Measurements and conclusion
Contents
1 meter – straight from the front
We measured the Kudos Cardea Super 20A in several places and, of course, looked at how it responds to microphone position. The measurements are made with a DPA 4091 with an Adient ID14 and Illusonic software. The microphone is aimed between tweeter and woofer. The first dip is probably a floor reflection.
What is noticeable is that the Kudos are freshly tuned. About 3dB added between 4 kHz and 10 kHz. That gives air and sparkle. The bass is indeed quite deep. The distortion is not super low, which we did not expect with a floorstander in this class. We see a huge reduction in distortion at 2500 Hz (that’s where the crossover point will be). It falls from 0.5 / 0.4% to 0.1%. That’s significant. At 350 Hz we see a peak. Perhaps bass reflex port resonance.
1 meter off axis and 2.5 meter off axis
We recommend – given the measurements and our listening experience – not to turn the Kudos Super 20A in too much. Then it becomes too fresh. Slight toe-in is enough to get a tight stereo image. It is not necessary to use a lot of toe-in.