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Down to 2 speakers & I can't decide, ProAc D48R vs Spendor D9

Hello,

I am a bit perplexed as to my final 2 speakers to choose from. Either the ProAc D48R or Spendor D9.
My electronics are all NAIM Audio, 252 pre / 300 DR power / n-DAC/555PS and my room is 26' x 13' x 8' open plan lounge dining room all brick walls and concrete floor with hardwood flooring. It is broken up by soft furnishings, rugs, tables, book shelfts etc. - so a little bit live sounding but not extreme.

My music choice is mostly rock, pop, blues, acoustic rock & hard rock/metal. I have listened to the D48R and was impressed, but not enough to buy it, getting a demo. of the Spendor D9 is almost impossible because of where I live.

There was a thread about these 2 speakers and a Devore but it has been deleted by the Mods. So any advice on either speaker would be most welcome.


Best,
Pete 
seadog77
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
@seadog77 Do you have access to the Twenty series?  I haven't heard the Twenty5's, but reviews suggest that PMC moved them closer to the Fact series, which is definitely more "neutral".  My Twenty.24's are about "just right" on treble, forgiving enough on treble to accommodate less than ideal recordings, but far from soft.  Worth noting that the Twenty5.26 still uses the SEAS soft dome tweeter.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
With what you listen to either would do very nicely and may even open your ears to other types of music.
seadog77 OP
15 posts
 
 I managed to find a dealer who has a traded in pair of D9’s to demo. I then went for another listen to the D48R’s.
Decision made, I’ll be getting the ProAc D48R. 
They just  got me more emotionally connected with the music than the Spendor D9. That and a bit more forgiving of some poorly recorded 80’s music as well.
motokokusanagi
189 posts
 
Buying speakers blind is a big, big risk. However, Spendor is combined with Naim quite a lot. I’ve heard Naim Spendor setups and they sound good to me, but without the Naims behind them, I find Spendors boring af tbh. I run ATCs and they also go well with Naims, but they’re not at all everyone’s cup of tea. Proacs I find a bit bright. I’d really make the effort to find some Naim dealers somewhere and go listen to stuff for yourself.
seadog77 OP
15 posts
 
I was just about to jump onto the ProAc D48R when I had an long demo. of the ATC SCM 40A. My goodness the active version really did beat the passive, and not by a small amount either.

Would / should the ATC SCM 40A beat the D48R/ naim 300DR driving them ?

I heard an active will beat a passive everytime (within reason e.g. similar priced/quality speakers & power amp or even a bit higher).
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