Spendor, Harbeth...why so hot ?

I've heard the smaller Spendors and they definitely weren't my cuppa. Whatever the technical terms, to me they just sounded "small" and generally, disappointing. We swapped them out for the comparable ProAcs and that pretty much put an end to it, for me. Regrettably, I've not seen nor heard the Harbeths, but the comments above seem to be pretty much the universal opinion on them - I don't think I've ever seen anyone say a bad thing about them.

chas

David, you must get out more. Really. [:)]

Spendor SP 1/2’s don’t do anything for you and are highly over rated???

If those of this opinion would reveal what system the Spendors were used in along with their choice of music their conclusion would probably be understandable. I suspect these are people enamored of HI-FI who haven’t heard much live acoustic music.

Let me set the record straight for the sake of music lovers who may be reading this and looking for speakers to audition.

The Spendor SP 1/2’s are absolutely thrilling speakers. Thrilling in their NATURALNESS and faithfulness to music. If you listen to classical, jazz, opera, and the great popular vocalists you will be overjoyed with these. No listener fatigue, no upgradeitis, just satisfaction.

Comparisons – if we’re talking BOX speakers ( yes, I love Quads too, but don’t want to be confined to the sweet spot ) the SP 1/2’s dominate their price range like Godzilla on steroids. I agree with Paulwp, if you want to significantly out perform them you will need to go North of $5,000.

Finally, about the Harbeth C7 es – I have heard the SP 1/2’s and the C7 es side by side and although the Harbeth is an excellent speaker it is only competitive with the SP 1/2’s in a small room. In larger rooms the added scale, bass weight, and air moving capabilities of the SP 1/2’s are superior to the C7 es. Notice the difference between their retail British prices – that gap is there for a reason.

Jmfb, what is the UK retail price of the Spendor? (Bigger box and an extra driver to add to the cost of materials by the way.)

Jmfb:

I auditioned Spendors using both Krell and ARC gear. I can't recall precisely which models, as I was auditioning the speakers and not the gear. I do remember the ARC gear retailed somewhere around 15k, not including the CJ transport and DAC used as sources or other wires, etc. And the audition was at a dealer who really wanted to sell me the Spendors (hence, when I disliked them on the Krell, he set them up on the ARC stuff). Unless you think ARC is insufficient to the task of driving Spendors, I think this was a pretty reasonable test drive. Musically, we listened to Pachelbel's Canon, Liz Story (solo piano), Joan Armatrading, B.B. King, Dwight Yoakum, and some bluegrass from a sampler disc. All cds I know real well, and a fairly broad range of sound. But since this is what I listen to, a speaker that does one thing well isn't for me. The Spendors were anything but "thrilling".

Now you fess up - do you own Spendors? What gear do you recommend we use to get the thrill? Your post makes me suspect you of being enamored of your own choices and therefore unable to conceive that others might hear things somewhat differently. And while I by and large believe "you get what you pay for", I also firmly believe there are bargains out there where you can get more than what you bargained for. Point being, price ain't what makes the sound, and more expensive doesn't necessarily denote more better (Can you say "Bose"?)

chas