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Hey, big Spendor!
A pair of small monitors with a classic pedigree attempts to lure an initially sceptical ANTHONY LIM into its magical, midrange lair ...
OKAY, admission time. With the exception of the SP-1/2, I've never been a big fan of Spendor speakers. Come to think of it, virtually everything else that I came across from the Brit company left me, well, quite unmoved. I can point at no specific reason why a patent thread was ever established, except the fact that the speakers just failed to strike a chord within me.
More importantly, I've never been a big fan of the highly revered LS3/5A. I've crossed paths enough with the Beeb's mini-monitor design enough times, the last being a Rogers example a few years ago. I won't deny that the design has its virtues, chief among them -- when given the right acoustic environment and partnering ancillaries -- a stunningly gorgeous midband, but there were also enough association headaches. It was a real mule to drive, the treble was rolled-off (though very gently and linearly), and there was, well, simply no real bass to speak of.
Small, seductive in midrange and studio savvy ... the Spendor S3/5
Still, like I said, the professional application design had its moments, as prompted by the many who ended up toting one home (and who still use it; many LS3/5A users are die-hards), and must have been revelatory as a close-in, nearfield monitor when first introduced, but time, standards and expectations have moved on since then. Production finally ceased a while ago, and the void was never expected to be filled.
Until now. Spendor's introduction of its S3/5 was, in the company's own words, "prompted by the need for a compact, neutral monitor to fill the gap left by the demise of the long-lived LS3/5. The design concept was to include the positive benefits of the LS3/5A, whilst removing known response irregularities, and integrating this with a less dated visual aspect." Erm, yes, let's see if there's any truth in that.
Features
Well, score one for the last -- the visual aspect has indeed been tidied up. The little, two-way sealed design looks way cleaner than the industrial LS3/5A; in essence, brought up to contemporary standards. Cabinet construction is typically Spendor, with fine woodworking and exemplary fit and finish.
Measuring 305 x 165 x 180mm (h/w/d), the 4.7kg unit utilises a 19mm soft dome tweeter, which is ferrofluid cooled, and a proprietary 130mm polypropylene midbass unit, magnetically shielded in case AV apps are called for.
Other spec figures include an eight-ohm impedance and 70-watt power handling, with a crossover point of 4.5kHz. The sensitivity of 84dB is well on the low side in this day and age, which at the very least means amp matching has to be carefully taken into consideration. Oh, and every pair is matched to within 1dB of each other.
Performance
The S3/5 was auditioned with a system comprising a Pro-Ject Debut II turntable and Holfi Ellipse phone stage, Counterpoint DA-11 CD transport, Octave Electronics Etude 24/96 DAC, CEC TL51Z CD player, Pioneer DV-515 DVD player, Restek Fable integrated and Robertson Audio Forty Ten 2 pre-power amps, with a pair of Magnepan SMGb speakers providing comparison.
Interconnects were Wireworld Polaris II and Eclipse II, with Polaris II speaker cables and Silver Starlight II digital links rounding off connections.
The unit had come slightly run-in, and settled in quickly enough after a few days of continuous running. My expectations for the S3/5 were, in some ways, high, and in some others, less so. Actually, what I was expecting was a more dynamic, open and easier to drive LS3/5A, truth be told.
I wasn't to be disappointed. The speaker's midrange follows clearly in the tradition set by its predecessor, with the ability to depict things as they are given. The scope of midband accuracy and life-likeness as presented by the S3/5 will rival that of an electrostatic, as a quick one-two with my Acoustat Spectra 2200s in the system upstairs showed. Indeed, it was scary how the S3/5 easily shadowed the 'stats vis-a-vis midrange shading and essence, especially that of voice.
Naturally, with its enclosure's size limitation, the entire midrange perspective is scaled down considerably -- most noticeable as the size of the musical perspective gets larger. Still, comparing the S3/5 with the 2200 in this regard is somewhat unfair, and the unit will, in a head-to-head with something smaller like the Magnepan SMGb, more than shade it nicely in some key areas. It images like a ghost, and portrays a solid, well-crafted soundstage.
The tonal balance is, of course, neutral, though it is shaded towards white. If I can remember correctly, the Rogers LS3/5A example had a darker, more stoic nature. The S3/5's lighter balance gives midrange a more open, ebullient character -- some may like it, some may not. I have a funny feeling that many LS3/5A users won't.
Another thing that struck me was in how the midrange is actually scoped and stamped in the entire wake of things -- there is less dramatisation in how it is presented. Clearly, the older design, which was all about midrange, offers its midband with almost dictatorial authority, and makes no apologies for it. The S3/5 is no less purposeful in this regard, but proffers its goods in a less assertive manner.
It isn't that the S3/5's mids are inferior. Far from it, it is different. Different, because it has been altered by the presence of a much more open and detailed treble and a cleaner run through to the lower midband offered by the performance abilities of the new midbass driver. The signature position is no longer merely midrange, but midrange with more open parts above and below that.
The transition between midband, upper midband and treble is still not completely seamless, but is streets ahead of the LS3/5A, and now offers a less forward scope on the whole.
Whatever it is, I liked it. There was little fatigue over the three or four extended five-hour listening periods I put it through, something I cannot say for many a dynamic speaker (one reason why I run panels), and everything hangs together nicely. In a word, musical.
So, a champion midrange, allied to a treble capable of sculpting ambient cues and detail quite nicely, makes the S3/5 a winner at the stakes, no? Well, not quite. There is still no bass to speak of, and finding a matching amplifier will require the right amount of patience (the Restek was never totally sonically comfortable with the unit, even if was putting out enough juice to drive it). It will also need a small, warm acoustic to ply its wares convincingly to the fullest, and a listening field no more than seven to eight feet to do its work on you comfortably. Does that all sound terribly familiar?
Conclusion
Well, yes and no. The Spendor S3/5 may not have unshackled itself completely from the ails that plagued the LS3/5A, but it is an advancement in many areas. Some will no doubt argue that it is not a LS3/5A, and it isn't. A different beast, taken from the same roots, the S3/5 will appeal to those seeking the essence of the legendary BBC mini-monitor, but with a more modernistic approach and feel. Thirty years from now, who knows, the S3/5 may even be a cult classic in its own right.
SP adds: The review pair of S3/5s had a very brief run at my place -- not in the hi-fi system, but in my home studio, serving as a pair of nearfield monitors. It was fed with signals from my electric bass (a stern test), via a SansAmp Bass Driver DI, a Mackie mixer and Yamaha studio power amp.
The results? Sure, the speakers won't match the frequency depths of the instrument, but what I heard was pleasantly surprising -- taut, crispy and superior in timbre, and texture, to every other monitor I've tried in the studio before. The purity of the original signal -- the visceral growl of the bass, the nature of its electronic circuitry and percussive nuances -- was faithfully preserved by the S3/5.
So, home studio enthusiasts, if you want something less ubiquitous and more modern than the Yamaha NS10M, but can't afford active monitors, you should give the S3/5 a test run.
Model: Spendor S3/5 loudspeaker
Price: RM3,200
Review sample courtesy of EASTLAND TRADING (M) SDN BHD (03-984-5789), 309 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur.
For: Magical midrange, almost liquid-like at times; open and detailed treble a boon; excellent coherency across the entire the limited scope it has.
Against: Still limited bass; needs careful environment and system matching; LS3/5A owners will no doubt tell you, it's no LS3/5A.
