The Spendor Thread..

I wonder if it would affect the sound to put solid wood instead of veneer on a speaker. It would be much easier to work with and finish. Veneer makes sense to me for factory production but for a one time small job wood would not be much more expensive if at all, and much more readily available.
 
I wonder if it would affect the sound to put solid wood instead of veneer on a speaker. It would be much easier to work with and finish. Veneer makes sense to me for factory production but for a one time small job wood would not be much more expensive if at all, and much more readily available.

Short answer: yes, it would. These cabinets were designed by the BBC to be "lossy" - they're thin walled so they don't store energy. So you change their composition at your peril.

Honestly veneer isn't as hard to work with as you'd think. I was scared too, the first time.

ETA: I'm assuming by solid you something considerably thicker than veneer; multiple 1x8's, for example.
 
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Short answer: yes, it would. These cabinets were designed by the BBC to be "lossy" - they're thin walled so they don't store energy. So you change their composition at your peril.

Honestly veneer isn't as hard to work with as you'd think. I was scared too, the first time.

ETA: I'm assuming by solid you something considerably thicker than veneer; multiple 1x8's, for example.

Interesting. I sort of suspected there was science involved in the original weight, density etc.
I was thinking of at least .25 to .5 inch wood. That is the thinnest that I use in house remodeling.

I have draped a nice fabric over ugly speakers before.
 
I recently purchased a used but mint pair of BC1's after having sold my original pair back in 1980. The American distributor at the time promptly furnished me with my SP1's (which I have till this day. My sp2/2's have been really wonderful and in my opinion, these and the SA1's are still the finest speakers that Spencer and Derek Hughes produced at the time before Spendor was sold,(Spencer died very young in the mid or late eighties and I believe Derek is now semi retired.
If you compare these speakers with almost anything today it would still be hard to beat them for sheer mid/treble clarity, translucency and musicality(particularly classical) at any price. (I have not heard the avalon eidolon diamond so I can't comment there).
It is interesting to note that when Spencer's last design was unveiled, the switch to polypropylene gave us a touch less midrange "sing" compared to the BC1, however he did de accentuate the hf1300 treble a bit which indeed became ideal in the SP1's balance. We had hoped he could have also kept the BC1 mid up to the same par in the mix, but it was just a bit 'different' with the polypropylene driver. In retrospect, it's hard to criticize the performance. Now I will be happily re exploring my BC1's which I have not heard in over 30 years!!!
 
Welcome HowardMil

I love the BC1 sound. I have a two pairs of Spendor SP1/5s, which are indirectly descended from the original SA-1. The company created a pair of reference monitors for German radio based on the SA-1 called the 15/2. The 1/5 is a cost-reduced version of the 15/2. They're fine speakers.
 
Well, I just got myself a pair of BC1's. [Extremely good condition.]
Wasn't cheap. Had to use my B&W DM4's and Celestial Ditton 15's and some cash, but then the two mentioned speakers were actually only stepping stones to finally acquiring the Spendors so it had to be done.
Now the mission is to find an amp to suit. Even though I have a collection of amps here, I don't think any of them come up to the standard the BC1's deserve that I've read so much about.
I have a Luxman LV-103 [hybrid], JBL SA660, Onkyo Integra DTR-7.4, a DIY 6x EL84 tube amp, A&R Cambridge A60, Phase Linear 400 II, Phase Linear 700 II, Crown D150 and a T-Amp.
Of everything there, the 6x EL84 sounds the 'nicest', but obviously way under powered, and I'm certainly not going to be hooking up ANY Phase Linears in a hurry, that's for sure.
There is a Quad 303 that's come up for grabs recently, and 'some' say that would suit nicely, but I just don't know enough about them from any personal experience.
Any help with suggestions, keeping in mind, my finances are starting to dwindle, would be immensely appreciated. Also keep in mind I'm in Australia, and some things are harder to source down under for respectable prices.
Anyway, nice to know there's a Spendor thread here at AK. It's been fascinating reading and I'm indebted to all the contributors....

My_Spendor_BC1_02.jpg


Cheers all,
Woofer.
 
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Well, I just got myself a pair of BC1's. [Extremely good condition.]
Wasn't cheap. Had to use my B&W DM4's and Celestial Ditton 15's and some cash, but then the two mentioned speakers were actually only stepping stones to finally acquiring the Spendors so it had to be done.
Now the mission is to find an amp to suit. Even though I have a collection of amps here, I don't think any of them come up to the standard the BC1's deserve that I've read so much about.
I have a Luxman LV-103 [hybrid], JBL SA660, Onkyo Integra DTR-7.4, a DIY 6x EL84 tube amp, A&R Cambridge A60, Phase Linear 400 II, Phase Linear 700 II, Crown D150 and a T-Amp.
Of everything there, the 6x EL84 sounds the 'nicest', but obviously way under powered, and I'm certainly not going to be hooking up ANY Phase Linears in a hurry, that's for sure.
There is a Quad 303 that's come up for grabs recently, and 'some' say that would suit nicely, but I just don't know enough about them from any personal experience.
Any help with suggestions, keeping in mind, my finances are starting to dwindle, would be immensely appreciated. Also keep in mind I'm in Australia, and some things are harder to source down under for respectable prices.
Anyway, nice to know there's a Spendor thread here at AK. It's been fascinating reading and I'm indebted to all the contributors....

My_Spendor_BC1_02.jpg


Cheers all,
Woofer.

The Quad 303 was good in its day, and is still decent: good power delivery, accurate tone. But it's missing a lot of "high-end" attributes - things, like "air," "liquidity," and "transparancy."

Quicksilver monoblocks would be my first choice. Or any tube amp with enough power and "modern" voicing - ie, not rolled-off in the highs, and with clean bass extention. Modern Audio Research stuff would probably work well, too. I'll be curious to hear how these compare to the B&W DM4, which has the same tweeter/supertweeter combo, and a bexetrene woofer.
 
The Quad 303 was good in its day, and is still decent: good power delivery, accurate tone. But it's missing a lot of "high-end" attributes - things, like "air," "liquidity," and "transparancy."

Quicksilver monoblocks would be my first choice. Or any tube amp with enough power and "modern" voicing - ie, not rolled-off in the highs, and with clean bass extention. Modern Audio Research stuff would probably work well, too. I'll be curious to hear how these compare to the B&W DM4, which has the same tweeter/supertweeter combo, and a bexetrene woofer.

I will have to do some googling on wot u say. Thank you for that.
As far as the DM4's went, their surrounds had shrunk a bit and so a lot of the bass was lost even after trying Dot4, and the mid/highs just wasn't the same as wot I'm now hearing from the BC1's, BUT, I will add, that I also have a pair of DM3's, [again, the same Coles/Celestion, but an HF1400, instead of the HF1300, but very similar], and so far, doing an A/B just using my 6x EL84, the DM3's are better.
Their top end is better. Their imaging is as good as it's depth, but they have a much better, lower bass which seems to suit most rooms, whereas the BC1's can be a tad boomy. They're an infinite baffle with a most strange 8"x13" bass/mid fibreglass cone, but are very enjoyable.
But having said all of that, my idea of a good amp is a Radford STA25 III, so the hunt is on, and when I find one, I'll just have to rob a bank, or at the very least, the local convenience store. Have you seen the price of those things????
 
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The one time I heard the Radford (driving Dynaco A25s) I was blown away by its tone. Good luck with your hunt! If you're in the UK I suspect the Quicksilvers mights be difficult to find. In terms of sound per dollar, they're off the charts - the Mono 90s were every bit the equal of my Audio Research VT100 MK IIIs. Or at least in the US - the "export tax" might change the value equation overseas. Here, you should be able to find a decent used set for $800-1000.

I had to Google the B&W DM3. The oval driver was made by EMI, IIRC. Alnico magnet - probably sounds very, very sweet.

ETA:

The "boomy" (or "tubby" if you prefer) bass of the BC1 was noted by several contemporary reviewers. In its day, the SP1 was seen as an all-around improvement. And yet prices for vintage BC1s are much higher.
 
The one time I heard the Radford (driving Dynaco A25s) I was blown away by its tone. Good luck with your hunt! If you're in the UK I suspect the Quicksilvers mights be difficult to find. In terms of sound per dollar, they're off the charts - the Mono 90s were every bit the equal of my Audio Research VT100 MK IIIs. Or at least in the US - the "export tax" might change the value equation overseas. Here, you should be able to find a decent used set for $800-1000.

I had to Google the B&W DM3. The oval driver was made by EMI, IIRC. Alnico magnet - probably sounds very, very sweet.

ETA:

The "boomy" (or "tubby" if you prefer) bass of the BC1 was noted by several contemporary reviewers. In its day, the SP1 was seen as an all-around improvement. And yet prices for vintage BC1s are much higher.

I'm in Australia, and that makes it even more difficult... :(

The DM3 are really exceptional. Their downfall, is that their surrounds shrink and let go from the frame and then they start leaking air through the gaps, and there's no one on the planet that can fix them, including me! Not good.

I think with the BC1's, they're just ported wrong. Unfortunately, I'd have to make up some new baffles, and of exactly the same wood, as to not lose it's cabinet tonal qualities, and start drilling holes in it. I'd also need to know the fs of the bass/mid driver so as to know exactly how low it'll go before it self destructs. Unfortunately, I'm 'old school', and do it with holes, corks, and my trusty old Klark Tekniks analyser and by ear and find the optimal tuning point for the cab. I'm just too dumb to use the latest s/w that'll do it for you, but I'm just sure you can tune that bump out of it, if you can just go a tad lower. It would decrease the power handling by a little bit, but I can live with that, as I must be the quietest music listener in the world. Just above the noise floor, and still hear everything as clear as a bell, which is a lot harder than just turning it up. [I have neighbours, that I like....] ;)
 
Maybe try drinking straws in the ports? :scratch2:

I was going to suggest an aperiodic style vari-port, ala Dynaco A series; we're both going in the same direction.

Honestly, if digital EQ isn't on the table, I think the "cleanest" solution is a notch filter around the bass peak, put between the preamp and amplifier.
 
This article: http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/vintageBC1.htm Has measurements and T/S data, and would be a good jumping off point for modding, I think.

I had come across this page, but then lost track of it. Thank you very much...

Maybe try drinking straws in the ports? :scratch2:

I'll try this one eventually, just so I can hear it for myself. I've seen it being mentioned a few times.

I was going to suggest an aperiodic style vari-port, ala Dynaco A series; we're both going in the same direction.

Honestly, if digital EQ isn't on the table, I think the "cleanest" solution is a notch filter around the bass peak, put between the preamp and amplifier.

I have digital stuff that will do it, but this seems to be frowned on by audiophiles, [not that I'm an audiophile. Just a retired old live music sound guy.] :(

Thanks for all the input everybody… :)
 
I'm pleased to announce that Stereophile has listed the Spendor D7 towers as a Stereophile Class A (restricted extreme low-frequency performance) recommended component in the Loudspeakers category.

Sam Tellig first reviewed it in the November 2014 issue.

In the April 2015 issue, received yesterday, there is this rating, as well as a follow-up speaker performance test by John Atkinson.
The concluding paragraph in the follow-up speaker performance test article is:

Overall the Spendor D7 offers excellent measured performance. I must agree not only with Sam Tellig but also with Martin Colloms, who wrote of the D7, in the July-September 2013 of The Hifi Critic, "here is a modern interpretation of the classically neutral, accurate and well integrated design."

To see this speaker in the company of the Magico, Harbeth, Wilson, KEF, and Devore confirms my fanboy type championing of this brand.
 
I'm happy to say I'm now the owner of a pair of Spendor A5 floorstanders. I initially had reservations that my Rega Brio would handle their low sensitivity (85db), but in my current listening space, this combinations work just fine. When I move into a bigger room, I might need to reassess.

Moving away from B&W 685 and Monitor Audio RX1s, I have come to appreciate the Spendor's more even tonal balance. They sound resolving without being brash or bright. I get the sense that they reveal the quality of the recording and the upstream electronics rather than asserting too much of their character on the proceedings - with one exception. I do think there's an evident mid-bass hump, which most of the time doesn't bother me. On recordings already mixed to accentuate LF, however, this can lead to a bit of bloom (this might also have to do with room setup).

Looking forward to playing around with placement and getting these sounding at their best. Any tips on this would be welcomed. I see the manual suggests toeing the A5 in; however, I have read reviews that say they should be placed to fire directly ahead.
 
Congrats on the Spendors! I say it's your ears, position them how they sound best to you in your listening position and just enjoy them!
 
Definitely love my old BC 1's have them in the office now at work, (I listen mostly at work theses days) Black Ash original and unmodified got them second hand from a radio production studio. Old pair of B&W's at home
 
I've been listening to my "new" Spendor A6 for just a few days over two years now and they are still surprising me:yes: I'll be sitting in my listening chair thinking, hmmm, maybe I need a speaker with a little more bass. Then the recording I'm listening to delivers growling, thunderous bass, crawling through the room, digging deep and the Spendors deliver.

They are unforgiving of poor recordings but, wow, how beautiful on good and great recordings:thmbsp:
 
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