Spendor Speakers

Slimwhit33

Slimwhit33

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Been thinking about downsizing the Fortes for a year or so and took the first step towards that today when I acquired a pair of Spendor 3/1’s in lightly used condition for a price I couldn’t refuse.

Figured I’d set up a place to talk about them..

Anyone else here have 3/1’s or any other model Spendors?

Not going to spend the money for the real stands at this point. Anyone have any recommendations for suitable replacements?
 
Hello fellow Spendor friend!

I have the A7 in black ash. They are magnificent.

I’ve not heard the 3/1 or any others in the Classic range but I like the aesthetics.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
Been thinking about downsizing the Fortes for a year or so and took the first step towards that today when I acquired a pair of Spendor 3/1’s in lightly used condition for a price I couldn’t refuse.

Figured I’d set up a place to talk about them..

Anyone else here have 3/1’s or any other model Spendors?

Not going to spend the money for the real stands at this point. Anyone have any recommendations for suitable replacements?
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I've plonked various members of the Classic range on Soundstyle ones with no ill effects. Whatever stands you choose, some silicone 'blobs' (or BluTak) on the top plate is highly recommended.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
Been thinking about downsizing the Fortes for a year or so and took the first step towards that today when I acquired a pair of Spendor 3/1’s in lightly used condition for a price I couldn’t refuse.

Figured I’d set up a place to talk about them..

Anyone else here have 3/1’s or any other model Spendors?

Not going to spend the money for the real stands at this point. Anyone have any recommendations for suitable replacements?
Click to expand...
makes alot of sense with the size of your room
 
Thanks Ed! Read your R2 article quite a few times over the last few weeks!

Looks like Spendor recommends 20-24", with some saying the lower height with a slight tilt can be nice. Think I'm going to try a 22" stand initially.. nothing too fancy...
 
Slimwhit33 said:
Thanks Ed! Read your R2 article quite a few times over the last few weeks!

Looks like Spendor recommends 20-24", with some saying the lower height with a slight tilt can be nice. Think I'm going to try a 22" stand initially.. nothing too fancy...
Click to expand...
If you find a stand that you will allow you to fill with dry/fine play sand (or lead shot, rice), that will help decouple them from the room.
 
JohnnyCashFan said:
makes alot of sense with the size of your room
Click to expand...

I love the Fortes.. LOVE THEM! But just want to see how the smaller Spendors work in this room. I'm under $1000 invested, and will hold onto the Fortes until I'm sure this is the direction I want to go.

I have a feeling its initially going to be a bit of a shock to the system but I want to scratch the itch.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
Been thinking about downsizing the Fortes for a year or so and took the first step towards that today when I acquired a pair of Spendor 3/1’s in lightly used condition for a price I couldn’t refuse.

Figured I’d set up a place to talk about them..

Anyone else here have 3/1’s or any other model Spendors?

Not going to spend the money for the real stands at this point. Anyone have any recommendations for suitable replacements?
Click to expand...
I use the Pangea LS300 stands for my KEF LS50's, using Blu Tack under the speakers. Work well and you can buy the height that works best for you. They are sand-fillable if you prefer; mine are empty.

Pangea Audio LS300 All Steel Speaker Stands-Audio Advisor

The Pangea Audio LS300 speaker stand boasts an all-steel design that is far superior to speaker stands made of wood, like most stands on the market today, the 4 soft top pads supplied provide speaker isolation
www.audioadvisor.com
 
The SP 3/1’s finally arrived!! They’re in great shape…

Starting with Sanus SF-22 Stands, filled 3/4 with sand. Using acrylic square dots to decouple the speakers from the stands.

Initial listening very positive. More to come. Excuse the wires.. cleanup to follow... FEA5622D-E908-4380-8946-F445D3C30754.jpeg
 
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I'm quite surprised at the amount and quality of bass I'm getting out of these in this room... huh.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
I'm quite surprised at the amount and quality of bass I'm getting out of these in this room... huh.
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They're ported right ? Some good bass from quality ported designs. Rogers/Spendor are all related to the BBC monitor design, is that correct ? Are Harbeth's also from that design ?

I bet they image real well also.
 
Wondering if those who know Spendor speakers can chime in on these woofers. Do they appear original? I ask because they are only held in with two screws each. They aren’t moving at all, but curious if they’ve either been replaced or fixed? I’m going to bring them by my dealer who happens to service Spendor and have him give them the once over either way but any opinions are appreciated.07B0C3D6-4802-4FA5-8C96-414ACDFD7706.jpegB594AFEE-5799-43A0-893C-FB65D9A2D806.jpeg
 
JohnnyCashFan said:
They're ported right ? Some good bass from quality ported designs. Rogers/Spendor are all related to the BBC monitor design, is that correct ? Are Harbeth's also from that design ?

I bet they image real well also.
Click to expand...
They are rear ported… and yes, my understanding is that they share some BBC heritage with Harbeth, etc... 43165557-058B-4DCB-B4F5-11CF0868274F.jpeg
 
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Slimwhit33 said:
Wondering if those who know Spendor speakers can chime in on these woofers. Do they appear original? I ask because they are only held in with two screws each. They aren’t moving at all, but curious if they’ve either been replaced or fixed? I’m going to bring them by my dealer who happens to service Spendor and have him give them the once over either way but any opinions are appreciated.View attachment 141068View attachment 141069
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Photos online show all the screws in place with same (looking) woofer.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
Wondering if those who know Spendor speakers can chime in on these woofers. Do they appear original? I ask because they are only held in with two screws each. They aren’t moving at all, but curious if they’ve either been replaced or fixed? I’m going to bring them by my dealer who happens to service Spendor and have him give them the once over either way but any opinions are appreciated.View attachment 141068View attachment 141069
Click to expand...
Could you have the SP3/1R2 ? Those seem to have the pointed woofer cap. Older Sp3/1 models seem to have a round woofer dust cap.
 
Strange thing is every single picture I can find of the SP3/1 or the R2 shows a silver woofer cone. Whereas yours is black. And they all have a full set of screws.
 
Wondering if someone replaced the original woofer with the newer S/1 Classic model woofer which appears to match.

preview_CLASSIC31C.jpg
And the placement of the screw holes appears different than the OG woofer so perhaps it would only fit two screws into the OG cabinet due to the placement of the holes. All the R2s show the Spendor badge on the front of the speaker whereas your units have it on the tweeter which matches the R1.
1110768-485013dc-spendor-sp31p.jpg

Total speculation on my part...
 
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