Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Spendor Classic SP100R2 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Ortofon TA-210 tonearms; Ortofon SPU, EMT TSD 15 70th Anniversary & OFD 25 & OFD 65 pickup heads; Denon DL-103 cartridge.
Digital Sources: AudioQuest DragonFly USB D/A converter; Apple iMac G5 computer with iTunes v.10.6, Decibel v.1.0.2 playback software.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard (SPU version), Silvercore One-to-Ten, Hommage T2 step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne monoblocks & Haut-Brion, Fi 421A.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE, Line Magnetic 755I, Quad ESL, DeVore Orangutan O/96, Klipsch Heresy III, Surreal Sound Fifth Row, Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia Series 2.
Cables: USB: AudioQuest Yosemite. Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Shindo Silver. Speaker: Auditorium 23.
Accessories: Box Furniture Company D3S rack (source & amplification components); Skylan 4P18 speaker stands; Keith Monks record-cleaning machine; Peter W. Belt Cream Electret.—Art Dudley

COMPANY INFO
Spendor Audio Systems, Ltd.
US distributor: Bluebird Music
40 Sonwill Drive
Buffalo, NY 14225
(416) 638-8207
www.bluebirdmusic.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
OneMic's picture
Submitted by OneMic on January 4, 2013 - 4:13pm

The crossover frequencies are ~ 620 Hz and ~ 3200 Hz .  It's misstated in the article at 55 Hz and 5000 Hz and also in the specifications page at 500 Hz and 5000 Hz.  Just thought I would bring this to the editors attention. 

Also who would ever choose to use a 7" driver to cover 620 Hz to 3200 Hz ?  That shit is crazy as the directionality of the woofer from 2KHz to 3.2KHz creates a huge dip in the off axis power response. 

On paper this speakers looks like a blunder.  I think JA summed up this review the best: An enigma. 

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on January 4, 2013 - 6:43pm

Quote:
The crossover frequencies are ~ 620 Hz and ~ 3200 Hz .  It's misstated in the article at 55 Hz and 5000 Hz and also in the specifications page at 500 Hz and 5000 Hz

You can see from fiig,3 in the measurements that the crossover between the woofer and midrange unit is set between 500 and 600Hz. The off-axis suckout at 3900Hz in the vertical dispersion plot (fig.6) suggests that this is the crossover frequency between the midrange unit and tweeter.

I'll correct the "55Hz" in the article.

John Atkinson

Editor, Stereophile

jcjuice's picture
Submitted by jcjuice on January 7, 2013 - 9:56pm

i'm not put out by the strange measured results - to me this only adds to the theory that something can measure "strangely" and sound wonderful, just like something can measure techincally well and not sound appealing at all!

Measurements are useful - but I will always buy a loudspeaker based on what it tells my ears, not what it tells a microphone inside an anechoic chamber...

zettelsm's picture
Submitted by zettelsm on January 17, 2013 - 8:03pm

Art certainly got it right with his review of the Spendor SP100s. I lived with the previous incarnation of the SP100s for several years, and though they moved on to a new home when I completed my Edgarhorns, I still consider the Spendors to be one of the great music-listener's speakers of all time. Clarity, coherence, and a musical rightness that too few speakers seem to get nowdays.

Steve Z 

jimmieg's picture
Submitted by jimmieg on April 12, 2015 - 10:48am

My room is 12X11.5X12....not a listening room someone would design from scratch, But it is a dedicated listening room and it sounds surprisingly good. I often wonder about a larger speaker, the goal being a bit more dynamics and more bass than my current Totem Model One Signatures. I am able to sit about 7 feet from the speakers, while giving them about 3 feet of distance from both side and rear walls. Would this speaker likely be too big for my room?

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