SUT's -Looking for one with some meat on the bones


I have Spendor D-7 speakers, with all tubes in my system.  The Spendor's are a little threadbare in the upper mids thru the lower highs in my listening room and I was trying to find a SUT with a little meat on the bones.  My wife runs from the room when I try to spin any LP's.  

  I am using a VPI Classic 3 Signature with a HANA SL cartridge.  I bought the Spendor's solely based on internet reviews, but am beginning to wish I had not.  I have never really cottoned to digital music and these speakers seem to go after that type of sound.   I am a lover of British speakers since the 70's, but these have zero relationship to what made me a fan of the UK sound.  

  Not trying to find a fat bloated sound, but very much miss the sweetness of acoustic instrument, string and vocals.  I may be suffering from oldtimers disease.  Analytical modern sound is not my idea of musical enjoyment I am afraid.
  
mckinneymike
I agree with chakster.  An SUT is not going to overcome the sound of your speakers.  No other components in your system will directly affect the sound as much as your speakers.  If you don't like 'em, change 'em.

Dear @mckinneymike : SUT is not the solution about " meat on the bones ".

Your problem belongs to many tubes in your electronics, tubes just can't do it. Chnge the mp by a good SS unit as has @three_easy_payments who owns same speakers and cartridge.

Please re-read the first post in your thread.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

mckinneymike, hi. I just stumbled on your thread. I have recently been listening to some speakers including the Spendor D7's, so I think I have something to add here. Based on my recent listening tests, I believe the Spendor D7's are your problem. They do not give the typical UK sound that you have enjoyed in the past. As others have said, an SUT change is unlikely to fix your problem. And the comment above about tube amplification is IMO, largely irrelevant. Difficult as it is, I suggest selling your D7's and finding speakers that match your room and your preferences.

As you say yourself, "there has been a seismic shift towards analytical sound in the effort to chase details...". I have directly compared, back to back in the same system, Spendor S8e's against Spendor D7's. These 2 models are less than 10 years apart but the difference in the sonic signature between them is large. The D7's are significantly brighter, more tipped up and less relaxing. IMO, many of the D7 reviews are off the mark and fail to draw adequate attention to the unforgiving nature of the tweeter. The D7 tweeter is too obvious, too strong and too unforgiving of poor recordings for my taste. I preferred the older Spendor S8e's. 

Although not cheap, I also compared the Devore Super Nines to the Spendor D7's in the same evaluation, and much preferred the balance of the Super Nines - which was insightful, detailed but too bright.  Another British option that might work with your room is the latest Proac D30RS. With speakers, it's definitely best to stay disciplined and listen before you buy -preferably at home - if you can. Good luck. 

Denon AU-S1. 3 kg. ''meat'' and universal kind: usable from 2 Ohms
till 40 Ohms. Such succes that is still available (LPgear) while
an special MC cart is produced to match  this SUT: DL-S1.
Both can be acquired for about $2000. 
You could try a few cheap fixes.
Tube roll your phono stage.
Add a DIY felt ring around the dome on the tweeters.
Solid core speaker cables.
Drop your tonearm a fraction.