You have an excellent speaker and it's well worth replacing the damaged parts. I first bought my 1/2e's in 2002, sold them 10 years later, then bought another set in 2017 and this pair isn't going anywhere. The new Spendor Classic series pales in comparison to what you own, which were made when Spencer and Derek Hughes were still with the company. For your stated budget you would be hard pressed to do better and get something with a midrange as magical as the 1/2e. This coming from someone who owns 3 pairs of Quad ESL 57s.
Spendor SP 1/2e....TECH HELP NEEDED!
Hey all, I figured this is the best place to get some advice for my spendor sp1/2e's that I grabbed for about 1k off of shopgoodwill a while back (I know, I know, not ideal).
Love the sound, and absolutely blown away by the midrange. Killer speaker all around and by far the best I've run.
Unfortunately, it looks like the right speaker is failing. I think both the mid tweeter and the woofer. The right speakeer sound is noticeably less than the left, clarity is all off. Sound is muddy, mid is buried, and volume is lower. When I press the woofer, there's a slight scratch (voice coil?) and I have a feeling they're due for a tune up or an upgrade.
I've paired to Scott 222, Marantz 2285b, Marantz 2240 and an ArcamA19 and the problem is persistent.
I have found new tweeters, and midrange drivers (the same scanspeak models as the cabinet) that are available for purchase.
Should I go about finding replacement scanspeak drivers and upgrading/replacing the set or should I ditch them and go to something else?
If I were to ditch and get new speakers, budget is roughly $2k ish. Would prefer to keep repairs below $1500.
Was thinking about ditching and going with either the Falcons LS3/5a or some used Harbeths (but have never heard either). My fear is that trying to stay in the spendor line and go new is going to be the classics ($14k) and thats not an option.
Thoughts on what to do?