Spendor, Harbeth...why so hot ?

Costrosk, you’re not paying attention to this thread – read Paulwp’s and my post again.

You said that you auditioned small Spendor monitors – I assume S3/5’s or S1’s.

I own Spendor SP 1/2’s. The truly great speakers (and yes THRILLING) in the Harbeth and Spendor lines are the Harbeth HL 7es and Monitor 40 and the Spendor SP 1/2, SP 100, SP 9/1, and perhaps the new Spendor FL 9 and FL 10, but I’ll reserve judgement on these last two because I haven’t heard them yet.

I think the smaller Spendors are superb, the best at what they do. I think when you cross over into the Harbeth range that use the "radial" midrange/woofer (Compact 7, Monitor 30, Monitor 40), you move onto the next level of BBC technology. My own experience, which began with a love affair with SP 1/2's, has been with the Monitor 40's, where for the first time I've come to realize that a properly designed speaker doesn't need the dollop of sweetness that you get with the Spendor's polypropeline drivers. The Harbeths' output is slightly sloped from bottom to top (which Robert Greene argues persuasively is correct) and that in combination with the absolutley transparent radial driver, results in something that is simultaneously realistic and beautiful. The beauty feels absolutely real and changes from cd to cd, so you know you're not getting a euphonic additive, all of which tend to homogenize.

I have not heard the Compact 7's, which are clearly a better "value" than the Monitor 40's. And now that a new North American distributer is in place, they are beginning to move into the market in this hemisphre. Do not overlook these speakers, or this line.

Jmfb:

I will defer to your far more extensive knowledge of the Spendor line - but I was auditioning the Spendor 2/3, which Paul specifically mentioned as having "the most natural sounding midranges among box speakers". Perhaps I was errant in describing them as "small", but ...to me, they seemed small (possibly due to a recent encounter with the likes of the Pipedreams behemoth system, who knows?)

As to "paying attention to the thread", I remind you that the thread was not initially about any specific model of speaker, it was about Spendor and Harbeth in general, not specific models in the lines. I think it unfair to say that because one model or another in a product line performs superbly, anyone who doesn't care for that product line must be "people enamored of HI-FI who haven’t heard much live acoustic music." Especially since that remark was premised on the stellar performers in the line.

It's probably equally unfair of me to smear the whole line with my one audition experience, but I did point out that that was the extent of things - "We swapped them out for the comparable ProAcs and that pretty much put an end to it.." Still, you and Paul are persuasive, and I'll give the 1/2s a listen next chance I get.

chas

The Spendor SP 1/2's driven by something with some character (Blue Circle hybrids, for example) can be a remarkably satisfying speaker if it's not in toooo big a room and if you don't need a firm, deep bottom. (REG reports that his, with REL Storms added, are flat to 25 hz.) I do think REG's review of them in TAS quite a while back was very fair -- and very admiring. Another fan is Art Dudley of the Listener and his reviewer, Reikert. Driven by relatively dull stuff (Plinius, say) they can be a bit dull. Driven by 'the right stuff,' there is a lyrical rightness to them that sold me immediately. People who prefer them to ProAcs tend to prefer their lyricism and upper bass sense of weight to the ProAc's forwardness and seemingly higher resolution. Seemingly because it's, well forward. ProAcs can make Spendors seem prissy; Spendors can make ProAcs seem pushy. Both great speaker lines, which can 'divide and separate' friends.

Some Spendors are "more equal than others." My mixture of experience and informed hearsay says the 3/1's and 1/2's are the pick of the litter, but the SP 100's, which to me ears are on the rich and bassy side, have their (very ardent) champions.

Chas, Jmfb: I am surprised to be cited as a Spendor supporter. I'm not. I responded above to a question about "why" Harbeth and Spendor are being discussed a lot, and a response to that question that was misleading, just to say that both make very very fine full-range speakers, and they both have tonal accuracy as their primary design objective. Chas, I havent heard the 2/3s. So your impression of them is good enough for me. I note Bob doesn't say anything about them and he's a big SP1/2 fan.

To respond to Jmfb's comment about size, I havent tried my Compact 7's in a room larger than my 5400 cu. ft family room (don't have one and don't have any interest in hearing them anywhere else), but if you say so, maybe in a larger room, the Harbeth Super HL5 would be better. And, of course, the Monitor 40 would be better still. The Harbeths are less efficient than the Spendors, accept and require more power to really open up. I think if you drive the C7's with enough power, there is nothing lacking at all.

In terms of pricing, configuration and size, the Spendor SP1/2 "competes" with the Harbeth Super HL5, the SP2/3 with the Compact 7.

I don't want to criticize anyone's choice of speaker. The Harbeths are my choice. The Compact 7's and above with large drivers made from the proprietary "RADIAL" material are the only speakers I would ever consider again. But, there are other fine speakers out there.