Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Spendor 1/2E Speakers by mls-stl

Model:	1/2E
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$2500
Description:	3-way, front-ported monitor
Manufacturer URL:	Spendor
Model Picture:	View

Review by mls-stl on September 23, 2008 at 19:09:32
IP Address: 69.154.32.164 Add Your Review
for the 1/2E

I've owned a number of speakers from Spendor the past few years (you'll find my reviews of the S5e and S8e here at AudioAsylum and I also own a pair of SP3/1Ps.) I've really enjoyed all of the Spendors I've owned and could easily live with any of them had that been the way things worked out.

However, about six months ago I came across a great deal on a pair of SP1/2E and I couldn't resist trying this legendary classic. This gave me a chance to compare the SP1/2Es side by side with my Spendor S8es.

The good news is I could have easily been happy with either. They are obviously closely related and share a fundamental view of what a speaker should do. Tonal accuracy is excellent, imaging is realistic, as are dynamics. Music is not overblown or caricatured. The latter traits may make a speaker initially impressive but I find such a speaker quickly becomes fatiguing and unnatural.

In listening to a wide range of material (classical, folk, rock, bluegrass, vocal & instrumental jazz) I'd say the SP1/2E is the more natural sounding of the two in the midrange, but the difference is slight. The S8e is a bit recessed in comparison. On well recorded material, that gives the SP1/2E the edge. However, on material where the vocals are "hot" the S8e actually gives a bit more breathing room. (Not that I would choose a speaker based on which sounds better with bad recordings. In any case, the SP1/2E is still nothing like many of the "aggressive" sounding speakers that seem so popular these days.)

However, the S8e has a clear edge when it comes to deep bass. The bass on the SP1/2E is good, but just doesn't reach down as far. When I finally decided the SP1/2Es were staying, positioning helped that issue a bit but still did not close the distance.

On the top end, the SP1/2Es do have a bit more air, but that is not surprising given the super-tweeter.

The S8es also seem to have an advantage when they're pushed. I do very little listening above 85 dB or so, but in running both up to the low 90s, the S8es do so a bit more gracefully. The fact they are somewhat less forward probably helps on this issue.

To give a sense of scale, if one were using one to a hundred as the range, the majority of the differences between the two speakers would be in the five point area for me. The one exception to that might be the low bass which I might move to ten points or even a bit more in favor of the S8e. It should also be noted that the bass the SP1/2E does have is of excellent quality; it is the direct comparison that highlights the slight lack of deep bass.

Here are a few of the specific musical selections that helped show the differences. On Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 4 (Essential Bach, Decca) the S8e was more recessed and lacked the sense of "air" the SP1/2Es possessed. The latter also imaged better in spite of not having much effort yet put toward their positioning in the room.

On a Norbert Kraft recording of Albeniz's Asturias, the classical guitar seemed more distant on the S8e while the SP1/2E gave a more immediate presence. It is a recording such as this that highlights just how good the SP1/2E's tonal balance is. Unlike having a live orchestra in your living room, one could have a real guitar player in front of you. The SP1/2E simply "nails" it.

"Some People's Lives" is a Janis Ian track that is favorite of mine. It is very well recorded with just one voice and a piano. The SP1/2E simply did a better job of revealing the intimacy in that recording. One could better hear the decay of the piano notes that heightened the sense of realism. While I am not an imaging freak, the SP1/2E is slightly better in this area, but without the sense of surrealism one hears on some systems.

Lest one start thinking the SP1/2E aced the S8e on all acoustic material, there was one area where I preferred the S8e. I listen to a fair amount of classical piano and the S8e does a better job of conveying the "weight" of a grand piano. The depth of that speaker's bottom end certainly helps. This was evident on the Olga Kern recording of Brahms' "Variations on a Theme by Paganini" which has some serious dynamics and you want to hear the "growl" of the grand piano.

Moving to folk and bluegrass, another favorite recording is David Grisman/Tony Rice's "Tone Poems." This is very well recorded mandolin and guitar. The SP1/2E wins this. It simply does a beautiful job of showing the percussives of plucked/picked instruments without any hint of harshness. The S8e's slightly recessive sound is still wonderful to hear (and highly preferable to an edgy quality) but lacks the last ounce of immediacy in contrast.

Moving to popular music, the S8e gains some ground. The deeper bass helps, and it also seems more comfortable at higher volumes. I rarely listen past 85 dB but I did put both speakers up to the low 90s for this.

Putting on Thea Gilmore's "Avalanche" album and cranking it a bit showed the S8e was more comfortable at volume. It also highlighted the fact that many pop/rock recordings have fairly "hot" vocals. The SP1/2E can sound just a bit too forward (though not bad) but the S8e has the edge at volume and the difference in bass helps too. (The bass can work against the S8e if the recording is overblown in this regard. Fortunately few of the recordings I listen to have this fault to any severe degree.)

Of course, that highlights one of my frustrations - the large number of mucked-up recordings. The Gilmore album is not an egregious example (and effects and processing are simply part of her sound), but the more revealing the speaker, the more one can notice the producer's heavy hand in this regard.

The rock results were not universal, though. I threw on an old Sam Cooke recording, "Wonderful World" and while both speakers did a fine job, I was surprised to see one backup vocal pop into focus on the SP1/2E that I'd never really noticed before. Kudos for that.

So, after all that serious listening, the keep/sell decision was a tough but clear one. I listen to a lot of acoustic music so that tilted toward the SP1/2E. Though I do listen to rock, the volume issue isn't as important to me. However, having some 36,000 plus songs on my server covering a very wide range of genres probably complicates speaker decisions a bit more for me than for someone who is a die-hard fan of primarily one type of music.

The one thing that prevented the decision from being a slam-dunk was the S8e's bass. (Just in case anyone is curious, both speakers had the wife's approval.) I ended up moving the S8es to another room so I could give the SP1/2E a better shot at positioning. It ended up not changing the bass much (in fact the first position or two actually lost bass). Overall the tone balance changed very little but the imaging improved slightly. (The SP1/2Es came with Sound Anchor stands just to clarify that issue.)

In short, both are fine speakers for listening to music. While I will miss the deeper bass of the S8e, For the type of listening I do, the SP1/2E is simply a better choice. I could easily see someone else making the opposite decision.

Product Weakness:	Deep bass and high volume limited. Not a choice for someone who likes rock concert levels or embellished Kodachrome sound.
Product Strengths:	A natural ease with well recorded acoustic music. Simply no hint of artificial anything.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Image 65i tube amp (50 w/ch)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Squeezebox 3 w/Lavry DA10 DAC
Speakers: Spendor SP1/2Es
Cables/Interconnects: ordinary heavy gauge
Music Used (Genre/Selections): See review
Room Size (LxWxH): 15 x 14 x 10
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Image 65i tube amp (50 w/ch)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Squeezebox 3 w/Lavry DA10 DAC
Speakers:	Spendor SP1/2Es
Cables/Interconnects:	ordinary heavy gauge
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	See review
Room Size (LxWxH):	15 x 14 x 10
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner