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Upgrade from Spendor BC-1: need ideas

For more than twenty years I have been living with a pair of Spendor BC1's that I love. When I bought them, I lived in NYC, passed via London a few times, and had a lot of time to listen and compare. Looking back, I did well. Starting with zero knowledge of anything, I ended up with a short list consisting of Quad ESL, but no way they would fit in my room, and the BC-1, which I did purchase.

I am beginning to think about a possible "upgrade", under circumstances that are similar as well as different. My apartment still has no room for the Quads! So it has to be a tower like design again. I don't have time or circumstances to easily listen to and compare a large number of good speakers. That's why I turn to you for advice. If you know BC-1's or similar sounding models (KEF, Rogers, B&W, etc), please suggest specific models that would constitute a meaningful upgrade now,

A few words of clarification:

1. I mainly listen to classical music, but then everything from symphonies to solo flute or vocal. I am not trying to duplicate the concert hall acoustics in my room because I know that is impossible and even good halls sound different anyway. I don't know most singers and musicians personally and don't know what they or their instruments sound like. In other words, while I want my speakers to be "accurate" in the sense of avoiding obvious distortion, I don't have the "original" reference to judge "accuracy". I know and accept that it is all an illusion, and want the illusion to be as beautiful and convincing as possible. I would be happy if chamber and solo sounded like artists were right there. Such effect is difficult with complex orchestral works but I'll take what I can get.

2. The speakers cannot take up too much floor space. The BC-1's footprint is fine. They could be taller though.

3. My present amp is Audiolab 8000S (60w/ch). The room size is 15'x18' (x12' ceiling). But this could change. Therefore, while the speakers should work well with what I have, they should not be overly fussy.

4. Certain brand names keep coming up. Friends suggest Spendor, Dynaudio, Proac in almost the same breath. However, I am also open to smaller less known brands. If there is an extremely talented person making much better speakers in some small town somewhere, let me know!

5. Please suggest specific models. They need not be current models, I am open to discontinued and used. Please give me an idea what a good used pair might cost though.

My plan is to make a short list and see what I can do about finding a pair to listen to (I am in Chicago area). If there is one outstanding candidate, proverbial head & shoulders above all the rest (as Quad 988 would be if it was 1/2 its size!), then I may buy a pair anyway, listen to them and BC-1's side by side for a few months, and then sell one or the other.

Thank you.
aktchi
r3mor182c
6 posts
 
The spendor BC1 is and always will be a benchmark for mid to upper midrange response. The mid on opera and most vocals just "sing" like a voodoo doll! There was definetely a magic touch that Spencer Hughes built into these little guys and as such, its hard to part with them.

Having said that, the sp1 is a big bass improvement as well
as sound pressure levels on large orchestral recordings. By some strange chance, the same celestion driver is a touch more tamed in the sp1,(with a coles super tweeter i
believe) but you lose a touch of the midrange "magic" with
the polyproplyne cone versus the BC1 bextrene.

The sp2/2 is wonderful and is almost like the mid-high range of the BC1, and i hear the sp2/3 might be the closest
with more bass. Im wanting to audition sp1/2e to compare to both bc1 and sp1 to make the final tally. The Harbeth should be worth listening to (shl5 as Derek Hughes, now
works for Harbeth) THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING!
aktchi OP
274 posts
 
No need to stay within the BBC family, however. I would certainly enjoy hearing about any comparison between British speakers---as an old Spendor loyalist, I sadly must say that the torch appears to have been passed to Harbeth, ATC, and Proac---and comparably priced modern ones: Tyler, Salk, Zu, Silverline, etc.
johnnybgoode
24 posts
 
I went from Spendor BC-1's to SP-1's, and in my system it was quite an improvement. The SP-1s are more efficient, more dynamic, image much better, and seem to have a more natural tonal balance. As you might expect, they retain a lot of the BC-1 qualities as well - you know right away that you are listening to a Spendor. They also have the same footprint as the BC-1's in terms of height and floor space, and can use the same stands. You do sacrifice a little bit of detail in the upper mids and highs however, although not much.

However, I must stress that I heard these differences within the context of my own system, including a relatively low powered Scott 222c integrated amp (about 24 wpc). Also, my BC-1's were very old and may not have been in tip top-shape. Some also assert that in the BC-1 days there was much more sample-to-sample variation, so we might be talking about differences other than those caused by the actual model change.

Whatever you decide, I would urge you to try to audition any contemplated replacement speakers in your own system. Otherwise, there are just too many variables to deal with -
component interaction, sample-to-sample variation, room interactions, your individual priorities in listening, etc. BC-1's are a classic speaker with many strengths, and if you aren't very particular, you might end up trading sideways or even downwards.
r3mor182c
6 posts
 
I am anxiously waiting to audition the Harbeth SHL5! I will
not go in with any preconceptions except that they should
be superb. However, with their good bass response and power
handling(as ive heard) they have to have the mid to upper
mid quality of the BC1,(with the spendor tradition of superb woodwind, oboe etc, sound).
I wish somebody could direct me to a review by Martin Colloms of Harbeth (read his books and orginal BC1 and SP1
reviews!). Id love to also find a review by him of the sp2/3e vs harbeth shl5, though for some reason he is hard
to find these days.
P.S. Reviews dont take the place of auditions; but Martin
Colloms is the only reviewer I trust when it comes to loudspeakers.
r3mor182c
6 posts
 
This is a bit funny I guess. I would respond by saying
that when I first got my auditon sp1 I also thought they
were better than the BC1! After much time of enjoyment,you
learn the BC1 has something that the sp1 almost, almost
reaches...... The phenomenal, magic mid to upper mid of the
BC1. It almost makes it.
Not having heard the sp1/2 or 2/e ,I wish they could get that BC1 magic mid in the above models with more bass and
sound pressure levels. Derek Hughes left for Harbeth but the new owner can hopefully work on it. Any comments by anyone??
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