What Hi-Fi? Verdict
A well-judged, natural sound, but just a little bit prim, perhaps
Pros
- +
Well finished and configured
- +
balanced, natural and detailed sound
Cons
- -
Matter-of-fact delivery lacks a sense of ‘performance’
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The Spendor S3/5R2s are a variation on a long-established and highly successful theme. Now isn’t the time to discuss the BBC LS3/5a mini-monitor – let’s just say the new Spendors have some lineage.
Taken as a series of individual elements, there’s little here to find fault with. The wood-veneer cabinets are tactile, and the sealed-box design promises positional flexibility.
In action, the frequency range is smoothly integrated from top to bottom: there’s plenty of detail dished up and no lack of good detail, transparency or clarity.
Sensible, natural sound
The Spendors are dynamically competent too, though high volumes can affect their poise a little, and their well-judged tonality makes for a natural sound.
The balance the S3/5R2s strikes seems entirely sensible. Shortcomings are slightly less tangible.
Unlike some of its rivals, that immediately grab you by the lapels, there’s a rather aloof, dispassionate quality to the Spendors that suggests the excitement in a song like Little Richard’s Bama Lama Bama Loo is rather base.
But just because it’s only rock’n’roll, that’s no reason not to like it.
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