Spendor S3/5R2 Standmount Speaker Review

Time for a modern take on a British classic

by Ed Selley
Hi-Fi Review

5

Highly Recommended
Spendor S3/5R2 Standmount Speaker Review
MSRP: £1,050.00

What is the Spendor S3/5R2?

The Spendor S3/5R2 is a two way, sealed cabinet standmount loudspeaker and the smallest member of the 'Classic' range of Spendor loudpeakers. Behind these bald statements are some details that ensure that the S3/5R2 isn't simply another bookshelf speaker. In fact as far as many people are concerned, the Spendor is the direct descendent of the bookshelf speaker.

The clue is in the name. The S3/5R2 is a modern adaptation of the BBC LS3/5a (pronounced LS three five) speaker that was developed in the late 1960s for use monitoring outdoor broadcasts. The development came about because no commercially available small speaker of the time could be relied upon to demonstrate the tonal accuracy required by the BBC. As such, an in-house development team created a speaker that did meet the standards. Built around a pair of commercially available drivers, the LS3/5a was developed with no commercial considerations but its performance was such that when the BBC realised that they could not easily manufacture the speaker in house, it was built under license by a number of other companies who did achieve commercial success with it. One of those companies was Spendor.

It is important before we go any further, to make it clear that the speaker you see here is not an authentic original LS3/5a and neither is it trying to be such a thing. You can, if you wish buy a modern version of the original speaker and it is a very lovely product indeed. Lovely it might be, compromise free it is not though. As the LS3/5a was designed to monitor between 400Hz and the hearing threshold there are some bass issues. While it goes lower than 400Hz (obviously), it is fair to say that the original is not a bass monster. Similarly, the 15 ohm impedance of the original is going to be a little confusing to some modern amps. As such, the S3/5R2 is designed to take the basics of the original and make them a little more compatible with modern requirements while maintaining the attributes that made the original great. Have they pulled it off?

Specifications

Spendor S3/5R2
The Spendor is a two-way, sealed box loudspeaker. It stands a little over 30 centimetres tall and in contrast to many speakers of this size it is only 18 centimetres deep. These dimensions closely follow the original LS3/5a but the Spendor is not a slavish copy. The S3/5R2 is built in the same processes at the rest of the Classic range and uses thin cabinet walls that are braced internally to give the cabinet the required levels of stiffness. This cabinet is now entirely assembled by Spendor which is a relatively recent development for the company.

While construction of cabinets is a fairly new area of work for Spendor, the construction of drivers is something that the company has done for years and takes very seriously indeed. The S3/5R2 uses a 22mm soft dome tweeter with a wide surround that is integral to the Spendor Classic range. This is then partnered with a 140mm mid-bass driver. This is made of EP77 polymer - a material change that has been undertaken comparatively recently. This driver is slightly larger than the one used in the original LS3/5 but also offers a longer throw, improved power handling and better low frequency response.

This is important because it means that under anechoic conditions, the S3/5R2 is able to reach a low end response of 75Hz at +/- 3dB. This is still not exactly the sort of figure you associate with having your fillings rattled but it represents a fairly impressive figure for a small, sealed box speaker. What is important is that Spendor says that these changes have not affected the strengths of the original LS3/5a meaning that the as well as offering improved frequency response, the same mid-range lucidity is unaffected.
Spendor S3/5R2
Key to this is the crossover. The S3/5R2 uses a phase linear design mounted on an isolation platform to minimise interference. Every effort has been made to keep the S3/5R2 true to the principles of the original while allowing for the greater bandwidth and clout of the drivers to be used at the same time. The careful application of simplicity is important here and to this end, the S3/5R2 uses a single pair of speaker terminals rather than introducing additional bi-wire connections.

Given that the laws of physics won't be bent too far without snapping back, there is a caveat to the reasonable impedance and improved frequency response. The S3/5R2 has a claimed sensitivity of 84dB/w which is more in keeping with the sort of figures we see from home cinema satellites. In reality, the S3/5R2 is not a hard speaker to drive but this sensitivity figure is more of a clue that the Spendor will have limits to the absolute volume it can achieve.

Design

Spendor S3/5R2
The original LS3/5a had many virtues but looks weren't really one of them. The product of a functional design brief, the original looks rather old fashioned and a little dumpy. One of the advantages of Spendor evolving the design of the unit is that some of the aspects of the design that gave the LS3/5a its 'challenging' appearance have been nullified. Most important of these changes is the front panel now flush mounts the drivers rather than setting them back from the leading edge of the side panels. This one change makes for a considerably better looking speaker than its ancestor.

At the same time, like the rest of the Classic range, the S3/5R2 is somewhat retro in appearance. The lack of cabinet depth means the Spendor looks different to most rivals at this price point. The absolutely flat sided cabinet with right angles at every edge and drivers that eschew the material of the moment combine to leave the S3/5R2 looking slightly and unavoidably old-fashioned. This is not a cutting edge piece of industrial design.
Spendor S3/5R2
This is not to say that the Spendor doesn't look good because the simplicity of its appearance combined with the absolutely exceptional build means that it is a very handsome thing. There is an elegance to the Spendor that gives it a timelessness that is very appealing. The review pair finished in the dark walnut option are genuinely pretty little speakers and while I normally gripe about speaker grills not being attached with magnetic trim tabs, here it seems oddly appropriate.

One of the star turns of the LS3/5a has always been that it is famously unfussy about positioning. With no cabinet porting and compact dimensions, the Spendor is unfussy about nearby walls and it will work fairly happily on a bookshelf. This being said, there is no question that the S3/5R2 delivers its best performance on a pair of very solid stands.
Spendor S3/5R2
There is an elegance to the Spendor that gives it a timelessness that is very appealing

How was it tested?

The Spendors arrived having been run-in at Spendor HQ. They were placed on a pair of Soundstyle Z60 stands with Blutack acting as a coupler (and keeping that lovely wood veneer out of contact with the tired top plates of the stands). Partnering equipment has been a Naim Supernait 2 integrated amp, Naim ND5XS streamer with XP5 XS power supply and both an Avid Ingenium Twin and Rega Planar 3 turntable via Cyrus Phono Signature Phono Stage, all of which was connected an IsoTek Evo 3 Sigmas mains conditioner. Material used included lossless and high res FLAC, Tidal, Spotify and vinyl.

Sound Quality

Spendor S3/5R2
First, a little moment of subjectivity versus objectivity. Objectively the Spendor offers a narrower frequency response than the Q Acoustics 3020 tested last year and you can have five of those for each S3/5R2. If you choose equipment by the bald numbers on the spec sheet, the Spendor doesn't really make any sense - particularly at a healthy £1,050. It is perhaps a good thing that stereo reviews permit a little subjectivity to creep in.

This is because, having spent a little time with this speaker on two occasions now (although the first pair did not have quite the same spec as these units as the cabinet was not made by Spendor and it used the older type of midbass driver) what this speaker can do is truly singular and if these talents are ones that gel with your requirements, very little else at any price will rival them. What is this talent? Simply put, between 100Hz and perhaps 7-8kHz, the S3/5R2 is utterly sublime. Given this is where music tends to happen, it does lend them a certain advantage.

How does this manifest itself? The Spendor is an incredible combination of tonal accuracy and speed. The original purpose of the LS3/5a after all was to ensure that broadcasts sounded correct. Above everything else, the Spendor still does this with an effortlessness that is immediately and consistently convincing. Listening to the gorgeous recording of The Portico Quartet's Knee deep in the North Sea, the S3/5R2 is absolutely in its element. Its ability to render instruments as a believable presence in the room is sufficiently good that at times, it can generate those 'stop everything and listen to this' moments.

It is with the human voice however that the S3/5R2 plays its trump card. The richness, presence and sheer impact it manages with well recorded vocals are wonderful. Listening to the mighty Liquid Spirit by Gregory Porter, the Spendor is simply fabulous. The slight gravel to Porter's tone and his relationship to the backing instruments is as faithfully reproduced as you could possibly hope for. I have heard speakers that can manage this same feat but none of them are as compact as the S3/5R2 and few are as affordable.
Spendor S3/5R2
Of course, the downside of this is that limited bass response right? After all, a 75Hz rolloff hardly qualifies as 'bass' in the meaningful sense. In truth, it isn't that simple. This speaker will never be the weapon of choice for heavy dubstep, this much is true. What is less easy to qualify is that thanks to a combination of the quality of that midrange and the careful evolution Spendor has carried out on the design, it matters much less than you might think. Listening to the 24/96kHz remaster of Queen's Jazz, the Spendor keeps everything sounding genuinely exciting. The final track More of that Jazz revisits the other tracks on the album in a curious but entertaining medley. The S3/5R2 powers through it delivering impact when it's needed and delicacy when it isn't.

There are of course caveats to this raw ability. If you absolutely, positively must have that smack in your chest from low end bass, this is not the speaker you need but I would have thought you'd have probably grasped that by now. Even using a 2.1 system is likely to have some issues as finding a sub that matches the speed and tonal honesty of the S3/5R2 is likely to be a challenge. Similarly, the absolute scale that the speaker can generate is limited. In a UK lounge, you are unlikely to run into issues but if you need real 'pin you to the wall' dynamics, this isn't the speaker for you.

It is also worth pointing out that the Spendor's extremely revealing nature, that stems from its monitor origins, does mean that this is not a quick fix for electronics that do things you aren't happy with. On the end of quality electronics, it will show you exactly what is good about them but take no prisoners with less capable source equipment. Given the relatively low sensitivity, I'd advise against using them with very low power amplification but by the same token they don't need huge wattage to do what they do. It also doesn't follow that the supporting equipment needs to be expensive - you just need to like what it does enough to have everything about it laid out in front of you.
Spendor S3/5R2
Simply put, between 100Hz and perhaps 7-8kHz, the S3/5R2 is utterly sublime.

Conclusion

Pros

  • Exceptional transparency and detail
  • Easy to place
  • Beautifully made

Cons

  • Limited bass extension
  • Won't flatter poor partnering equipment
  • Looks a little old fashioned

Spendor S3/5R2 Standmount Speaker Review

Judged on bold numbers, the Spendor S3/5R2 is a curious choice. This is a speaker that costs £250 more than the superb KEF LS50 and where the KEF is a technical showpiece of clever design and materials, the Spendor's design principles date back the thick end of half a century. The thing is though that all other things being equal, there are pieces of music that you can play first on one speaker and then the other where the Spendor makes the KEF - and pretty much anything else at the price for that matter - sound broken.

If you are going to be listening relatively near field, your partnering equipment is up to the job and you are clear on the S3/5R2's limitations, this is a truly exceptional speaker. I have noted in the past that this is a speaker you grow into. If you listen to it and find the limitations a bit too constraining on first listen, come back in five years and try and again. The LS3/5a and its descendents haven't been around this long by accident. In principle, this is one of the most significant designs ever and this careful and studied evolution of the basics is the best one yet.

Scores

Build Quality

.
9

Sound Quality

.
9

Ease of Use

.
9

Verdict

.
9
9
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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