Been trying out kudos titan 707 with my Naim equipment and they sound great but something is missing… I put my old x2 speakers back on to compare and found the x2s were creating more of that lovely 3D like sound which I love, where the speakers seem to disappear into the room. Had the x2 for a few years and heard the 707s at a show, so they became my end game speaker but now I’m not so sure. Positioning is difficult as my room is a kind of triangular shape which works great for the x2s. Any speaker suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I thought maybe 606 but was informed they are not as good and I don’t know of a nearby dealer I could borrow a set from anyway. My system is NDX, SN2, HICAP DR
Thanks
Even though i’m presently only using my Titan 606 with a CDS3/XPS2/Nait5 (as pre) Hicap2/250DR, which does sound great by the way, i honestly think the 707 are rather a stretch for an NDX/SN2./HC. Your X2 in many ways are a nearer match to your system and i’m not surprised sounds good.
From what you have written I suspect that the X2s are simply a better match for your room. Maybe give the new guys a week or two but if you still feel the same, try the X2s again.
If you want to stick with Kudos then I would be looking at the C20’s or S20’s and using the cash saved to treat the NDX2 to an XPS DR or 555DR.
You will most likely end up with a much more balanced system and I suspect these 2 models will have more similarities to your X2’s in terms of room matching.
I am running the 707s for about 6 months now. Originally started with the SN3 and HCDR. It sounded good but they ran out of steam.
I swapped in a 300DR and holy moly the 707s came alive. Much fuller, more bottom end. It was a joy. I have since moved to an Aavik U150 to compare and they also run the 707s just fine. Just my 2 cents.
Hi, I really like my X2s, and despite the fact that they are right at the bottom of the Kudos range, they do a lot of things right. Of course, any Titans should comfortably outperform them, but as already mentioned, they will demand more from your amplification so perhaps you should divert some of your budget there? (Unfortunately this might require a source upgrade to keep everything balanced, so it could start getting expensive!)
Having listened to all of the Titans in various demos set up by Kudos, my general impression is that the 707s, while good, were the least enjoyable. I preferred the 505s and 606s, and the 808s simply blew all of the lower ones out of the water. That’s just my limited experience though, so please don’t take it as a definite judgment.
Also, are the 707s new? They may not be run in yet, and this can make a substantial difference.
Hi Daryl,
Beyond amplification ability it could simply also be that they are swamping the room with low frequencies, which kick off room modes. This in turn results in blurring of mids and highs causing loss of soundstage information and general clarity. You would not be the first person to have issues with the 707s for that. ATB Peter
If you want to stick with your Supernait, I would explore running the 606 active. Apparently, the Supernait, SNAXO and 250 provide a lovely active system for the 606. But then you might experience the limits of your source. The “fun” never ends…
They are still on demo
And that’s the other thing, I thought change speakers get a 250dr at a later date and go active at some point but then the upgrade path becomes never ending especially if I’m upgrading my streamer too love Naim but…
Would you say the 606 is as good as 707 depending on your room size maybe or as I’m led to believe is there a big difference sonically? Of course I understand the bigger 707s will go lower.
I’ve heard the c20s in my system and they failed to impress unfortunately. Like the 707 more detail etc but just something missing. Those little x2s are great, not the same detail but just nicer to listen to somehow.
The likely reason ‘something is missing’ is because better speakers are showing up deficiencies at the front end. The X2s sound great because they are a happy match. The S20 is too much and the 707 even more so. You’ll note that Gary has a CDS3 with his 606 and Richard has an NDS with his S20. Both are far more capable than your NDX. The 707 and 606 are on the edge of what’s ok for a Supernait. So I’d return the 707 and have a good think about where you want to take the system. Don’t buy speakers you cannot afford to feed properly.
They do still sound amazing and I am using a special little box to make the ndx sound more like the nds, best leave that there. Still what you’ve said makes a whole lot of sense. I really wanted more scale with an x2 toe tapping musical thing. But I’m guessing now I should be upgrading front end first, which is the complete opposite of what I started out to do.
I have my 606 fed by CDX2+XPSDR+282+250DR but I guess that these speakers are able to show their best with better source pre and amplifier. Frankly speaking, as already said above, a SN2 is just enough.
When I heard C2s in an audition they cleaned up their act when we put a supercap on the 282 in place of a hicap with a 250 staying in place throughout. Overdoing the speaker first will leave a nagging sense of dissatisfaction driving further upgrades. Relatively modest speakers can benefit quite a bit from improvements upstream. I’m listening to a pair of speakers at the moment that cost about a 40eth of the rest of the system and the result is quite satisfying.
Can’t believe I’m asking this but…any speaker suggestions please that will work now, with the aim of adding a 250dr at a later date.
Thanks for everyone’s input by the way
love Naim but…
