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

[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.