Kudos Titan 505

Standmount speakers £7000 (+ £750 for stands) ★★★★☆

“We can’t recall a rival that’s as insightful when it comes to conveying the nuances and texture of a voice”

The 505s are the baby speakers from Kudos’s high-end Titan range. As a brand, Kudos isn’t about trying to please everyone. It makes characterful, single-minded products that eschew all-round mass appeal for something more individual. But, for the right person, that focused approach makes them arguably an even more tempting proposition than more conventional offerings such as Sonus Faber’s Electa Amator IIIS or Wilson Benesch’s Precision P1.0s.

MADE TO ORDER

Both the 29mm dome tweeter and 18cm mid/bass unit are unique to Kudos. OEM giants SEAS make these drivers to Kudos’s requirements, and that means you won’t find them on anyone else’s speakers. The tweeter uses the motor system of SEAS’S Beryllium-dome tweeter but swaps that hard dome for one made of Sonomex fabric. The rest of the design uses a powerful Neodymium magnet with shorting rings to reduce distortions, as well as having venting behind the dome to help dynamics and control.

The mid/bass driver uses a double-coated paper cone with a 39mm voice coil. Its motor system is designed to allow long excursions for the cone with minimal distortion. These are no ordinary two-ways though. There are two of those mid/bass units in each cabinet, positioned back-toback and operating in an isobaric arrangement. This kind of configuration has advantages in terms of getting more bass out of a given cabinet volume. The three drive units are linked with a low-order crossover wired point-to-point.

On the 505’s back panel, above the conventional singlewire terminals, are a series of links that make it possible to convert the speakers to fully active operation. Of course, you’ll need to buy a dedicated active crossover – the likes of Linn, Naim and Devialet can help in this respect – and add four channels of power amplification, but it does open up an intriguing and potentially excellent upgrade path – something that none of the rivals we’ve mentioned offers.

You’d think the cabinet would just be a simple rigid wooden box, but even here Kudos has chosen to do something more elaborate. It’s actually a complex construction that uses HDF (High Density Fibreboard) of differing thicknesses to spread resonances. The 505’s external side panels are secondary and attached to the inner enclosure at specific points with a polyethylene gasket in between. The idea is to control and dissipate the vibrations generated in the cabinet without harming the sound.

It’s a solid-feeling cabinet, no doubt helped by the extra structural reinforcement supplied by the baffle holding the inner (hidden) mid/bass unit. There’s a discreet port firing out the rear to help to tune the low frequencies.

There are five finish options for the box – walnut, Tineo, red Tineo, black oak or satin white. The quality of finish on our samples is as good as we would expect, though perhaps lacks the luxury aura of the Sonus Fabers in particular. The performance of any standmounters depends heavily on the support they’re placed on, so we’re pleased to report that Kudos offers dedicated stands. These aren’t cheap at £750, but they are solid and rigid. The speakers bolt onto these for a really secure interface. There’s no messing around with something as vague as Blu Tack here.

The best position for the Titans depends on the room and partnering system. In our set-up, we end up with them out into the room and firing pretty much straight ahead.

We use our usual reference system for most of this test – that’s Burmester’s 088/911 Mk 3 pre/power with Naim’s ND555/555 PS DR music streamer and the Technics SL1000-R record player providing the signal. We also have Nagra’s lovely Classic preamplifier and Naim’s excellent Supernait 3 integrated amp on hand for some variety.

Once they’re up and running, there’s no denying the Titan 505s’ talents. They’re impressively fast and forthright, sounding as confident as they come. Play Neneh Cherry’s

Broken Politics and the Kudos deliver the sparse production and complex rhythms with admirable confidence. These speakers are punchy and immensely detailed, particularly through the midrange, where Cherry’s distinctive vocals are laid bare. We can’t recall a rival that’s as insightful with the dynamic nuances and texture of a voice.

At just 45cm tall, they aren’t big, but the combination of the isobaric arrangement, solid cabinet and careful port tuning results in articulate and tuneful lows. There’s a good amount of weight and authority to the bass too, but not to the degree where we would be fooled into thinking we were listening to something significantly larger.

We switch to Holst’s The Planets and the Kudos respond with a bold, upfront sound. It’s an exciting presentation, one that hits hard and digs deep into the fabric of the recording for information. We’re impressed by the composure at higher volumes and the sense of control these speakers impart.

Once care is taken with positioning, the Titans’ stereo imaging is precise. There’s not quite the scale or soundstage depth of some rivals, but when a sound is so full of energy and drama these things are relatively easy to overlook.

ON THE QUIET

What we find harder to ignore is that things turn a little lifeless at lower volumes. These are speakers that sound happiest when pushed, which is fine for some of the time. But most people will have to listen at quieter levels sometimes, and it’s then that the 505s lose a bit of drama.

For all their resolution and cohesion, these boxes also lack a little natural warmth. Tonally they err on the lean side, but match with a bit of care and this shouldn’t be an issue.

Finally, that upfront presentation can be exciting, but when we listen to understated music such as Found Songs by Ólafur Arnalds or Melody Gardot’s The Absence we crave a more relaxed and refined approach to music replay; the Titan 505s want to make everything sound energetic.

If you like what these standmounters set out to do, we doubt you’ll find preferable alternatives. When it comes to delivering a direct, agile and punchy sound, the 505s are excellent. We just wish they had a broader spread of talents to appeal to the rest of us.