For 3 years I was using Magico S1s, which I really liked.
They are extremely detailed and fast with excellent imaging.
They do not however hide any upstream faults, can have a 'lean' sound, and although their bass is very detailed and musical, it ultimately only goes so deep with the small driver.
I eventually got the itch for a change, and tried listening to a few British speakers. I was willing to give up some of the Magico's detail and speed for a more fuller/fleshier mid range presentation. The new speakers have to work nicely in a 12x17 room too, like the S1s did.
I tried the Harbeth SLH5+ and 40.2, along with the B&W 804d3 and KEF Reference 1 (if I liked the house sound would have likely went for a 3).
The 804d3 reminded me the most of the S1; it was a little sweeter but still very detailed, but overall pretty much a push.
The KEF was also very detailed and imaged amazingly well (like the small S1), but I actually found the sound too sweet (or maybe warm) and was not a fan of their ported bass.
SLH5+ had a very nice midrange and overall presentation but their detail levels and attack speed was too far from what I was used to, plus I didn't find they imaged very well to the sides of the speakers.
The 40.2 was more of what was nice about the SLH5+ plus added punch and detail. My favorite from the above list, but their price and size didn't work for my 12x17 room.
I then heard the Spendor D9 and it was pretty much everything I was looking for. They have a beautiful mid-range like the Harbeth; pretty much all of their other attributes just fit in around the mid range. Their tweeter gives up some detail and speed compared to the S1, but it is still excellent without offending. What most surprised me about them is the amount and quality of their bass, along with their ability to disappear. They are ported but the port is pretty much at the floor and I thought they offered the best bass quality, most like the sealed Magico, but they go much deeper as one would expect based on their size. For such a big speaker (tall, narrow, but deep) they disappear in my room almost as well as the S1s.
Anyhow, it has only been a few months, but so far I'm very happy with them. It is hard to say in this hobby, but I have a feeling these could be the type of speakers you end up keeping a long long time...
Cheers
