Spendor SA1: what kind of Amp?

[zazzà]

Hello,
I've got a pair of SA1 since one week, I've bought them as an upgrade to replace a pair of Mordaunt Short Mezzo 1 I had 5 years ago, when I owned my first entry level hi-fi system.

After a year and half of listening tests and visits to three different shops in my town (I live in the north of Italy), without beeing cursory... I finally found these great deal: Spendor SA1 used for half the price they were sold new.

I've got a small room and love the typical monitor sound, I also haven't too much freedom when it comes to positioning the speakers: they must be near to the side and back walls, so the closed cabinet design is a lucky spec for me.

About the topic: I decided to upgrade for first the speakers.
After some nice tests including the new Elac monitors, some Epos, Kef LS50, Proac Tablettes Anniversary, Dali Mentor and many others... I falled in love with the SA1s because of their controlled-taight bass, clean and expressive midrange and smooth but articulate highs.

My current set-up is really entry-level:
Cambridge Audio Azur 340 SE amp
Cambridge Audio 340 CD player
Atlas Equator MK II speaker and interconnect cables

I'm looking for and amp to buy soon. When a tested the speakers at the shop the seller used 4 different amps, that belong to 4 different price ranges, I don't remember the most expensive brand, but it was a 100 watt class A solid state from the 90s I believe, good solid sound but really out of my budget (800€ approx for a used amp). The others were an all-in-one Cyrus I didn't like, a Rega integrated not good not bad, and finally a Cyrus 8a integrated I found really nice, especially it seamed to be able to feed the current needed by the SA1s giving them some breath event at "low" volume.

The seller also suggested me to try the Naim XS but it wasn't available.
Any other suggestions?
I know my speaker need a great amount of current to do the job well, so is it ok the 70 watts from Cyrus and the 60 watts from Naim or it would be better to have even more watts to do justice?
Anyway, I was amazed by the SA1s ability to sound better and better at any step, with the most powerfull and pricy amp the sounded glorious for being so small, so I heard with my ears the class and high refinement of these speakers and noticed they can stand tall even with a higher budget kind of amplification.

Grazie!

 

[CnoEvil]

The SA1s are one of my favorite mini monitors, especially in a small room.

What brands do you have access to?....I'm thinking in terms of Bel Canto, Pathos, Sugden, Musical Fidelity, Creek, Electrocompaniet and Arcam.

 

[zazzà]

Thanks for answering me.
I'm not sure of the brands I might find at the stores to do a test, looking at their sites here are some ideas:
naim, cyrus, musical fidelity, nad, rega, linn, arcam, boulder...
One of the three shops don't have a site, they don't believe in the e-shopping about music, it's an old school one, and is the one where I found the SA1s
Oftenly they have many used amps, especially integrated solid state, frequently I saw brands like Primare, Exposure and so on.

 

[CnoEvil]

Thanks for answering me.I'm not sure of the brands I might find at the stores to do a test, looking at their sites here are some ideas:naim, cyrus, musical fidelity, nad, rega, linn, arcam, boulder...One of the three shops don't have a site, they don't believe in the e-shopping about music, it's an old school one, and is the one where I found the SA1s Oftenly they have many used amps, especially integrated solid state, frequently I saw brands like Primare, Exposure and so on.

You could take the SA1s to the shop where you bought them, and try them on different amps.

I think that they would work well with Primare, Boulder, Arcam and possibly Linn.

 

[rainsoothe]

hi

Try looking at Primare i22 (or i32), Naim (XS2 or Supernait 2 if you can find good used/ex-dem), Exposure 3010S2 (a forum even says it should partner spendor well, if this is closest to your budget), Simaudio Moon Neo 250i, Sugden and Accuphase E-260 (again, if you can find a good used one or ex-dem or whatever). For the record, I didn't like Rega + Spendor either (it was Osiris + Spendor D7!!!)

 

[pyrrhon]

I own spendor s6e and I paired them with my amp that I had before : nad 165bee preamp and 275bee power amp. Ive found that despite your speakers beeing smaller the build looks very similar to mine when I look at the tweeters and woofer. So I think they will be easier to drive then you would think. As an exemple I can say that my 6watt musical paradise mp301 drives them pretty loud with enough bass. If you listen to jazz or chamber music you must try a tube amp with your speakers before buying.

Otherwise the naim path is always recommended everywhere but I found its too bright for me and from another owner opinion nearby who let me listen to his system you will need naim cables and the thing gets quickly very expensive.

My nad did pair incredibly well with my bostons a26 taking them to a completely other level but so far my spendors seems to be pretty good with every amps I tried but never really exploding (in a good sense). Only tubes made them special. Listened to naim twice in the process too but not impressed. Isnt Unisson Research Simply Italy something available for you? That is something I would definitively listen to if I were you.

 

[Sospri]

I have Spendor SA1s driven by the Naim Supernait 1 which drives them wonderfully well, you could get this amp second hand for a good price now that Supernait 2 has been introduced.

And as for the comment that you need Naim cables is rubbish, I use a 4mm standard cable to great effect, not that the Naim cable is very expensive anyway...............

 

[drummerman]

Personally, I don't think you can go far wrong with cyrus 8 series amplifier.

They measure more than the stated 70w/ch, have good load driving capacity and are upgradeable with a PSX-R in the future, if you wish so.

Sound is full, detailed and with very good drive/rythm.

regards

 

[pyrrhon]

as for the comment that you need Naim cables is rubbish, I use a 4mm standard cable to great effect, not that the Naim cable is very expensive anyway...............

Well im not a cable believer myself but still its a very legit claim.

Here is a quote from Richard Daim, Administrator of the Naim Forum just for you :
Alternative speaker cables are not recommended by Naim, however, should you still wish to try them then you should ensure that the cable is low capacitance and of moderate inductance. High capacitance cables are to be avoided at all costs and may result in damage to your amplifier. NACA5 specifications are as follows: Capacitance: 16pF per metreResistance: 9 milliohms per metreInductance: 1uH per metre Minimum length: 3.5 metres per channelMaximum length: 20 metres per channel (note that longer lengths can be used up to around 25 m but then some small signal loss must be expected)
Add to that the strong opinion of many naim + spendor owners.

It could be true, that would mean you could "cheaply" upgrade your sound too. Isnt that not rubbish after all ?

 

[zazzà]

I think Naim and Cyrus would be the easiest for me to audition and augurably to find used at the local shops.
I liked the general sound of the Cyrus, but there weren't no other amps to listen to in the same range so I'm wondering how do the other main brands sound compared to the Cyrus; this is the one I'll keep in mind as a reference to discuss the other options in the market.
Can you give me a comparison starting from this point? How do the other main brands and especially Naim compare to the Cyrus sound? So I can do a short list of the ideal sounds I'd like to audition.
It's always hard to find a particular model at the shop, they are nice but small shops and usually has in stock just few of the brands they are reselling and the rotation in still gonig on, it's a matter of fortune and really chaotic, I'd like to clarify myself what are the most attractive brands for me, this would really help me to make more accurate auditions and requests to the sellers!

 

[CnoEvil]

IMO. It is a mistake to assume our preferences will be your preferences. I personally don't like Naim or Cyrus, but that doesn't mean you should strike them off your list.

The ONLY way to know what's best for you, is to try as many of our (and any other) suggestions, in order to pin down the best match. Remember, one person's dream system is another person's nightmare.

 

[zazzà]

Remember, one person's dream system is another person's nightmare.

I absolutely agree... The same process of trying as many different options as I was able to do is what I've done to choose the speakers, I know it's the best and only way to be satisfied!
I'm not so sensible to other people taste as it could appear: I'm just collecting the more info I can, because I think more opinions are better than less. Then I'll surely follow my road and trust my personal taste in sound. On the other side I believe there are some universal peculiarities anyone can link to a specific amp, or brand; I was talking about this.
As a musician I know much better the instrument amp and signal path involved in that process than the hi-fi world, because I'm a beginner, but I think it's possible to describe the typical Hiwatt (clean, linear, tight sound) or Vox (chimey, softly compressed, harmonically rich...) sound in the guitar amp world as it's possible to do with a Naim or Musical Fidelity hi-fi amp: am I wrong?

 

[CnoEvil]

If it helps, I go for amp/speaker combinations that imo. best convey the intent of the musicians and the emotion of the music. I look for realism, vibrancy and believeability; and I dislike systems that major on being clinical and analytical.

I think using the forum as a well of information to help produce a decent list, is the right way forward. Your instincts brought you to the SA1s, which are on of the most engaging standmounts out there. Those same instincts will let you know when you hear the right amp.

Some of the brands that I believe have this quality, are Pathos, Arcam, Sugden, Electrocompaniet, Unison Research, Icon Audio, Jadis, Luxman, Accuphase, Audio Analogue, Musical Fidelity, Ayre, Croft and Pass Labs.

Saying all that, the SA1s should also work with very clean amps (eg. Primare, Bel Canto and Boulder), as they are a little rolled off in the treble and are the opposide of analytical.

 

[plastic penguin]

I've only just picked up on this thread (that'll teach me for being so busy), but had the SA-1 and A5s connected to my Leema and to a Naim XS. IMHO, Spendor and Leema was a good match but didn't blow me away. The Naim/Spendor was a little better but still didn't have the "wow" factor.

Have read many comments on here about how good Cyrus is with Spendor, although, I have no experience of this combo.

 

[zazzà]

Thanks,
when I listened to Cyrus 8a with SA1 I was pleased.
I assume it is on the analytical side of the amps and maybe it worked well with the relaxed treble and unforced sound of the speakers bringing them some speed.
I agree with CnoEvil when he sais " I look for realism, vibrancy and believeability; and I dislike systems that major on being clinical and analytical.".

Looking at the brands usually carried by the local shops, I think the easiest to test will be Naim, Cyrus, Music Fidelity, Arcam and Boulder.

Another point is:
what's the best range for an amp to meet my speakers range? Is it possible to find a maximum budget it would be better to not exceed?

 

[CnoEvil]

Another point is:what's the best range for an amp to meet my speakers range? Is it possible to find a maximum budget it would be better to not exceed?

IMO. You should be looking at amps in the £1500 to £2800 range (new).

The better the amp, the better the speakers will sound, but there comes a point where the system becomes lopsided from a finance POV.....so the most I'd spend on an amp is around £2800 (eg. Electro ECI-5)

Also, remember a good amp and speakers need a decent source to fully shine.....my recommendation is the Linn Sneaky (provided you are prepared to go the streaming route; otherwise you are probably looking at an upgraded DAC).

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks,when I listened to Cyrus 8a with SA1 I was pleased.I assume it is on the analytical side of the amps and maybe it worked well with the relaxed treble and unforced sound of the speakers bringing them some speed.I agree with CnoEvil when he sais " I look for realism, vibrancy and believeability; and I dislike systems that major on being clinical and analytical.".

Looking at the brands usually carried by the local shops, I think the easiest to test will be Naim, Cyrus, Music Fidelity, Arcam and Boulder.

Another point is:what's the best range for an amp to meet my speakers range? Is it possible to find a maximum budget it would be better to not exceed?

1) I don't subscribe to the notion that because a amp has a certain tonal quality it'll automatically be analytical. IMHO hi-fi is yin and yang, match light with dark. Cyrus match with the wrong speakers/source can be analytical, but get it right and it'll have as much realism as any price-compatible amps, including Class A or tube amps.

Remember a long-term member who used to have the SA-1 with a pimped up Quad amp, which have a rep as being silky smooth -- no wonder why, when he changed to actives, he found that combo lacking.

2) Don't honestly think there is a minimum/maximum price range per se for Spendors or any other speakers for that matter. What Spendors do require is a gutsy amp. That said, minimum IMO would be Roksan Kandy K2 (130 watts per channel). Agree with Cno, source will be important -- get the best balance for your budget.

At the end of the day it'll come down to what your ears tell you: Dem, dem, dem...