What to buy : Spendor SA1 or A3

[vijwilso]

I got a Spendor S3/5R2 for a home audition for a week time and I really liked it for the midband tonality and the Voice reproduction. Also looks like it pairs well with my electronic , One down side of this is that low level dynamics is not good compared to other bigger FS that i owned and compared side by side at that time.

Now i am planning to buy for a FS - A3 from Spendor or a next level BS which is SA1 which more popular and highly rated compared to A3 .

The Drivers for the SA1 and A3 is exactly the same expect for the cross-over which is little high for the SA1 , apart from the obvious difference in FS vs BS.

From the reviews SA1 looks large scale sound compared to it size , but A3 is diminutive in scale , which is don't understand , given that drivers are same and A3 has got the bigger enclosure .

My requirement is here
1) S3/5R2 like mids/voice , which i assume both A3 and SA1 will have
2) More bass energy - Clean and un-distorded sound .
3) No trace of brightness , roll-off high a bit is ok with me .

Has any one heard this model and suggest which one is more suited here .

This will be a blind purchase as i can not travel to Dealer's location .

Any feedback is much appreciated .

 

[mpw]

whats your budget like ? ( PM if you like )

why not the A5 ?

I suppose you are talking to Cadence in Pune.

The A6 was highly rated and its replaced by the A6R so you may try if you can get the A6 at a better rate.

which amp do you use ? eposure ?

mpw
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[vijwilso]

mpw ,

Yes , The AMP is Exposure . My budget is within 1.5 L , A6 is beyond that .

I heard A5 might not be as clean as BS/two driver FS . I auditoned only the S3/5R2 BS .

The dealer is Cadence .

Regards
Vijay

 

[soulforged]

Who in Bangalore deals with Spendor???

 

[vijwilso]

No Dealer in Bangalore .

 

[vijwilso]

Guys , I have finalized with Spendor A5 , will be getting it next week.
Today i spent a long hours Auditioning KEF LS50 , it is improved version of the BBC type monitor. Over all, the sound is more spacious it does imaging better, better lows compared to the traditional BBC type mini monitor. However, the tonal richness of the Spendor in the midrange is missing in every song i listened today. It is so obvious that i feel something is lacking in every song, most important i fell for the voice band repro of the Spendor. Looks like there is no going back now.
I choose A5 based on the suggestion from the FMs an d my other friends who have dealt with the various speaker brands for years. I assume I will get the same mid-range magic of S3/5r2 and more low-level punch from this FS.

I need to mention here that Mr. Ambalavanan from Cadance, Pune really helped to choose the right speaker for me , everyone knows how hard to make the decision remotely

Thank you very much Sir for your help.

 

[BLASTO]

Hey Killer, Did you audition the A5 or going by reviews?
The A5 is not as sensitive as the proacs and might trigger an amp change..
Also, they require bigger listening spaces than the proacs (which is the main reason I remember you sold the proacs).
Aren't you sticking with the bookshelves?

 

[sidvee]

Guys , I have finalized with Spendor A5 , will be getting it next week.

I need to mention here that Mr. Ambalavanan from Cadance, Pune really helped to choose the right speaker for me , everyone knows how hard to make the decision remotely

Thank you very much Sir for your help.

Congratulations killerbrain:clapping:
Can you provide contact details for Mr. Ambalavanan, pm if you want.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[sohagubao]

Yes , The AMP is Exposure . My budget is within 1.5 L , A6 is beyond that .

 

[vijwilso]

Sidvee
Mr Ambalavanan Phone number : 9823377547

Blasto , I just go with the reviews , did not audition it .

Yes . You are correct , i sold ProAc due to the room size . The proAc's high end sparkle was over-whelming in my small room , but in a bigger room it was not the problem . Bass was not the problem , was little boomy , but i did not mind. Whoever auditioned the ProAc in the small room did like it , i think it is just me over-sensitive to the highs. I hope , Spendor with the roll-off , it should suit . I initially wanted to go for the S3/5R2 , but on a second thought , later i may want to have more enegy level of the FS ( living with the FS for a long time , i may feel the need to upgrade ) .
The BS that i tried is little lower sensitivity to the A5 , but the exposure was able to drive it to the same level of ProAc . The difference is with ProAc , i was using volume pod at 9'o clock with the Spendor ( 84DB) it was 10'0 clock. It was producing a room filling sound with it .

 

[john_k_antony]

Killerbrain,

I have some questions on ProAc vs Spendor since you have owned both of them. I am in the lookout for a decent pair of stereo speakers. I want to use them in my dedicated room of 24'x15.5' (375sft). I listen to wide genre of music - Rock/Pop/Hindustani classsical/Indian film music/Metal. Most of the genre I listen to are bass heavy. I wanted a simple to setup stereo speakers that are not very finicky about positioning and would like them to handle Rock music with full authority. I also want them to perform well with mid range and I am "allergic" to bright highs. I love details, but not in an overly bright manner.

I wanted to use a 35w/ch Pure Class A, SET, tube amp in my setup. After your experience, which one do you think can perform well given my requirements? I want them to really rock with bass heavy music and also deliver sweet mid range and highs at moderate to loud volume levels in a moderate size room of 375 sft.

1. ProAc Studio MKII with 91db sensitivity.

or

2. Spendor A6R with 88db sensitivity

I think both the above speakers will be around same price range of around 2-2.5L. I assume ProAc with 91db sensitivity to be more tube amp friendly.

Thanks,
John.

 

[vijwilso]

John
From the list , you have a wide genre of musical taste , which is the same case with me.
I liked proAc for Pop, jazz , and Indian Movie songs especially new ones well recorded . ProAc can produce a deep bass which is also your liking . I did not like it with Rock and Metal as it sounded harsh , only very few selected track i can play . It was good with the acoustical version of the rock and was good with the country also . It is less forgiving for the poorly recorded tracks .
My feeling is that i have not heard ProAc to its best . I tried ProAcs with some of the Solid states with Naim , Exposure , Primare , electrocompaniant mono blocks and preferred it with Naim as it tames the hight and the next best is Exposure which has got some moisture to the high. Primare was more analytical to me . Popular reviews are compltly against my observation though. ProAc can easily sound bright and my feeling is it would be hard to make it work . All of the HD tracks download ( not the rock ) , and Vinly rips sounded good . My feeling is that it would sound good with the vinyl and tube gear ( Not all ) . Most of the popular reviews suggest various option for solid state , but some reviews echo my views which are hidden beneath , we easily miss in the search . Some of them suggest AR tube for ProAC, I am not familiar with any of the tube gears , So cannot tell more . I tried once to pair the ProAC with some tube gear which sounded worst and could not listen to more than 10 seconds.
Since you have a budget > 2 L , you can also check D18 which is definite step up from Studio 140s , Mid range is better , more quality bass . These are the two proAcs I heard. Also check with Cabasse from proFx , I spent short time , sounded more like proac , but with more high end sparkle and less refined bass ( may be due to the room)
Spendors are different , these are not immediately exciting speakers . One needs to spend a lot of time , atleast a couple of weeks with it , it will grow on you. It has got a mid-tone which I did not get in other speaker , some said it is like that of Harbeth, which I did not have time and intention to audition cause that will be a complete upgrade path including electronics and very steeply priced in india. Spendor pricing is almost same as UK pricing .
When S3/5R2 was with me, my office timing itself was changed in the morning , I spent more time listening , there will be some surprise in every song which made me to sit and complete it . Usually I skip through the tracks . I start a track with the intension to just listen how it plays , but it made to listen completely and start the next track . The Illayaraja songs never sounded this good . it sounded good on Jazz and Pop, acoustic rock , missing punch in the heavy metal , but I hope A5 will address. There is no symptom of any harshness with these, it does it good with non-ideal recording also .
There is something special about this small speaker , which haunts me with the memories of how it played . Now I am going with the bigger one with the Spendor A5 , still dont know how it would sound compared to S3/5R2 . There was one review it , which is very true about S3/5R2. Just paste it here .
Consider the S3/5R as your final exam in hi-fi. If you have the right room and the maturity to look past the flashy presentation of many speakers, this could be the last loudspeaker you ever buy.
Even if you 'fail' this exam and choose more immediately exciting speakers, remember that S3/5R's will still be waiting for you to grow up.

I think I failed the exam now , but never know when I go back to these again , it is just time till I graw up.

For the bass energy for the A5 I dont know it yet . I expect the speaker to arrive this Friday. Will post later
For the pairing with your tube gear Only way to find is to pair with it . if it works well with A5 , it should work better with A6. Since you are from Bangalore , we can try doing it , if you want. Also this can be tried with the ProACs also , hope dealer permits it.

 

[john_k_antony]

Hi Killerbrain,

Thank you very much for the details. Really really appreciate it. Since I have almost decided on the amp, I can bring the amp to your place after you get your A5, if you are okay with it . As I said earlier, I am doing it slowly so my purchase might happen at a later point of time.

Thanks,
John.

 

[BLASTO]

Blasto , I just go with the reviews , did not audition it .

Yes . You are correct , i sold ProAc due to the room size . The proAc's high end sparkle was over-whelming in my small room , but in a bigger room it was not the problem . Bass was not the problem , was little boomy , but i did not mind. Whoever auditioned the ProAc in the small room did like it , i think it is just me over-sensitive to the highs. I hope , Spendor with the roll-off , it should suit . I initially wanted to go for the S3/5R2 , but on a second thought , later i may want to have more enegy level of the FS ( living with the FS for a long time , i may feel the need to upgrade ) .
The BS that i tried is little lower sensitivity to the A5 , but the exposure was able to drive it to the same level of ProAc . The difference is with ProAc , i was using volume pod at 9'o clock with the Spendor ( 84DB) it was 10'0 clock. It was producing a room filling sound with it .

Oh, I thought bass was the problem, Never heard treble being a problem attributed to room dimensions. Spendor should be fine.

 

[john_k_antony]

Oh, I thought bass was the problem, Never heard treble being a problem attributed to room dimensions. Spendor should be fine.

Treble can be a problem if there are lots of reflections in the room. As far as I know, too much of reflections can indeed amplify high frequencies.

 

[vijwilso]

Treble can be a problem if there are lots of reflections in the room. As far as I know, too much of reflections can indeed amplify high frequencies.

yes , true . That is exactly the issue . Lot of reflection and no space to escape . Warmer amplication should have helped though

 

[vijwilso]

Hi Killerbrain,

Thank you very much for the details. Really really appreciate it. Since I have almost decided on the amp, I can bring the amp to your place after you get your A5, if you are okay with it . As I said earlier, I am doing it slowly so my purchase might happen at a later point of time.

Thanks,
John.

Sure John , we will do it . Eager to get exposed to the the tube Gear.

 

[balakrishna]

i have spendor a5s connected to nad c 162 pre and nad c 272 power. i am very happy with the sound. very good speakers.