The Spendors are here!

[admin_exported]

Got the A5s today.

First impressions: Wow they are tiny floorstanders, quite a bit smaller than the MA RS6s. Quite a bit narrower and shorter. Interestingly in the specs both say 15cm/6inch drivers. MA's drivers are actually 14cm across and A5's only 12cm!!! What kind of measurements are these? I think Spendor didn't increase the drive size from 14 to 15cm from S5e to A5 - they just massaged the specs!

Fit and finish lacks way behind MAs. Patches of glue can be seen on the plastic cones and the wood finish is nowhere as smooth and nice as that of the RS6s. In the looks department, the MAs definitely have the upper hand. Although I do like the fact that speaker cable terminals are at the bottom of the speakers as opposed to up high like on MAs.

First I plugged the Marantz 7001Ki. Not a very good partner I will tell you! The sound was totally off. As good as the Marantz sounded with RS6s, with A5s it was not at home.

Next came the Kandy K2. Different story here. Kandy drives the speakers much better. I noticed treble was quite forward and immediately thought my rock music will sound terrible again (as it did with Kandy+RS6 combo). But I was (somewhat) wrong, even Disturbed lean sounding new album was listenable. Red Hot Chili Pepper's Californication still sounds terrible - but that's a terrible recording with ear-pinching guitar. I next played Depeche Mode's Perfect (from the new album) and switched back and forth with RS6s. The sound with RS6s was much fuller, bass extended and plentiful. A5s sounded a bit boxy and lean. I remember Igglebert's comment about SA1's "The treble is to die for".... well I do like the treble on the A5s but I can't say I have noticed a massive difference over RS6s yet. Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" though sounded absolutely sublime and so did Diana Krall's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".

Thus initially I am a slightly underwhelmed (admittedly I've only had them for about 2 hours). Dynamics and speed are there. The soundstage is wider. Voices sound great. Speed certainly improved from RS6s, at the expense of the bass - which is my biggest issue with them. The bass is there alright, it's just it's less than 1/2 what RS6s delivered (albeit slightly sloppily). Maybe RS6s had just spoiled me.

Being relatively inefficient, you have to crank up the volume to get a punch out of the A5s. They also seem like they are working really hard to get the room filled with music.

Now I am following the advice given that I should give them time - as initially they may not impress. Well now that I have committed to selling the RS6s (buyer picking up soon) I do have time...

 

[lordmortlock]

Hmmm. I'm sure thay'll sound better after a good run in Chainrock. Sounds like they need to!

I guess the sound is very different to the MA so maybe its a matter of you getting used to Spendor.

 

[Anonymous]

They are 5 months old...according to the store they were owned by a 70 year old who listened to mostly classical (now not sure if that's really the case but that's all I got to go with...) so they should be broken in by now. I don't dislike the sound but I do feel like I am listening to a lot smaller speaker (ie not as full-bodied of a sound).

 

[lordmortlock]

I auditoned the MAs and the S5e when buying. I thought the MAs were really enthusiastic but a touch shouty for me and the spendors were a bit lacking in bass and a bit thin (although they werent run in). I'd assumed the A5 would have nailed these issues being the bigger brother

 

[jaxwired]

Like I said, when comparing the RS6 to spendor A6, every non-audiophile that heard the A/B comparison immediately and enthusiastically preferred the RS6. The RS6 is a very pedestrian speaker, but with audiophile aspirations. The RS6 delivers all the jam and slam of a big party speaker, but can still kick out some refined detail when called upon. However, it is definately not competitive with spendor or many other high brands when it comes to accuracy, neutrality, imaging, and realism. It's super entertaining though. The RS6 is also a huge bargain.

The spendors delivered an incredibly realistic sounding acoustic guitar and piano. Carefully selected tracks blew me away. The bass though could not be more different than the RS6. The thing is, the bass could be very solid and competitent, but to achieve this, volume levels had to be uncomfortably high. At low or even moderate volumes, for me, the bass was always underwhelming. It felt unbalanced at moderate volumes as the mids and highs sounded perfect. In fact, voices are fanstastic with the spendors.

At least you got an amazing deal on these (I paid 90% of retail). You will either learn to love them, or you can get your money back. Hard to believe the WHF describes them as having deep powerful bass. I do agree with other posters that it takes some quality listening time to appreciate what makes them great. They are great speakers, but I don't think they have wide appeal. For the right person, they are keepers.

 

[Anonymous]

jaxwired:
Like I said, when comparing the RS6 to spendor A6, every non-audiophile that heard the A/B comparison immediately and enthusiastically preferred the RS6. The RS6 is a very pedestrian speaker, but with audiophile aspirations. The RS6 delivers all the jam and slam of a big party speaker, but can still kick out some refined detail when called upon. However, it is definately not competitive with spendor or many other high brands when it comes to accuracy, neutrality, imaging, and realism. It's super entertaining though. The RS6 is also a huge bargain.

The spendors delivered an incredibly realistic sounding acoustic guitar and piano. Carefully selected tracks blew me away. The bass though could not be more different than the RS6. The thing is, the bass could be very solid and competitent, but to achieve this, volume levels had to be uncomfortably high. At low or even moderate volumes, for me, the bass was always underwhelming. It felt unbalanced at moderate volumes as the mids and highs sounded perfect. In fact, voices are fanstastic with the spendors.

At least you got an amazing deal on these (I paid 90% of retail). You will either learn to love them, or you can get your money back. Hard to believe the WHF describes them as having deep powerful bass. I do agree with other posters that it takes some quality listening time to appreciate what makes them great. They are great speakers, but I don't think they have wide appeal. For the right person, they are keepers.

Agree with you on all points. Voices and HF sound great but overall the sound is lean, especially with a fairly balanced Kandy.

Placing them 10 cm away from the wall has improved the bass a bit (RS6s were almost 50cm away). I will give them some time before I make my mind. Their compactness/easy placement could be an asset in crammed London apartments.

 

[Anonymous]

Does the height affect the treble with the tweeter so much lower than the RS6? Or do you just sink lower into the seat?

Just a thought.....

I was told by a decent hifi shop that they need time to appreciate.

Just don't fall into the trap of thinking 'they MUST sound right as I paid a lot of money for an upgrade' - if you're not happy return or sell on.

 

[Anonymous]

Graham_Thomas:Does the height affect the treble with the tweeter so much lower than the RS6? Or do you just sink lower into the seat? Just a thought.....

I was told by a decent hifi shop that they need time to appreciate.Just don't fall into the trap of thinking 'they MUST sound right as I paid a lot of money for an upgrade' - if you're not happy return or sell on.

Sitting on a rug is the best

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, haven't posted or replied in sometime now - due to laziness and shyness - so here's my 2 pennies. If your spendors are too lean in the base dept.,add a sub with the funds from your ma's and hook up to your kandy's. That should open things up. Always been a supporter of subs in a 2 channel outfit . I posted a similar thread blog whatever you want to call it a while back. Remember the classic old speakers.they contained a big woofer and you really did not have to audition so many speakers to get the ones you want.Technology has changed so much since the demise of those boxy old speakers.

 

[chebby]

If I had to sit with my ears at the same level of my Rega R3 tweeters then I would have to lie on the floor or have a pit built for my chair!

 

[Anonymous]

ukadvocate:Hi, haven't posted or replied in sometime now - due to laziness and shyness - so here's my 2 pennies. If your spendors are too lean in the base dept.,add a sub with the funds from your ma's and hook up to your kandy's. That should open things up. Always been a supporter of subs in a 2 channel outfit . I posted a similar thread blog whatever you want to call it a while back. Remember the classic old speakers.they contained a big woofer and you really did not have to audition so many speakers to get the ones you want.Technology has changed so much since the demise of those boxy old speakers.

They are not really that lean in absolute terms - it's just the comparison to RS6s is so striking... I will think about a sub eventually but after last two upgrades I have to take it easy on the wallet. This is the third round of upgrades in 6 months...

 

[crusaderlord]

Sound like you havent quite found what you are looking for.

I am extremely surprised that floorstanders should also have need of a sub as well. My experience of them is usually they are too bassy but maybe i just prefer things with a different balance.

Interesting to read your observations though so far.

 

[Anonymous]

crusaderlord:Sound like you havent quite found what you are looking for.

I am extremely surprised that floorstanders should also have need of a sub as well. My experience of them is usually they are too bassy but maybe i just prefer things with a different balance.

Interesting to read your observations though so far.
Same here. You'd probably think my system is broken!

 

[Anonymous]

Have had more time to listen to the Spendors so here is a quick update.

Now that I am a bit used to them, I am liking the sound more. I have ended up with placing them 20cm from back wall. The bass can be impressive on these speakers given their size - i think its a lot more realistic and precise/tuneful than on RS6s. You can mostly hear it though, rather than feel it. I don't think they need a sub unless one is throwing a party, in which case you probably don't want to use A5s anyway.

I think RS6s had such an enthusiastic and overly bassy presentation that the switch to A5s was shocking. A5s being a lot more polite, smooth and well-balanced in frequency output are much easier speaker to listen to for a longer time periods.

I am listening to Michael Jackson's "In the Closet" and it sounds perfect.

 

[Anonymous]

The MA Silver range is quite boom-tizz and I can understand why it was a massive change to get used to. It depends on what you value but once you've lived with an articulate, controlled and neutral speaker for a while you can never quite bring yourself to move away from it. Accuracy isn't for everyone, understandably so, but to get big and very deep bass right you need to spend serious money.

 

[Anonymous]

chainrock:
Have had more time to listen to the Spendors so here is a quick update.

Now that I am a bit used to them, I am liking the sound more. I have ended up with placing them 20cm from back wall. The bass can be impressive on these speakers given their size - i think its a lot more realistic and precise/tuneful than on RS6s. You can mostly hear it though, rather than feel it. I don't think they need a sub unless one is throwing a party, in which case you probably don't want to use A5s anyway.

I think RS6s had such an enthusiastic and overly bassy presentation that the switch to A5s was shocking. A5s being a lot more polite, smooth and well-balanced in frequency output are much easier speaker to listen to for a longer time periods.

I am listening to Michael Jackson's "In the Closet" and it sounds perfect.

This is very similar to my experience when I upgraded to the A6's, the thing I find now is that I absolutely love the balance of bass, mid-range and treble with the bass sounding natural and theay have made me realise just how poorly bass reproduction was on all my previous speakers.

 

[SteveR750]

Spacehopper:chainrock:
Have had more time to listen to the Spendors so here is a quick update.

Now that I am a bit used to them, I am liking the sound more. I have ended up with placing them 20cm from back wall. The bass can be impressive on these speakers given their size - i think its a lot more realistic and precise/tuneful than on RS6s. You can mostly hear it though, rather than feel it. I don't think they need a sub unless one is throwing a party, in which case you probably don't want to use A5s anyway.

I think RS6s had such an enthusiastic and overly bassy presentation that the switch to A5s was shocking. A5s being a lot more polite, smooth and well-balanced in frequency output are much easier speaker to listen to for a longer time periods.

I am listening to Michael Jackson's "In the Closet" and it sounds perfect.

This is very similar to my experience when I upgraded to the A6's, the thing I find now is that I absolutely love the balance of bass, mid-range and treble with the bass sounding natural and theay have made me realise just how poorly bass reproduction was on all my previous speakers.

Even though the S6e's are inferior to the newer A6's I am sure they have similar traits - I was watching a film The Diving Bell and The Butterfly last night on DVD through my two channel hi fi system, and in parts of the film there is a very subtle heart beat, but boy does it stand out clear as anything in the background of the soundtrack. There are many CD's where suddenly I can hear the decay of a bass kick drum where the drummer has lifted his foot off the pedal as opposed to one who leaves his foot on the pedal this damping out any decay. It's this kind of detail that I find so thrilling with Spendors, and its only apparent when you are taking your time, simply listening to something without overly concentrating.