Was looking for a new integrated but found speakers instead! (Spendor A7)

For the past couple months I've been looking at new integrated amps but been kinda chasing my tail. You can read about some of it here and here. I've had some luck recently with using the NAD C658 pre-amp feeding into the power stage of my HK990. I also enjoyed testing the Anthem STR, but that's really pushing (if not blatantly exceeding) my comfort zone for price.

It was suggested that my maybe I'm actually not happy with my speakers (KEF R700) so I pivoted and tried a few different speakers recently including the KEF R11, Focal Aria 926, JBL L100 Classic, Klipsch Heresy III, and Spendor A7.

Man, I am really impressed with the A7. Just lovely sounding. I tried the A4 last year when I was speaker shopping but was underwhelmed by them, so I'm very surprised by my reaction to the 7's. It's amazing what they're doing with 2 drivers, especially compared to the KEF R11 which has 6 drivers! It was kinda funny to see them side-by-side actually. (I imagine the R11 are great for really, really big rooms though)

So now I'm thinking I might have to trade up. I do still like my R700 (and still like them more than the newer R series) but I'm just not sure I love them...

 

The A4s shouldn't sound that much different from the A7s, which I'm told sound very close to the SP100s of old. I've heard the A4s and 100s enough to know they're very close in tonality and imaging. Of course the 100s are capable of much larger scale.

Did you auditioned the 4s and 7s in the same system/room?

I had been irritated for a couple years that I couldn't get my Spendors to sound quite as good as the ones I've auditioned at Acoustic Sounds. It turned out my amplification and room treatments simply weren't up to snuff.

 

I had the A4 at home last year, so same room. Different amp though, but I don’t think that’s the culprit. I have a big and weird room, so maybe the A7 have just enough extra oomph for my space. Or maybe my ears were just looking for something different.

At the time, I was looking to replace my LS50 with floorstanders to get more bass. Listening to the A7 today I was thinking it’s the closest thing to a floorstanding LS50 that I’ve come across. Didn’t test them at the time because they were out of budget.

 

I love my D7s. Spendor builds lovely speakers.

 

I totally get where you’re coming from.
I also like my new(ish) speakers a great deal but after almost 3 years still not sure they were the right choice.
And not surprisingly the other speaker I was considering at the time, and think about now, was a Spendor

 

The Focal 936s I listen to a lot don't sound quite as good as at Upscale Audio. Hmm. Then I realized one day that at Upscale they were like 3-4 meters from the absorbent back wall and with a tall ceiling, essentially eliminating early reflections unlike in their current home.

 

Lots of folks in the UK prefer the A7 to any other current Spendor. I'd buy a pair if not forbidden by the officer in charge. If you're still looking for an integrated amp you need to hear the Exposure 3010S2 which everyone likes too. Exposure 3010S2D Integrated Amplifier

 

Haha, you need to tame those beauties!

 

Really? That’s interesting I think after listen to all but the D9 and SP200. I thought the Best buys of the bunch were the Classic 2/3 which sounds noticeably different than the previous model and the 1/2. It was a short run through though. I really like the A series though. What do you prefer about the A7s over the A4 and classic series?

 

FWIW my dealer said they’re not going with the new D series. They don’t like them as much and feel the current A series is better (at least better than the outgoing D series).

They’re gonna focus on the A series and the Classic series. They particularly like the Classic 1/2 but those are pricey. In fact, they told me they are the ones to thank for convincing the distributor to start importing the Classic series again.

If anyone’s interested they are selling their demo pair of the D9, in the striped ebony, which is one of the premium finishes.

 

The 1/2 is fantastic but definitely more than I am willing to spend. I can just justify the 2/3, A7, Dynaudio Evoke 50, and maybe the SHL5+ cost and of course that means the dark horse Tannoy Eatons are on the list. Of course the A4 are at the top of my list as my room isn’t huge and I really liked them. Now I just have to find a way to compare them all lol.

 

Granted, I haven't heard the newest D7 but the last time I heard an A series versus the D7, the D just had more of all the good qualities of the A in the best ways possible. Maybe they've made some changes with the D7.2 that impact it negatively but I wonder what they find "better" about the A7.

 

My Spendor dealer considers the A series neutral and the original D series bright and unforgiving - said the D series is Spendor's version of a studio monitor and they found it impossible to get balanced sound in their demo room. I haven't had a chance to hear the D series but I heard the A4s in their room and they were one of the most neutral speakers I've heard anywhere. If the D7s are brighter then I would indeed consider them too bright for my ears.

 

I cannot get over how great the A7 ‘s are sounding. Really wonderful speakers.

 

I recently came from Kef R500s. Listened to a whole host of speakers including the new Kef R series, Dynaudios, ATC, PMC etc but in the end Spendors took it by a fair margin. The A7s are fantsatic speakers but the new D7.2s are just a class above and that is what I left the shop with. They do everything fantastically well - they go surprisingly deep in the bass department, the midrange is seamless and pure ear candy and the high frequencies are some of the best I have ever heard. When listening, everything integrates perfectly and the speakers simply play to you - you find yourself nodding your head and tapping your feet and there is nothing better a speaker can do than involve the listener on that kind of level. Their reproduction of instruments often leaves me stunned - Charlie's snare drum on the Stone's Miss You sounds as if it is being cracked in front of you. I could go on all night. I genuinely look forward to getting home from work so I can listen to them for an hour or two. The kind of speaker that just keeps you coming back for more.

 

I'm curious if you've found these Spendors at a dealer in New England—I'd love to hear them at some point...

 

I did. Audio Video Therapy in Nashua, NH (bonus: no sales tax!) But you can come to my house in Arlington if you’d like to hear them.

 

Many thanks for that offer! I'll get in touch (I'm in North Cambridge, right across Rt. 16). Also glad to hear about AV Therapy; I've been thinking about checking them out.

 

They’re great. If you go tell them I sent you!

I’m bringing back the A7 on Tuesday evening, and possibly bringing home a pair to keep soon after...

 

So I have been listening to the A7's alongside Dynaudio Special 40's in my medium sized living room for a good month or so, going back and forth between the two.

I had originally picked up a pair of Special 40's at a great price to replace my ATC SCM 19v2's, which are amazing speakers at what they do but just too neutral/analytical for my lively room. (even with a good sub). When I plugged in the Special 40's I immediately fell in love with their energetic and enveloping sound. While not as tight or fast as the sealed box SCM19's, they had more mid-bass weight, were more fun, spacious, and very magical at times. While not perfect, I thought I was done for the moment.

At the same time, I had always had an eye on the Spendor A7's. Attractive floor standers that were a great functional/aesthetic fit for my living room. But they were way above my price range. Then a few weeks after getting the S40's, I stumbled upon a great deal on a pair of new A7's (I won't mention the price) and simply couldn't resist.

At first they seemed super lean compared to the S40's but after I let them run in for 150 hours while out of town I started changing my mind. While they don't have the wow factor of the Special 40's, they are much more natural sounding with extremely articulate bass and an exquisite mid-range. They make the Special 40's sound somewhat 'processed' (colored?) and are often just more enjoyable to listen to. While the mid-range is great on the S40's they are even better on the A7's. Vocals are pure and sweet, acoustic guitar is just right. Timbre is excellent, noticeable with woodwinds etc. Imaging is very precise.

On the flip side, the soundstage is not as big/enveloping as the Special 40's. They still can sound lean at times but this can be mitigated by closer positioning to the wall - I have them only 10-12" from the wall. (The Special 40's require *lots* of room to avoid sounding boomy). Tubes might be a good match - a Line Magnetic amp is a goal of mine. While the treble is open and airy I don't think the 3rd party tweeter is on the same level as the Esotar tweeter in the Dynaudio's - for that you need to get the D series tweeter (brightness concerns notwithstanding).

At this point I am leaning towards keeping the A7's. As noted above, they produce beautiful music for such a simple 2-way design. They look the part and are easy to place. They are low-tech but do it so well. Unfortunately, I don't think that they will sell many units this side of the pond. A lot of of people question their price here when compared to other brands and rightly so - the importer markup on Spendors is egregious in my opinion and will keep many away. Which is a shame.

 

Interesting. What are you driving them with? What’s your room size?

Also please PM the info in where you bought and what you paid if you don't mind.

 

Well, one should have no trouble getting an industry-typical 15% discount on a pair of A7s. That may be more or less than you paid but that brings their retail price to $4249, not that far off from the European prices, especially when you cosider importing cost. Are the areas in which they excel over the Special 40s not worthy of a $1250 premium? Given your comparison adjectives, I'd say they're priced quite fairly. Keep in mind the ROI narrows as one moves up in speaker price. You'd likely have to spend over $10K to get a speaker only 10% better than the A7s.

The Seas tweeter is indeed a relatively inexpensive model, but IME it punches well above its class. It also allows you to switch to an aluminum-domed version should you ever desire. I recently did this with my 2/3s just for sake of change and am enjoying a presentation that you simply cannot get from a soft-dome.

 

They are in a 13x24 living room that opens up near all 4 corners to other rooms/spaces. They are on the long-wall, spaced 10' apart, 12" behind the speakers, minimal toe-in, and I sit pretty much in an equilateral position. I have tried them further out but feel that the small loss in perceived soundstage depth is outweighed by a heavier tonal balance that I like. Spendor recommends about 20-30 cm behind them and that seems to be about right to me. (the Special 40's need a good 50cm + behind them to avoid bass bloat ... which is a challenge in my family friendly space). The low rectangular bass port borrowed from the D7 seems to be help in this regard and probably contributes to much of the difference you heard between the A4 and A7.

They are being driven by a Belles Aria integrated amp @ 75 watts into 8 ohms. Great amp, classic AB design. As I said, from what I have heard and read, something like a Line Magnetic tube amp would be a great pairing. I have contemplated one of their 22w amps but think I would need one of their 48w pieces to drive the 88db Spendors sufficiently ... but they are more $$ than the speakers. So I am also thinking about a pair of class A'ish Schiit Aegir monoblocks ...

A few other things I forgot to mention. The A7's have a fair bit of punch (not like the ATC's mind you), which apparently is not something that Spendors used to be known for? (I haven't listened to any others). Dynamics are fantastic (better than the special 40's) and the speakers do well at lower volume levels. They are somewhat 'recessed' at times (vs say the neutral plane ATC's and the forward Special 40's) ... but I guess this is a preference to most as to whether or not you want to sit in the first row or further back. In general, they are very true to the recording.

 

@Helom - I have read a number of your posts in this and other forums and have enjoyed your comments. You clearly are a Spendor fan!

That said, If you are going to apply an "industry-typical 15% discount" to the A7's, then you obviously need to apply it to the S40's as well no? So we are comparing $4249 vs $2550. So, stands aside, that's a 75% price difference. The notion of "importing costs" on speakers is a bit of a myth - import duties on speakers from the UK/Europe are 3% I believe and shipping is not that much more than going across the country. On a $5k item, they are not a huge factor - on the order of a few hundred dollars.

In the UK, the A7's list for £3200 including VAT, £2,662 before VAT. (And are advertised for < £3000 including VAT). The Dynaudio Special 40's, made in Denmark, list for £2500 including VAT, £2100 before VAT. A much smaller difference of 28% vs the 75% difference in the US. Dynaudio does there own N. American distribution so that helps them a lot, but there are other British brands that export to the US via a third-party importer and don't have such high mark-ups (eg. Monitor Audio). This has a big impact on reviews which tend to compare speakers in various price brackets, etc. So some people may read a British review of the A7's or comments on UK forums and then look up the US prices and can't quite put it together. Just sayin ...

All that said, I like the A7's a lot. At the end of the day, they are excellent sounding speakers, even if they use generic off-the-shelf tweeters

 

Great thread. Considering migrating this direction from Harbeth - has anybody had any favourable listens of the 2/3?