle.
On the other hand, I also heard the Wilson Sabrina's and I was very impressed with that speaker. Out of my price range though.
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@soix I see another used pair much closer to me for the same price. I am thinking about it... The dealer had them powered on a 40W Naim Uniti Atom and there was no issue with dynamics. Sounded great. |
@drrsutliff Totally fair. I think it depends on preference at this point. From what I have heard first hand, both are fantastic speakers. Different strengths but neither have a weakness (in my view). The A3 I was able to try with my Line Magnetic 48W amp and though I was a bit concerned, I saw no issues with driving the Magico's. The sound was lovely.
I was not able to test the D7's with my amp though. However, given the reading that I have done, these speakers are a good fit for even the lower powered amps given their efficiency so I am not concerned.
I am having trouble deciding on which signature I like more at this point. Wish I could listen to the D9 so I could appreciate the lower end impact that this has vs the D7's though! |
@drrsutliff Agreed with your impressions on the highs and midrange as on the D7's. I do hope and can only imagine that the D9's would be much better in the low end. Were you able to listen to the D7's for a comparison prior to your purchase? |
@drrsutliff Sounds like the D9's will incorporate all the good stuff of the D7's but fill in that low end with a lot more authority. If that is the case, it is really hard to find a fault with these speakers. The sound between the A3's and the Spendor's is different. The Spendor's are have that sweet midrange while the A3's have the extreme details/clarity. I think the Spendor's would be more relaxing speakers to listen (possibly more forgiving) while the A3's are so nuanced that it would need a great source to sound good. The A3's though, gave me that holographic feeling - kind of like music floating all around you that I haven't heard before. That gave me a lasting impression of this unit that I find hard to let go of. |
@steakster No, I am out in Seattle. I see a pair in CA though that I could look at if I am interested in going that route. The Sabrina's were pretty darn impressive. |
@prof thanks for your feedback - you may be the first person that has indicated that you have heard all three. I would love your feedback if you want to elaborate more. It sounds like your preference is the Joseph Audio's and that they have that ability to "disappear" and provide that holographic "feeling". In terms of bass performance, do you feel that they lack anything compared to the D9's and the A3's?
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@prof Loved reading your thoughts here. It is those comments about the Perspective that have me so intrigued despite not being able to listen to them before purchasing. That tone and the ability to immersiveness is something that I am looking for in a speaker. The A3 did it very well on certain tracks. The D7 was good but not spectacular in that regard but did everything else very well (again, I would expect the D9 to be better in almost every way other than in the highs).
It sounds like your Perspective's are keeping you very happy. I only wonder how they would sound on a 48W tube amp... |
@firstnot I was at Hawthorne listening to the D7’s yesterday! In your opinion, between the D7’s midrange/high signature and the Perspective’s, what would you describe as the difference?
I would expect the midrange signature to be fairly similar between the D7’s and D9’s but could be wrong without having heard the latter.
Agreed with the A3’s. I don’t think I have heard a more accurate and clear speaker. I also would not describe them as warm by any stretch. They were "warmer" with my tube amp driving them but not quite the warmth I have heard on my current Ascend's or the D7's. |
@prof I think your impressions are aligned with most of the reviews of the perspectives. I do find the Perspectives to be somewhat polarizing though which is funny. People who enjoy the Perspective's, love them. Those that do not feel strongly against them as they did not perform the way that they expected them to. Very little middle ground. |
@shkong78 thanks for the offer, I'm not in the market for the speakers that you have at this time so I will politely decline.
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@otinkyad Hope you are having as much fun as I am with this search. There are definitely a lot of candidates at this price point. One thing that I have learned is that the question, "which speaker to get" leads to more speakers to add onto the list instead of narrowing down your choices. Enjoyment of sound is such a subjective thing and it really comes down to your system and your ears.
Revel F228BE doesn't match my decor but I have heard great things about them. Ditto with the GoldenEar but I have some of their speakers before and have not been impressed - granted that was with McIntosh gear which I also am impartial to after a few listening sessions. Legacy Audio is supposed to be fantastic but again, not a good match with the decor of my room. ProAc D48R is one that I have considered previously but have heard from a couple of folks that compared to the Spendor's, they preferred the D9's all around. I do like a good ribbon tweeter though as my current speakers have them and they voice those highs so smoothly and transparently without any harshness. |
@twoleftears Totally agree with your view that it all depends on the listener’s ears. I personally didn’t like the Harbeth 40.1’s that I heard paired with both Primaluna and then Naim gear. While the midrange was musical, details and clarity were lacking. Some love Sonus Faber Olympica’s and I found to be OK.
What makes this difficult is knowing that there are other potentials, such as the Perspective’s that I won’t be able to hear before buying. But, you can’t have everything :) |
@dantheman76 Awesome, another local. How are you liking your 805ia and the D7's? I have heard the D7's at Hawthorne but not with the LM obviously. They sounded fantastic and I can only imagine that the D9's are better all around. |
@twoleftears Neither of those two would be a good match for our decor unfortunately. I am in the Seattle area though. |
Guys, I have made a decision and put in an order. Spendor D9's will be mine by next week. I expect to love these based on what I have heard in the D7's but will report back with thoughts, especially compared to the Magico A3's after I get a chance to listen to them. Thanks to everyone for their participation in this thread. Let's keep that discussion going as I think there are many that are considering the $10k speaker range and this thread had some great insight that others will benefit from.
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@drrsutliff I got the dark walnut finish. Counting down the hours to the weekend when I pick them up! I have heard that after a few months, they sound incredible but that they do sound great right out of the box as well. Either way, I'm excited to find out.
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@twoleftears Definitely a valid opinion. Many people love the sound of Harbeth's. I had heard a lot about the musical midrange and I was very excited about listening to them. When I heard the 40.1, I was disappointed. Midrange was there but felt that the top end was lacking in detail and clarity with a bottom end that was not as dynamic or impactful as I would have liked. Goes to show that we do not all have to have the same preferences. |
@skyscraper Your question of what constitutes "warmth" is an interesting one because I don't think there is one strict definition. @prof described his view on warmth and I agree with most of what he said. Some think of warmth as the system adding color to the music but I disagree. I think a system that is able to reproduce true-to-life, real sound is what I would call warm. I think of sitting in a low lit, intimate jazz bar as being warm because the sound of that sax, bass and piano just seems to float around you. You can feel the impact of each breathe and the pluck of the bass string. Saying all that, I don't know that I have heard many speakers that could reproduce that feeling and sound to my ears well.
I also struggled with the choice of speakers for a while. I found it surprising that Seattle did not have many dealers for the speakers that I was looking at. I'm glad I was able to have extended listening sessions with the A3 and the Spendor D7's but I was not going to be able to listen to the Perspective. Despite the very strong and convincing thoughts on the Perspective, I thought it was going to be a risk that I did not want to take. After hearing the Spendor's, I thought it had a lot of the strengths of the A3 but sounded more laid back and "warm". Knowing that the D9's would have much better low end performance, I couldn't help but think that this speaker would be the best solution that sits directly in between my choices of the Magico A3 and the Joseph Audio Perspective. We shall see if they are :)
The Magico A3's are wonderful speakers. You're going to enjoy yours for a very, very long time I reckon. It's ability to render music that is so cleared and detailed without being shrill or fatiguing is something quite special. I would not call the A3's warm however. These speakers have other strengths (which they are very strong in). With Hegel gear, I thought it sounded somewhat cold and almost over-indexed on being analytical. With a good tube amp, I found it really opened up and was much better to my ears. Ultimately it is up to your own preference and as long as you enjoy the music coming out of your system, that is all that matters at the end of the day. Musical preference is so subjective and no one person can decide what sounds good except yourself.
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Got my Spendor D9's yesterday! Early first impressions are that the detail retrieval on the D9's rivals that of the A3 but the A3 does it just a tad bit better. Granted, I am not listening to the A3's on my home setup but my first thoughts are that the D9 does not trail very far behind at all at the top end. Very good detail portrayal on the D9's without ever sounding harsh or shrill. Very easy to listen to speakers that still give that detail fanatic satisfaction.
Midrange is gorgeous. Love guitar, piano and jazz playback on these speakers. So smooth but again, without losing that detail. I know it is so subjective to dub a speaker, "musical", but that is the word that I would describe the D9's as.
Much better low end on the D9's than the A3's in my personal opinion. This is without spikes on hardwood floor. Solid thump that is tight but with impact. I'll be adding the Gaia II's and assessing the difference after I install those shortly.
At the same time, I'm testing out the difference in power cables from the wall to my power conditioner (Niagara 1000). The cord that I am auditioning is the Audioquest Thunder vs my Pangea AC9SE Mk II. First thoughts are that the Thunder lowers that noise floor ever so slightly. The level sounds higher on the Pangea however... As a result, it sounds a bit more "dynamic" but the Thunder performs slightly smoother without any of the rolled highs. Still evaluating but the Thunder is a solid, solid cable.
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Hard to imagine what people are hearing. I always regarded Spender as a mid-fi product. I think that the Dynaudios at that price range are much better speakers and the Magico A3 is in a completely different league altogether then the Dayns. A brand is not universally better than another. That much should be obvious. Magico's have very high end speakers, yes. But while they play primarily in that ball park, the A3's are $10K speakers that compete in a very competitive price range. That is where is becomes subjective. Not to say that the Magico A3's aren't great speakers - they are. But to my ears, they aren't leagues above their $10K price range competitors. Not by a long shot. |
@soix Yes, these are brand new. They do look very sleek and aesthetically pleasing :) I have heard from a few people that have heard the D9's that they should sound great out of the box but will really open up after a few months of play. I'm excited to hear those differences too.
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@ddafoe Thanks for those listening notes on the Magico S1s and the D9's! Another person I spoke to had heard the A3's and the D9's extensively and ultimately bought the D9's as well. He gave me his thoughts which ultimately led me to buy the D9's without listening to them (even though I had heard the D7's). I'm very happy with the choice already but suspect that I will enjoy them even more after some break-in. |
@drrsutliff Interesting to hear about the experience you had with the speakers changing over the break-in period. Should be interesting to hear that as I break these in. After getting the D9's, I have been very interested in some of the incremental updates I can make to my system. Updated a bunch of power cables to Acoustic Zen's and Audioquest's. Made some changes to interconnects as well. The tweak's just don't stop coming :) |
OP,
How did the D9’s work out? Still have them? How did your electronics shake out?
Don't see myself changing these out anytime soon. They've given me everything that I could have imagined wanting to hear out of a speaker and they look great to boot. Super happy with mine. |
