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S3/5R2 and AV Speakers

S3/5R2

The S3/5R2, released in July 2011, is a two way, sealed enclosure, easy to drive, 8ohm loudspeaker with a minimum impedance of 6.2 ohms. It can be stand mounted or placed on a bookshelf.

Spendor S3/5R2 in Dark WalnutThe Spendor S3/5R2 is an all-new speaker which benefits from substantial technical advances proven in recent Spendor designs like the SA1, the ST and the other Classic R2 models. It maintains the charm and enjoyable music making qualities of the original S3/5 while delivering significant improvements in low frequency articulation, dynamics, power handling, transparency and sound integration. Like its predecessors it has a fine technical performance and a natural even sound balance. The S3/5R2 is a sealed box design featuring the 22mm tweeter used in the SA1 and a new 140mm ep39 woofer. Pictured at right in Dark Walnut finish.

The S3/5R2 has a new 140mm long throw Spendor bass-mid driver with a phase correction and a new cone material. It also has a new 22 mm soft dome tweeter, an enhanced cabinet design and a completely re-engineered crossover. It is is single wired with gold plated binding posts to ensure consistent and optimum sound quality with all types of amplifiers and loudspeaker cables. All tracks are now gold plated, and a revised filter alignment integrates the new drivers seamlessly.

"This is all you need... it plays music...

Click for link to full review"The S3/5R2's high-level dynamics were fairly impressive for so small a speaker. There was a sense of drama and weight, and the orchestra was stretched across a wide, deep stage with plenty of air. The bass-drum thwacks seemed quite powerful and realistic. Deep-bass, electronic-percussion transients were at times startling.
Most well-recorded classical and jazz sounded quite impressive through the Spendors. The Chicago Symphony's recording of Pictures at an Exhibition was presented on a bed of air with a tremendous sense of bloom. The top octaves were delicate, and the articulation of percussion transients was perfect. The trombones sounded as if emerging from much larger speakers. Gina Bachauer's piano was forceful, delicate, dynamic and airy. The most lifelike solo piano I've heard from a bookshelf speaker.

The speaker has no shortcomings whatsoever. With every recording I tried, instruments and voices sounded as they should, and the speaker did a damn good job of occasionally fooling me into thinking that live musicians were playing in the room.
The Spendor S3/5R2 is an impressively evolved descendant of the original BBC LS3/5a. You should find the S3/5R2 a revealing and involving reproducer of a broad range of music, big and small, of all genres. This is all you need. It plays music."

- Robert J. Reina, Stereophile, March 2013
 

"The new S3/5R2 was a revelation...

Click for PDF of full review.... The improvements from the new model were many and obvious with any genre and any format. First was the now more balanced presentation. Another improvement with the new model was improved clarity, the driver enhancements have lowered the noise floor to such an extent that instruments and vocals have far more space to perform. The music starts from a much lower dimension, giving bags of room for dynamics to stretch out.

VERDICT: Compact but packing a bass punch, the new Spendor S3/5R2 has a new sense of clarity and upper frequency freedom. FOR: expanded soundstage, transparency, characterful bass, clarity. AGAINST: nothing."

- HiFi World, June 2012. Five Globe Award Winner
Click image above for PDF of review.

"A superb performer that takes the classic attributes of the design and adds further all-round ability...

... The S3/5R2 is still an astonishingly communicative speaker. Voices and instruments are handled with an effortless accuracy that has very few equals in terms of tonality under $1,600. The S3/5R2 can be pushed very hard without hardening up or becoming aggressive. At room-filling levels, it still sound firmly in control.

The S3/5R2 accompanies that addictive midrange with a tight, fast and tuneful bass performance. The difference is subtle, but gives the Spendor a wider appeal than its predecessor, without losing the traits that made it popular with so many people in the first place.

The S3/5R2 also has excellent timing that gives up-tempo music the underpinning required to enjoy it, while never forcing slower pieces. Its soundstage is well formed and easy to follow with a believable sense of the space a recording was formed in.

The sensitivity of 84dB initially sounds alarming but, as the impedance never drops below six ohms, it is an easy load for most amplifiers. With no port or other perforation, the Spendor is happy to be placed close to walls or indeed on shelves. In any normal room, there should be no issues placing them effectively for good results.

Detailed and expressive sound, fine build and easy placement. This upgrade of a British classis is the most complete yet."
- Hi-Fi Choice, January 2012, HFC Recommended Award Winner
More reviews on S3/5R2 to follow and they will be even better than the below raves on the S3/5R.
"Throughout the crucial midrange, this new model may be the most neutral and natural sounding mini-monitor I know." - TAS, July 2008
"The Spendors serve up a beautifully pure and clean sound. There's a natural fluidity to the music. The S3/5Rs are loveable, talented speakers that can provide hour after hour of enjoyment." - What HiFi, June 2009
The S3/5R retains the charming warmth and technical precision of the original S3/5 with clearly audible improvements in sound, especially in the mid-band. It has a more even and natural sound, a more holographic sound-stage and a cleaner and sweeter high frequency response.
S3/5R wins The Absolute Sound Editors' Choice Award 2008
"Now in its third iteration, designated by the "R" suffix, the S3/5R boasts greater neutrality, especially throughout the critical presence range (a bit recessed in the original), for a tonal balance of strong appeal to those who value musical naturalness above all else. Readers looking for small speakers to serve both high accuracy and high musicality in an intimate setting should put the S3/5R at the top of their audition list. Philip Swift here shows himself to be a discriminating steward of the great Spendor tradition. I can hardly think of higher praise for a new speaker."  - Paul Seydor, TAS, June/July 2008.
S3/5R wins Hi-Fi Choice Gold Award for Best Loudspeakers 2008
"A variation on a long-established and much admired BBC LS3/5a mini-monitor speaker design, Spendor has incorporated two decades of engineering technology into its S3/5R standmount. Smooth, even and unfailingly polite, this is not simply a loudspeaker for speech and classical music; the Spendor S3/5R can deliver most kinds of music at typical domestic levels with a clarity and coherence that set it ahead of the pack. A Best Buy both in a solo review and an Ultimate Group Test, the Spendor S3/5R might be tiny, but its honesty puts it right in the Spendor tradition." - HiFi Choice Gold Award Winner Best Loudspeakers £500-£1,000, 2008.

SR5.2 On-Wall Speaker

The SR5.2 is an on-wall speaker designed for customers who appreciate quality and who understand that a high quality audio presentation is a very important part of creating a truly enjoyable theater at home experience. These speakers offer a good solution for people who don't have the space for quality floor standing speakers but need something better than inherently compromised in-wall speakers.

The slim cabinet is profiled and dimensioned to integrate with a specially developed Spendor 140mm bass-midrange drive unit. The driver has a large powerful motor-magnet system and very low Qe. As a result the SR5.2 has an optimally flat and correctly damped frequency response. The response is also exceptionally smooth and well-maintained off-axis, very important for surround sound applications especially when the loudspeakers are not at ear height. The SR5.2 features a revised crossover and single wiring connections delivering improved integration. The speakers create a wide deep sound field that allows great flexibility when planning the layout of rooms and seating.

Each SR5.2 is supplied with an adjustable stainless steel bracket. To guarantee consistent sound the bracket incorporates two non-resonant polymer damping rings to control the flow of energy from the cabinet to the wall. The Spendor SR5.2 is ideal for 2, 5 or 7 channel loudspeaker systems and a diversity of high performance multi-room and multimedia applications. It is the perfect surround speaker for use with other Spendor speakers.

C5.2 Center Channel Speaker

Surround sound music and home theatre is destined to feature large in our lives. With Spendor 'S' series loudspeakers the transition from two channel stereo to surround sound is truly seamless, just like the sound. The C5.2 is engineered and balanced from concept to production to complement any combination of Spendor loudspeakers.

The new C5.2 is a compact centre channel loudspeaker with a big performance. It delivers low distortion, wide even dispersion and fabulous sound even when it is located on or close to shelves, screens, equipment, or walls. The low overall height and modest depth of the C5.2 makes it perfect when space is at a premium. The clear articulate midrange is never muddled or confused by the bass and the widely dispersed treble ensures you will enjoy an enveloping sound experience free from the hard and un-natural sound of most contemporary loudspeakers.