Spica's TC 50 vs. Sound Dynamic RT 3's

I have both speakers. The Spicas are the better speaker; soundstage better, are more lively sounding and transparent, albeit with less extension on the top and bottom and are less efficient. Spicas are not exactly "small" (RTS-3s take up less space) and need at least 2 feet from the rear wall and need to be on solid stands. The RTS-3s are a little more forgiving in this regard. If this requirement cannot be me, consider a small non-ported speaker that you can mount on the wall, like Gallo or Mirage.

I once had a pair of TC-50's and absolutely loved them until my wife decided to get a cat as a pet. My cat destroyed the speaker by clawing onto the felt and sleeping on the sloping front (I hope you guys can picture it). Grill was destroyed too and tweeter was damaged.

I was lucky to get a replacement diphram for the tweeter (last one) as Audax does not make them anymore in that impedence. Then the other started buzzing (bad news).

Anyways, sold them (5 yrs ago) and still miss them despite having much better speakers. There is something to the sound of the Spica's I miss and cannot be replaced. This is definitely a cult speaker. I am still looking for a pair in mint condition for my second system.

If I were you, I would definitely pick the Spica's but make sure the tweeter is not buzzing as they run the tweeter really HOT because of the felt and sloping baffle (tweeter has to work much harder as the sound is tilted away from the listening position).

Make sure you have good amps to play them so that the lower freqs will not be shy.

Cheers to all TC-50 owners. Great speaker!

www.murphyblaster.com, under the top right measurements icon, has some frequency response measurements of several speakers including the Sound Dynamics RT-3's. I'd spend a weekend with a nice kit, but I know I'm weird.

Jvia: Can you supply information about the company that rebuilds the Spica drivers? I'd like to have that information on hand! Thanks !

These speakers are very different from each other, and I have owned them both. Recently, I decided to keep the RTS-3's and sell the Spicas because of the RTS-3's ability to play much louder, play deeper bass, have more extended treble (and MUCH faster too) and most importantly they just rock (compared to the Spicas).

Where the Spicas shine is they are VERY integrated in their sound presentation, being one the first time aligned speakers available (many years ago). Just BEWARE that Spicas DO NOT rock and they will BLOW if pushed even a little hard. They should only be used with low to medium music levels where you are NOT looking for strong bass beats, thrilling dynamics, etc...

Speaker drivers have come a LOOOONG way since the Spica was designed, and there are many speaker choices better than either of these two speakers in the $500+ range (used). I will say though, that the RTS-3 is amazing for a $200 speaker, and this is the "new" price! (That's why I bought them. I use the RTS-3's in my secondary "little system". The RTS-3's let me enjoy a WIDE variety of music, which the Spicas never could do).