Spendor 2001 (1979)
A small sealed-box British monitor that left the BBC's broadcast roots for the domestic living room, and ended up in studios anyway.
Overview
Introduced in 1979, the Spendor 2001 was, according to Stereophile's contemporaneous review, the least expensive and smallest model in the Spendor range at the time. Spendor wasn't a budget brand. Spencer Hughes founded the firm out of his BBC Research background, and by the mid-1960s it had a reputation for professional and domestic monitors of unusual neutrality. The 2001 was the company's attempt to distill that BBC-derived tonal accuracy into something a regular hi-fi buyer could afford and fit in a normal room. By 1982, Spendor was offering the newer SA2 and SA3 models alongside the renowned SA1 and BC1 (Audio, July 1982, p.79).
The design brief was explicitly domestic. Sources describe the 2001 as conceived as a "domestic hi-fi" loudspeaker, yet it found wide use in broadcast and recording studios - a pattern that repeated throughout Spendor's history. In small control rooms and home studios, the 2001 became a cheap path to BBC-style monitoring, and owners report it was used as a reference monitor in smaller facilities. The used market still treats it with respect.
At roughly 366 × 224 × 301 mm (H×W×D) and weighing 35 lb (15.9 kg), the 2001 was a substantial bookshelf design. It was heavy for its footprint, as sealed-box speakers tend to be. The cabinet is particleboard with walnut veneer (rosewood and black finishes were also offered). It doesn't scream luxury, but the engineering inside was serious. The nominal load was 4 ohms (though at least one studio monitor listing cites 8 ohms), with an 86 dB/W/m sensitivity rating, which told owners from day one that it would need a strong amplifier. Stereophile's specs box recommended 25-100 W of amplifier power, and that range turned out to be honest advice.
Key Features
Sealed-Box Acoustic Suspension
The 2001 used an infinite baffle - a sealed enclosure with no port and no vent. This was the classic BBC-derived approach, favoring control and transient speed over low-frequency quantity. Stereophile's review found the bass response surprisingly extended for a small sealed box, and the design allowed the speaker to handle very high sound pressure levels for its physical size. The trade-off, as with all acoustic suspension designs, was efficiency. At 86 dB/W/m, the 2001 demanded current rather than voltage, and the 4-ohm nominal impedance meant amplifiers had to work harder than they would into a friendlier load.
SEAS Soft-Dome Tweeter and Treated-Paper Mid/Bass
The driver complement was straightforward. Stereophile's review text identifies a SEAS-made soft-dome tweeter. The review describes it as 19 mm, while the HiFi Engine database lists 25 mm. The discrepancy remains unresolved, though both sources agree on the soft-dome construction. Below it sat a 200 mm treated-paper mid/bass driver, a material choice that reflected BBC practice of the era. Treated paper cones offered a combination of low mass, controlled breakup, and natural roll-off that metal or plastic cones of the period struggled to match. Stereophile called the midrange clean and uncolored, the hallmark of BBC-derived loudspeakers.
Third-Order Crossover at 3 kHz
The crossover frequency sat at 3 kHz, a figure confirmed by both Stereophile's specs box and HiFi Engine. Stereophile's review text describes the network as third-order, which provides steeper attenuation than the simpler second-order designs common in budget speakers of the era. That steeper slope helped integrate the tweeter and mid/bass driver with minimal overlap, contributing to the smooth, open, well-integrated sound that the review praised in its conclusion. The speaker used a single pair of binding posts, with no bi-wiring and no bi-amping option, which fit its position at the bottom of the Spendor range.
Magnetic Shielding (Disputed)
One listing for the 2001 as a studio monitor claims the speakers are magnetically shielded for placement near CRT monitors. Owner reports contradict this. At least one Audio Review forum member with two pairs states neither unit is shielded, and other owners suggest shielding appeared only on later production units. Given the 1979 introduction date, early examples almost certainly predated the home-theater concerns that made shielding standard, so the truth likely depends on when a given pair left the factory. Anyone buying a pair to flank a vintage CRT should verify shielding on the actual units first.
Historical Context
The 2001's dual life as a domestic speaker and studio monitor wasn't accidental. Its sealed-box alignment and honest midrange made it useful for nearfield listening, and its modest size suited the small control rooms that were proliferating in the late 1970s and early 1980s as home recording gained traction. Studio Sound reported in February 2001 that Soundtracs had sold its Spendor loudspeaker business to Philip Swift, founder of Audiolab.
Collectibility & Value
Prices for Spendor 2001s have firmed up considerably. A 2018 Audio Review forum post cites pairs in good condition with original boxes selling for $600 - $800 on eBay, while a 2019 Electronics Point comment mentions a pair sold for £400. Individual listings vary - one eBay title excerpt shows £350 for an excellent-condition pair, collection only. The Electronic House "Gear Guru" column noted in 2019 that the 2001 has become highly sought after as a mixing and mastering monitor, prized for fast transient response and honest midrange. Forum owners describe them as the best monitor speakers they've had under $500 with excellent imaging.
The 2001 has known failure points, so inspect carefully. Foam surround rot around the bass drivers is the most common issue. Refoaming kits are available from Simply Speakers for the 200 mm driver, but owners warn that a kit with different compliance will change the tuning. Tweeter failure from open voice coils has been reported in several units, and replacement SEAS tweeters are no longer available from SEAS - owners typically source used SEAS units from other models. The binding posts are cheap plastic types that crack, and many owners replace them. The veneer on the particleboard cabinets tends to lift at the edges. One owner's summary from 2016 lists foam rot around the woofers, a dead tweeter on arrival, and a 4-ohm load that demands a strong amplifier.
The 2001's reputation has aged well despite these issues. Stereophile's J. Gordon Holt found the highs "a bit soft" — he preferred the treble of the earlier BC-1 — and noted that at moderate levels the speaker sounded closed-in, benefiting from generous amplifier power. But his conclusion stood: this was a genuinely fine-sounding loudspeaker with a smooth, open, well-integrated character. For owners willing to refoam, replace binding posts, and feed the 4-ohm load with real power, the 2001 remains what it always was — an affordable entry into the BBC monitor tradition, now scarce enough to qualify as a find.
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