I have sold (and heard) 1 pair of BC1 ($600 CAD in 1976). A best of breed IMO. Tweaked a bit and still serving as 2ndroom speakers (main room has triple QUAD 57s (and helper woofers)
dave
Finally dug out my 303, Zen V2 and fed the Spender A5r with some Amazon Music. Jeez - that's different!
Extended Bass - really? True, I'm using my 303 and it is not the same animal as the 405 or the 909, but none the less there should be more there! What seems to have happened is, the mid-range has been "Hollowed out" leaving it extremely bright. Perhaps shifting more of the lower mid range away from what would have been the BC1's driver is an indication of the work the BC1 is doing in that region? BC1 crossover, 3.4khz., A5r 700hz.
I am playing only the right channel so as not to distract from the speakers performance. It sounds more than a little "Tinny" but the lack of sibilance - "Tizziness" is obvious. I am a fan of Joan Biaz but the nasal-ness that comes over with some of her songs fatigues me to the extent that I can't take much more than one or two tracks. Remarkably, that is much less obvious with this speaker. It certainly doesn't dominate when she hits certain notes as it does with the BC1's.
The midrange seems much more clinical, if not sterile. But there is a clarity, an absence of blurring to vocals - Dylan in particular.
But that Bass - where is it it? There seems to be a commonality between this speaker and the BC1. Push the BC1 harder and it will tend towards boominess. Not so this I don't think, but it is going to need a bit of power to fill in the void that the BC1 comfortably bridges.
There is a purity to vocals however which is quite delightful, even when the singer hits a bum note. It's growing on me, sitting listening to the likes of Art Garfunkel , quite soothing - lovely whistler. I get the impression music is much more intricate with this beast. Its musicality seems more complex.
If I can get my head around the fact that what I hitherto thought was bass; was not, and accept that it should not dominate, I could really get to like this speaker. There is no questioning the Quality of the BC1. However, I think this little exercise illustrate how much influence its cabinet has. It gives it warmth, as long as it is not overdriven. But Spendor never claimed high power handling for it.
But Jeez - play bright music on this thing and it really becomes very tinny - where the hell is that bass?
Lovely to listen again via the 303 - at 53 years old, what a diamond! Next - the 405 and I expect to hear the kind difference I found when I first used it with the BC1's - at the very least.
Extended Bass - really? True, I'm using my 303 and it is not the same animal as the 405 or the 909, but none the less there should be more there! What seems to have happened is, the mid-range has been "Hollowed out" leaving it extremely bright. Perhaps shifting more of the lower mid range away from what would have been the BC1's driver is an indication of the work the BC1 is doing in that region? BC1 crossover, 3.4khz., A5r 700hz.
I am playing only the right channel so as not to distract from the speakers performance. It sounds more than a little "Tinny" but the lack of sibilance - "Tizziness" is obvious. I am a fan of Joan Biaz but the nasal-ness that comes over with some of her songs fatigues me to the extent that I can't take much more than one or two tracks. Remarkably, that is much less obvious with this speaker. It certainly doesn't dominate when she hits certain notes as it does with the BC1's.
The midrange seems much more clinical, if not sterile. But there is a clarity, an absence of blurring to vocals - Dylan in particular.
But that Bass - where is it it? There seems to be a commonality between this speaker and the BC1. Push the BC1 harder and it will tend towards boominess. Not so this I don't think, but it is going to need a bit of power to fill in the void that the BC1 comfortably bridges.
There is a purity to vocals however which is quite delightful, even when the singer hits a bum note. It's growing on me, sitting listening to the likes of Art Garfunkel , quite soothing - lovely whistler. I get the impression music is much more intricate with this beast. Its musicality seems more complex.
If I can get my head around the fact that what I hitherto thought was bass; was not, and accept that it should not dominate, I could really get to like this speaker. There is no questioning the Quality of the BC1. However, I think this little exercise illustrate how much influence its cabinet has. It gives it warmth, as long as it is not overdriven. But Spendor never claimed high power handling for it.
But Jeez - play bright music on this thing and it really becomes very tinny - where the hell is that bass?
Lovely to listen again via the 303 - at 53 years old, what a diamond! Next - the 405 and I expect to hear the kind difference I found when I first used it with the BC1's - at the very least.