Everything.

Size?

I sold my S-100's about two years ago. Big mistake. I have yet to hear a speaker that betters it in accuracy, scale, and sheer listenability. I well remember selling my old EAR 509 valve monobloc amps, after demonstrating them to the buyer using a well known organ recital through the S-100's. The guy was 'gobsmacked' - he simply did not believe a domestic sound system could sound that good, so 3D and lifelike. Needless to say, I sold the amps...(I used a Wadia front end, in case you were wondering)

Simply got to get another pair someday.

Similar Products Used:

ProAc, Dynaudio.

After reviewing other's comments on the SP-100, I should re-evaluate what I had auditioned and selected for our secondary system in our large upper-floor studio/ballroom. Perhaps I selected these used pair of speakers by subcounsiously relating them to my main system consisting of the original Quads we have had in our living room for 25 years. Anyway, the main perpose of getting these speaker was to practice ball-room dancing. They are very heavy for their size and it took quite an effort to get them on a shelf high up near the cieling- a most inappropriate place. One thing I do notice about them is their clear and very natural sound. I am using a Luxman 68 tube amp. (34 wts./ch.) and have the impression that this speaker is so amp friendly, you could use anything on it. We were practicing a mambo to Prez Prado with the windows open. Our backyard neighbor of more then 200 feet came over, complain he couldn't enjoy his evening respit with our noise. In spite of its lousy location in the studio, if I had to give up one pair of speakers, the Quads or the Spenders, it would be very difficult to decide.

Accurate, accurate , accurate... Sympatheic to average electronics upstream.

Can be bass-heavy in smaller rooms.

I first heard S100s some 10-yrs ago in Ying Tan’s system (of Classic Records fame) and was stunned by the accuracy and precise timbres I heard from recordings I thought I knew well—until I heard them over Spendors! I made a note to myself then, to someday acquire a set of these speakers. Now, 10-yrs later I have reacquainted myself with the S100 ‘magic’ in the form of the new SP100.

Before buying the SP100s, I gave close consideration to B&W’s Nautilus 803 & 804’s, but they failed in direct comparison to the SP100 in many ways. The B&Ws best sound could only be realized with few recordings, those that were bright or threadbare made those speakers unlistenable. There was a ‘sameness’ to everything heard over to B&W’s, they could barely keep my attention for more than one side of an LP—or gasp—two, maybe three cuts from a CD.

Similar Products Used:

B&W N803 & N804

Well, I'm in somewhat of a state of disbelief that I've yet to see any postings on the Spendor line. The S-100 (now the SP-100) comes in near the top of the companys line and as such deserves better upstream components than I'm able to feed it at the moment; but.... A little history on where these have come fromis needed. The first speaker they made was the splendid BC-1; a speaker that still is a wonderfully natural sounding unit. It was developed for the BBC as a
studio monitor in the mid 70's! The company went on to produce a whole line based on research done with the BBC, including the LS3/5a. The founders son
took up the challenge to produce a speaker with the legendary midrange of the
BC-1 with much increased dynamics, better extension at both extremes, and much better power handling. Has he succeeded? Oh yes. Make no mistake,
the S-100's will deliver on all of his promises. Having owned a few pairs of the BC-1's, I can only marvel that this company has produced yet another classic.
The S-100's will not throw a soundstage like a Martin Logan, will not image like a Thiel, nor will they give you the supernatural detail of a Quad. What they will give you is music. Female vocalists sound like they are in the room with you,
jazz comes through with it's rythym, pace, dynamics, naturalness, and soul, all
in such a relaxed and dynamic fashion, that listening is often revelatory of the
MESSAGE of the artist. Don't get me wrong; they will image, they will wrap themselves around you, and they will certainly give you details in the recording.
They just go about it in such a natural fashion that seem to be hardly trying.
These don't have the audience that they really deserve. Chris Dudley of Listener Magazine has adopted them I hear, so maybe more people will go out
of their way to listen to these overlooked but oh so worthy gems. Give them a listen if you have any inclination towards natural sound.
PS. I've heard the SP-9's and the SP-1/2's are also knockout music makers.

They will rock you out of your shoes! Then they will make you weep with joy as you are seduced by Joni. These are better than I thought they were. These
speakers flat out make you want to listen to music. Soul, jazz, classical, folk,
rap, rock, pop, new age, blues at live levels, these things WILL make you dance, swoon, laugh, reflect, move, think and above all become involved in MUSIC. They're just flat out great. Listen only if you can buy them.

I replaced my ProAc Studio 100 with Spendor SP 100 one a week ago. As for Studio 100, I have enjoyed my music listnening for about 3 years, and that, with no trouble. But with days coming and going, I knew I need something more special-more natural(mot neutral)and reality based sound. And I decided to try on these big(contrasted with my previous one-proAc studio 100) and heavy pairs. At first sight, it has the vastness of the concert hall, and very real sound. But, like other 'British Speakers(so to speak, BBC types), It will take long time for me to appreciate its innate virtue of sound, and I know the time will be with my joy of listening to the music!
My Gears are follwings...
pre-amp. : Arcam delta 110
power-amp. : Arcam delta 120
Speakers : Spendor SP 100
CDP : Arcam alpha 8
interconnects : AudioQuest emerald
cable : Straightwire

Paging through reviews on my first foray into the internet, I find myself waxing nostalgic for several great years with the S-100. Up until transition 2 years ago to a pair of ATC SCM 20 with an REL subwoofer, I've pretty much used various Spendor speakers on an exclusive basis for almost 15 years. Through that time, I've marveled at their ability to sound good even when the electronics were cheesy, and their ability to bring a wide range of music to life.

The Spendor "family sound" has often been described as slightly warm and "woody," with adequate but not outstanding pace, barely adequate imaging, but an overall quality of balance that makes for fatigue-free listening for long periods. No doubt my personal bias -- toward timbral accuracy and pace over imaging or soundstaging, and with music on for long hours at a time -- animates my fondness for this speaker, but I found the S-100 to be an exemplary performer. I listen to some classical, some rock, but spend a lot of time listening to jazz, afro-beat, salsa, and Brazilian pop and jazz. These latter categories often feature a lot of complex bass and low-frequency drum patterns that require precise pace or timing, but which also risk emasculation if the system can't also convey the true timbre and impact of large drums, expressive bass playing, etc. etc. The S-100 did a magnificent job; I never felt that time values were compromised by this speaker. Truth of timbre extended through the range of instruments and genres -- and let's not forget voices ... all good stuff.

I ultimately looked beyond the S-100 when I moved into a house where I just couldn't seem to eliminate bad room interactions without resort to placement options that were aesthetically unacceptable. I feel fortunate to have found my way to the ATC speakers that I now use. But I've got to tell you that demonstrating the S-100 to my ultimate buyer was the living definition of seller remorse. I hope my buyer is enjoying them as much as I did. And no matter what kind of music you listen to, I expect you would love these speakers as well, unless your groove is measurement of spatial relationships rather than evaluation of musical intentions. These are genuine classics.

The generous SOUND !

...Let me searching...Bass speed maybe...

Excuse me for my bad english language level...i' m french...

I am an "Old" Audiophile son and I could never stand bad sound, this is a genetic and a money problem as well. Then after a long research (???), i found them, I found the Graal ! I found the mystic product : The Spendor S100. For a little price (8000F = 1600$) I have the greatest sound that my ears never heard before. English words are missing me to describe the emotional effects that this speakers produce. (Je les adore !!!).

The sound is Large, pure, regular whatever the level : NATURAL.

These speakers support every kind of Music (Classic to Techno). If they where supposed to be "moved" by a little amplifier ( 60-70 W ) i advise to use a powerful one (100-120 W) with rapid basses to move the Great 30Cm.

The first listening hours are really greats. And after an adaptation time, the sound is yours. I re-discover all my CD collection. I have never listened to a best sound than the "DEAD CAN DANCE live" with the S100. Orgue, clavecin, Lisa Gerard voice, have never been so sharp, so close to me. The STACCATO CD's (1 & 2) has never seemed to be so realistic ! A great job.

The only diference now, when I go back to my friends' (With TRIANGLE VENTIS XS, or BC Acoustics ARAXES) i ask them to turn off the music...

My gear :
Speakers Spendor S100 (Black)
Cables MIT Terminators 6
Signal Cables Audioquest DIGITAL ONE
Monster Cable M1000
DVD Pioneer 717
Amplifier Pioneer VSA-E07 (Really excellent in 5 or in stereo with powerful Bass, extremely rapid)


PS : In an Home Cinema installation, with S100 and a powerful Bass Amplifier, you don't need any Loudspeaker.

If your sound is not good, it can't be the S100 or SP100 fault.

I can not agree with the previous Dave's comments more. I used 4 songs to test the speakers:1. Lee Ritenour's Latin Lover: It's an extremely dynamic Jazz music and I sweat when I listened to it.
2. Phantom of the Opera's 'All I ask of you': A love song that made me 'smile'.
3. A Chorus from church: It did not create an image and stage of 200 people, but the sound is full of emotion and it's presented beautifully.
4. Jennifer Warn's Manhattan: I danced with the music.
Avalon, B&W, Quad, Martin Logan; None of them gave me this kind of experience. This is a speaker with 'emotion' and 'life'. And I believe it's the 'truth' of music. Highly recommend it.
If you can't afford this speaker, consider AR P315HO which has similar characters.

Where do I start? I'm 42 years old and I'm enjoying my Spendor SP100 speakersmore than any other material object that I have ever owned! I LOVE THEM!!!!
I have pictures of them (set up in my apartment) in my desk at work and gaze
at them when stressed out.(I guess I should have had children).
What,you ask,makes me love these huge chunks of wood plastic and fiber so
much? Since Jr. high school(and my introduction to FRANK ZAPPA) I have always known that I would get A BIG TOP OF THE LINE STEREO.
But I didn't start reading about or listening to the "HIGH END" until I got a
divorced 3 years ago (some of you will get the conection). And I soon realized
that could never afford "THE BEST". But I was lucky enough to make a new friend who had been into this stuff for 15 years. His motto?...VINYL/TUBES/MAGNAPANS.
So I started with tubes. A cj prem 11/pv12. great! but now,how toget that BIG
STEREO SOUND with just 70 little ol watts? I tried all
the mini-monitors(Proac,Ariel,Joseph etc.) and some floor standers (Martin logan,Dynaudio,Energy). But either I didn't like the sound or my amp couldn't
bring out the best in them. I love my friends maggies BUT BUT BUT,they need lots of power to make them bloom. Some day if I can afford enough tube power I may still go the Maggie route. But for now my cj/sp100 match kicks butt. A big jucy,
wrap around sound that delights me to my inner soul night after night. It can
play LOUD (my friend clocked it at about 105db with his meter one night) and clear.The sound stage is huge (all dimensions hight,depth,width). In fact the
pesentation is a bit like the maggies,but not quite as "BIG SCREEN". But with
the Spendors I can listen rather near field and BE PART OF the sound stage.
I can get lost in a swirling, dizzying, sonic 3 dimensional other world.
In other words, I now have what I always wanted. THAT BIG ASS STEREO. The
sound is big,liquid,warm,palpable,clean,detailed and all that other verbage.
I KNOW THEY ARE NOT PERFECT. But nothing in high fi is. And they don't
cost ten grand. Thank You. I must go and listen now.