The overall presentation is that of a seamless frequency range and great musical involvement, you soon forget the speakers. Tiny ports can 'chuff' badly and cause massive distortion in the low frequency range of a small speaker. The bass is very tight and controlled, a hallmark of sealed box designs. The Harbeth speaker is the most natural sounding of the three, in that real musical instruments sound lifelike and produce a large expansive sound stage. They are, of course, my own opinions based on my personal preferences and experience. At a guess, maybe 50hz? Sounds decent already, plonked behind left speaker, without much thought.Having heard all three together on a Naim system I hope this will be of help. Sub settings (and I've not spent any time trying to integrate it yet) are around the 9 o'clock mark for crossover and gain. I'll give it another listen, but I'm now swaying towards the 4/5s and then calling on the sub as and when. If there were no neighbours, the extra bass would be a blessing. Could be the bay window, fitted wardrobes and wooden floorboards under carpet I guess. Maybe it's just a weird room, but at 4x4m and them well clear of walls, I assumed the 3/1's would be fine. The bass is still surprisingly satisfying on lots of music. Whereas the 4/5's egg me on to turn the volume up and get lost in the tight mid bass and snappy midrange. I wince and turn the volume down, for fear of annoying the neighbours. The problem I'm finding with the 3/1's is that on more bass-light, older music, they're extra heft is really welcome.but then on the more modern, bass heavy music I listen to, they are a bit overwhelming. The 3/1's are more syrupy and thick, but go much lower. Going to spend a little more time with them to see where I want to go with this.Ĭlick to expand.Yeah, spent another couple of hours listening to a variety of music, and I'd say the 4/5's are a bit more upfront and alive. On the other hand, there would be no need for a subwoofer and extra cabling, not to mention the faff involved with that. So on form factor alone, they are far less balanced for domestic bliss. The 3/1’s dwarf them, particularly in terms of cabinet depth. The overriding difference isn’t sound related at all, but sheer size disparity. Perhaps the 4/5’s sound fractionally quicker and more immediate, but we are talking small differences. Switching back to the 4/5’s (even with a sub connected) just doesn’t give quite the same satisfying, effortless depth. The bass guitar on Sweet Home Alabama sounds delicious and fluid. They sound controlled, with decent texture. What’s nice about the 3/1’s is that the bass isn’t overblown, despite their cabinet volume and port. I’d not call them punchy or toe-tapping, but they are natural and flow with the music in an engaging, unfatiguing way. I also get the impression they may be (slightly) more polite, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on preferences jury is out on that one. A difficulty comes from the fact I only listen at low to moderate volumes, in a bedroom setup, which makes it a fairly moot benefit. Certainly they feel slightly more effortless and clearly they’ll handle higher volumes better. The 3/1’s definitely sound bigger and thicker, but not massively so. The differences between the speakers are less than I expected. Days after buying a subwoofer, that offer to home demo the Spendor 3/1’s has come to fruition, so curiosity has got the better of me. The speakers now sound easily big and involving enough, and ideal for my preferences. It’s nice having the flexibility of placement and settings etc. I was reluctant to go the sub route, but I’m very glad I did. no further augmentation from a sub is beneficial! But for most tracks, covering most genres, the sub is a beneficial addition. The 4/5’s control that overblown bass perfectly and just produce a strong, quick and satisfying bass. And that’s on some of those modern pop or EDM records, which already have overblown bass. Interestingly on some tracks – although relatively rarely - the 4/5’s still sound better with no sub attached. I’d love a second Rel, but that’s not gonna happen given lack of girlfriend appeal! The Rel T5i just gives that bit of extra bottom-end bloom, but also increases the soundstaging abilities of the 4/5’s even further they now sound like larger speakers with generally more oomph and body, while retaining all the 4/5’s innate qualities of speed and imaging. Not even experimented much with integration and settings yet, but it’s already a lovely improvement. I am sure the 3/1's do have their own unique advantages too of course. While I had considered the 3/1’s, I couldn’t face turning my back on the 4/5’s luscious imaging, overall cohesiveness, snappy timing, positioning flexibility and sleek form factor. I ended up buying a Rel T5i recently, to augment the Spendor 4/5’s, as it came up in the January sales.
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