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Any Spendor sp 1/2 owner or former here ?

...bought a pair of them, new. The rest of the system is a Naim CD5 and a Cary integrated SLI-80 Signature in triode mode almost all the time that shouldn't be more than a year old each. Basic Chord interconnect and bi-wiring. Found two use Sound Anchor stands too, tune to that model they say.
If you will, I'd like to learn from you things like how long in your experience did it take for them to sound their best ('break in period' I think you say in English ?); what did you discover that made them sound better : positioning, room treatment, cables (maybe)... ; how long did you keep them ; or anything you may think of.
For myself I find them already quite involving ; intellectually they are quite satisfying also, as they effortlessly reveal every musical line in anything I fed them but I am more into emotions.
I wish they would sound a bit fuller and hopefully they will ; for the moment they're not the warmest of the world. Although they reveal the athmosphere of the recording they don't bring it my house yet even with eyes closed.

Forgive my limitations in English.
Waiting to share impressions and knowledge with you.

Jean M.
jeaninmontrealec68
9 responses Add your response
ssangsu77
3 posts
 
Hi,

I bought 2nd hand Spendor SP 1/2 speakers years ago, didn't know super tweeter not working(I found yesterday),I took up real panel check it out crossover but it's looks fine to me
my super tweeter working condition not blow out,
so now only working woofer with middle tweeter, if anyone know about this kind of problem please let me know.
to [email protected]
Simon
jeaninmontrealec68 OP
5 posts
 
Quite an intersting trick Tom. :)
Useful to meke the music play louder than what I care for when I am away.
The breaking in is coming along fine. Listening to Nora Jones now. If these speakers ever get even better this will start to become... Funny, even the bass is more precise now.

Thanks to everyone for the tips en encouragement.

Jean
tomryan
796 posts
 
A quick way to break in speakers: Turn them to face one another (about 4" apart) and wire one speaker out of phase. Throw blanket over both, turn CD player on "repeat disc" and hit Play. Experiment with volume but the out of phase speakers facing one another should cancel out more than half the sound. You can be much more comfortable going about your business in the house with them playing and breaking in this way.
jeaninmontrealec68 OP
5 posts
 
Thanks David.

The breaking in is evolving : I let the music on while I am off to work and these days it's 12 hours a day and 7 days a week. This morning I left a CD of Hogwood's idea of what's Vivaldi (The Academy of Ancient Music) on repeat and upon my return I was actually able to listen to it all and enjoying it. Although I always liked the originality of their (re-)vision of Baroque I never before actually found their sound to be beautiful on recording, until now.

Now around midnight...

Jean
david_d
83 posts
 
Spendors are one of my all time favourites!
Have listened to SP2 and SP1 some years back. Their presentation is absolutely wonderfull (in their own way). After listening to some other speakers you realize that there are areas that can be mastered better,but very few speakers can give you such a complete enjoyment.
Great choice for music lovers of the mentioned music diet and smaller rooms.
Cheers!
jeaninmontrealec68 OP
5 posts
 
Did I ever try to find them used ! Not even the store would part with its demos even for the price of new.

As for program I agree with your assesment. I'd add that female voices are especially well cared for by the Spendor. I already had a good time listening to solo piano. For orchestra they are good at separation of the different musical lines but in this room the image is still a big problem.

I am a toe-inner by default myself since I play music all the time but still have to do the other things of life ; plus it is nicer for the other people which can't really pile up on the sweet spot ;) can they ?

Thanks for your encouraging comments Ekistler (sj ? Here it means "Société de Jésus" (Jesuits) :D

Jean
ekistler_sj
60 posts
 
Jean – I bought my Spendor 1/2Es used, so I am not qualified to comment on break-in. My speakers are around three years old and I’ve had them for the last year and a half. While I listen to all kinds of music, I think the Spendors are fantastic speakers for vocals and acoustic jazz. I’m sure that I’ll keep them for a long time.

I do not biwire (yet), but I did find the addition of better jumpers made a very noticeable improvement in upper frequency detail. As stated above, they do need some space away from the back wall, if possible. In my room I find that they sound best with a moderate amount of toe-in.

I am confident that once you get your Spendors properly broken-in, you will be very happy!
jeaninmontrealec68 OP
5 posts
 
Thanks for the answer. I was expecting 100 hours top ; now, that I know that I must set camp for a good month I'll be able to plan the next steps (first room acoustic optimization, then the furniture/positioning of the system, then finding the right cables, if there are any that are worth the expense over other investments. I'll become a member of the audiophile association here in Montreal so I'll have someone to share my passion live.

I moved them around as you suggested and it enhanced the image, the presence of the signer too while also tempering some of the room resonnances. I guess that as long as the walls will remain so reflective in the HF the image can't be extremely precis.

Congrats on the C4. Glad that you can enjoy that level of performance. :) You must have your own adventures in fine tuning that set up yourself...

So thanks again.
rost
91 posts
 
be patient,after 200-300 hours of playing music through them they will warm up substantially and sound much more fuller too.
when new the sound is thin and constipated,very disappointing,but don't despair.
i bought mine about 4 years ago and although i've since acquired dynaudio C4s,i still keep these very musically communicative speakers despite their shortcomings(not the lowest or tightest bass,limited dynamics and better than average imaging but not up there with the best)still a beautiful balance of strengths.try to bring them out 1/3 of the room for best soundstage,enjoy!
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