I have a pair of Spendor A7’s on my system (282DR/250 DR/Planar 10/NDX 2) and a dealer is selling Spendor D7.2’s with a 40% discount. Firstly are the D7.2’s going to be replaced (like the A7’s) and secondly with such a healthy discount is the upgrade worth it ? At this price, the D7.2’s are 20% cheaper than the new A7.2’s !
I should say my listening space is smallish - 4m by 4,5m. I also really like the A7’s. I suppose I will not have time to demo the speakers so this would need to be a blind upgrade.
No doubt you have done a search here on the forum.
It seems your question has at least been significantly covered previously!
Without details on your profile, consideration should be given to support, i/cs and PLs, all of which, may give some changes at less expense than a speaker switch.
Discounts are a shaky basis for making a change; home audition is absolutely the only way to know if you would achieve an improvement!
It’s a gamble. I wouldn’t buy them without listening to them in your system. The D7.2 won’t necessarily automatically work for you just because the A7’s do.
Could your dealer sell them to you with the opportunity to return them if they don’t work out?
Or maybe with 40% discount, you could get your money back by selling them if they don’t work if you can put up with the hassle.
That surely is completely irrelevant umless you’d prefer to wsit and pay a lot more for the new model if it arrives?
Ultimately only you can tell if you’ll prefer the d7.2 to the a7. Other people’s preferences are meaningless unless you know your taste is similar, and room etc similar. I’d strongly advise against buying without hearing unless cheap enough to get your money back if you don’t like, or unless wide reading of i dependent (not owner) reviews tells you sufficuent to give you good confidence.
Thanks for the replies which are very helpful. The dilemma is over - the price has reverted back to full price. I did not buy anything. I feel both annoyed to have missed out and relieved that I didn’t buy anything. It was a 50/50 decision. I completely agree with the idea that you should not buy anything without testing, but the reality is that it is not so easy to find dealers willing to let you home test kit and you also end up paying list price for the item. This is of course fair given the risk is eliminated. On the other hand I have done well by buying best of class items at significant discounts and using them for 3 or 4 years and then upgrading them and only losing 20% of what I paid. Also I would not consider doing this with an unknown (to me) brand just because it is cheap. Most opinions are the D7.2 still have the Spendor sound signature - just like OC Naim separates has a similar sound signature. In the end I am happy not to have the hassle of selling a pair of speakers or going through buyers remorse. I really like the A7’s. The point of whether the D7.2’s are being replaced is simply one of plan B if I don’t like them. If they remain current I am confident of being able to sell them for what I bought them for. This is all personal choice and it is a case of risk and return. Many thanks again and enjoy the music !
No not at all. I think the A7’s are great. I guess the logic was “more is more”. A bit like I loved my Supernait 3 but the 282 DR / 250 DR was a great upgrade which I could make when the NC was released and the price of remaining OC stock tanked. So as you allude to, I am very pleased with my set up and it this was just an opportunistic upgrade opportunity. I came across it when I googled Spendor A7.2 looking for info on the new A7.
Cool. Very happy with mine too. I heard from my dealer that the new A7.2 has an all new tweeter and refinements to the crossover, so it will be interesting to see how it is received when it hits the dealers showrooms.
if you can put up with the hassle.