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REVIEW: Spendor 1/2E Speakers Review by Possum at Audio Asylum

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FIRST, AN INTRODUCTION

About a year ago, I began auditioning a long list of speakers ranging from $800-$4000. I was hoping to find a pair of very compact speakers that would correct the major flaws of my existing speakers -- namely graininess, lack of clarity, and lack of bass extension -- while also adding as many additional positive traits as possible -- such as musicality, tonal coherence and ability to reproduce complex musical passages. I originally thought I'd choose a pair of small, stand-mount monitors or mini-towers. I never would've guessed I'd end up with a pair of large, somewhat ungainly, traditional-looking monitors, but twelve months and dozens of speaker auditions later, I decided to purchase a pair of Spendor 1/2s.

PRECEEDING THE REVIEW: A RAMBLING TREATISE

Like most things in life, what I learned during the process of searching for the "perfect" pair of speakers was in many ways more valuable than the end result. In this case, many of the major lessons learned were greatly informed by the Audio Asylum, so thank you, members and The Bored alike, for making this forum such a great resource. (Special thanks to jlee for his help and encouragement and to Hyperion for his generous, thoughtful advice.)

Over the past few months, I read many informative, new and archived posts at the AA describing sonic qualities and effects, and yet I still had to hear these effects and changes for myself to understand what was being discussed. In case someone else out there is considering upgrading speakers or other equipment, here are the main points I learned, all of which you've probably read elsewhere:

There's no substitute for the real thing, regardless of budget. Don't get all hot and bothered reading reviews (this one included) that claim some piece of gear sounds just like the real thing. They can come close to creating a facsimile, but that's it. Set aside money to attend live music and/or attend free performances. It is unbeatable and as far as I've heard, impossible to recreate. What you CAN hope to achieve is assembling a system that is enjoyable.

Speaker positioning/room interface is key. Read the Audio Asylum's speaker positioning FAQs and experiment with your current gear before you bring home new pieces of equipment to audition. Spend several weekends rearranging your speakers and furniture. Your wife or lover, your children, and your pets will know you've lost your mind, but you'll probably hear considerable changes in the way everything sounds. This process is worth thousands of dollars and can't be understated. (While moving furniture around, try not to hurt your back like I did, and if you live with other(s), never apologize -- charm and negotiate.)

System synergy is demonstrably real and every component really does affect the sound. Take it from a former skeptic. Extremely revealing speakers make it very easy to hear that indeed, everything -- including interconnects, speaker cables, stands, etc.-- influences and alters the sound.

If anything, the importance of cables is underrated, and Jon Risch's 10% rule may be conservative. I'd recommend allocating 10% or even 15% toward good cables and interconnects. And take the time to find ones that optimize your system.

Spend more on the front end than the back end. If you have to spend money on your audio habit, buy CDs or LPs. And if you have to spend music on hardware, set a budget and stick to it. For example, of the total you'll spend, allocate the following percentages: source = 30%, integrated amp/preamp and amp = 25%, speakers = 25%, cables & ICs = 15%, stands, etc. = 5%. Of course these percentages are rough estimates only. Often, upgrading one component will necessitate upgrading another to achieve system balance, so budget accordingly.

Many "upgrades" yield results that sound different, but be cautious about thinking that upgrades will make your system sound "better". Improved performance/resolution is not necessarily an improvement. It's a mixed bag -- a trade-off. With a highly detailed, accurate-sounding system you might have to forget about using your stereo to provide pleasant background music. For example, with my old speakers, Tom Waits used to sound gruff and charming. Now when I'm playing one of his disks I've got an old drunk coughing and wheezing out ballads in my living room and banging on a broken piano. I can almost smell him in there. I'm not sure this is a good thing. Even when playing more genteel music, for example classical guitar music, I find it almost impossible to "tune out" and read a magazine, write a letter, etc. So think about HOW you like to listen to music before you take the plunge. Likewise, when you're auditioning a piece of equipment, don't get too tied up in analyzing its sonic characteristics. Listen to the music. Don't just ask yourself if its sound will compliment your system, ask if it will compliment your life and listening habits.

Quit while you're ahead. When you find something that works, stop and enjoy.

If I had known all this a few years ago, I might've ended up building my system around a Linn Classik (combination CD, tuner, integrated amp) and a pair of sub-$1,000 speakers. And I would've had a lot more money to save or spend on music, or travelling, or a "normal" hobby (unlike this one :-) ) C'est la vie. . .

AND FINALLY: THE REVIEW

For my equipment, room and ears, the Spendor 1/2s deliver like nothing else I've heard in this price range. These mondo-monitors excel at presenting a wide variety of recordings in a way that is musically involving and tonally coherent. They sound fast and lively, and yet full-bodied, presenting accurate timbres, sonic textures, and harmonic detail and richness. They convey the overall scale of voices and instruments. They sort out dense passages, such as symphony, big band, or salsa, and articulate easily between individual musicians and sections. They also present rhythmic detail very well, for example allowing me to hear a musician's subtle rhythmic inflection or a vocalist's subtle phrasing.

On many recordings, the 1/2s reveal details that were previously missing. For example, on some recordings I used to hear background horn charts as (atonal) percussive accents to the melody. Now I realize these same horn charts have very definite musical pitch(es) and harmonies that play off the rest of the music. This ability to "draw a detailed picture" adds a substantial realism to the musical illusion. Another newly revealed detail: In places where previously I'd heard only a single note, such as during a vocalist's closing bars, the 1/2s reveal very subtle bending of pitch and vibrato. I am also able to discern lyrics that were previously garbled or lost.

The 1/2s provide some of those silly, meaningless audiophile-review-cliches, too, like on a live recording where I used to hear a sea of applause, now I can hear individual people clapping, with each person's hands imaged precisely in the soundstage. Woo-wee. Although this doesn't matter to me, what does matter (and is undoubtedly related) is that the 1/2s' soundstage has wonderful depth and substance. What I mean is that in my room, the soundstage starts about equal or just behind the front of the speakers and extends for about 8 - 10 feet behind that, although it does not extend beyond the outside edges of the speakers. The 1/2s do not image as well as the best mini-monitors, nor do they disappear sonically. However they do portray the scale of musical passages very well, creating a big mass of sound that has weight and body and heft to it. I auditioned some mini-monitors or micro-satellites that image "holographically", but judging from what I've heard, for the time being you still need a fairly large enclosure to move volumes of air and create this sense of scale and depth.

On the downside, the 1/2s do not reproduce the lowest octaves, and they are very revealing of any deficiencies in upstream components or poor choices regarding speaker positioning. They can sound boomy due to poor placement, if used in a small room, or paired with inferior cables. I'm still searching for the best cable to use with them, as each cable sounds vastly different through these boxes. And speaking of boxes, they're big. And old fashioned looking. However, to me this is an attribute since they're located in my living room, and after awhile I realized I didn't want trendy, eye-catching, "statement" speakers. The 1/2s look like speakers you might find at a garage sale, except with very nicely finished hardwood cabinetry.

Enough about their looks and flaws. The Spendor 1/2s make me want to listen to music. This is perhaps the best thing about them: they get out of the way and put the music first, letting it flow out and fill the room, album after album. Whatever music they're playing sounds like it should, unlike some speakers that make everything sound the same, as though it's being filtered through a signal processor set on "Concert Hall" or "Jazz Club." Each recording sounds different, as it should. Of course this means you hear flaws in the recordings as well -- one of the trade-offs I was alluding to above.

But ultimately, I don't find myself obsessing about the quality of a particular recording. The Spendor 1/2s let me forget about "what if I changed this or that component" or "what if I moved and listened from over here" or "what can I do to avoid that one sonic trait that stands out from all the others." They just make listening to music fun again. (Ironic, since they don't look "fun" -- more like "purposeful".)

Well I've gotten carried away writing this review. In one sense it's patently ridiculous to get so involved in describing a piece of audio equipment or the evaluation process. And I suppose one could argue that audiophilism is the ultimate expression of bourgeois object-idolatry. Well, if I ever start caressing the Spendors, I'll get alarmed and admit myself to a real asylum.

In the meantime, I'm just enjoying the Spendor 1/2s, not for being material items, but for the joy they bring me while listening to music.


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Topic - REVIEW: Spendor 1/2E Speakers Review by Possum at Audio Asylum - Possum 13:03:23 04/14/00 ( 15)