Help with room size pls: Which Spendor to buy? A4/A7/A6r?

Hello,

I am looking to get a pair of Spendor speakers (again) but I am not sure which model/size of speaker I need for my room. My room is 4.5 metres wide and about 6.5 metres long with the couch in the 2/3rds part at the back. I've recently moved here and I am on this mission to upgrade my gear.

The A4's look great but I am not sure if they will be too small . There's not much opportunity to try them out here really as there are not many Spendor retailers about in Switzerland. Plus I am probably going to buy 2nd hand anyway.

The KEF Meta's had caught my eye but I think they will be too small for the room size and for roughly the same price (or a bit more) of the Meta's I think I can get an A6r or so.

I can't seem to find the way to add a picture into the forum without it being a link. Otherwise I'd add a picture here.

For those interested: The Spendors will be paired with a Yamaha AS2100, a P3 Rega and Denafribs Ares II DAC (which is on it's way).

Back in the day I used to own a pair of Spendor s6's, I loved those speakers and since then I have owned KEF iQ5's and some Klipsch's. At the moment I am running a pair of RB - 81 II speakers. Whilst the Klipschs are ok speakers and are doing the job, they aren't in the same league. I find they lack precision, soundstage and they are just black boxes on stands expensive Atacama stands. Hence the swap out.

All your thoughts are welcome! Thanks in advance.

 

Either A4 or A7 listened to the A4's and really liked them...No chance of a listening test I guess?

 

With that size room, you could really go either way b/t the A4 and A7. It really comes down to how important the low end is for you. A7 will give you more, A4 a little less.

 

I've been listening to the A4s in a 7x8.5m room for a few months now. These are my first encounter with Spendor speakers and I am impressed with them. Your question is interesting to me as the other day a friend of mine asked me if maybe the speakers weren't too small for my room. After some thought, my answer was no. First, I don't listen at loud levels. My iphone app says 85db is about as loud as I listen, with levels around 75db. If I get up and walk around the room, the sound is great no matter where in the room.

When I first set the A4s up, I was disappointed because of how small they looked; they are small for a floorstand speaker. I had some 2 inch plinths which I placed them on to bring the tweeter up to proper height. On the plinths, they are the same height as the A7, and look fine. I use a SVS SB3000 subwoofer with the little Spendors to fill on the very bottom. The A4s with the sub have no trouble filling the room with wonderful sound.

Good luck whichever way you go.

 

My local Spendor dealer insisted that the A7s are closest in sound to the original SP100s. The latter of which are one of the best speakers I’ve heard at any price. I think you’d regret not opting for the larger A7s, which are still small by floorstander metrics.

The A6 was last revised shortly before the introduction of the 4s/7s. It seems they replaced the controversial tweeter of the A6R with the current wide-surround unit, and might have also blessed it with the newer midwoofer. That’s how it appears in pictures anyway, but I’d confirm with Spendor whether this last iteration of the 6 is as dynamic as the 4/7. They’re usually good with responding to questions so I’d email them with your quandary.

 

Unfortunately no, chance at all. - In Switzerland there isn't many dealers here and the only place I can find who sells them is really far away (like 2 hour drive).

The A4's do feel small (but not as small as the A2's) and whilst I want my speakers to have presence, I do want them to be the main feature in the room (or be like an elephant.

Like with the Klipsch's, their design is too dominant and my friends end up looking at the cones of the speakers, not at art or other things.

 

My issue with my current setup is the bass from the Klipsch's RB81II is best at the back of the room (where my desk is). Behind the couch, I kind of want to avoid that with whichever I pick up. I don't have much in the sense of bass traps or a treated room or anything. But I do have velvet curtains coming soon. Which will help trap the noise and sounds about the room.

Also I guess an important note is that my room has large open doorway (with no doors) to the kitchen. So the sound escapes there too.

 

It would be the A4's for me ....large enough sound, small enough to fit in...

 

I would say if you place the Spendors in the same spot as the Klipsch, you'll have the same issue with bass. The room does what the room does. Play a bass heavy track and walk around the room, especially the corners, and you'll hear what the room does.

Last night I spent a good two hours listening to music through the A4s. I sometimes find myself wishing I had opted for the A7s, but man do these little A4s sound right.

 

Yeah the problem with my room is 1. marble floors 2. the room isn't exactly rectangle. - The building is the 2nd building part of a fork/V. Which means that one side is wider than the other. In the living room, the far right end part of the room is about 1.5 metres longer and has a sharp angle to it. - I think the bass collects itself there.

- One question to you about the A4's. Do they still sound good at a moderately low volume? I have a kid and I only really get to listen to music when all (but I) are sleeping.

See I think I may (like you) wonder if I should have got the A7's and if I do that, then it means I will swap them out at one point. - Though I also think the A4's might have more versatility though (when I move in 5 years or so from this apt). And to top it, given the price, I am torn about whether getting the A6r's though too.

Am happy to hear the A4s will probably fit the room though!

It's a hard place to be.

 

FWIW, HiFi News measured the A4 and it managed a very flat response:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...Vaw2rPeGTJm6dNoWBc3a0_0sW&cshid=1611502441533

The A7s have a significant dip in their upper bass according to Stereophile's measurements, so if linearity is a concern, the A4s might be a better option.

 

After reading this, I think the A6R might be more interesting then. Someone also mentioned monitor Audio Gold 100 and I saw a post about ProAc d20's might be worth looking into too.

 

MA??? You won’t get those gorgeous British mids with that brand.

The ProAcs might be a worthy alternative.

 

I owned the A6R and found them to be relentlessly bright. Just couldn’t tame it and moved on. I love the Classic series. I’ve read that the latest A series speakers are better balanced.

 

While I rarely listen at loud levels, I also rarely listen at the low levels needed when others are sleeping. My system is in a large basement room, and the sound doesn't seem to bother those upstairs so no need to keep it quiet.

As I said, this is my first experience with Spendor, and I'm not looking elsewhere right now. I have owned two Proac models; the Response 1.5 and the Tablette Anniversary. Neither of them worked for me. With the Tablettes, I new within a few songs they weren't for me.

@Helom, thanks for that review. I hadn't seen it before.

 

Yeah, I live in a city apartment, glass door in the living room and all. - But the apt isn't too bad when with music, I just don't want tp bump up the speakers just to get a good sound. The KEFs I owned in the day was like that when paired with my Roksan amp.

Did you ever get to listen to the ProAc 15s? I found a pair going for like 1000$, wondered if it may be worth checking out.

 

Getting satisfying sound at low levels has more to do with your physiology than your speakers. If you aren't aware of the Fletcher-Munson curve, take a look here: Equal-loudness contour - Wikipedia . It takes equalization like the "loudness" control did on older amps to compensate for the ears characteristics.

 

I auditioned a pair of A4's at my dealers listening room which is bigger ( ~ 5x10 metres) than your room. I experienced no problems with the A4 filling the room with sound. I usually listen at mouse fart volumes because I live in a flat too and have neighbours. FWIW my dealer was in an adjacent room and he asked me to crank it up a couple of times so he could hear what music I had brought to the shop.

 

Sounds to me like an equipment mismatch. I found my Spendors to be quite sensitive to equipment changes....

 

I had several amps and cables at the time. More than one review came to similar conclusion. I think it would have difficult to find a good match with them. At their best they were a very fun listen. Unfortunately I couldn’t listen for long. My Classic 3/1’s are a better fit for my ears.