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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
mckinneymike OP
88 posts
 
The Bob's Sky and the Music First Baby Reference are a couple that I am interested in trying.

I hate to resell these speakers so soon after purchase, but it is the best plan of action. I am simply disappointed my expectations were so far from the reality, here in my room.  

  Without this being settled choosing any SUT would not be a wise decision right now.  Thanks to all for your input.  
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 

@three_easy_payments, thanks for your informative comment!

I would add for the record that the moving magnet input of the OP’s phono stage provides 5 db less gain than is provided by your VTPH-2A, so he would need a SUT gain of 23 db to bring the signal level at the output of the phono stage to the same point as you have with your 18 db SUT. Which would result in presenting the cartridge with an even lower impedance than the 280 ohms his phono stage presents when its built-in SUTs are used at their lowest gain/highest impedance setting.

Also, although I have no experience with Hana cartridges I’m guessing that the consequences of excessive loading would mainly involve some combination of compromises to dynamics, resolution of detail, and transient response. Which would seem to be pretty much the opposite of the issues the OP has reported. So, again, that reinforces the notion that the root cause of the problem is elsewhere.

Best regards,

-- Al


agrippa
160 posts
 
@mckinneymike: given the corroborating evidence from twoleftears I have no choice but to retract my tentative conclusion. I have to it makes me want to hunt down a set of D7s, just so I can later say that I once heard an anaemic-sounding pair of Spendors. Something I really didn’t think existed.

On the Hana SL, I have to say that it sounded very nice indeed in my system when loaded @ 278Ohm with my Allnic H-1202/AUT-2000.
salectric
747 posts
 
Sell the D7’s and buy a pair of Spendor Classic speakers.  I used SP100’s for over 15 years and they are very satisfying.  SP 1/2e or 2/3e have some similar qualities.  Avoid the R series because they mark the move away from the Classic sound and towards the modern analytical sound.
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chakster
6,144 posts
 
I’m not sure the SUT is the right component in the chain to tweak the issues you have described, but a cartridge is the most important in analog chain (imo). Maybe Hanna is not your type of sound?

Read more about Miyajima Shilabe or Kansui cartridges, and US importer will give you a free trial !!! So you can test it on your wife :))
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