In article , RPS wrote:

Thank you for your most helpful response. As you have recently compared
the same brands (Spendor, Proac, Quad, etc) that I am thinking about, I
would be most interested to hear about your auditioning experience.

Did you listen to Dynaudios too?

I am a little hesitant to put forward more of my own views since my
preferences at a detailed level may be very different to yours, our
mutual liking for the Spendor BC1 notwithstanding.

Dynaudio range: No, I did not audition any of these. However they have
a tremendous reputation.

Quad 22L: Very transparent and tonally neutral (maybe a little light on
bass). Not as good dynamically as others. Tremendous quality of build
and finish.

Spendor S8 (not S8e which seems now to be the updated model): Very
transparent and tonally neutral with good bass and smooth treble. Good
dynamics. Good imaging. Really excellent all round and something I could
happily live with long-term.

Spendor SP1/2E: I mentioned this one as a possible candidate but I did
not audition it. Domestic arrangements meant I wanted to move away from
an existing large stand-mounter so this form factor was not acceptable
despite some very promising on-line opinions.

PMC FB1: Beautifully controlled and extended bass and extended treble
with a little more "spit" than the S8. Possibly the most neutral "monitor
quality" candidate of the lot but not musically lively at low listening
levels.

Proac Response D15: Not as tonally neutral as the S8s. Good
imaging. Smooth treble, fairly tight bass, very good dynamics and a
sort of dynamic musicality at all volume levels that just appealed to
me above the greater neutrality of the S8 and FB1.

--
John Phillips