- Jun 2, 2008
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My local dealer recently took on Spendor and are stocking the S3/5R (£750) so I arranged for a demo this afternoon. They set them up with the same Nait 5i/CD5i setup I use at home including the same NACA5 cable.
I have always wanted to hear these speakers and (if my pair of mint/used N-Sats had not come along back in November) I might well have bought the S3/5R's (or S3E's) by now.
They are well finished little classic monitor type speakers with sealed enclosures and (as the name suggests) a claim to be evolved from the BBC LS3/5A monitors that Spendor - and others - used to make under license.
I listened to tracks (and parts of tracks) from Rolling Stones, Mint Juleps, 60's pop/reggae/ska from 'Island Life 50', The Shamen, some re-mastered Beatles (Paperback writer especially) from 'Past Masters', Andy Williams, Queen's 'Absolute Greatest' (remastered), Gilbert & Sullivan, Bejamin Britten (Frank Bridge variations), and a bit of the BBC drama adaptation on CD of the George Smiley book 'Call For the Dead' (for well recorded BBC speech/drama).
The speakers had already had a few demos over the last few weeks, so were not totally fresh from the box, and were on Partington Dreadnought stands that are a bit better than the ones I use at home. (Partington Trophy.)
I realised straight away that the S3/5Rs were going to need more turning of the volume control with their lower efficiency, and indeed 9 o'clock (N-Sats) became 11 o'clock for the Spendors. Bass was ok but had no 'stride'. It was there but did not seem to carry anything. It felt 'added on' rather than integrated as a whole. I am not complaining about the quantity or depth of the bass (the Spendors, like my N-Sats, are small monitors and I am not concerned about BIG bass) but I am unhappy about the job the bass seemed to be doing. I am used to bass that - rythmically - carries everything around like the wheels and chassis on a car. With the Spendors the bass was just something that just happened to be there for the ride, carried in the boot, and not part of anything!
My N-Sats, in comparison, do a pretty good job of the bass - for their size - being rythmic and tuneful and right there in the thick of it working hard.
Now the midrange and vocals. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! (Sorry JD) I expected the S3/5Rs to absolutely own the midrange and 'presence' - given their LS3/5A inheritance - but instead they are all smooth and polite. The 'pipe & slippers' cliche - so often used about LS3/5A derived speakers - kicked in with a vengeance. Throw in a glass of Port and a wheezy old golden retriever slumped in front of a log fire too whilst we are at it! (Remember this is on the end of a Naim system.)
I kept turning the volume up more. Not to get more of a good thing, but to try and find any evidence of a 'good thing' at all.
Sorry Spendor I am sorely disappointed. The upside is that I now have an even bigger respect for these Naim N-Sats and they are playing their little hearts out right now as I type (can speakers sound smug?).
If anyone ever wants to turn an exciting system into an Arcam A18 then I have found just the right speakers!
If you are in the market for good quality small speakers for a Nait 5i then stick with Naim or get a pair of Rega RS1's if money won't stretch to £750.
I have not been deterred from my intention of (somehow) getting to hear a pair of Harbeth P3ESRs one day, but the Spendor S3/5R experience this afternoon has been salutory in warning me off the idea of buying them 'blind'. I will just have to try and track down a Harbeth dealer (if there is one in the UK) or try and arrange a factory visit. (They are only half a county away.)
From what I had read, I really imagined that the S3/5Rs would be a 'staging post' halfway between N-Sat and 'Harbeth heaven'. I was wrong on one count. Maybe I will be wrong on both counts. It seems that - yet again - Naim really know their synergy.
I have always wanted to hear these speakers and (if my pair of mint/used N-Sats had not come along back in November) I might well have bought the S3/5R's (or S3E's) by now.
They are well finished little classic monitor type speakers with sealed enclosures and (as the name suggests) a claim to be evolved from the BBC LS3/5A monitors that Spendor - and others - used to make under license.
I listened to tracks (and parts of tracks) from Rolling Stones, Mint Juleps, 60's pop/reggae/ska from 'Island Life 50', The Shamen, some re-mastered Beatles (Paperback writer especially) from 'Past Masters', Andy Williams, Queen's 'Absolute Greatest' (remastered), Gilbert & Sullivan, Bejamin Britten (Frank Bridge variations), and a bit of the BBC drama adaptation on CD of the George Smiley book 'Call For the Dead' (for well recorded BBC speech/drama).
The speakers had already had a few demos over the last few weeks, so were not totally fresh from the box, and were on Partington Dreadnought stands that are a bit better than the ones I use at home. (Partington Trophy.)
I realised straight away that the S3/5Rs were going to need more turning of the volume control with their lower efficiency, and indeed 9 o'clock (N-Sats) became 11 o'clock for the Spendors. Bass was ok but had no 'stride'. It was there but did not seem to carry anything. It felt 'added on' rather than integrated as a whole. I am not complaining about the quantity or depth of the bass (the Spendors, like my N-Sats, are small monitors and I am not concerned about BIG bass) but I am unhappy about the job the bass seemed to be doing. I am used to bass that - rythmically - carries everything around like the wheels and chassis on a car. With the Spendors the bass was just something that just happened to be there for the ride, carried in the boot, and not part of anything!
My N-Sats, in comparison, do a pretty good job of the bass - for their size - being rythmic and tuneful and right there in the thick of it working hard.
Now the midrange and vocals. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! (Sorry JD) I expected the S3/5Rs to absolutely own the midrange and 'presence' - given their LS3/5A inheritance - but instead they are all smooth and polite. The 'pipe & slippers' cliche - so often used about LS3/5A derived speakers - kicked in with a vengeance. Throw in a glass of Port and a wheezy old golden retriever slumped in front of a log fire too whilst we are at it! (Remember this is on the end of a Naim system.)
I kept turning the volume up more. Not to get more of a good thing, but to try and find any evidence of a 'good thing' at all.
Sorry Spendor I am sorely disappointed. The upside is that I now have an even bigger respect for these Naim N-Sats and they are playing their little hearts out right now as I type (can speakers sound smug?).
If anyone ever wants to turn an exciting system into an Arcam A18 then I have found just the right speakers!
If you are in the market for good quality small speakers for a Nait 5i then stick with Naim or get a pair of Rega RS1's if money won't stretch to £750.
I have not been deterred from my intention of (somehow) getting to hear a pair of Harbeth P3ESRs one day, but the Spendor S3/5R experience this afternoon has been salutory in warning me off the idea of buying them 'blind'. I will just have to try and track down a Harbeth dealer (if there is one in the UK) or try and arrange a factory visit. (They are only half a county away.)
From what I had read, I really imagined that the S3/5Rs would be a 'staging post' halfway between N-Sat and 'Harbeth heaven'. I was wrong on one count. Maybe I will be wrong on both counts. It seems that - yet again - Naim really know their synergy.
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