Spendor SA1 Vs LS3/5a

[@dansiaopingpong4538]

Wow! That's the difference! Compared to Falcon, Spendors sound like shoe boxes! I would never have thought that! Falcons are simply alive! surprising, considering that Spendors are actually very good presenters.

[@StevePilgrim2013]

Between your recent videos & those from A British Audiophile, the two of you are helping me close in on the speakers I want for the next 10 or 15 years. Spendor, Proac or ATC are on the very short list with an LS3/5a (Falcon or Graham) or possibly the Dali Menuet SE. Love the British midrange sound...even when it comes from Denmark! Thanks for the videos & the very useful descriptions.

[@dtankimleng]

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[@astroporpoise7802]

There was an ease to the sound with the LS3/5a that really just made me think, "Yep, I can live with that." Thanks for the comparison, really reinforced my decision to get the LS3/5a in the near future.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

The Falcons are the best speakers I’ve actually ever heard with absolutely fantastic top end detail.

[@dittonworks]

Absolutely stunning speakers.. easy in my top 10 of all time

[@nigelgauntlett582]

I have to totally agree ! The Falcons are a notch above the Spendors ; they are definitely not too fussy with what ever source you throw at them! Love to compare them with my vintage Rogers LS3/5 ‘s ( with either my Quad 405-2 ( rebuilt) or my Macintosh vintage M60 monoblocks , these are amazing) . It’s all about Tone with me and I suspect it has to do with the tweeter ; the Falcon is superior !

[@kurthill7030]

Thanks for putting all of your time and effort you do a great job and it's nice that you get to hear speakers in a normal front room and not in a special room treatment free witch most of us have a normal front room 🤣😂👍

[@D1N02]

The Spendors had the punchier bass but overall I liked the falcons better. They felt more immersive and better detailed. More subtle

[@WhitebrookCentral]

Interesting comparison and it's fair to say the Falcons edged it over the Spendors. The missing element is cost. I picked up a nice pair of pre-loved SA1 for £450 which left plenty of room in my budget for a REL sub. That compensates for the lack of bass extension as you'd expect but also adds width and depth to the presentation. I shopped around for some quality LS3/5a and couldn't see anything much below two grand.
Your point about high frequency roll-off is a very good one too. Much as I love my current set up, it just doesn't do cymbals!

[@andredevries4987]

Very good test.
I love them both.
I spin only cd so my choice is the spendor.
But the ls 3/5a are wonderfull too.
Gr André de vries.

[@timothyfreeseha4056]

Automatically, I love the LS3/ 5a. Amazing that you recorded the difference that I discern. To me- from this, I judge the LS3 to be nimble/ agile/ quick..

[@timothyfreeseha4056]

I have the 3/1 s. I have to say that they can be a harsh critic of vinyl recordings and of some digital- or, so I've thought. I actually prefer my klipsh Heresys with vinyl.

[@peterpanjaeger9546]

Danke, das ist sehr interessant. Aus dem gehörten kann ich die gleiche Conclusio ziehen. Eine Eingrenzung durch die Wahl der Quelle vs. Lautsprecher ist nicht Zielführend - da bin ich ganz bei dir.

[@electronicmusic6609]

Spendor sa1 sounds so live. Wow !!

[@92trdman]

Recently bought a pair of LS3/5A, it might not sound dynamically like others, But it could make you listen non stop...

[@dittonworks]

I love LS3/5a

[@Evolved_ue7]

I think the Sa1's hold up really well, Them falcon's are superb, managed to borrow a pair, like pulling teeth handing them back . When dialed in my Dali menuet se are also Wow . I'm still not sure on my next purchase Proac or Splendor, my baby rel does a fantastic job when required.

[@shaunyweavey2470]

How good does that Falcon sound it's got it all for me . The Spendor great but the falcon, the decay the shaping so close to the instrument's real sound .
What they must sound like for real amazing ...

[@CC-bg8gf]

Thanks for this comparison with the high quality sound demos. I just got a pair of SA1s and I picked them over the Falcon LS3/5A and the Graham Audio LS3/5 (not 5A) because of how forgiving they are of edgy digital recordings (plus the lower used price and the great looks). The tonality on the Graham mini-monitors is fantastic, especially on female vocals but I could not live with the stridency that would sometime pop up on vocals. This is just my hearing mind you; some younger folks wouldn’t be bothered at all. If you get a chance to listen to a pair of Graham LS3/5 (not 5A!), don’t hesitate, it would not be a waste of your time. And yeah, I can imagine they would be better than the Spendor SA1 when listening to vinyls.

[@dittonworks]

I’ve had a pair of Chartwell LS3/5’s..
Very impressive 👍👍
Glad to find someone else with SA1’s 👍👍👍👍

[@trendingsoftware]

I came to same conclusion after both tracks and before your commentary.
Very interesting stuff.
The SA1 were more coloured and imagery was inferior to LS35s.
SA1 warmer which some people may prefer.
Overall a great test, thank you.
Cheers
Phil

[@jandjaczenko8943]

Thank you very much for the amazing comparison.

[@kurthill7030]

Spendor sound fuller to me anyway and my taste great job nice to see you back on utube 👍👍

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

Spendor wins, Falcons too bright, less coloured, less warm, more natural (piano, drums), but too analytical sounding if listening for more hours perhaps ?.

[@chriswright5016]

I came to exactly the same conclusion before hearing your views Kev. These are clearly good "sniffer" speakers, pointing out weaknesses in your system to you. I found them easy winners on digital and I would have expected that to carry forward to vinyl and was surprised at what I heard. It's hard to know exactly what's not to their liking, without swapping around things like cartridges, phono stages and indeed the deck itself. It could just be one of those system synergy things, or something more. The key point is, however, that the LS3/5As acquitted themselves really well on the vinyl system and weren't too far behind on digital. One would also need to listen to each speaker across a wide range of genres before making any definite conclusions. My own thoughts, for what they are worth, are that you're likely to be frustrated by these Spendors and they're not likely to get a very long airing when you have the Classics which seem to tick all your boxes all of the time. Interesting and thought provoking video. Many thanks.

[@dittonworks]

Spot on Chris 👍

[@MaxZappa1]

If you are in any doubt the Falcon LS3/5A wins hands down. Its simply no contest. Falcons provide a transparent and enveloping 3D sound, the Spendors by comparison are woolly and 2D. The Falcons deliver a musical performance, whilst the Spendors deliver a musical recording. It would be interesting to compare these to my early MK 1 Linn Kans, which produce musical magic, but are very recording dependent. I take the view, that speakers which reveal the differences between good and bad recordings are simply more accurate, which is what the audiophile should be looking for. We should live with the fact that a lot of music is actually badly engineered/recorded, whilst at the same time celebrate those recordings which come alive, principally due to the work of extremely skilled recording engineers. I have some recordings from the 1950's which simply blow me away, yet some stuff recorded in the 1990's is by comparison very poor, often over engineered.

[@jensbondarenko9195]

good conclusion

[@timothyfreeseha4056]

I've had that experience too..especially with vinyl.

[@harjonoharoen5186]

LS3/5a superb!

[@tg6373]

Thank you for that. The Falcons all the way!

[@user-kz4ll8of3k]

LS#/5a sound much better over all. Clear and vibrant. The SA1 sounds muffled compared to the LS3

[@spooner1]

Spenders seem to go through you whereas the Falcons seem to surround you more with more detail. Both are very revealing. Tough choice. I would have to listen to more genres of music to choose one over the other.

[@colinbenfield326]

Drums sound so much better on the falcons. I do like the zebrano finish on the spenders though. Cracking album by the way.

[@dittonworks]

Thanks for watching.👍

[@jeanclaudelavallee4919]

wish you review the proac tablette 10 also

[@yogi9631]

Great video

[@markbajkowski1171]

This test confirms that the LS3/5a speakers have a relative weakness in reproducing the sound of a piano. The sound is described as "lyrical," which may be due to two main factors: the LS3/5a's limited transient response, which helps to create a smooth tonal quality that works well with vocals and speech, and the relative absence of high frequencies, which again contributes to the overall tonal balance. These characteristics may be why, for example, the Proac brand, which allows for more "unrestricted" high frequencies, tends to produce a more realistic piano sound. It's worth noting that this test did not examine the impact of DAC-speaker pairing or amp-speaker matching on piano reproduction, which can also be a factor to consider when trying to find a personal compromise between restriction and emphasis, particularly when using high-resolution speakers. All this also relates to personal music type preferences that often include favorite recording studio labels/producers that sound surprisingly different too.

[@DougMen1]

The Spendors are good, but on the Jazz piece, they are more colored and less dynamic than the LS35A, which were astounding sounding, literally more than perfect. I'm gobsmacked by the Falcons.

[@dittonworks]

The Falcon’s are phenomenal

[@DougMen1]

@@dittonworks I'm just astounded by how perfect they sounded, and I'm a big fan of Spendor too, but they couldn't compete on that track. I still can't believe the perfect tonality and explosive dynamics that I heard from those little boxes on that tune. And the amp was the Bluesound? And, you're right, on the first track, the Spendors were much better, but on the vinyl track they couldn't keep up.

[@dittonworks]

@@DougMen1 my Spendor Classic 2/3’s sound phenomenal on that track.
Way more power and dynamics over the LS3/5a

[@DougMen1]

@@dittonworks I fell in love with the 2/3's on your channel too. That started my love affair with Spendor

[@morayjames92]

Falcon LS3/5A with sub roll off the monitor at the bottom with a mini DSP and you can play as loud or as quietly as you like.

[@riccitone]

Late to the game here. Wondering if you've had a chance to hear the newer Spendor A1's and/or the classic 4/5's? just got a used pair of the 4/5's and they sound great with my partnering equipment (luckily!).

[@armanddimeo6575]

The Spendors are more accurate and more revealing of bad sources. The Falcons (LS3/5as) have a more romantic sound, which will tend to make bad sources sound better than they really are. I checked the measurements on the Falcons and they measure terrible! I think the problem with the Spendors on analog sources is your turntable. I have never heard a Technics ( presumably direct drive) turntable that did not sound mechanical to me. Get a better turntable! I think Rega would be a good place to start.

[@dittonworks]

Thanks for watching.. the Technics is fine for me and sounds great through my Spendor Classic 2/3’s 👍

[@gaborozorai3714]

Funny how the SA1's and vinyl don't get along. Do they perhaps emphasize the range where vinyl noise is?
I only have Mistrals, Chinese ls3/5a clones. You must use them as intended, in a near field listening setup, for them to open up, get balanced and punchy.

[@dittonworks]

I listen in near field myself.
I think the SA1’s show up flaws in my tt set up, the falcons are more forgiving.

[@andreansaragihaja]

the voice is good, the clarity is there, but it sounds dry on my cellphone

[@Mario-pn5lp]

Hello, I really enjoy your videos and I hope that you continue making them for a long time to come! However I do wonder: what’s up with the no toe in? I’ve owned a pair of gold badge Falcon’s for over a year and moved them around in every possible place and direction in my small and difficult listening room, trying to find the optimal placement for them. Frustrating as it was, I really feel like I’ve gotten to know the speakers well. From my experience, listening to them from the near to midfield like you seem to do, the LS3/5a sound the best with the toe in such that you don’t see the sides of the speakers. Also try to move them out roughly 40 cm from the back and side walls. Finally, if you can, try them with a EL34 or EL84 tube amp. Like a Leben or a Line Magnetic. Trust me you won’t regret it;) Keep up the good work! /Mario

[@dittonworks]

LS3/5a should be run flat with no toe in firing the length of the room.

[@Mario-pn5lp]

@@dittonworks unfortunately not true.

[@dittonworks]

@@Mario-pn5lp I’m afraid it is true my friend.
That is exactly how you “should” set up LS3/5a. I didn’t say you “must” do that, it’s totally up to you how you set them up in your room getting the best results for you 👍👍

[@shuckylad]

Wow what a difference, the Spendors sound awful in comparison. 😳

[@Jil8840]

Great test. Thank you. Can you make a test with the Rogers LS??

[@jozefserf2024]

LS3/5a sounds more correct.
There's something tonally quite wrong with these Spendors.

[@hoobsgroove]

yes turntable could be down to set up you have to make sure you can get a pure mains power that can lose a lot of detail and smear the the sound if not. and interconnects people use the wrong type and length , use 50 ohms from turntable to the phono stage/preamp even 30 ohms triple shielded will make the cartridge more lively.
length will altering it's capacitance and inductance, going with a longer length will give you more of a top end and reduce bass. and vice versa.
all analogue interconnect should be 50 ohms digital 93+ ohms
you haven't cleaned the record be an issue if it's not washed properly.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

Just noticed the TEAC CD Player, Signals had one of them as a trade in sometime ago.

[@dittonworks]

That’s is it 👍

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

@@dittonworks I was very tempted myself when Andy showed it to me!
I’ve got the S35r2 Spendors myself but keep hankering after the Falcons, I’ve tried the ATC standmounts also but ended up keeping the Spendors for now! They seem to be a good all rounder.

[@dittonworks]

@@andrewlittleboy8532 the S3/5r2 are better than the SA1 in my opinion but the Falcon are a league above..

[@pawekwas8815]

This is no longer a class difference.
Falcon is in a different league.
Falcon is a live performance.
Spendor sounds like he's coming from the other room.

[@Boatzerama]

The Falcon’s have more space and airy the Spendor’s sound more enclosed.

[@dittonworks]

Agreed 👍 thanks for watching

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

Absolutely correct the Spendors sound better with the CD! Maybe try the Ortofon Red cartridge.

[@dittonworks]

I’m using 2m Blue now..
I’ll try the 2m Black

[@DougMen1]

I see now, from your video of your system, that the Bluenode is your streamer from them, not their amp, and the amp is your Meridian.

[@mikecees2230]

As expected the Falcon were an easy pick, even the bass sounded ''adequate''. Having owned Rogers LS3/5a back in the day I know that they need plenty of juice to sound good in an average living room, otherwise it's near field applications only. Back then I had a 125w/ch pure class A Threshold Stasis 3 space heater 🥵driving them so it wasn't a problem. What amp was used in your comparison?
@ Steve Pilgrim I also owned the Dali Menuet for a very brief period, with a 70 w Naim integrated they were only listenable when sitting directly in front of them otherwise they sounded like a $29 transistor radio.

[@dittonworks]

Yes 👍
The meridian 557 will pretty much drive anything. The Falcons are a hard act to follow but on digital the SA1’s weren’t bad.
Time to tweak the TT now

[@mikecees2230]

@@dittonworks I checked the Meridian and I can imagine that it could manhandle most speakers. Unfortunately very hard to find second hand ones in my neck of the woods

[@Alexeymariupol]

большое спасибо

[@laptcheung2717]

beautiful sound

[@CinemaDemocratica]

As I recall you didn't care for the s5e? It didn't seem as qualified as this sound demo -- there wasn't the duality of digital vs vinyl, e.g.

[@gavinralph2910]

Lovely open LS3/5A mids......BUT....as with all LS3/5A's that are not being used in the back of a mobile BBC unit or very small room....you must use a good sub.......only then can you enjoy the rest of the lower frequency's.....which are clearly missing🤫

[@dittonworks]

The only sub I would consider is the AB1 but I honestly don’t miss the lower octaves.

[@kamydabrindisi]

Hi, which Is the amp?

[@Maccaboy1984]

I stupidly sold my SA1s, bad decision

[@dittonworks]

What did you replace them with

[@user-cf2bu6if2k]

LS3/5a better

[@samc269]

Always use the same stands when comparing and at least 1 ft away from the back wall.

[@dittonworks]

Sorry I can’t do that on SA1.. they are correct stands for the speakers

[@samc269]

@@dittonworks not true

[@dittonworks]

@@samc269 100% true.. Terry miles designed the SA1 with these stands. How do I know?? I asked him 😉
And you measure distance from the the front baffle not the back of the cabinets.
the SA1’s were way further out that 1ft.

[@samc269]

@@dittonworks 😆

[@samc269]

@@dittonworksshow for beginners only.

[@tasosat6807]

understand it better with voices

[@enricoguasta2843]

Come casse, sono abbastanza penose....nella loro leggerezza...il suono, è bello quando tende all' obesità controllata...esiste, ma per ottenerlo ci vogliono molti soldi...

[@sarahX..]

LS3/5. Easy

[@dittonworks]

Thanks for watching

[@laptcheung2717]

what power amp?

[@dittonworks]

Meridian 557

[@stevechapman6551]

Just chuck a load of money at these over complicated stands instead.

[@melchior-chr.v.brincken8006]

Shouty. Pushy. Not grounded. Annoying. Where are the lower mids? Bass?

[@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio]

03:03 | 04:01
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[@sylvio1980]

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