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Spendor S9e or ProAc Response D28

I've been eyeing the Spendor S9e and ProAc D28 and while this is your typical "how does this compare to that thread", I wanted to give some background about where I'm coming from.

I currently own a pair of B&W 703's and my gripe with them is that my ears get tired of listening to them when playing music after 20mins or so. To be a bit more specific, at low volumes 60-70dB, these speakers are very listenable but low volumes don't do rock music justice. At higher volumes (80-85db) my ears get tired within a couple of songs.

In fact, at louder volumes even if I'm in the other room doing stuff on the computer and listening to music playing from my living room I get annoyed.

Not all is bad with these speakers, they shine when it comes to movies. I only have two of them but even so they generate an excellent phantom center (note: I haven't felt the need to add a dedicated center because they are that good). They also disappear into the background. Weird thing is I listen to movie louder than I do music, yet under this activity I don't find them fatiguing.

I've been thinking of upgrading my pre but the question I keep asking myself is that maybe I've outgrown this brand of speaker (I used to have 603's).

A bit more about me and my setup:
- Ratio of music-to-movie duty: 50/50
- Listening preferences: rock+hard rock (90%), everything else literally (10%).
- Source: Squeezbox v3 (my library has been converted flac)
- Preamp/Poweramp: NAD T742 / NAD C272
g_georgi
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Weird thing is I listen to movie louder than I do music, yet under this activity I don't find them fatiguing

Movies are not COMPRESSED like pop & rock music. The reason you find rock + hard rock music fatiguing is because it has been compressed (no dynamics - example Metallica)...nothing to do with your speakers (although some bad speakers might help - something warm sounding with a recessed midrange will do).

Unfortunately audiophile systems will tend to push your tastes towards other forms of music that are better recorded...

See this for information Turn Me Up. Compression is not natural and it is done in the studio. It raises the average sound level significantly by making everything loud - in the case of Metallica I have heard the head of Meridian describe it as pretty close to white noise (when viewed on a spectrum analyzer...)
fatcataudio
107 posts
 
I don't know about the Spendors but I can say that the D28s are about as smooth as you can find and absolutely non-fatiguing. Musical, organic, whatever you want to call it, those are the D28s. If you had asked for an in-your-face speaker that will make paint peel off the wall with hard rock I would say DO NOT get the D28s, but if not then these really sound like your cup of tea.

They offer in my eye a mid to back hall presentation while offering all the detail you would expect. They are beautifully made and go to an honest 20hz. I am a dealer so I am biased, but let me know if I can assist.
g_georgi OP
18 posts
 
Shadorne,

Your right that quality of the record is a big factor but in my case I find that even my MFSL Guns and Roses stuff gets annoying after a bit of listening.

The music that sounds best with these speakers is stuff like jazz, classical and trance to some extent but I rarely want to listen to this sort of stuff. I'm a fan of rock what can I say =)

My guess is that maybe the 703 accents a certain set of frequencies that my ears don't really like.
mlsstl
1,379 posts
 
I have a set of Spendor S8e speakers and really enjoy them. Very smooth and very musical at all volumes and I listen to a very wide range of music.

I've not heard them side by side with the Proac but my impression is the Proacs are a bit brighter and more forward, but certainly don't have the "edge" I hear from B&W speakers.

Shadorne does make a good point about the fatiguing effects of compressed music but I'd also ask the question, have you heard other systems that don't fatigue you in that fashion at the same volume level?

Since we all react differently to different speakers the most important thing is that you listen to them before you buy. The best audition is in your own home, but if that is not possible at least listen to them at a dealer.
g_georgi OP
18 posts
 
"have you heard other systems that don't fatigue you in that fashion at the same volume level?"

Short answer is no. The reason why I went with B&W is because of the proximity of the dealer to my, at that time, apartment.

At that time I had a pair of Athena bookshelf speakers, they were fairly ho hum. I picked up a pair of B&W 600's and was floored with how good they sounded. Then again the B&W's cost a few hundred dollars more.

I later traded in the 600 put in some extra cash and bought the 603's and then did it again for the 703's. My dealer has been good too me in buying back my speakers at full retail cost. I have heard other speakers at other stores but those setups cost many many times more that what I have.

Still to this day the best speakers I heard where a pair of Quad ESL's and if I had the room to fit those here this discussion would have never taken place :-)
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