Spendor S3/5R

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
1,257
34
19,220
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.
 
Very interesting post Chebby and a perfect warning to anyone who considers purchasing hi-fi without listening first.

Must admit, I never thought a Nait 5i could be made to sound dull by any speakers. The S3/5Rs must be a very very dull design!!
 
Hi Chebby

When you said your dealer 'recently' took on Spendor, is it possible they may not be run in yet?

Which amplifier/system did you hear them with? They've been running in on our Nait XS and they've been sounding great in our demo room. I suppose if people are listening for something extra special in specific areas they're going to find one or two faults with most speakers, but listening to ours and assessing 'as a whole' they sound great. I think there will be some drawbacks in their bassand midrange because they're so small, but they certainly sound better than I expected them to.

Maybe you've been conditioned by the N-Sats? I can understand them sounding laid back and soft in comparison to them.
 
FrankHarveyHiFi:Which amplifier/system did you hear them with?

As in my post....

chebby:They set them up with the same Nait 5i/CD5i setup I use at home including the same NACA5 cable.

The S3/5Rs were a demo pair they have had a few weeks.
 
Sorry, must've skimmed that bit
emotion-10.gif


Try them again on the XS - I'd be interested to see what you think. I didn't listen to ours for any great length, but whatever it was that was playing on the Naim system seemed to sound really good. Maybe they need something better than a Nait 5i to get them singing? I'll try them on both on Friday if I get the chance - I'm on my day off tomorrow.
 
FrankHarveyHiFi:Try them again on the XS - I'd be interested to see what you think.

I won't be doing that. It would be messing the dealer around just for the sake of my curiosity. (Todays S3/5R demo may have resulted in a sale if I had been impressed.)

I don't think it should be necessary to spend an extra £600 on the Nait XS (plus what I would lose on selling my Nait 5i plus the small fortune I would need to upgrade my CD5i to the CD5XS to do the Nait XS justice) just to favour the Spendors. The intention was to see if the Spendors could improve on what I have now rather than trigger a very expensive cyle of upgrading.

(Also the suggestion of trying the Spendors with a Nait XS seems to ignore the probability of my N-Sats sounding better with the Nait XS too.)

It was a 'fair fight'. The N-Sats price is similar to the Spendors. Both are about the same size. Both are sealed box designs with similar sized bass/mid drivers.
 
Spendor S3/5 is to LS3/5 and Naim N-Sat is to Linn Kan. The S3/5 is a very different speaker to the N-Sats and in my experience, the N-Sats make most things sound dull! The fact that I found them too forward for my tastes probably explains why I like Spendor speakers!

You might find the SA1 adds a bit more of the PRaT you found to be missing from the 3/5. At the price I can appreciate why this isn't an attractive proposition. Maybe you won't like the Harbeths either!
 
FrankHarveyHiFi:
The two are quite different speakers, and Naim tend ot have completely different goals for their speakers than everyone else
emotion-2.gif


You have to admire both sets of speakers really. I thought the N-Sats were excellent but I need a hifi to relax not get pumped. I heard them on the Nait 5i with the CDX2, a very crisp and clear combination but lacked a little in bass. Maybe the XS would give that little more down there. (
emotion-3.gif
)

Glad you're happy with 'em though Chebby. Sounds like you can stand easy and get on with the music now.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts