Hi-Fi: Splendor S3/5R Stand-Mount Loudspeakers – Review

There should be a picture of these Spendor speakers in the dictionary next to the entry for ‘mini-monitor’ because they define the concept, being small, simple and transparent two-way loudspeakers in the tradition of the BBC LS3/5a.

Spendor was licensed to build the immortal LS3/5a for more than 20 years, so it’s no surprise that what we have here is an updated version of a reference BBC speaker loved by discerning audiophiles around the world.

I start most of my reviews with disc one of The Philosopher’s Stone by Van Morrison and the Spendors were entirely able to deal with the dynamics of the first track, ‘Really Don’t Know’, which has a couple of extravagantly loud saxophones going hard. They also had no trouble rendering Morrison’s vocals in an entirely believable way. Lesser speakers can make the second track, ‘Ordinary Everyday People’, sound veiled and restrained but the S3/5Rs were very much in control of the clarity and impact of the guitar and drums, not to mention the vocals, which again sounded natural, open and lifelike.

Next up was Massive Attack’s Collected and then Only By the Night by Kings of Leon, which should be bad news for speakers with a shoebox-sized sealed cabinet and a single five-inch bass/mid driver. The low bass just wasn’t there in any strength (and nor you would expect it to be) but the bass that was around was as tight as… well, as tight as a drum. These speakers do need to be up close to a wall to get some bass reinforcement or the balance is a little too lean, but set up correctly they’ll surprise many a listener.

Trying music from the likes of Bob Dylan, The Watson Twins, Nils Lofgren, Diana Krall, Miles Davis and especially Rodrigo y Gabriela (oh Lord those guitars are amazing) proved that these are exceptional little speakers. They’re neutral, musical with the ability to reveal every detail of a recording and to reproduce voices with an almost freakish realism. They faithfully play back exactly what they’re fed and also pull off the trademark mini-monitor vanishing trick by absolutely disappearing from the end of the room, leaving the illusion of music emanating from the air itself.

They’re good looking, nicely put together and they really are tiny, standing barely taller than a copy of Tone. As you’d expect, they aren’t efficient and I had to wind up my amps harder than ever before to get high levels. The drivers were shunting back and forth alarmingly when I really had them cranked up but they suffered no ill effects.

If you’re into dub, drum and bass or heavy rock, or just have a big room you want to fill with party sound levels, these aren’t going to do the business. However, they are a great choice if you value delicacy, accuracy, neutrality and an intimate connection to the music above the ability to shake the foundations.

ASHLEY KRAMER

Splendor S3/5R Stand-Mount Loudspeakers – Tech Specs

TWEETER: 20mm soft dome with fluid cooling
MID/BASS: 140mm ep39 cone
SENSITIVITY: 84dB for 1 watt at 1 metre
IN ROOM RESPONSE: -6dB at 60Hz
IMPEDANCE: 8 ohms nominal
POWER HANDLING: 100 watts
DIMENSIONS: 305 x 165 x 190mm (H/W/D)
WEIGHT: 4.6kg each
FINISHES: Black ash, cherry, light oak, rosenut, walnut

PROS

• Reproduction of vocals
• Couth demeanor

CONS

• Minimal low bass
• Limited sensitivity

VERDICT

• Dangerously addictive little speaker

CONTACT

orangeroad.nz@gmail.com

This article is from Tone issue 81. Click here to check it out.