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Splendor D9’s.2 vs B&W 803 D2 which I own

I’ve had the 803 D2’s for about 9 months now and enjoy them but they don’t connect with me for all music, especially more rock oriented music. They excel at jazz and even country! Because of them, I’ve become quite the jazz fan. But, most of my collection is rock of many varieties, so I’ve always been kind of curious about other options. I’m visiting Houston this week and there’s a pair of Spendor D9.2’s that interest me. I read they are pretty neutral and a bit more fast sounding. I’m thinking they could be a fit and the owner says I can audition if I’m a serious buyer. To me the B&W’s are more on the laid back side. This is based on my limited exposure to speakers but will say they are not as forward/fast as my previous Cornwall II’s or maybe even Triton 1’s. Any thoughts how the Spendor D9.2’s would compare to the 803 D2’s and if they would be more versatile for rock? Thx. 

Gear:
Livingston 532H
Audible Illusions L3 preamp
Herron phono preamp
Technics 1200 G
Sony HAP Z1 server
McIntosh MB 50 Streamer/DAC
Assortment of mid to lower level IC’s
AQ Rockefeller speaker cables
bfoura

Showing 1 response by ddafoe

ddafoe
259 posts
 
Personally, I think that is one the strengths of the D7/D9 in that they don't require beastly amplifiers to really boogie or sound-good.   Since they are decently resolving ( some even say harsh, hot, etc... :) ) matching them properly is good advice but then that holds pretty generally with most speaker changes anyways.   I replaced Magico S1s with D9s and kept the same preamp/amp combo (Sim 740p/Pass 250.8) with them for years mostly because I just really loved the sound.  After realizing I could not get my 250.8 to leave class A bias at my listening levels with the D9s, I have swapped the 250.8 for a cheaper XA30.8 (30w class A) and that also sounds amazing with the D9s too in my opinion.   I've also tried a Bryston 4B3 and Benchmark AHB2 with the D9s in my home and could have lived with either of them too..., but so far the Pass sound with the D9s are my favorite.

Cheers
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