Spendor Classic 4/5 Review
The Spendor Classic 4/5 stands for classic Hi-Fi enjoyment made in the UK. This small bookshelf speaker with its stylish wood design extracts a lot from your audio system. Above all, transparency and warmth are at the forefront.
The English manufacturer Spendor was founded in the 1960s. The company name is a combination of the founders’ names, Spencer and Dorothy Hughes. Spencer, a sound engineer at the BBC, used his expertise for Spendor’s first speaker, the BC1. This 3-way speaker quickly found its way into radio and recording studios worldwide.
Since then, Spendor has been designing and manufacturing its speakers in Sussex, UK. In times when production is often outsourced to Asia for cost reasons, this commitment is commendable. Moreover, Spendor develops the drivers, crossovers, and cabinets themselves. The British also take manufacturing seriously, which is why it takes a full six days to produce an original Spendor speaker.
Retro Chic
For this test, we welcome the Spendor Classic 4/5 to our office. The Classic series promises a warm, rich sound in a classic retro look. We first encountered this series during our Retro Hi-Fi special, where we awarded the Spendor Classic 1/2 an impressive 94.5%. The Classic 4/5 is now the smallest speaker in this series, and we were eager to test it. The bookshelf speaker, measuring approximately 31 × 19 × 16.5 cm, initially appears quite modest.
However, we immediately noticed the outstanding build quality. The simple, classic design is a pleasure to look at, and the cabinet is available in either walnut or cherry finish. Despite its small size, the speaker weighs a solid 5 kg. To complement the compact speaker, Spendor’s German distributor Drei-H from Hamburg sent us the matching speaker stands for the test. The stands are made from a solid alloy. The sturdy frame has a black finish and visually complements the Classic 4/5 very well. The stands also raise the speakers to the ideal height. Once again, the build quality earns our respect. Now, let’s return to the Classic 4/5 speaker.
The front edges of the compact speaker are rounded. The fabric grille attaches magnetically and aligns flush with the front corners of the Classic 4/5. If you opt to remove the grille, a small edge will remain – a matter of taste. On the back of the speaker, you’ll find the connection terminal and a plaque displaying the company name and product designation. The terminals are slightly angled and, again, of very high quality. Another notable feature: the Spendor Classic 4/5 does not have a bass reflex port. This is a closed 2-way system. A closed design allows for clean, tight bass, but compared to a bass reflex system, it has less depth.
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2-Way & Closed
The Spendor Classic 4/5 uses two drivers. First, a 22mm polyamide dome tweeter. The lower frequencies are handled by the EP77 midrange driver, which measures 150mm and is made from polymer. A notable feature is the phase plug located in the center of the midrange driver. This cone-shaped insert is used instead of a dust cap and optimizes sound dispersion.
The crossover inside the speaker splits the signal at 4.2 kHz. The speaker has a power handling of 100 watts and a sensitivity of 84 dB. Spendor recommends using an amplifier with at least 25 watts and a maximum of 100 watts for the Classic 4/5. The manufacturer’s frequency response specifications are based on typical room behavior, with the Classic 4/5 covering a range of 55 Hz to 25 kHz. The upper and lower limits of the frequency range may shift slightly depending on the acoustic environment.
Warm, Clear Sound
Technical specifications are certainly useful and provide a rough idea of how a speaker performs. However, something is much more important than technical data: the sound. To test this, we started by playing “Living for the City” by Stevie Wonder from the Musiquarium version of 1982. Right away, the lively nature of the Classic 4/5 stood out.
The vocals sound energetic and very transparent. The sound signature of the Spendor is quite midrange-focused. This brings out the percussion, vocals, and electric guitar impressively. The human ear is most sensitive to the midrange, making good midrange reproduction a real hallmark of quality. The Spendor speaker sounds pleasantly dry and tangible.
Also commendable is the soundstage. It’s remarkable how large a stereo image these small speakers create. The speakers almost disappear into the listening room as the sound detaches from them. The combination of vocals, playful melodies, and lively drums in the Stevie Wonder track really takes off with the Classic 4/5. Testing has never been more fun.
Next, we listened to “Linger” by the Irish rock band The Cranberries from their debut album “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?”. Released in 1993, this track shows the emotionality that the Spendor Classic 4/5 can also convey. The sweet vocals of lead singer Dolores O’Riordan sound soft and spacious from these small bookshelf speakers. The relaxed drums, guitars, and strings form a captivating instrumental foundation. Here, the Classic 4/5 creates a detailed soundstage, with great depth separation between the elements.
Finally, we moved into more electronic soundscapes. We listened to “Minor Delays” by British producer Tropics and rapper Oscar #Worldpeace. The groovy downtempo beat plays delicately through the speakers, while the laid-back vocals contrast nicely with the broad melodic sound foundation. Our conclusion: synthetic sounds also work beautifully with the Spendor bookshelf speaker. The expansive synthesizers and samples float through the room, finely cut by the percussive elements.
Due to its design, the Classic 4/5 has relatively little bass depth. This is not surprising for such a small speaker, especially since the 4/5 does not have a bass reflex port. However, it’s pleasant how much bass is still realized thanks to the warm sound of the Spendor speakers. This is due to the so-called residual effect. This psychoacoustic phenomenon describes how humans can perceive the pitch of a tone, even if the fundamental frequency is missing.
In practical terms: the Classic 4/5 doesn’t reproduce sub-bass, but its warm sound presents the overtones of the bass. Thus, the midrange-focused sound of this speaker feels surprisingly full. The Spendor Classic 4/5 is therefore an ideal choice for smaller rooms, where its compact form factor is a real advantage. For those with larger rooms, there are five more, larger speakers available in the Spendor Classic series.
Specs
| Device Type | Compact Bookshelf Speaker |
| Price Category | Mid-range |
| Manufacturer | Spendor |
| Model | Classic 4/5 |
| Dimensions (W/H/D) | 18.8 × 30.8 × 16.4 cm |
| Weight | 5 kg |
| Design | 2-Way, Closed System |
| Frequency Response | 55 Hz – 25 kHz |
| Power Handling | 100 W |
| Recommended Room Size | 12 m² to 20 m² |
| Custom Sound Settings | No |
| Inputs | Speaker Terminals |
CONCLUSION
The small Spendor bookshelf speaker Classic 4/5 delivers a truly remarkable sound despite its size. The midrange-focused sound impressed us in our listening test with its pleasant transparency and warmth. Additionally, the high-quality wood design in vintage style is extremely stylish and refreshingly simple.
FEATURES
• Matching speaker stands available
Spendor Classic 4/5 at Martins Hi-Fi
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