PMC Fact 8 vs Kudos S20

Has anybody compared the Fact 8 to S20?
I am due a speaker upgrade and have been scouring forum and websites looking any speakers that may be suitable for my room and equipment.
Current equipment is LP12 (Radikal/Karousel/TA Phoenix/Ittok/Krystal) or a CDX2/XPS, NAC282/HC, NAP250DR, Kudos X2. Listening room is 4m x 6m and speakers firing across.

My speakers need to be close (ish) to the wall and one is in a corner, but not tight into it. The X2’s perform really well and i dont get a problem with bass boom due to the boundary porting, but i couldnt have rear ported speakers or anyting that needs lots of space.
I was fortunate/unfortunate enought to hear Titan 808’s at my dealers and when i got home, the X2’s were lacking depth, body and scale. I then had a home demo of S20’s but they were harsh in the treble, fatiguing and boomed in the bass, so they went back, the soundstage a detail was amazing though. I have been put on a waiting list with my dealer for T88’s if any come in, and i can then try them at home, but i believe they should work, or at least have a chance of working in my environment.
The other option that is appealing are the PMC Fact 8’s. They are front firing port (TL), happily driven by a NAP250 and can be used without too much space. They also have the benefit of the switches on the back that can roll the HF or LF, so are potentially tuneable to the room and positioning. The only thing that bothers me is that they might be fatiguing like the S20 as they are fast and detailed. Due to budgetary constraints i can’t afford the Fact 8 Sig, they will need to be S/H plain okd Fact 8’s and that makes it difficult to home demo.
My normal dealer doesn’t stock PMC and i dont want to get another dealer to come and install a pair of new Fact 8 Sig’s for demo when i have no intention of buying them. In the same way i wouldnt ask my normal dealer to home demo T808’s when i cant afford them, just to see if the T88’s might work.

Has anybody tried the Fact 8 and S20 back to back and able to give an indication of wether the Fact 8’s are similar to the S20 in terms of HF harshness that i, and several others have experienced with the S20’s?

Hi, not really answering your question but have you considered the Titan 606?
I was thinking of the S20s but found the 606 to be more refined with better bass control. Also relatively easy to place. Cost wise they are not much more than the Fact 8.
I would also have considered the Fact 8 though, but at the time they were only available in metallic grey or white. Whilst flat grey would have been ok with SHMBO , the metallic finish was a show stopper. They now do them in walnut though.

Hi Steve57,

I’d love to try the 606’s but they would need to be S/H, as would the Fact 8’s need to be. The other issue is that between my speakers is an oak TV unit, so the right hand speaker is closed in on 3 sides. With the T88 porting in the middle, this would be above the unit and open up the space, and the Fact 8’s would be ok as forward firing. The 606’s are bottom ported, so could be problematic, but again, I’ll home demo a pair if a suitable pair come into my dealer S/H.

Adjustable treble is a big bonus! Makes it much easier to ensure integration into the room or your taste. It’s not often you see that. I’d go and have a listen to those. Also TL bass is said to be great.

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I see. Good luck with the search. Hopefully you’ll find something which works in the space available. Sometimes can be a challenge !

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I’ve not made the exact comparison you mention in your OP, but I have done so a little further down the lines: Kudos C20 vs Fact 3s. I really wanted to like the Kudos speakers, but could not get them to work in my room. Bass boom and treble harshness were the problems I encountered too and I found I was avoiding a good part of my music collection. So the C20s had to go and the Facts that replaced them turned out to play much better in my room. This was with 272/XPSDR/250DR. I enjoyed that setup for several years before falling for active ATCs, but that’s a different story.

Roger

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Hi Ian, taking potential room interaction issues aside the Fact 8s should knock spots off the S20s, which I like above post feel have such a bright top end, that they would cause listening fatigue very quickly. Enjoy Peter

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Thank you @PeakMan & @PeterR, very useful input. It sounds like I need to find a decent pair of Fact 8’s with a dealer and work out a "sale or return " home demo.

KR
Iain

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Sadly, I never had a chance to listen to Kudos’ S20, but I did hear the PMC Fact 8 Signature in a dealer environment. He didn’t have my PMC25.23 available — so he put the Fact 8 in place.

From that listening session (with the lovely 282/250 cum Chord DAC), I wouldn’t be worried about the Fact 8 being fatiguing. In fact, I thought the Fact 8 were cracking, and my wife agreed. A very balanced speaker, with a tight-ass base (apologies for my French!). Obviously, the Fact 8 aren’t a bass monster, but to my mind they have the bass one needs/wants. A great speaker, and in the future I might get myself a second-hand pair. :grinning:

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I have fact 12’s and absolutely love them, the fact 8 and 12’s are both very good and its been said many times, they suit naim very well.
I dont think you will be disappointed, a very big wide sound from a fairly small cabinet, great bass as well.

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I have Fact 8s and think they are great. There’s a lovely pair for sale on a certain fishy site at the moment. Given the current price of a new pair, they are a bargain.

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I saw those too, but considering some recent Fact 8 sale prices on “the other site” with fees, I thought the price on that fishy site was on the high side.

Yes but perhaps a better price could be negotiated. And new Fact 8s cost £9k now.

True — but that’s the Signature version. So £9K isn’t quite the right reference point I think.

Have you considered the 25.26? I think the fact 8 is a two way where the 25.26 is a 3 way and nice bass with lovely mids due to dedicated mid and bass drivers. I don’t have much room from the rear of mine to the wall, and I do have one in the corner. Just an option as you have the same system as myself. Hearing is subjective as they say. But, Don’t discount the option to listen if you can.

Scott

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Fact 8’s have always intrigued me, they are the same price as the Twenty5.26.
Obviously the Fact 8’s lack the dedicated mid driver like the 26’s and the Fact12’s.
It’s this mid driver that I think is absolutely fantastic and I don’t know how I could now do without…

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Thanks for the pointer. They are a good buy, but when I showed them to Mrs W, her response was " F#*k no".
She is happy with the Facts, but they need to be wood veneer.

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The Fact in the fishy place are Walnut, I think.

Picture time?! :rofl:

What’s the distance between back of the speakers and wall? The 25.26 do intrigue me, but I might not have the space for them. Also, they are fairly deep. But they look :eyes: like “proper” speakers :loud_sound:.

Cheers.

P.S. Just saw your system in the System Picture thread — lovely set-up!!

Fishy ones are white and ex demo signature model. The Walnut ones are on the Internet auction site and are pre signature.