The best LS3/5as I have ever heard...

[Martyn Miles]

I recently purchased, from Stirling Broadcast, the last pair of the baffles used for the Rogers 60th Anniversary LS3/5as.
They have been fitted into a pair of Harbeth LS3/5a cabinets, which have be refurbished by a furniture
restorer I know.
I have to say these are the best LS3/5as I have ever heard, and I’ve heard a lot.

In my house I have had Falcons, Harbeths and Rogers, as well as a pair of Stirling V2s for a short
time.
Not to mention some ‘3/5a Clones built for people.

The soundstage and imaging on these is by far the best I have experienced.
No sign of a ‘hot top end’ as some call it.
Definitely not as bright as the Falcons.
And they really do sound like ‘big’ speakers.
Frankly, I am amazed by these little boxes.

Time to put on another CD...

[hifinutt]

gosh martyn , they must be something to beat the falcons !!

[Lawrence001]

When you say baffles does that include the drive units? And where did the crossover come from? Just trying to work out which bit would make them sound so nice.

[Martyn Miles]

gosh martyn , they must be something to beat the falcons !!

Don’t get me wrong, the Falcons were superb in my room.
To me, though, they still carry the flaws of the original design.
They’re the ones which people love and make it ( and other Kef drivered LS3/5as ) such a unique speaker.
As you know, all speakers are compromises and the set of compromises in these Stirlings work for me.

As an aside, I also own a pair of Harbeth P3-ESRs and I feel they are superior to any ‘3/5as I’ve heard.

[Martyn Miles]

When you say baffles does that include the drive units? And where did the crossover come from? Just trying to work out which bit would make them sound so nice.


The baffles have the drive units and crossovers mounted on then and tested before sale.
Stirling Broadcast match the bass/mid drivers and tweeters and the crossovers are built to
integrate them.
They are then fitted to a cabinet to run frequency response tests, etc.
Of course, when they were sold as the limited edition Rogers 60th Anniversary LS3/5a the appropriate labels
and badges were fitted.

[Lawrence001]

Interesting, did Stirling buy some stock off Rogers then,?

[Martyn Miles]

Interesting, did Stirling buy some stock off Rogers then ?

No, Rogers commissioned Stirling to build the speakers.

Rogers International Ltd. ( owned by Wo Kee Hong ) wanted to re-launch the Rogers LS3/5a,
and employed Andy Whittle and John Bell to design it.

John Bell was going to build them, but as Stirling had spare capacity they used him.
Derek Hughes did the final tweaking of the crossover for the 60th.

I know John Bell and he gave me the history of the project.

The new Rogers ‘3/5a was very well received.
Look up ‘Rogers 60th Anniversary LS3/5a’ on the Internet.

Many owners of traditional LS3/5as don’t like a speaker with modern drive units
and crossovers.
I would advise putting prejudices to one side and just listen...

[Lawrence001]

Thanks I didn't know they had changed the drive units that may explain the difference in sound. I'm sure the hardcore fans of the originals would argue that the differences are subjective [emoji1]

[Cycleallday]

Thanks I didn't know they had changed the drive units that may explain the difference in sound. I'm sure the hardcore fans of the originals would argue that the differences are subjective [emoji1]

I would think not.

The Falcons were built to replicate the originals as far as possible and to say they carry the flaws of the original is not correct - they certainly cary the characteristics of the originals very closely.

Copies of the original design which use different drive units etc are the ones which carry the flaws as they differ from the originals in various ways and are flawed because of the differences (to the originals).

However, terms such as 'flaws' are subjective and Martyn's speakers obviously sound different and to his ears are an improvement over the Falcon's. To a purist they would also sound different but then would probably be viewed as worse than the originals.

Personally, I like my Falcons (kit built in the initial stage of production before they were licensed) but Falcon also produce a kit which "copies" the LS3/5a design but uses different drive units and to me they sound slightly better as they seem to have better control of frequency extremes.

In reality we all like different equipment and possibly hear in different ways so nothing is really better or worse just different.

Mel

[Lawrence001]

I would think not.

The Falcons were built to replicate the originals as far as possible and to say they carry the flaws of the original is not correct - they certainly cary the characteristics of the originals very closely.

Copies of the original design which use different drive units etc are the ones which carry the flaws as they differ from the originals in various ways and are flawed because of the differences (to the originals).

However, terms such as 'flaws' are subjective and Martyn's speakers obviously sound different and to his ears are an improvement over the Falcon's. To a purist they would also sound different but then would probably be viewed as worse than the originals.

Personally, I like my Falcons (kit built in the initial stage of production before they were licensed) but Falcon also produce a kit which "copies" the LS3/5a design but uses different drive units and to me they sound slightly better as they seem to have better control of frequency extremes.

In reality we all like different equipment and possibly hear in different ways so nothing is really better or worse just different.

MelI think you agree with me. Martyn said they sounded better. I said the hardcore LS3/5a fan would argue that is subjective (since they would disagree!). I think that's what you just said too.

[Cycleallday]

Yes Lawrence.

I have come to the end of my Hifi journey and learnt a lot over the past 50 years of it.

However terms like flawed winds me up in instances like this.

If A maker wants to improve a design they should launch a new one and sell its benefits and not try and hide behind a proven popular design which they cannot emulate. Companies like Harbreth, Spendor and Falcon themselves have launched variants of the ls3/5a design and sold them successfully on their merits and not said they are better versions of a proven and liked design. Falcon came from a different angle and tried to reproduce the original as far as possible in terms of their licensed ls3/5a.

Incidentally anybody who went to the Bristol show may have heard/Seen their new approach to this speaker with Dsp added to the original - not the same but an alternative in development and very nice for my ears.


And so my rant ends.

Mel

[graham67]

Yes would agree that falcon approach is very faithful to the original, in effect they are remanufacturing the b110 and t27 drivers.

[Martyn Miles]

Yes would agree that falcon approach is very faithful to the original, in effect they are remanufacturing the b110 and t27 drivers.


Upon reflection, perhaps I should have put ‘characteristics’ rather than ‘flaws’, but all speakers designs are flawed.
If someone prefers Falcon’s set of compromises to, say, Spendor’s, that’s fine.

Other makes of small speakers are mentioned, such as Harbeth.
I own a pair of their P3-ESRs and I think they’re superior to any LS3/5a, whether it uses Kef drive units or not.
We all like different types of speakers.
Let’s celebrate that, not try to influence by quoting what WE think is the best small speaker.

[IHP]

We all like different types of speakers.
Let’s celebrate that, not try to influence by quoting what WE think is the best small speaker.

Absolutely Martyn. I've heard several LS3/5a variants and enjoyed them all. For the music lover who also loves Hi Fi these speakers are a godsend to those of us who have smaller houses/listening rooms. I'm with you on the word 'characteristics' rather than 'flaws', at this level we're into different and preferred rather than better of worse I feel. And whilst these speakers aren't low cost, I've always bought used and sold on at little or no loss when moving on as they seem to have a pretty static second hand value.

Despite your sentiment, I do have a firm favourite though ;)

[Martyn Miles]

I now have to revise my initial statement, as I have bought a pair of Stirling Broadcast’s V3 model.
It, as far as I’m concerned, is superior to the model that opened this thread.
I would advise interested parties to seek out a pair to listen to.

The only downside of ownership is that I sold my Harbeth P3s to finance the purchase.
The Harbeths still remain one of my all time favourite small speakers.