This paper compares the performance of two different designs for electron spectrometers to be used for inelastic scattering of spin-polarized electrons from surface magnons and Stoner excitations. The recently proposed combination of monochromators with 90 ^° and 18 ^° deflection angles ensures a maximum spin asymmetry signal while providing still a good quality of the monochromatic beam. Higher intensities, however, are obtained with the classical 146 ^°/146 ^° combination, which features a spin polarization longitudinal to the beam direction at the target. We present calculations for the monochromatic current for both combinations and argue that the use of the classical spectrometer type may be advantageous.