Hardly a love in Nigel. Neat have nothing that compares remotely either. As an SL2 lover myself, i have to be honest and say that the current range of Titans are rather good.
Well, it looks like a love-in to me. There is a level of moistness about speakers that hadnāt been seen for a little while. My local dealer had them in and was underwhelmed. Then again Iāve not heard Titans so they may change my life.
True, 350 km return trip. In the worst case twice.
I have always been fair so the agreement we made was, if I do not remember wrong, a compensation of euro 250 if I did not keep them. I felt that was fair.
Prior demoing the 808 I had Supra 3 and B&W 802 D3 at home. I have difficulties to express words but I felt well and confortable with the 808. The Musicality and not tiring to listen to. I spent at least 6 times 5 hours just listening to each one of the loudspeakers.
Closest to the Titans? Not a clue. I just had 3 speakers home for demo. I said āI stop when I am pleasedā.
Titans are nothing like the rest of the range!
A friend has 802 D3s and previously had 803s. I prefer my SL2s to either
That might explain things - although you sound as if youāve already made your mind upā¦
Going back to the the S1, active 3x500, 808 system, Am I right in surmising that no Vinyl was pointed in its direction? And why not?
Certainly not on the second day when i attended.
Yes, KJC, no vinyl.
Running three systems both passive and active was somewhat of a challenge, so I suspect multiple sources would have been a step too far. It would also complicate the comparison between passive and active.
There were however some lovely LP12s there and I bet those systems would sound wonderful with such a vinyl source.
I think it was a case of space, time and people just enjoying the sessions. There were people with top notch TT systems there, and they just listened active vs passive. Not a vinyl person these days, but it would gave been nice to hear a set up, perhaps another time.
Thanks Nigel. As you say, another level of complication, but might have been interesting to hear. I recall at the demo at Alastairās show 2 years ago, Kudos seemed very keen to give both Vinyl and Digital equal hearings. Ah well, Yet more joy to be discovered by anyone brave enough to splurge on one of these active Naim/Kudos systems I guess!
Great to see youāve found a way to get the ND555 in your rig. I know it must sound superb. Enjoy!
@anon4489532 Nigel. Iāve had S20s for nearly 3 years now. Many have heard them, no one ever has described them as bright.
Regards,
Lindsay
Ah, but youāve never invited me! The S20s Iāve heard have been very much on the impressive hifi side of the music/hifi swingometer. But who cares?? Each to their own.
I have not heard the latest Kudos range so it is good to hear they have improved and are less bright.
Your post does show how opinions can differ and why you must always listen for yourself preferably at home. I did a comparison of comparatively priced Kudos speakers (canāt recall the model number) with Spendor D7s over a year ago and found the Kudos in your face as you say (bright and aggressive) and the D7s natural and musical in comparison. I obviously preferred the D7s, but eventually after a week long home trial went with D9s. I do not have Naim amplification any longer so this may be another factor.
Mind you slow and ponderous is a good description of me so perhaps there is a natural synergy there.
HH, I donāt think you are in the strongest position to complain about ālove-insāā¦
sbl, sl2, 272, even the dislike of Focalā¦quite a list in fact over time !
But hey ! we are all pssionate about our hifi equipment, especially new acquisitions.
Cheers, Don
Yes, Iām aware of the irony. As you say, itās good that people are enthusiastic. The designs are very well thought out in that converting to active requires the simple removal of a few links, and itās really good that Naim have made the new crossovers when it seemed for a while that the project had been shelved. Itās odd though that such a facility is not available with Focals given that they are Naimās partner. Maybe active is simply too niche for a large manufacturer such as Focal, but it still seems odd.
Regarding the 808 speakers, I listened to a pair during sampling to decide on a replacement cartridge in Cymbiosis and I was quite taken with what seemed to me like a fantastic neutrality which to me includes an ability to sparkle and thump (treble and bass) when appropriate without being in yer face. They would definitely be on my list if I were looking to change over my speakers.
Peter
Or maybe active Focals donāt sound any better than passive ones. Silk purse, sowās ear sort of thingā¦
If I ever change my SL2s, Kudos would definitely be on the shortlist after listening to some quite a few years ago. Think they C20s but they left a lasting impression. These Titans seem to be big step on from them so should be fantastic.
I can see you succumbing to them eventually HH and Looking forward to your own love-in thread when you do!
The 606 is certainly appealing but Ā£9,000? If the SL2 was still made it would probably cost that anyway. Would the Kudos really be better, or simply different. Anyway, we are both now retired and upgrades are distinctly unlikely.