The Spendor BC1
- Thread starter paskinn
- Start date
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
Yes, why has all that silly twisted cable been used ?
'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'
'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'
Yes, as in my post #30
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
Just to restart this thread, I noticed a pair of BC1s recently went for only £156 on eBay.
OK, they were scratched and the grilles needed replacing.
Nothing major and could easily be sorted out.
OK, they were scratched and the grilles needed replacing.
Nothing major and could easily be sorted out.
Radfordman
pfm Member
Not far from me too!
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
I hadn’t really noticed that Spendors were massively inflated.
Compared with some speakers they are very affordable.
Jonathan
pfm Member
in the US they seem to go for quite a bit - not at all correlating to other british loudspeakers - and the secondary market seems to be following suit ... http://store.acousticsounds.com/a/28136/Spendor
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
I wouldn’t have thought they are overpriced in the US of A. They’re not cheap here.
You have to pay for quality...
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
Old BC1s with scratched up cabinets are getting good money. There are no bargains anymore, and on this side of the ocean Spendors don't turn up in boot sales.
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
Good to see they are starting to get the respect they deserve. In pretty much every way they are both more important historically, and better sounding, taking into account their much wider bandwidth and greater loudness potential, than the over priced LS3/5A's.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
I suppose, but I'd prefer if the world had waited to sit up and take notice until after I could manage to secure a cheap pair for myself...
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
I suspect the BBC design information that Spencer Hughes used to great effect.
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
I believe the BBC fell out with him and took some sort of legal action after alleging that the BC1 had been developed using their materials, equipment and facilities whilst he was employed by them...
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
In fact I'm vaguely remembering that he ended up having to pay the BBC a percentage of the profit from the BC1 and this was the main impetus in bringing out the BC2. The argument was over the precise formulation and construction of the cone in the bass/mid driver IIRC....
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
You’re correct re. payment to the BBC.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
This information would include both the cone material and the design of a crossover network that actually takes into account the real response of the drive units in situ, rather than just using textbook filters. In the early 1970s that was revolutionary.
GRC
More Red Wine Member
Don't want to thread-jack, but this resurrected thread caused me to hark back to the day when I lusted after some BC1s because a good friend had a pair on the end of Quad 33/303. I was into Technics at the time (I worked for Panasonic/Technics at the time so got some good deals 
). Couldn't find any but was taken by a pair of SMC AS40 which the dealer (can't remember who but he was a Spendor dealer as well) thought were better and cheaper. So I bought them and lived happily for many years. I sold them on eBay ages ago and below is my Description at the time (they just don't make 'em like this anymore). Checkout the comment by Hi-Fi for Pleasure!
Here is something special for you retro fans - a very rare pair of AS40 Studio loudspeakers made by SMC Loudspeakers in Bedfordshire in 1977. Sadly, SMC (like many others of the same era) are no longer with us so good luck trying to find out anything more about these beasts.
Technical Specification
Size 324 x 635 x 356 mm (about 13” wide x 25” tall x 14” deep)
Weight 18Kg
Frequency response 35Hz – 25KHz DIN (45 Hz – 20 KHz +/- 3dB)
Power Rating 50W DIN 100W Peak
Sensitivity 20W = 96dB @ 1 metre
Max. Output 103dB Peak @ 1 metre
Crossover 12 element @ 500 Hz and 4 KHz
LF Unit 250 mm dense pulp cone with roll surround
MR Unit 115 mm plastic cone with roll surround
HF Unit 25 mm fabric dome
This is an advanced infinite baffle (sealed box) design with the mid-range unit in its own line enclosure, so timing is spot-on (compared to reflex designs) and the big bass unit ensures it goes down low. They were rated 2nd overall among 30 models put through their paces by “Hi-Fi for Pleasure” magazine and judged to be one of the most accurate loudspeakers tested (the famous Spendor BC1 came 18th and Quad Electrostatic 19th – make of that what you will!).
The finish is teak laminate in OK-ish condition for the years. There are quite a few scratches and dings commensurate with the age but nothing a little polish and elbow grease over a weekend couldn’t fix.
Because these speakers were designed for (low) stand mounting I’ll also provide the pair of black metal stands that I used with them. These are not the proper SMC ones but do the job and are not unlike the SMC versions. In all honesty, these stands could do with a quick rub down and coat of paint (unless cosmetics / WAF are not an issue). They have castors on the base - as did many stands of that era - but perfectionists could easily replace these with spikes. Hey – at least it makes positioning them easier!
Sound Quality
I bought these speakers new in 1977 and they ran on the end of a big old Technics SA 8500X 4-channel receiver fed by a Technics SL-23 record deck and a Technics RS-273USD cassette deck (all of which I still have). They have not been used for more than 10 years now but sounded pretty good when I fired them up the other day for the photos.
I tested them on a little Rotel RA-820BX that I bought new in 1985 and still does great service in the study. This is an amp known to be a tad on the lean side but the AS40s sound typically 70s “big” but with good timing because of the sealed-box design. Perhaps not quite as much punch or extension as the latest models (I’m thinking speakers upwards of £1000 a pair) but non-too-shabby. I was actually quite impressed with them but simply don’t have a spare room big enough to do them justice. Even my wife thought they sounded good (but too big to keep!).
There is no sign of rot or corrosion on the drive units, and the cones and rubber roll surrounds in particular seem to be in excellent condition, as are the fabric grilles.
If you are seriously interested, I have several more photographs that I’m happy to email so just get in contact.
Bid in confidence, and good luck!
This is strictly a collect-in-person deal. I don’t have boxes and don’t want to try packing them up.
DSC00026 by Fatt Burger, on Flickr
). Couldn't find any but was taken by a pair of SMC AS40 which the dealer (can't remember who but he was a Spendor dealer as well) thought were better and cheaper. So I bought them and lived happily for many years. I sold them on eBay ages ago and below is my Description at the time (they just don't make 'em like this anymore). Checkout the comment by Hi-Fi for Pleasure!Here is something special for you retro fans - a very rare pair of AS40 Studio loudspeakers made by SMC Loudspeakers in Bedfordshire in 1977. Sadly, SMC (like many others of the same era) are no longer with us so good luck trying to find out anything more about these beasts.
Technical Specification
Size 324 x 635 x 356 mm (about 13” wide x 25” tall x 14” deep)
Weight 18Kg
Frequency response 35Hz – 25KHz DIN (45 Hz – 20 KHz +/- 3dB)
Power Rating 50W DIN 100W Peak
Sensitivity 20W = 96dB @ 1 metre
Max. Output 103dB Peak @ 1 metre
Crossover 12 element @ 500 Hz and 4 KHz
LF Unit 250 mm dense pulp cone with roll surround
MR Unit 115 mm plastic cone with roll surround
HF Unit 25 mm fabric dome
This is an advanced infinite baffle (sealed box) design with the mid-range unit in its own line enclosure, so timing is spot-on (compared to reflex designs) and the big bass unit ensures it goes down low. They were rated 2nd overall among 30 models put through their paces by “Hi-Fi for Pleasure” magazine and judged to be one of the most accurate loudspeakers tested (the famous Spendor BC1 came 18th and Quad Electrostatic 19th – make of that what you will!).
The finish is teak laminate in OK-ish condition for the years. There are quite a few scratches and dings commensurate with the age but nothing a little polish and elbow grease over a weekend couldn’t fix.
Because these speakers were designed for (low) stand mounting I’ll also provide the pair of black metal stands that I used with them. These are not the proper SMC ones but do the job and are not unlike the SMC versions. In all honesty, these stands could do with a quick rub down and coat of paint (unless cosmetics / WAF are not an issue). They have castors on the base - as did many stands of that era - but perfectionists could easily replace these with spikes. Hey – at least it makes positioning them easier!
Sound Quality
I bought these speakers new in 1977 and they ran on the end of a big old Technics SA 8500X 4-channel receiver fed by a Technics SL-23 record deck and a Technics RS-273USD cassette deck (all of which I still have). They have not been used for more than 10 years now but sounded pretty good when I fired them up the other day for the photos.
I tested them on a little Rotel RA-820BX that I bought new in 1985 and still does great service in the study. This is an amp known to be a tad on the lean side but the AS40s sound typically 70s “big” but with good timing because of the sealed-box design. Perhaps not quite as much punch or extension as the latest models (I’m thinking speakers upwards of £1000 a pair) but non-too-shabby. I was actually quite impressed with them but simply don’t have a spare room big enough to do them justice. Even my wife thought they sounded good (but too big to keep!).
There is no sign of rot or corrosion on the drive units, and the cones and rubber roll surrounds in particular seem to be in excellent condition, as are the fabric grilles.
If you are seriously interested, I have several more photographs that I’m happy to email so just get in contact.
Bid in confidence, and good luck!
This is strictly a collect-in-person deal. I don’t have boxes and don’t want to try packing them up.
DSC00026 by Fatt Burger, on Flickr