Spendor Bc1 what is a good upgrade mod ?


Hi there
I was looking to sell these but cant depart with them , does anyone know of good upgrades to these speakers , i have read that the crossover can be replaced with a modern version from cicable.com , has anyone tried modding the front port to make the bass faster? ,i know the bass is slow which is fine its just a bit to boomy , any ideas anyone , i dont want to move away from these as i dont have a lot of time to audition many brands and dont want to make the wrong choice, hell i have been there before . Any ideas . Thanks. Phil.
steam3642
If you love BC1s , but need more solid bass as well as
sound pressure levels, try a used pair of sp1 or a new
sp1/2 which i am currently trying to asess. The sp2/3 is
a reference in its price range according to Martin Colloms
and this will also be in my purchase list.
However, its hard to part with BC1s. The mid and upper mid
are magic, so if you can afford it, keep them as a backup.
Don't tamper with your BC1s. Enjoy these wonderful speakers for what they are. And whatever you do, do not overdrive them. If they do not satisfy on some music, get a pair of SP1/2s or Harbeth Compact 7s [or a sub].
All you need is a modern solid-state amp with lots of current to control those woofers. I love the BC-1s.
Hi John
Thanks for the e.mail and advice it is much appreciated , the hifi shop where the TDLs are for sale is a place i have been dealing with for some time and the owner really seems to think that a more modern design is the way to go , i can see his point but hey the BC1s are a lovely sounding speaker so the TDLs are not to be overlooked , it could be for a sale figures but i dont think he would go this path as i have been dealing for many years with him and he see's me as a client more than a blow in of the street , its just hard to depart from the warm Spendor sound , i guess its like an old friend , i will post what i decide .
Cheers. Phil.
Dear Phillip,
Hi. I wrote to you about the TDL Monitors before, and I just saw your latest post. I certainly respect Spendor, as I mentioned, I own a pair of SP100 now. Still as good as the BC1 was, that is pretty old now. I will tell you this for what it is worth, of all of the speakers I have owned and sold, these are the ones I wish I had kept. They are good for all music, but you will absolutely love them for jazz and especially classical. Don't let anyone tell you that they are boomy or must be used in a big room- not so. I used them in a 11x17 room with great success. And despite their ability to produce low bass, they don't infuse all music with bass that isn't there.They have a great "soul" if that can be said of a speaker, and if you can afford them, put the BC1s away and do't look back. Let me know what you decide.
Good Luck, John
I agree, I wouldn't sell the BC1's. Installing 4mm white Marigo dots on the corners of my cross-over circuit boards provided a nice improvement as well. Actually I only had enought dots left for half a treatment to the cross-over boards.
I am still looking at a pair of TDL monitors , due to the same type of drivers , a bit like BC1s on steroids.I dont think i will sell the BC1s whatever i end up with , i got an e.mail from cicable.com regarding the BC1 crossover upgrade and the price was through the roof so Marigo VTS bands could be the go , the BC1s will only go for loose change on the used market so whats the point , they still sound great with more laid back music and also i have discovered they sound much better with vinyl than cd but i guess thats no surprise :-)
I haven't heard the B&W but love the BC1's. Whether you stick with them or not I would put Marigo VTS bands on the basket arms of any dynamic driver. One of the better mods out there.
I have a chance to get a pair of B&W DM 620i speakers , would they be a good alternative to modding the Spendor BC1 ?