Spendor D7

I listened to them driven by Naim gear and they were very laid back but because of the Naim amp, not the speaker itself.  

They are neutral and will reflect the sound profile of your amplifier.  If it is forward and bright, the Spendors will be but if your amps are neutral, they will be neutral.

They are impressive speakers.  

There is one other product worth listening too that I think had a great sound profile assuming you have a big enough room to handle a side firing woofer.  You probably need at least a 15’wide room (20’ would be better).  

The Scansonic MB line.  I demo’d The MB6 side by side with Magicos and it is a great speaker.  Another one that delivers an awesome value.  The tweeter from them is really special.  The 3.5 and 5 are great and might meet your needs.  

Nope.  I am not a Spendor dealer.  I listened to the D7s while I was hunting for speakers before I started my company.  I liked them a lot though they weren’t perfectly to my taste.  

In the sub $10K range, they are spectacular.  I was hunting for something that sounded a bit more like Wilson but at Spendor prices.  The only way I could do that was to make them myself.  

For perspective, I make a stand-mount that is $500 more than the D7s excluding the stand.  My cabinet is carbon fiber and I am really competing with The Magico A1, Wilson Tune Tot, Wilson Benesch and Marten.  

Thank you for asking.  I don’t make a floorstander yet.  I had to decide between next product being at a more approachable price point or a floorstander.  I am launching to less expensive stand mounts at Capital Audiofest and will introduce floorstanders next year.  

The only others I liked better the Spendors were much more money.  If you can find a used pair of Wilson Sabrinas, Sasha’s or Magico S1s in your price range, they would be a step up from the Spendor’s but new, they are more than 2x the price at ~$16K.  

Side firing doesn't work for a lot of people.  I just know they are great speakers and are outside of the "usual suspects" of PSB, KEF, Revel, Musical Fidelity, B&W, etc... which I assume you have already heard.

DeVore makes wonderful speakers.  I have had limited exposure to them.  I have heard them in passing but never really had a chance to do any critical listening the way I have with the Spendors.  My understanding is they require some effort with amp pairing.    

What equipment will you be driving these new speakers with?  What is your room like?

Given your amp, I would stand by Scansonic as a potential.  I had Raidho’s for a stretch and the key with Raidho’s and Scansonics is having that minimum of 9’ between them and a solid 3’ from the back wall.  

The Leben is definitely awesome with DeVore’s from what I hear.  That makes a lot of sense that they would be a strong match.  

I am fascinated to hear your POV if you hear the Spendors driven by that Leben. Leben is not ultra-warm like some lower powered tube gear so I think it will be great.  

The one other you might want to look into is Legacy Audio’s Signature SE.  the nearest dealer to you is up in NH but the AMT they use is very tube friendly and might be pretty spectacular.  

I was wrong...it is not a dealer in NH, it is a Studio for Legacy.  I know the guys you are talking about in NJ.  For a stretch, the whole NY Metro area didn't have a legacy dealer.  At least they picked up one.  

I have two very distinct speakers, neither is ideal for the Leben as it is at the very low end of recommended power and would probably only pair well in a relatively small room.  

The Blackthorn is precise with a big soundstage. If you are comparing it to the most accurate speakers, it will stand up and deliver a decidedly uncolored sound.  The key is that the cabinet is completely dead as it is super rigid and the honeycomb core has a ton of surface area.  The issue is it has an 84dB SPL.

The Nightshade is less precise and maybe gives up a hair in detail compared to the Blackthorn.  It has a bigger soundstage and female voices in particular sound lush and soulful.  The cabinet is fiberglass with the same core.  Tons of surface area but not quite as rigid.  It has an 85dB SPL.

Both need a little power to achieve the right volume but are extremely easy to drive with minimum impedances at or above 7.3 ohms so they are very tube friendly.  

I am working on two other products that based on your above comments, one might be of interest to you.  PM me and I can offer up a couple details and hopefully will be listening to and tweaking the crossovers this weekend.  I don't want to discuss this particular bit of new product development in a public forum.