Spendor D9.2 Run In

I haven't heard any of the D series Spendors, but from what I have read about them, I wouldn't expect the typical Spendor midrange. I think for that you need to stay with the Classic series, which I do own.

But it’s the pitch, and at higher volumes especially, brashness or tinnyness, that is a bit unnerving.

That sure sounds like what I heard when I auditioned Spendor D7s (which were broken in).

They were just about the only speaker I had to keep turning down because the brittleness/steely quality in the highs bothered my ears. Couldn’t have been more surprised that this was coming from a Spendor product, of all brands!

(I heard a similar quality in the "A" line of floor standing speakers as well).

Well prof, I think that it's apparent that Spendor was trying to stay current with that line, and appeal more to the modern younger audiophile who's looking for "accuracy". Reviewers rarely outright trash a speaker, and I'm sure that this one doesn't deserve to be, but you can usually find mild criticisms if you read between the lines, and that's what I gathered reading about these; namely that they were too bright.

I think that the OP should look at the classic series either new or used to find the Spendor sound that he's looking for. 

philip swift some years decided on the bifurcated strategy to cover market/buyer segments for speakers

classic series for classic looks/bbc design. a/d series for modern slimline floorstander looks, and increasingly, a modern sound - meaning he is targeting focals, revels, magico, proacs, wilsons and so on... but perhaps not so successfully as one would hope...zippy city...

for a modern-styled floorstander type speakers that hark back to the more beautiful, less attacking, natural sound of spendor classics, i think modern sonus fabers deserve a look, perhaps some revels, some devores (non orangutans)

I have a pair of D9.2s, paired with a Naim Uniti Star. They are great speakers but definitely need a bit of eq imo. This is easy to do if you're a Roon user.