Spendor SA1 or B&W PM1?

gregvet

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I have finally got my Cyrus 8xpd qx for my bedroom system, source being a sonos zp90. My original plan was to pair this amp with Spendor SA1's, which I demo'd a year or so ago. However, now I have come to buy speakers, none of my local hifi shops have the SA1's for demo. I would just buy them, but the B&W PM1s look similar in size and might be even nicer?

I am going for a demo of the PM1s next week, but am interested in people's experiences if they have heard both, particularly if with Cyrus amps?

Can anyone help?
 

matthewpiano

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Very difficult choice as both are excellent speakers. The PM1s let you hear right into the mix and those tweeters produce a wonderful sense of space. The Spendors are the more natural sounding of the two and their speakers usually match very well with Cyrus kit. Personally, I'd be wanting to hear both with your Cyrus electronics. It is a lot of money!
 

Frank Harvey

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Both of the speakers will work well with Cyrus amps - Spendor always has done, and I'm currently listening to a pair of PM1's close by driven by an X Power.

The Spendors are a smooth, laid back sort of sound, and will be ideal for smaller rooms or being used very close to a wall due to their sealed cabinet.

The B&W's will need a little more space to work at their best, but are far more open and detailed at the top end. Matthewpiano sums them up well.

Bass of both models is a little limited due to cabinet volume, but the B&W will reach deeper due to being ported. As mentioned, have a listen to both if you can, as they're quite different in many ways.
 

gregvet

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FrankHarveyHiFi said:
Both of the speakers will work well with Cyrus amps - Spendor always has done, and I'm currently listening to a pair of PM1's close by driven by an X Power.

The Spendors are a smooth, laid back sort of soun :doh: d, and will be ideal for smaller rooms or being used very close to a wall due to their sealed cabinet.

The B&W's will need a little more space to work at their best, but are far more open and detailed at the top end. Matthewpiano sums them up well.

Bass of both models is a little limited due to cabinet volume, but the B&W will reach deeper due to being ported. As mentioned, have a listen to both if you can, as they're quite different in many ways.

Just the man, thanks for your input David. Sounds like either speaker will work. Does the 8xpd have enough power for the PM1's though?

Out of interest, what other small speakers would you suggest pairing with the 8xpd?
 

Frank Harvey

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gregvet said:
Just the man, thanks for your input David. Sounds like either speaker will work. Does the 8xpd have enough power for the PM1's though?

Out of interest, what other small speakers would you suggest pairing with the 8xpd?

Hmmm. Borderline. They're a pretty low 84dB sensitivity, but luckily their impedance doesn't drop below 5ohms. The SA1's are marginally more efficient, although this might not be immediately apparent.

If you're after high volumes, I'd say you'd need to be looking at adding a power amplifier at some stage, but then, if you were after high volumes, I'd be recommending different speakers altogether anyway.

Keeping things small, you could look at the PMC Twenty.21's, which are a similar size but are deeper due to their Transmission Line arrangement. These are a little like the Spendors but livelier, and their treble is more like the PM1's. The ProAc Response D1's might be worth a look too. These are a little more laid back too, but with a sweetness to them that a lot of people like. These and the Twenty.21's are twice as efficient as the Spendor or B&W's, and will make more of the 8xp's power.
 

gregvet

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FrankHarveyHiFi said:
gregvet said:
Just the man, thanks for your input David. Sounds like either speaker will work. Does the 8xpd have enough power for the PM1's though?

Out of interest, what other small speakers would you suggest pairing with the 8xpd?

Hmmm. Borderline. They're a pretty low 84dB sensitivity, but luckily their impedance doesn't drop below 5ohms. The SA1's are marginally more efficient, although this might not be immediately apparent.

If you're after high volumes, I'd say you'd need to be looking at adding a power amplifier at some stage, but then, if you were after high volumes, I'd be recommending different speakers altogether anyway.

Keeping things small, you could look at the PMC Twenty.21's, which are a similar size but are deeper due to their Transmission Line arrangement. These are a little like the Spendors but livelier, and their treble is more like the PM1's. The ProAc Response D1's might be worth a look too. These are a little more laid back too, but with a sweetness to them that a lot of people like. These and the Twenty.21's are twice as efficient as the Spendor or B&W's, and will make more of the 8xp's power.

Dont really need high volumes for this system which is why I haven't ruled these speakers out. I have the main system in the living room for that!

I am desperately trying to avoid hearing the new twenty series from PMC, as my main system is five channels of PMC loveliness, and I am really worried that if I hear the new ones I will have to upgrade my FB1i's and DB1i's and that could get very expensive very quickly. I am keen to have something different in the second system too as otherwise my home starts to look like it was sponsored by PMC (which would in itself be fine if they actually did sponsor me
 

Frank Harvey

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gregvet said:
I am desperately trying to avoid hearing the new twenty series from PMC, as my main system is five channels of PMC loveliness, and I am really worried that if I hear the new ones I will have to upgrade my FB1i's and DB1i's and that could get very expensive very quickly.

That is a very real danger!! :rofl:
 

gregvet

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FrankHarveyHiFi said:
gregvet said:
I am desperately trying to avoid hearing the new twenty series from PMC, as my main system is five channels of PMC loveliness, and I am really worried that if I hear the new ones I will have to upgrade my FB1i's and DB1i's and that could get very expensive very quickly.

That is a very real danger!! :rofl:

Dont I know it! Of course if PMC wish to sponsor me I will happily have them in every room :cheers:

Out of interest, if it was your system, and you had no intention of upgrading the amp any time soon, what speakers would you go for?
 

Frank Harvey

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I would probably play the system louder than you, so I'd be looking at the PMC or KEF option in order to make the most of the power available. The KEF would probably win out as I'm a sucker for single point source (thanks KEF), although that is only part of the story.
 

gregvet

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When you say Kef, you mean the R100/R300 I assume?

How are they with the 8xpd? I do like the look of them.

How close can they go to the rear wall, as there is only so much space in the bedroom unfortunately? That's why I was originally looking at front ported or sealed boxes. I understand the spendors can be put really close to the wall (and are so small anyway that there's more space available), which is what originally attracted me to them.
 

Frank Harvey

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Yes, the R series. The R300's are 2dB more efficient than the R100's (3dB is twice as loud), so there would be a benefit for the R300's in this respect, as well as it being a well designed 3-way speaker, but they are bigger. I use my R300's about 4-5" away from a solid wall and only using the outer part of the bung (the centre of the foam bung comes out so as not to stifle air flow too much). The whole bung can be used if necessary.

The 8xpD will drive them, as will something like the Leema Elements amplifier, which is of similar dimensions and power to the Cyrus (although the Leema feels a little more powerful).

The SA1's will be the easiest to place due to their sealed cabinets.
 

jiggyjoe

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I think you'll find the sound output in db's is log10, so to get twice as loud for the same amplifier power your speaker sensitivity needs to be 10db more ( asuming the same impedance as well).

Kef really ought to rate the new R series with a 4 ohm impedance given that it drops to 3.2 ohms min.
 

gregvet

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FrankHarveyHiFi said:
The SA1's will be the easiest to place due to their sealed cabinets.

Given that these speakers are what I originally fell in love with, prompting me to get the Cyrus amp to go with them in the first place, I have decided to travel to Kent (the link above was very useful, thanks THESTIG08 ) to demo them again before I do anything else. If I still feel the same way I will buy them and not tempt myself with the PM1's, R300's or any other sexy little speakers. Obviously if they are not as good as I recall then all bets are off :twisted:
 

gregvet

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Thanks David. I am taking my amp along tomorrow. As it happens they have the Kef R100/R300 too if Im not happy with the spendors. I think £1000 for the SA1's including stands is pretty good going so fingers crossed!

I will let you know how I get on ....
 
A

Anonymous

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your welcome for the link, its a very good deal i hope all goes well. say hello to simon, martin & ben for me and let us know how you get on.

leeon
 
A

Anonymous

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Hi - I tested them side by side last year at a dealer in North London on Cyrus kit. The room was quite large for such small speakers, so that might have skewed the experience as the Spendors sounded rather lost but I have to say it was no contest - the PM1s sounded better across the board to me - rock, classical, vocal, guitar, the lot. The only negative I found was that where there was a kick drum in some tracks it could sound a little soft, but that's it. I took them home and tried them on my own system and they sounded even better but I personally found them to be so ugly that I couldn't live with them.
 

gregvet

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THESTIG08 said:
your welcome for the link, its a very good deal i hope all goes well. say hello to simon, martin & ben for me and let us know how you get on.

leeon

Had a really good experience all round today. Ended up with the Spendors as planned, but not without trying a few other options!

They suggested I ask you how the extension was going?

Regarding the speakers, I really liked the R100's, I think with a different amp I would have gone with them, I just think there's something about the spendor Cyrus combo that really works. I am sure the PM1's are amazing, but then when you include the stands (which I would) they would be 2.5 x what I just paid for the spendors. So I am very happy!

Thanks all for your help.

Even my other half, who is normally very quick to criticise when I come home with anything expensive, gave a grudging 'they're allright'. Hi praise indeed!
 
A

Anonymous

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lol..still in the planning stages at the moment & getting quotes from different builders.

Im glad you had a good day, those spendors are very nice & i bet they sound excellent with your amp.

you got a good bargain there!!

Enjoy! :dance:
 

gregvet

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Yes I'm really happy with them, and the price was a bonus too. I got the 8xpd qx for £1199 last month instead of £1900 (end of line from Sevenoaks) having been waiting for a bargain for months, so between the two I've saved more than the original cost of the speakers!

Mind you listening to them this morning, I would have been happy to pay full price. They are lovely, and sound as good in my room as they did in the demo room (always a worry!).

Thanks again for your help :cheers:
 

Sospri

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Glad your happy with the SA1s,

I have a pair on stands connected to my Naim Supernait and they are truly excellent, and this combo ended my itch to keep changing boxes............
 

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