Spendor D7

I own D7’s and love them. Not bright at all, upgraded tweeter vs A7. I first heard D7 immediately after listening to A7 for 40 minutes- difference in quality was MASSIVE. I knew right then my budget for speakers needed to jump above my initial $5k target.

I’ve posted a lot about them across various threads (you can quickly scan - I think I still have less than 100 posts).

Basically I thoroughly auditioned a couple dozen speakers between $3k and $10k over several months and liked D7’s best.

But that’s just my preference.

Gotta go listen to as many as you can would be my recommendation, but yeah Spendor D7 one of most acclaimed speakers last 5 years - just seek out the reviews. It’s difficult to find anyone with anything bad to say about them.

Oh and if you generally like tonality of Spendor but want a little more reserved, then I’d suggest Vandersteen may be well worth auditioning. 

Thank you for asking.  I don’t make a floorstander yet.  I had to decide between next product being at a more approachable price point or a floorstander.  I am launching to less expensive stand mounts at Capital Audiofest and will introduce floorstanders next year.  

The only others I liked better the Spendors were much more money.  If you can find a used pair of Wilson Sabrinas, Sasha’s or Magico S1s in your price range, they would be a step up from the Spendor’s but new, they are more than 2x the price at ~$16K.  

There is one other product worth listening too that I think had a great sound profile assuming you have a big enough room to handle a side firing woofer.  You probably need at least a 15’wide room (20’ would be better).  

The Scansonic MB line.  I demo’d The MB6 side by side with Magicos and it is a great speaker.  Another one that delivers an awesome value.  The tweeter from them is really special.  The 3.5 and 5 are great and might meet your needs.  

Love my D7s.  They pair remarkably well with tubes in the case of my system - fantastic for bringing out the textures in acoustic jazz but can also rock out when needed.  The break-in time is at least 200 hours to soften an initial treble edge but with some patience you are rewarded immensely.  I heard these at AXPONA and just knew I had to have them.  To me they sounded close to the Joseph Audio Perspectives but at less than 1/2 the price.

I don't think the side firing would work; but thanks for the recommendation.  I also am limiting my search to speakers I can audition at home; which greatly limits my search as there are few dealers in RI.  I was very close to buying AudioNote AN-E.  Fortunately the local Devore dealer had a pair of used ANE which he brought up for a listen.  Both he and I were surprised by how poorly they sounded in my system in my room.  I don't know if there is a Scansonic dealer in the area but I will look.  Have you any thoughts on the Devore Gibbon 9s?  I have heard them several times with varying results ( related to cable etc).  Thanks for your insights.
Mike