I owned the SP-5 had it modified to an SP-7. It was as they others have said not the same sounding as the SP-8 which my best friend had and we constantly compared. I then tried the SP-9 for awhile(okay 3 weeks) and traded up to the SP-14, which I really liked when I was usung a phono stage!
I'm now using an LS 25 MkII which I've really been happy with.IMHO the older designs are more"romantic" sounding but in all honesty to me they did need to be upgraded in some way to be great across the whole frequency range. Usually excelled in the Midrange and upper midrange but did not have the tight fast low end and extended highs that the newer units have. But then again they aren't perfect either;)
I'm now using an LS 25 MkII which I've really been happy with.IMHO the older designs are more"romantic" sounding but in all honesty to me they did need to be upgraded in some way to be great across the whole frequency range. Usually excelled in the Midrange and upper midrange but did not have the tight fast low end and extended highs that the newer units have. But then again they aren't perfect either;)