I've also been a long time Spendor owner having started with 3/1, then 7/1, and finally 1/2e. I had my first pair of 1/2e for 6 years and then just recently repurchased a set. I see the new version has some significant changes to it and while I haven't heard it I would be surprised if it had the same magic as the originals. Part of what made the original a special design was that the main driver went up to 3k Hz before crossing over to a tweeter (letting it account for the bass, mids, and some of the highs), and then crossing over to what amounted to a super tweeter at 13k Hz. The new version seems to follow a more traditional bass, mid, tweeter design with crossover points of 600 Hz and 4k Hz.
The new design also has a frequency response of 30 Hz - 25k Hz which leads me to believe these designs and most likely the sound are more different than the same. FWIW I never purchased my 1/2e for the bass, it was always about those magical mids that were only bested in my system by my Quad 57 and Music Reference ESLs. In my opinion the 1/2e will always be one of the true Spendor "Classics"
The new design also has a frequency response of 30 Hz - 25k Hz which leads me to believe these designs and most likely the sound are more different than the same. FWIW I never purchased my 1/2e for the bass, it was always about those magical mids that were only bested in my system by my Quad 57 and Music Reference ESLs. In my opinion the 1/2e will always be one of the true Spendor "Classics"