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Replacing Vintage Spendors is not as easy as I thought

I have a pair of 1989 era Spendor SP1 s and was thinking of updating them as I have heard of the vastly improved technology and materials used by current speaker manufacturers.  So off I have been listening to new speakers, many of which come advertised as natural sounding, or neutral etc. My search has been a bit constrained by my Leben tube amp which is a modest 32 watts. I have heard Harbeth, Aerial Acoustic, Devore, new Spendors, Totem and a few other brands all of which lack the natural vocal qualities of my SP1s.  Some are more dynamic but at the expense of more fatiguing treble.  I have limited my search to the 5000-7500 range but am coming up empty handed.  I am sure if I was ready to spend 15,000 +  I could find a good upgrade, but college tuitions preclude such an expenditure.  Anyone out there with any suggestions?
Thanks
MP
rivinyl
missioncoonery
1,237 posts
 
A lot of the dealers that carry Leben also carry Devore and pair them often.  If me I would take another listen to that combo.I think the smaller orangutans might be in your budget.Since your accustomed to Spendor maybe give Tannoy a listen,just a thought 
clio09
3,360 posts
 
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9bd36-stirling-broadcast-ls3-6-full-range
audition__audio
1,534 posts
 
I would suggest that what you believe to be fatiguing treble is actually much more accurate treble but a treble of which you are not accustomed. An additional thought is that the newer speakers are much more revealing of the electronics than your old Spendors thus less forgiving of poor program material. You need to be very aware of what electronics are driving the speakers you auditioned and also the room in which they were demoed. 
reubent
7,054 posts
 
.....or maybe you just prefer the sound of your old speakers. Nothing wrong with that. If you prefer the old speakers, no reason to part with $5000 - $7500 or even $15000. 

BTW, I stumbled upon a pair of Infinity RS1.5s, vintage 1980, a few years ago. Brought them home, promptly sold off my more expensive speakers, and have been living happily ever since.

My suggestion: Don't worry, be happy!
jond's avatar
jond
5,911 posts
 
Agreed if you like your speakers that much keep them, Spendor makes great speakers and the SP1 is a classic. If you must have something new check out Audio Note, the AN-J, my current speaker, is right in your price range. 93db sensitivity it's easy to drive and very organic sounding. Whatever you decide good luck and happy listening.
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