Spendor BC3
The Spendor BC3, sometimes written BCIII, is a floor-standing, three-way loudspeaker that grew directly out of the famous BC1. According to Pete Riggle of The Vintage Speaker Company, it was developed from the original BC1 and is essentially a larger version of it. It uses the same drive units and crossover as the BC1, mounted in a cabinet above a dedicated bass section. The bass enclosure has sand-filled walls, a detail noted in multiple sources. A Studio-Sound monitor survey (January 1974, p.53) listed the BC3 at 800 × 394 × 394 mm, 34 kg, with a maximum SPL of 105 dB. It aimed to bring some of the virtues of BBC studio monitors into a domestic floor-standing format.
The most consistent accounts give the same bass driver, 2-inch polymer dome midrange and 1-inch polymer dome tweeter as the BC1, with the bass unit in that sand-filled lower cabinet. vintageaudiorepair.com dates the design to around 1972. Riggle notes the BC3 is "generally regarded as a classic British loudspeaker of its era," and owner reports on forums agree. One pinkfishmedia user described owning a pair in rosewood for years, finding them superb, and wondering why anyone would want anything else.
A Studio-Sound monitor survey (January 1974, p.53) listed the BC3 with dimensions of 800 × 394 × 394 mm, a weight of 34 kg, and a maximum SPL of 105 dB.
Several things aren't documented. Production years, original price, frequency response, sensitivity, impedance and power handling all go unrecorded in the available sources. The Vintage Speaker Company offered a fully refurbished pair in rosewood at £495, though the listing carries no date.
- Three-way, floor-standing loudspeaker
- Developed from the BC1; shares its drive units and crossover
- Sand-filled bass enclosure
- Design dated to approximately 1972
- Dimensions: 800 × 394 × 394 mm; weight: 34 kg (per Studio-Sound, Jan 1974)
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