The best midrange I ever heard was on a German speaker - go figure! The KS Linea B55. Just unreal. I had the IMF super compact II or whatever it is called. Nice little speaker but ugly as hell. Then sometimes later I had the chance to get my hands on a pair of Durham Castle Pembroke's. I liked their full sound. Good deep bass, warm but not too precise. Very surprisingly both speakers had too much upper midrange energy.
I've owned my Spendor S100's since 1990! In all the years I've had them I don't think I've read anything negative about these legendary speakers. The difference between S100's and SP100's was they implemented some sort of shielding due the speakers being placed next to tube TV's(!)
Listening to the Diamond 12.2s playing Boz Scaggs "Thanks to you" they play the bassline as deep but more detailed and nuanced than the JBL Stage 180 a full sized floorstander with Really good bass...pretty good stuff here! thats some really powerful bass on this track...
Those are great speakers. I have a pair of D20R that I love. Is that a 'Kops Records' label on the LP behind it?
Thanks, the ProAc's are sounding great. And good eye, that is most definitely a Kops sticker! Not sure how long I am going to keep the ProAc's though. I have been trying to sell my Spendor A3 speakers through a local dealer but no one is biting. We reduced the price once and I don't want to reduce it any further - it's already a great value. I guess not many people are after a really small floorstander. Regardless, they have that beautiful Spendor midrange and are an ideal size for my room. I have decided I will take them back and I might end up selling the ProAc's and my AN AX-Two's instead. The issue with the A3 is they are so short. They fall well below ear level and the image is too low. But I can raise them with plinths, and I think they will sound excellent with my Unison amp. Putting them on 4" maple plinths with Gaia feet (or Herbie's Big Fat Dots) is what I am leaning to now. With nicely finished cherry plinths to match the color of the A3 I think it will look great, and that should set the speakers up to realize their potential. Spendor or ProAc - I really have no preference either way but the lack of interest, and my refusal to lower the price to attract some, kind of makes the decision for me. And to be honest, I do prefer the look of a small floorstander in this room. So I haven't committed to anything yet, but I am 90% sure I'll be making this move.
The Linea name lives on - the German MB Quart speaker manufacturing at Obrigheim restored as "German Maestro" (after selling the brand name off to Maxxsonics to be destroyed.) One of these days I'll put my German-made Quarts in front of the calibration mic to unlock their secrets of sounding so good..
I really want to listen to some Spendors. I see them used from time to time and get tempted, but tell myself I need to listen first!
Definitely audition and see what you think. I also had the LE 2/3 for about 7 years but favour the simplicity of the S3/5r. They are small but the sound just breathes out of them and extends well beyond the parameters of their small size. There is a natural relaxed sound. I have matched with a variety of amps and I have never tired of them. Do sample the range at a dealer and see if it works for you.
M Mordaunt Short is back saw a new 1 on Youtube....i dont know how much of the real DNA it has in it....it was very very budget friendly....
The older variants designed by Derek Hughes have superior 3/4” Scanspeak tweeters and sand-core inductors. I haven’t heard the R2 variant but I have doubts that it’s as transparent sounding as the S100/SP100, given my experience with my 2/3R2s. The 3/4” Scanspeak tweeter is one of the best soft-domes I’ve experienced, better than Dyn’s Esotar 2.
Interesting. Thought they had disappeared. Quick Google shows M10 on sale for £59 at a major retailer. I suspect they aren't what they once were.
Previously Owned: Heybrook HB2r B&W DM2 Monitor Audio Monitor One Castle Richmond 3 (not the i version). Now own: KEF Ref 104aB Castle Howard S1 In my opinion, all great sounding speakers in their time, I have owned the Howards since 1995 and can't see me moving them on at all. I am in the process of Building a pair of bookshelf speakers that have more detail and a sub that goes deeper, but the tonal quality of the Howards takes some beating when combined with Pass First Watt Class A amplification.
Yes. what can you say is the difference in the spendor midrange compared to the Proac midrange? thanks