Spendor SP1/2E

Spendor SP1/2E’s are one of a kind speakers. Here is what others have said,

It may be the most loved speaker in the world."--Bob Neill, Enjoy the Music.com. "I consider them a masterwork of speaker design" Robert E, Green, THE ABSOLUTE SOUND, Issue 90.

Successor to the legendary BC1, proudly carries forward the BBC sound legacy, pedigree and heritage. Cherry finish. Graded 9 due to age only otherwise and small imperfections that don’t show in photos. Unusual to find now in such nice condition. They sit on stands so the bottoms probably have scratches from adjustments. Cabinets, drivers and grilles are in impeccable shape. Matching pair with consecutive serial numbers. Limited gentle use. This is widely considered to be by far the best iteration based on the original BBC LS3/6 design, and for that reason purists prefer the Classic SP series over the newer R ones. The 2E was the forth and last interaction of the speaker. The wood is beautiful.

The cabinet of the Spendor SP1/2E has a 3-way architecture and runs with dual front-firing bass reflex ports for a better air flow and more stable acoustics, as well as helping reach a lower bottom end. The bass woofer sports a polypropylene cone 200mm in diameter, with a 40mm voice coil and can resonate as deep as 45Hz, being suitable for both home cinema use and small scale stereo installations as well. The dedicated midrange driver runs with a 38mm shaded pole unit, ensuring crisp and clean sound for excellent vocal representation.

The upper part of the audio spectrum is delivered by a 19mm soft dome tweeter loaded in a ferrofluid-cooled ensemble for eliminating the heat-generated sonic reproductions problems and which can reach as high as 20kHz, offering precise operation with any kind of media, music and movies alike, reproducing a sound with enhanced transparency and a richer soundstaging that you ever expected.

The wooden cabinet has serious and heavy internal damping and strutting and the performance of the paired loudspeakers has been engineered down to differences less than 1dB, for a very consistent and well-balanced performance.

Robert E. Greene summed it best:

"They simply come remarkably close to what music sounds like...But try instead to summon up the literal sound of music in your mind. Then listen to the SP1/2s. I believe that you will understand why I consider them a masterwork of speaker design."

Dimensions (LxWxH) 635 x 300 x 300 mm; weight is 40 lb / speaker.

The stands are, I believe, Sound Anchor brand, as the look and weigh identical, but they are not labeled so I cannot be sure. They are included at no cost as a free “extra” for buying the speakers. The speakers and stands were originally purchased in England by the previous owner. One stand has a slight discoloration mark as seen in pictures and each has three holes on the bottom where I believe screw-in risers could be used. The risers were not included when I bought the speakers and I have never needed them. A can of flat black spray paint would bring the stand’s appearance back to excellent condition. Sound Anchor stands for these speakers currently cost $576.

Hoping for local pickup in the greater Washington DC area only (this includes northern VA, where I am, southern Maryland, and Washington, DC) but willing to send. I would be willing to drive up to 100 miles to meet you half way increasing the selling area to 200 miles from Washington DC. These are heavy and I would like whomever is lucky enough to buy these to hear and see them first. Just looking for a seamless transaction. For Shipping I use the local UPS office for packing and shipping I have listed $350 but I will only charge actual cost for packing and shipping anything under $350 will be refunded anything over will I will pay excess. Original box and manual not included.

I would also consider a trade for a DAC or Preamp for those in the greater DC area.