Welcome!
While the TC-50 was the most popular Spica ever produced, it wasn't the first. John Bau had enjoyed earlier commercial success with the the SC-50 (1980). The TC-50 (1983) followed then the revised TC-50i (1988), the SC-30 (1989), the Spica Angelus (1988), and ultimately the the TC-60 (1994). However the iron seemed to be hot when the TC-50 was forged and while many will argue the virtues of the various models, the TC-50 put Spica on the map.
The Spica TC-50 is little speaker that could. The small triangular shaped box designed by John Bau had a large audience of admirers. From student to stereophile all admired its price and great ability to image.
Look at almost any list of top ten speakers under $1000 and the Spica TC-50 will likely be there. While TC-50s sound was great, when you listened there was just seemed to be more to it. With it's focused imaging the speakers provided a more convincing experience than speakers costing thousands more. Sure, some complained of brightness, and the speakers could be very revealing (perhaps unforgiving) at times, but when coupled with good electronics (especially tubes) the experience is the stuff that legends are made of.
About the Spica Enthusiast
I bought my TC-50's in the mid 80s, and later added the factory sub. My friends would come over for listening sessions. Everyone would bring a handful of records and we would listen for hours. These speakers had a phenomenal ability to cast a big stage with clarity and their ability to image is legendary. While my system cost much less then others in the listening group, the sound it produced wasn't in the budget category.
Sad to say, but the albums just haven't been spinning as much these past few years and the Spicas have been neglected. One of my teenagers wanted to listed to some albums recently, so I dusted things off and went to listen. That's when I discovered that my cats (yikes!) had taken there toll on the drivers. I was disheartened, these speakers have been the source of much enjoyment and I felt I needed to put them back in order. I had squirreled away spare tweeter and woofer, but sadly I needed two of each to get back in the grove and so I began trying to find replacements.
That put me on an unexpected quest for information about these speakers and all things Spica. I hope to fill out these pages with information and links so that others can benefit from my journey.
Why go to all this trouble? I hate the thought of any of these great speakers ending up in the landfill or rotting way in a thrift store. These aren't Quad ESLs, but for the price they are simply great.