Most here would be inclined to agree with you, a 252/300 into Titan 505’s would be a cracking combination. Try and get an audition its certainly worth it.
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I tried the 606’s when i changed speakers and would second the bass concerns. In my room we had a serious resonance issue at volume, very noticeable on a London Grammer track. The 505’s worked really well and was very tempted but my partner did not like the look so we stayed in the Wilson Benesch family.
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Why would that be a stretch? I’d never spend this kind of money (or less) on speakers without a thorough auditioning at home. Maybe huge distances aside, I think any decent dealer will/should fascilitate this?
Your budget would allow the new Ophidian Voodoo’s floor standers.
They do certainly look very exiting, maybe a contender to the upper Titans at lower price.?
Ophidian bookshelves are really really good so why not ?
I’m a fan of SCM40s, active in my case. But I do wonder if you’re pushing it a bit using them in your rather small room.
Personal taste is also such an important factor in speaker choice. I had a pair of Kudos C20s some time ago and ended up falling seriously out of love with them, whereas the ATCs really are close to perfection for me. But you mention being underwhelmed by SCM 19s and ATC design their speakers to have a similar sound signature, so you may find yourself underwhelmed by SCM 40s, too. All-in-all, perhaps 505s would be best in your circumstances. Good luck.
Roger
From my limited experience of speakers, I can vouch for the 252/300 DR into the Graham Audio LS5/9f in a small room, and which would fit your budget comfortably. Mind you, I’ve never heard a Kudos Titan – much as I would love to.
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Thanks for the advice on the SCM 40, I really do like this speaker but as you say room size is the big compromise. But before I dismiss them I will try for a home demo.
@Isca_Dumnoniorum new to me and I will have a look, thanks.
I did hear some interesting speakers on Friday evening around at my friend who I hadn’t seen for about 16 years. His office which is a tad smaller than my music room was running a pair of Neat Iota Alpha’s, these were really small but the music easily filled the room. I looked them up and they also have big brother in the Xplora, these have intrigued me.
A common theme seems to be developing where, in theory, speakers that might work in my room have downward facing bass drivers, so I’ll bear that in mind.But the bad news is that with a 14% price hike the Titan 505’s are way out of my budget.
Cheers
Tim
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Neat rrp is also going up April 1st. The xplorers were £3495 when introduced, and are now £4020 so could be £4500 in 25 days.
I think you are going to see this across the board and at a level we have not seen in recent years.
Focal are very good speaker they work very well in small too large room .I currently own sopra 2 and had Pmc 25 26,Pmc fact 8 and Pmc fact 12 on demo in the same room the sopra suited better .I maybe would have went for fact 12 but didn’t have the system to do them justice. I also had the PC 25 23 which are very good these might suit your size room.
I am sure that if you move quickly, you should be able to get a pair of Titan 505’s before the price rise.
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Yes price rises will happen and tis the time of year when they usually go up. I’ve thought about that and I’m not going to rush in to buying anything until I’m good and happy with my decision based on listening.
Tim
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Cymbiosis also carry the Spendors. The D7.2 is a shockingly good small floorstander for the price.
Not sure how their flavor compares to the Kudos but I liked them better than the SCM 40’s in my 10 foot by 17 foot room. Not as dry or pinpoint accurate as the ATC but incredibly quick and dynamic. Plus the port doesn’t screw up the bass timing
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If you fancy ATC SCM40s, try the actives as well. Either a p/x or commission sale of your power amp could make the actives a viable proposition (including the correct cabling from your Supercap), maybe with Townshend Podiums as well. Just an alternative point of view.
Thanks for the Spendor suggestion, I will add them to my list.
Active, well I have been considering it. The best I have had is a pair of SBL’s active with two 250’s. However, I dragged my SCM 19’s upstairs to the music room over the weekend and parked the Scansonic’s in the guest room. I positioned the SCM 19’s about 14 inches from the rear wall and they are 1.7 meters apart firing straight down the room. Before I had them right against the back wall.
They sounded quite good, lots of detail and the bass was far more controlled and didn’t join in with the room at higher volumes. Not as rich and full flowing as the Scansonic’s but I’ll give them a couple of weeks to see how I get on with them.
Cheers
Tim
An interesting update. I had an online chat with the Scansonic people in Denmark via my old dealer in Canada. They were of an opinion that, although large for the room that they should work much better than I described.
The upshot is they have been moved out from the back wall by another 6 inches, toed in slightly more so that the drive units are effectively firing over each shoulder in the listening position. The listening position has also been moved out from the rear wall by about 10 inches so I’m quite a bit closer to the speakers. Finally, I was advised to experiment with the acoustic foam inserts as the Scansonic has 3 rear facing ports. So tried the new position with no foam inserts, not so much bass boom but the musical image was far better with width and quite a bit of depth. Foam in all ports, a bit too thin but musical image still there and after quite a bit of experimentation without moving the speakers I have the lower two ports filled with acoustic foam and the upper port clear.
I can really turn it up now with faster, tighter bass and the room is not joining in coupled with such a better soundstage. So I’m enjoying these for the time being and perhaps might direct some money towards some Witchat cables.
Tim
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Find the Proac that is right for your room and be sure to get a ribbon tweeter. I am on my third pair.
My son has been attracted to the Neat line, but has not pulled the trigger.
Hi Skip
Tell him to pull the trigger 
What model might he be looking at ?
I’m a big fan of the Neat range , currently have 2 pairs and have had a few others over the years
Regards
Bevo
Thanks for asking. Maybe the Explorer. Maybe something newer. I am partial to the ribbon tweeter of the Proac. He likes the drive of the Neat. He is using the Nova now. I pointed him to the Atom HE with the ATC active, just for the novelty.
skip
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