THE SPENDOR A2 Speakers - REVIEW

Spendor A2 Loudspeakers

The British speaker company Spendor is not only one of most iconic brands, but it continues to thrive today. The company was founded in the early 1970’s by Spencer and Dorothy Hughes. Hence the name Spen(cer) and dor(othy). Hughes was part of the BBC research team in the 1960’s that developed one of the most famous designs in HiFi, the LS3/5a two may monitor.  

Spendor currently has a full suite of loudspeakers ranging from BBC legacy designs in the Classic line, and more recent products in their A and D lines. We received a pair of their A2 floor standing model in for evaluation, and it took up residence in our home for several months. Full disclosure, I am a big Spendor fan. I have owned three pairs of their speakers, and currently still own a pair of S3/5R stand mount monitors.  The A2 sell for $2395 a pair.

The A2 is a small floor stander, it only stands 30 inches tall, without spikes, with a slim profile. It is a 2 way design, with a back firing port. The published specs say that it reaches down to 36 Hz, and is fairly easy to drive, with an 8 Ohm impedance rating. The A line is available in several finishes, and our review sample arrived with a very nice black oak veneer. . 

Set Up & Listening:

From past experience, setting up Spendor speakers is as stress free as it gets. They have tended to sound very good regardless of placement. Even on a bookshelf, literally. The A2 were positioned six feet apart, with no toe in to start. We experimented with toe in, but ultimately had them firing straight forward. They settled in right away as these had been broken in quite nicely before we received them.

We paired the A2 with our Audio Research VS55 tube amp, a Channel Islands Audio passive preamp, a Marantz HD-DAC1 / Sonore microRendu combo, a Rega P3 turntable  with a Lounge Audio phono preamp, and Audio Art Cables. The A2 and the Audio Research amp were such a complimentary combination, we stuck with it. Everything was plugged into an Audience power conditioner.

When I first received the A2, I was curious as to what Spendor had done with their design, having heard only the Classic and D lines extensively in the past.  There was no need for concern that Spendor had gone in a new direction, as the A2 proved to be a Spendor through and through. All the elements I associate Spendor with were there, namely, smoothness, superb tonality, and most of all, a beautifully coherent presentation.

To begin my listening, I cued up an extensive list of high resolution classic rock and folk remasters, as well as vinyl. The playlist included The Moody Blues, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Pink Floyd, early Rod Stewart, Grateful Dead, Jeff Beck, and many more. What became apparent was how the A2 painted a superbly balanced sound picture, with acoustic instruments and voices sounding particularly present. 

The Mobile Fidelity SACD remaster of The Jeff Beck Group’s legendary Truth, is an unexpected revelation. This album has been reissued numerous times, but MoFi seems to have extracted the most we have heard from the master tape to date. Rod Stewart’s lead vocal is an undeniable powerful presence, and Beck’s guitar is front and center. The Spendors perfectly rendered the classic analog vibe, and long buried recorded detail emerged, like the cascading reverb decays, nuanced drum fills, and various other little details in the mix.

We then took a different direction, and cued up  recent recordings, all 24 bit, by several young talented artists. One such spectacular album, The Shadow Vol I, by the Tronosonic Experience, an instrumental fusion ensemble from Oslo, Norway. They explore Miles Davis Bitches Brew era improvisation, funk, and progressive rock.  The D2 was right up to the task, with the electric bass, horns, and the syncopated beats all handled with aplomb, and with excellent overall impact.

The homespun, pastoral folk rock of Walker & Wylde is in peak form on their new release, Second Hand Existential Crisis. The recording is free from clutter, over compression, and slick production, and the acoustic textures were tailor made for the D2. The guitars, upright bass, and percussion all had very nice body, and the co-lead vocals were easy to 

differentiate. 

We finished our time with the A2 with new acoustic jazz, including Christian McBride’s just released Live At The Village Vanguard, a 96 kHz download. The recording is outstanding, with the live interplay of McBride’s masterful band, Inside Straight, driving the groove home, and the arrangements turning on a dime. The Spendors made this album sound like a band on stage, at their peak, with each instrument getting the correct tonal presentation and with all the dynamics you could ask for from a small speaker. In the end, the A2 made it a pleasure to listen to any genre of music, and for extended periods of time. 

I decided to compare the A2 to my standmount S3/5R, and the results were as I expected. Both speakers were cut from the same sonic cloth, but the D2 had more definition, especially in the midrange, went deeper into the low frequencies, and was essentially a modern update to the legendary Spendor sound. Thankfully, Spendor has produced these speakers as an evolution, not a revolution.  In fact, we would now like to hear the standmount A1, the smallest speaker in the A line, to compare.

Perhaps the ultimate strengths of the Spendor A2 are imaging and coherence. To our ears, everything just sounds correctly sorted out. No furrowed brows, and no areas of the frequency spectrum that felt under served.  The A2 are a great example of what makes two way speakers so appealing, and that is the seamless, articulate presentation of music.

Conclusion:

The Spendor A2 is one of the most delightful speakers I have had in my system. In fact, I have not heard speakers I have enjoyed as much at this price point, other than several Magnepan models. Magnepans, however, do require more set up consideration, and plenty of amplifier power. The A2, in contrast, is very easy to integrate into virtually any appropriately sized room, and will pair with any high quality  amplifier over 25 wpc.  The A2 were a perfect fit for my medium sized room where I keep my second system. With a much larger room, the A2’s big brothers, the A4, or A7, would be more appropriate. For intimate listening situations, the A2 performed effortlessly. 

Spendor does not strive to dazzle with bombast, or artificial sizzle. They are like the sonic equivalent of  the most comfortable pair of shoes in your closet.  They make you want to listen to music for hours on end, day after. As a nice plus, the A2 are built to a high standard, with nice craftsmanship, and attention to detail. All Spendor products are designed and manufactured in their factory in the U.K. In fact, all the key components are also made in house. The Spendor A2 is a must audition for listeners who are looking for a modern rendition of the classic British sound.

SPENDOR A2: $2395
spendoraudio.com

Contact: Rob Fritz, Audio Art Cable
www.audioartcable.com