Hello frrom my Hi-Fi and me, both getting on a bit

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Originally Posted by David W.

Hello Barry,

The experiment with the Quad amplifier driving the BC1s was long enough ago that I can’t remember the details, and the woofers going “all over the place” may be an exaggeration. But I do recall that, as we tried the BC1s at similarly very high volume in turn with the Quad and the Sansui (which I had on home demonstration at the time), the speakers went into distress mode with the Quad - which was the first of the 4xx series.

An experience that favoured the Quad over the Sansui concerned the moving coil input. My friend John and I each bought an Audio Technics Signet MKIIIE MC cartridge and found it had an impedence mismatch with our amplifiers.

I wrote to Sansui about this, asking if they’d still honour the warranty if I had the impedance increased by a professional. I received in return a bundle of advertising brochures for their products but no answer to my question. I wrote again and they advised to “keep trying different cartridges until you find one that matches”! Running the cartridge signal through AT’s dedicated transformer into the MM input provided the answer.

John gave Quad a call about the same problem. They invited him to take the amplifier to Huntingdon (20 miles away) where they’d modify the circuit free of charge while he waited. What a difference in service!

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The Signet cartridge was lovely - a friend of mine had one, though I think his was a fixed-coil design.

Yes, the customer service provide by Quad was (and as far as I know, still is) second to none.

Barry - It may have seemed from my earlier comments that Quad didn't rate highly with me. Quite the opposite in fact. My friend John had several Quad combinations over the years, starting with 33/303, and apart from that sole rather unfair test - driving the BC1s at probably higher volume than they were intended to run at - they were superb!

Jerry (j&l100) - I held a (very) long conversation with Paul (RFC) about updating my BC1 speakers. What an incredibly knowledgeable and talented person he is! He recalled offhand the crossover design and components (even the make and type of capacitor) and explained their weaknesses and the best replacements - and lots more. I mentioned some other makes and models of speakers that I'd been looking at, and he knew their construction, woofer materials, etc. How can anyone carry all that in their heads and recall it instantly? He gave me a very reasonable price for overhauling the BC1 crossovers, however he's so busy that he can't take anything on for a few weeks.

The BC1s still impress me every time I listen, even without crossover refurbishment, but I started looking again at others on the internet, almost a daily habit. I had some (new, discontinued) Spendor A6Rs in Cherry on the monitor when my wife looked over my shoulder. "They look lovely" she said, "Why don't you get those?". Well, I've gone and done it, and they'll be here on Tuesday. Whether I keep them or the BC1s remains to be seen, or should I say "heard"! :mental:

Hi David and welcome. Can't have too many Davids on AOS.

I had the very first pair of BC1 on the market with the super tweeter. Before that it was just the Bextrene unit and Celestion tweeter.

If you want a modern replacement for the BC1, you should really be listening to the Harbeth SHL5+ (a drop in replacement) or their M30.1. They do everything the BC1 does but has less colouration, better bass and HF and will go a lot louder if required.

The Spendor A6R was discontinued from the Spendor range some months ago.

Ah, that itch to change. More than once I've had discussions with folk who often wonder if they have 'improved' their system by all the changes.
'Changed' it yes; 'improved'.....?
The cross-over upgrade essential, I'd say. On a different level, I had the caps, etc., replaced in my 70s Hafler stuff, and my Leak 3090 speakers have been modded -things degrade in time (unlike the owners??)

It wasn't so much an "itch to change", Chris, more like "is it time to move into the 21st century?". The answer for now is "no".

I found the A6Rs to be too strong in the bass and too bright in the treble for my music tastes so have reverted to the BC1s - and I'm enjoying them more than ever as a result. If I do change in time to come, it will probably be to a modern version of the BBC-derived thin-wall design.

I was fortunate in a sense that the A6Rs, which had been dispatched by Spendor on 15th March - several months after discontinuation - had prominent black inclusions in the veneer that I felt weren't acceptable. That gave a good excuse to return them to Fanthorpe who accepted them without quibble. They of course hadn't seen the faults (boxes unopened) and Marc assured me that Spendor had provided them as regular quality, not as B-grade.

The BC1s might be considered to be lacking by modern 'hi-fi' standards, but they just do so many things so well. I loved them back in the day and was mightily impressed by a pair with upgraded crossovers that I heard a couple of years ago.

Hang on to them and enjoy the music.

David,

It iwll not be easy to better your Spendors without spending a bit!

Try getting over to hear a pair of these https://www.divineaudio.co.uk/omega-...-speakers-pair

I have a smaller custom built pair (also using the Alnico full range drivers) bought directly from the factory when I was in the US.

I cannot praise them highly enough.

Geoff