Installed Spendor A4.2 speakers yesterday. Initially they sounded a bit bright, thin and without much bass. Spendor explicitly mentions that the speakers require a running in period to reach their peak performance, so I was not too worried.
It’s now only 1.5 days later and what a difference. Everything is much more relaxed now and the bass performance is great. I have n’t experienced such a big difference with other speakers before (or maybe the changes were subtle over a long period of time).
How long does it typically take for new speakers to reach their peak performance?
@whatu1tme2b i had the A4 version and then moved to the D7.2. Both took about 200 hours. I played them at night on very low volume. I wonder if the A4.2 has similar driver technology to the D7.2?
Great that you are happy with the Spendor A4.2, enjoy! I heard them recently at a hi-fi show and they were one of the best systems there at an affordable price. They were set up quite freely there. Out of interest, may I ask how big your room is and how you have set them up (also freely with a large distance to the back wall and side walls)?
My room has a weird shape shape and includes a half-open kitchen. It is approx. 6m wide with 12 smaller windows at one side. It is approx. 5m deep with 1 large window at one side.
The speakers are at the 6m wall with the smaller windows. They are approx. 2.45m apart and approx. 45cm from the wall. Nowhere near a side wall. The listening position is approx. 2.75m from the front of the speakers.
Looks like the running-in period can be very long. That’s good to know, so I can expect more over time. I like what I am hearing so far. The Spendors replaced Tannoy Revolution XT 8F’s, which were much bigger. The Tannoys were a bit too big in terms of size and sound for the room. I was a bit nervous how things would turn out, but I am pretty happy.
@whatu1tme2b Glad you are liking them.For me, Spendors have a very natural tonal balance when fully run in. Your listening chair or sofa height is also important because of the speakers relatively short height. I found that ear height should more or less equal tweeter height. That might preclude some listening furniture.
You may be right. I recently upgraded from Nait 5si to Nait XS3, which is a noticeable step up. I am going to enjoy this combination and see how it evolves until the speakers are fully run-in.
Thank you very much. It is actually a fairly large, modern room measuring around 30 square metres with an open-plan kitchen. I am surprised that the A4 needs some space between the rear and side walls. It’s good to know that they sound good in this kind of setting. However, my listening room is only around 17 square metres in size. Spendor also recommends the A4 for rooms of this size, though.
I think the best thing to do is try to arrange a home demo (if at all feasible). I think the A4’s should also work well in a smaller room.
I swapped Tannoy Revolution XT 8F’s for the Spendors A4.2’s. The Tannoy’s were much bigger in size and sound. But I live in an apartment building and I always struggled with the bass response and especially to avoid annoying any neighbors. I eventually ended up using bass port plugs, which is n’t ideal.
That was one of the reasons for choosing compact speakers. The Spendors are less bass-heavy, but still have a nice deep bass extension.
@whatu1tme2b Our listening area is odd. The right well opens into an open dining area, so it is shorter than the left wall the “official” dimensions are 12 feet by 24 feet. Also there is a 5 by 8 foot open entrance area. The most confounding aspect of the room is its construction materials. Plaster, concrete and cinder block. The room, bare, can be reflective, while exaggerating bass.
I want to say that over the years I had many brands of speakers that for many reasons, performed poorly in our space. The A4 speakers performed superbly. We were lucky to find them and also found the D7.2 to perform even better in our most difficult space.
This was without a home demo as NYC dealers do not offer this. It helped that our dealer had once lived in our complex and was very familiar with our layout and acoustics.The A4 speakers clearly showed the effects of my initial equipment upgrades.
Some rooms can be really challenging. Home demo’s are not really a common thing. Dealers prefer listening sessions in their shop, but that only provides an impression. Speakers can sound so different with your own equipment and in your own room. Pretty difficult process for something pretty expensive.
My dealer did not let me upgrade beyond the SN3/NDX2 until I upgraded my speakers to the D7.2. Over the years we found less was indeed more. We had all manner of acoustic treatment, to the point where our living room looked like a visual disaster and not a living room. We took everything out and things sounded better.
Indeed. It is easy to take a turn for the worse in this hobby. I can understand some mild acoustic treatment, but I do n’t really like the look of it. It is nice to have a dealer that knows what he/she is doing and can give you good advice.
I am curious how the Spendors are going to evolve. Currently, they sound a bit bright and there is not much punch in the bass. There is a deep bass from the ports, but not too much from the bass drivers. The tweeters are not very directional, resulting in a wide sound stage.
I am surprised that they sound bright. I have recently heard an older pair of A4’s and no sign of brightness even in a small room and not much choice of positioning. I also heard them in a large room with high ceilings alongside a pair of D 7.2’s. No brightness. I have my own A5’s and D9.2’s. Brightness is the last thing I would associate with Spendor loudspeakers generally. Is it possible to try different positioning?
I also heard an older pair of A4’s (not the A4.2) and was not prepared for this brightness. But it is also related to musical genre. When playing Jazz, the high frequencies are not bothering me. But when playing rock, things are pretty bright.