Solid design of a monitor speaker. Always listenable with a natural sound quality about it. Especially good on classical music.

Bass can sound a bit flabby at times but i have found that loacation is all important to really make them sing.

I have had a long association with this speaker from the 1970's using it with various amps. I currently have a pair which have bass port tubes and have been bi-wired.(by myself) I am using and old Quad 303/33 combination so you could say that my interest is certainly in the past. I listen to a wide range of music from Organ recitals to Mike Oldfield, Led Zepplin and more current, The Corrs, Rod Stewart. Acoustic tracks certainly shine on these speakers as does clasical music. Heavy rock etc i am not so sure. I never tire of listening to them and think that the only alternative speakers i would have, are a pair of Quad ELS' for their transparent sound - only as a reserve. So long has been my association with them that before i could afford to buy a pair, when i was a teenager, I built my own copies using Kef bass drivers and Celestion and STC top end. They were faithful right down to the grills, badges and trolley stands! Didn't quite have that Spendor sound though.

Similar Products Used:

Rogers BBC monitors, Quad ELS, Rogers LS3/5a

Musical, listenable for hours and hours

Deep Bass

I bought a pair of demos in 1978 from a dealer who was discontinuing the Spendor line. For the past 20+ years I have continued to evaluate newer designs with the intent of replacing the BC-1s. Never could get that magic from anything else. In 1999 a bought a pair of Sonus Faber Concertos and thought I had finally done it. The Concertos are now on my home theater system and the Spendors remain on my inexpensive, but value oriented audio system. They sound great with my tubed preamp and solid state amp. Anyone who listens to music (as opposed to those who are into sound) will not find a better value in audio.

This is a great British speaker. A classic in the true sense. If you can find it, buy it. It will reward you with many hours of musical pleasure.
I've owned countless speakers over the years, Pro-Ac, Maggies, B&W, etc., and I keep going back to the BC-1. The new Spendor S-100 is good but just doesn't sound like the orignial BC-1. Not even the Quad ES can sound like a well tuned Spendor. The only speaker I know to compete in the midrange is the original Pro-Ac Tablet (early serial number) and the LS35-a on speech material. The Maggies (MG-IIIA) ribbon are good at the top end and may have the Spendor beat here, also. But from 50hz to 15khz nothing comes as close to getting it right as the BC-1.

What more can I say. Buy it, you'll love it. I can still hear James Taylor singing. It makes the hair on my neck stand straight up. I mean it. It's that good! Listen to him play the acoustical guitar. It's magic. And only the way a BC-1 can make it sound.

One additional thought, play it with a good drive source and proper electronics. It's a tough load to drive. I recommend the Aragon 2004. Sweet and soft. Doesn't have the muscle of the 4004 or 8008 power supply, but it sounds more like music. About 100 watts per side with the ability to deliver into tough loads. However, this combo can cause the bass to be a little fat, so keep the speaker approx. 12" off the floor (on good rigid steel stands). Place the speaker out away from the back wall, say 4', if you have the room.

Now, lean back, turn the lights down low, kick your shoes off and listen. It was always there, you just needed something to make it happen. The BC-1.

Excellent imaging. The music is not boxed in, it really floats free.

Lower and mid-bass is not very exact

I bought the speakers second hand some years ago. The cabinet was in sorry state, but the price was right. Later on I found out the bass speakers were not originals. I ended up talking to the helpfull people of spendor and was able to order a matched pair of woofers for a reasonable price. The cabinet still looks pretty bad, but the music sounds wonderfull. they are my reference speakers for imaging when I built my new designs.

Similar Products Used:

Kef, focal, audax, dynausio, beyma, Jordanow