Floorstanding loudspeakers — Spendor A7

The A7 is the largest floorstander of Spendor's A-Line, designed and built in Hailsham, East Sussex, by the British company founded in 1969, which makes its own cabinets and drive units. It is a major revision of the A6R and carries technology from Spendor's SA1, A6R and D7 models into a slim two-way tower.

Key specs that matter

It uses a 22 mm wide-surround polyamide dome tweeter and a 180 mm (7 in) bass/mid driver with an EP77 polymer cone, crossed over at 3.7 kHz. Typical in-room response is 32 Hz to 25 kHz, sensitivity is 88 dB for 1 W at 1 m, nominal impedance is 8 ohms with a 6 ohm minimum, and the recommended amplifier range is 25 W to 200 W. Power handling is 150 W unclipped programme. The cabinet measures 934 x 180 x 305 mm high, wide and deep, and each tower weighs 17.7 kg.

Engineering and use context

The 180 mm driver was designed by Spendor, and its surround and suspension materials come from the flagship D7 for thermal and mechanical stability. The tweeter's wide surround combines the high-frequency extension of a small diaphragm with the lower crossover capability of a larger one. The crossover uses precision-wound, high-linearity tapped inductors, which set level without attenuating resistors and allow fine tuning of both frequency and phase response, and internal wiring is silver-plated copper. The fourth-generation Linear Flow port is a large, rectangular, asymmetric vent placed close to the floor at the rear. According to Spendor, it lowers air velocity and pressure compared with a round tube and avoids internal port resonance, so the speaker can stand near a wall or in a small room. The cabinet is asymmetrically braced and uses Spendor's Dynamic Damping, small blocks of a high-damping polymer placed at energy transfer points inside the structure. A single pair of recessed binding posts is fitted. Height-adjustable spikes and a magnetic grille are supplied, and finishes are black oak, walnut, oak and satin white, with a satin black plinth. Spendor covers the A7 with a five-year warranty.

Pairing

Its sensitivity is moderate and its impedance curve stays benign, so the A7 is simple to drive and modest integrated amplifiers handle it, including valve designs. It suits rooms of 15 to 30 m2, and the slim cabinet with a floor-level rear port stays practical where the speakers must stand close to the back wall.

Alternatives

Spendor's A4 is the smaller floorstander of the A-Line with a 150 mm bass/mid driver.