Spendor speaker decision. Need advice.

[jaxwired]

Hello everyone. This is my first post as a new member of the forum.

I live in the USA in an area with almost no access to hear good audio equipment. So I am about to purchase new speakers without hearing them first. I have new NAD electronices. A NAD C355bee (80w/ch) amp and a NAD C545bee CD player. I am going to buy either the new Spendor A5 or the new Spendor A6. Over here in the USA, there is a 27% price jump from the A5 to the A6. I'm leaning toward the A6 since I will be stuck with whatever I buy for quite some time due to wifely constraints.

Have any of you heard both? Is the A6 worth the extra money? The specs say the A6 will technically handle lower frequencies than the A5, but the A5 review indicated that the bass was already great.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated... Thanks.

 

[John Duncan]

That's an enormous amount of money to spend on speakers without hearing them. Can't recommend........

 

[jaxwired]

I hear ya John, but what can I do? Hi Fi in the states is basically a dead hobby. Over hear HiFi stores have mostly gone out of business. The ones that are left are totally home theater oriented and they usually have no accomodations to listen to the products. They are in the installation and customization business, not the stereo retail business. The big box stores are still in business, but their top of the line is usually pretty low fi stuff. People just buy a HTIB and call it a day. That's why I subscribe to Brittish mags, there's nothing comparable in the US.

I've read pretty much every spendor review of any spendor speaker that is even obscurely available on the internet. People can't say enough good things about them. I also suspect they will win the 2009 best in price range award from What HiFi....

Thoughts?

 

[John Duncan]

Understood, but they could be absolutely the worst speaker to go with NAD. I don't really know what to suggest, other than a trip over the border, where there still appear to be a few retailers, if the number of Canadians on the board is anything to go by!

I just think if I was buying blind (deaf?) I;d be tempted to stick with something more modest, like KEF or Rega R3s. At least then any mistake wouldn't be so expensive....

 

[Anonymous]

Well, there's always two sides to every argument and I do agree with JD. On the other side, the Spendors are very well designed, tolerant speakers, i.e. they are easy to drive (impedance curve is pretty benign), neutral in sound (flat frequency response curve) and easy to place. On that latter point, I would still avoid close to wall placement for either the A5 or A6.

In terms of amp matching this means that you'll hear the amp's tone primarily. I'm not sure what the NAD stuff sounds like but I don't think it's bright. I drive my SA1s with a neutral CDP and amp, and the sound is lovely and, well, neutral!

What sort of room are you filling and where will the speakers be placed?

Just as an aside, I believe Spendor voice their speakers with Cyrus (probably others too).

 

[jaxwired]

The room is 14x11 feet. They will be placed out from the long wall about 18 inches. There is moderate furnishings and wall to wall carpet.

 

[vinod_david]

Have you thought about MA range of speakers. MA RS6 which is quite famous in US really goes well with NAD components, the brightness tamed by warmth of NAD, and this you can buy without an audition for sure. some members here might agree.

 

[Anonymous]

The NAD amplifiers do tend towards sounding warm, which I absolutely love.

The Monitor Audio Silver and Gold Series loudspeakers are fantastic at their price points. I have no doubt that the Spendors are sensational, especially after their superb reviews by What Hi Fi February 2009 issue.

The ATC SCM series loudspeakers should be worth a shot, as well.