Spendor D7.2 Pairing - First Watt F8

Boy that's going to be a big change in the speaker sound going from Zu to Spendor. I hope you've listened to those before you've bought or are buying

@mlsstl - The room is large and a combination open kitchen/great room ( 23' X27' ) with 10 foot ceilings.  The speakers are on the back wall and either side of a fire place, around 12' apart.  

Listening volumes are somewhat low - jazz, R&B and female vocals.  I get my volume on the Modwright up to 3-4 and its a normal listening level in this room.  I will try an app on my phone - hadn't thought of that! 

@sunshdw I should have mentioned that I am seriously considering the Volti Razz which I have heard and know will fit in.   Another top candidate is the DeVore Gibbon Super Nines which I have also heard. I will hear the Spendor next week but not with an F8.  All sound different than the Zu's and my gut tells me the Spendor may be the outlier due to the power on the F8.  If so I will pass on taking the time to go listen.  Hence wanting to get some thoughts here.  Many thanks .....

How loud do you listen in how large a room? (I’d recommend you use a meter or phone app to determine your listening level as one person’s "moderate" volume may be another’s "loud" or "soft".)

If you are a 90 dB or 100 dB volume listener or using them in a large room you’ll probably run out of power.

I am the original owner of a pair of D7.2’s and agree. With my small 18x14 room I can drive the D7.2’s with my 8 watt Ampsandsound Nautilus but I don’t listen that loud and no doubt part of what I do hear is soft-clipping. But here is the interesting twist-I have a 150 watt tube amp and an 80 watt tube amp and with the D7.2’s I prefer the 8 watt SE Nautilus.

The D7.2’s are a somewhat dry "do-nothing-wrong-but-do-nothing-great" speaker. My guess is that the Nautilus injects a bit of much needed warmth. I bought mine without auditioning from a dealer I trusted who strongly recommended them. My other loudspeakers which I use 9 months of the year are the ones I DID audition first-Devore O/93’s. I originally thought I would switch them out every 6 months. If I had the energy I would sell the D7.2’s. I have no doubt they sound better for other people in different rooms with different set-ups.

All that said, they are an easy to drive loudspeaker and they are certainly very good. I just don't love them as a matter of personal taste. 

I have a system with Spendor D9 speaker and a Pass Labs XA30.8 amp and love the combo...

@norust

I believe there is some risk because the F7 does not double its output at 4 ohms and the D7.2 has impedance dips to 4 ohms at key bass and midbass frequencies. What that means is you essentially have a 13 watt amp which will be challenging at best.

I did run my D7.2 with the Pass XA25 which was an incredble sounding match. The XA25 was measured to output 130 watts at 4 ohms and handled the D7.2 with ease.

I suggest you look for speakers that do not dip below 6 ohms or 8 if possible regardless of sensitivity.  

Something like a Harbeth 30.2 XD or Pure Audio Project Duet 15.