beatcomber
AK Member
I would love to get there someday....
The Spendor Thread..
- Thread starter Bigerik
- Start date
I would love to get there someday....
For a nice blend of both I have Mac C11 tube preamp paired with a Mac MC2105 solid state 100w per channel. The MC2105 being McIntosh early generation SS power amp is very similar to the sound signature of their tube amps. It really woke up my SP1 speakers..
After A/B comparing my A-S1100 and Rogue CMII, I've concluded that the Yamaha emulates the tube amp sound by at least 9/10ths - even the 3D effect that many SS amps cannot manage at all. So there you have it - if you want tube sound and SS convenience with Spendors, get a Yamaha MOSFET integrated.
Anybody know how to get the grilled of a pair of SP1 speakers. I would like to check and see that drivers are all fastened tightly.
Jeff
Jeff
mozcho
Well-Known Member
I also wish to know how to open the grille of SP1/2, they are so tight!
An "R" following the fraction stands for "revised." An "R2" denotes the 2nd revision. An "E" denotes an "enhanced" model, not quite as extensively altered as a revised model.
I could be wrong, but I believe I read somewhere that the fractions are roughly derived from the cabinet size/dimensions (which is not the case with the BBC speakers like LS3/6). In the case of the 1/2s, the cabinet depth is roughly 1/2 of the height. For the 2/3s, the depth is nearly 2/3rds of the height. That wouldn't apply to the 3/1s though.
It might be somewhere in these pages:
https://www.markhennessy.co.uk/rogers/others.htm
avanti1960
Well-Known Member
I would like to try the new Yamahas someday.
For reference the sound stage envelope of the CM Dos is greatly expanded using the better NOS small signal tubes, some much more than others.
Agreed, though the soundstage of the Yamahas is very close to as large as the CMII with NOS tubes.
I have had a very good experience reaching out to Spendor's customer service team via email from their website when I had questions about my vintage Spendor's.
You might want to try them for an answer
avanti1960
Well-Known Member
FWIW I am breaking in a new set of D7 floor standers and am about 111 hours in (keeping a careful log book!)
There are some online user reports that mention excessive brightness and slight harshness in the upper midrange and lower treble. For the record they did initially sound that way, the reports are not wrong. However after accumulating hours of operation they have done a complete turnaround - easily the most drastic break-in change is sound I have ever heard.
They are almost starting to sound too warm- but it appears that they are being accurate to the recording in these cases.
Not sure I am going to keep them yet- i'm going to give them until 200 hours to fully evaluate- but at this point they do enough really well, and some things extraordinarily well- to make it a safe bet.
There are some online user reports that mention excessive brightness and slight harshness in the upper midrange and lower treble. For the record they did initially sound that way, the reports are not wrong. However after accumulating hours of operation they have done a complete turnaround - easily the most drastic break-in change is sound I have ever heard.
They are almost starting to sound too warm- but it appears that they are being accurate to the recording in these cases.
Not sure I am going to keep them yet- i'm going to give them until 200 hours to fully evaluate- but at this point they do enough really well, and some things extraordinarily well- to make it a safe bet.
sp58
Active Member
Hi Paul,
i am now owner of a pair BC1-Germany- Speakers, Report follows here later.
I think its a late version of the BC1 with Fuse on backside and Biwiring terminals.
The Crossover Components have been changed by Spendor as follows:
i will describe changes from top ( Coles Supertweeter )
1. Capacitors changed from input (left) side 1uF to 0,68 next 1uF to 0,47
2. Resistor 33 Ohms don`t exist.
Celestion HF1300 Tweeter:
1. Tweeter is connected in Reverse Polarity !!! ( The black cable is soldered to the red dot on the Celestion )
2. Capacitors 0,47 and 0,33uF changed to only one C with 1,5uF
Midbass :
1. One resistor 220 Ohm/5Watt is added parallel to the 3,3uF MKT
All inductors and coils values haven´t changed.
All changes look for me like made in factory, because the soldering points look virgin.
The ports of my BC´s are 3" diameter and have a lenght of 16 cm, at the output they have a phase. No foam was insert.
So i tried several versions of foam insert - with the result of decreased bass every time.
Only thing i did, was to put in foamliners of 4 Millimeters thinkness but complete lenght into the ports. This is a damping for some midtone frequencys reflectet from the backside of the midbass.
In my Spendor Preludes this will work good, without them i hear unnatural deepnes of the " stage "
Good Luck
Juergen
KrautNotRice
Well-Known Member
New owner of an original rosewood pair of BC1 here. Very pleased so far.
I was gonna do a full recap right away, but if it's true that the originals are Philips film caps, I might focus on internal wiring and cosmetics first.
From what I read, the model name stands for:
Bextrene (woofer material)
Celestion (tweeter)
1 (first version)
Ps: can't help the less than ideal placement for the moment, but it's only temporary...
I was gonna do a full recap right away, but if it's true that the originals are Philips film caps, I might focus on internal wiring and cosmetics first.
From what I read, the model name stands for:
Bextrene (woofer material)
Celestion (tweeter)
1 (first version)
Ps: can't help the less than ideal placement for the moment, but it's only temporary...
Last edited:
sp58
Active Member
Some Years of lurking but then- price was right, condition o.k., only 1h driving from me, so i snapped these..
This must be late versions of the BC1 with biwiring terminals and modified x-overs ( see my article above )
Bass Sourrounds were both stiff, then treated with DOT4 Brakefluid whilst placing the bass-speakers on a radiator for some hrs. Works very effective.
They came without front foam and i won´t mount some, so i changed the mounting of back and frontplate so frontplate is flat now ( without reflections from the edges ? )
All x-over Caps are MKT - Foils and in their range, so nothing to do here - just cosmetic by removing the black colour from the real veneer, oiled with teakoil, waxed..
This must be late versions of the BC1 with biwiring terminals and modified x-overs ( see my article above )
Bass Sourrounds were both stiff, then treated with DOT4 Brakefluid whilst placing the bass-speakers on a radiator for some hrs. Works very effective.
They came without front foam and i won´t mount some, so i changed the mounting of back and frontplate so frontplate is flat now ( without reflections from the edges ? )
All x-over Caps are MKT - Foils and in their range, so nothing to do here - just cosmetic by removing the black colour from the real veneer, oiled with teakoil, waxed..
KrautNotRice
Well-Known Member
Sieht klasse aus!
Great idea to flip front and rear panels to eliminate the diffraction, I gotta try that.
sp58
Active Member
Another tip: when You open the boxes mark the top mounting position of the bassdrivers, pull them and mount them back with 1/3 turn, do this around every 3-5 yrs.
This will prevent the cones slacking down.
( Not my idea - stolen from german forums )
Greetings from the stealer
Multimode
Active Member
That's a good tip about turning the driver, but every 3-5 years seems excessive.
I bought my pair of BC1 in 1980 and have turned the drivers twice -- in circa-1995 (when I suspected a trace of rubbing) and again in 2018 (no problem, just 'insurance'). They should be turned either 2/5th or 3/5th as there are five holes (on mine).
I like the idea of removing the black colour and teak-oiling, for people (like me) who don't like the black. Schönen !
I assume you didn't actually swap the front panel with the rear panel, as having holes in the rear wouldn't help with sound quality.
I bought my pair of BC1 in 1980 and have turned the drivers twice -- in circa-1995 (when I suspected a trace of rubbing) and again in 2018 (no problem, just 'insurance'). They should be turned either 2/5th or 3/5th as there are five holes (on mine).
I like the idea of removing the black colour and teak-oiling, for people (like me) who don't like the black. Schönen !
I assume you didn't actually swap the front panel with the rear panel, as having holes in the rear wouldn't help with sound quality.
Last edited:
sp58
Active Member
I am using an accupowertool for screws - this machine must been used so the accus stay alive
My speakers versions only have the back and frontpanel fixed with selfcutting woodscrews easy to swap with an accupowertool !
Maybe faster to do than to find the " ö " on an English Keyboard layout - respect !
The backside now looks like that - edges from front are here now
Linehand
Active Member
Thanks for the info Juergen. I wonder if the crossover and port revisions were market specific? I guess it stands to reason they were voiced with different source material and equipment. It would be cool to compare the sound.
I replaced the original (Philips?) caps with Vishay a few months back. All original caps tested very close to their respectable values (better than the Vishays).
Now that I've lived with them for some time, I plan to re-install the original caps (which were all marked for original orientation) and make another comparison.
Also, for my listening position, there was a very noticeable change in sound with speaker height. My current stands are 14" tall.
Paul
sp58
Active Member
The Label at the backside says that these BC1 are build for Broadcast and Studio use in Germany. Built for mid- and nearfield listening in axial position.
I think, the late BC1 versions just got a workover.
Most interesting i found the polarity change of the Celestion tweeter, maybe to come in better phase relation. There are tips avaliable in the net to mount the Celestion in a back position - same effect than changing polarity..
No probs, 8 hours flightime Frankfurt to LA, LearJet is ready.........------------------ my Pilot is on strike ! Sorry
Last edited:
