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Early Stirling Broadcast LS3/5As

M

Martyn Miles

pfm Member
As a massive fan of Stirling ‘3/5As, I like to have a pair around.

I’ve owned new ones ( V3s ) and a fair few used ones ( V2s ) over years.
I keep pictures of them on my iPad.

Scrolling through I discovered I also owned a pair of really early ones, with the Kef drivers.
Serial numbers 88047 A/B.
I’d completely forgotten about them.

I’ve just bought a pair of V2s via PFM and I’ve discovered the serial numbers are close to
the Kef drivered pair.
Serial numbers 88130 A/B
The labels are identical on both pairs, but the Stirling cardboard box has V2 printed on it.
 
Martyn, are there any current production LS3/5A 's type speakers you have not listened to? Just curious.:)
 
I regret selling the early pair I mentioned.

Many Kef drivered ‘3/5As have passed through my hands to happy recipients.
All sounded excellent, be they ‘traditional’ models or modern iterations like Grahams and Stirlings.

I briefly owned a pair of the Falcon Acoustics’ first LS3/5As, and also Harbeths.
The Harbeth was the one which came out top in the HFN Shootout.
 
I have pondered adding a pair of Cicable external crossovers. They were reviewed in HFNRR at the same time as the "new" Stirling LS3/5as alongside the LS3/5a shootout. Has anyone heard them with the Cicables?
 
A contributor on LS35a i o said he found an improvement using the Cicables.
He also said he was a fan of the Stirling V3s and felt they outperformed the Cicabled pair.
The V3s have the same drivers as the V2s, but with upgraded crossovers.
 
The V3s are remarkable. They manage to sound both very energetic, portraying well the momentum in music, as well as being refined at the same time. I sometimes feel that I want to scale up the music performance with larger drivers, but then I forget and just listen to music.
 
Martyn Miles said:
As a massive fan of Stirling ‘3/5As, I like to have a pair around.
Click to expand...
Since you've tried more of the available versions than most people, can you confirm that Derek has exactly recreated the sound of an LS3/5a using modern drivers and crossovers. Or is there some 'magic' in those old KEF drivers?

I have to note that the original idea that any two speakers will make a pair, cannot be true any more.
A Stirling V2 and a V3 will not sound (measure) the same.
Stereophile measurements of the Falcon 'Silver label' and 'Gold label' indicate that one of each will not make a pair. Which would lead to the conclusion that one, or both, are not accurate LS3/5a.

So I have to believe that all of these new versions may sound good, but none (?) exactly replicate an old LS3/5a - which will be out of spec anyway by now.

(I believe that Cicable stopped making crossovers quite a while back, and I think the Stirling V3 crossover is more or less the same as a Cicable)
 
First of all, have I ( or we ) ever heard the ‘exact’ sound of an LS3/5A ?
I once owned a pair of Harbeths, the model which won the HFN Shootout.
Definitive ?
Someone said the BBC numbers 1 & 2 were the definitive models.

I don’t think there was any ‘magic’ in those early models with Kef drive units.
There’s no magic in any audio product, though some cable and fuse suppliers would
have us believe there is...

The original LS3/5A had solid research, measurement and construction in its DNA.
I believe modern versions have the same, with the added advantage of more consistent
drive units.
Doug Stirling told me that when he and Derek Hughes were involved in the Rogers 60th Anniversary
model, they measured the Monacor drivers.
They all met their spec. exactly.

I do recall having the Harbeths and a pair of early Falcons ( before ‘Silver’ & ‘Gold’ arrived ) arrived.
Played my favourite music on both pairs over a few hours, and minutes into each pair I stopped
trying to listen for differences.
Both pairs were superb.


As for whether DH has recreated the same sound, I couldn’t give you a definitive answer.
I have a pair of LS3/5As with modern Kef designed ( Falcon ) drive units.
And I’ve just bought a pair of very early V2s.

Listened to both pairs last night.
Like the Harbeths/Falcons, both pairs sounded superb.

So I would say Derek has re-created the sound of the LS3/5A.

Others on this forum will disagree and I fully respect their opinions and findings.

As some sort of final conclusion, I recently heard Ben Savage & Hannah Saunders live.
Two voices and two guitars picked up by a single Ear Trumpet mic.

Playing my favourite song of the concert on my V2s, well I couldn’t ask for more from
a pair of small loudspeakers.
 
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I agree with you Martin in that looking for the exact sound of the original is an impossible and fruitless task, involving aural memory and comparison of speakers that are far more similar than different.

Who cares eh ? Dig which ones you have, or in your case, seemingly many of them ;)
 
Hello Ian.

Thank you for your comment.

I only own two pairs, most other ones I’ve heard were found for prospective customers.
As I like Stirlings I often ‘snap up’ them up, as people ask me to look out for a pair.

I spent quite a while making clones, as people often asked for them.
Plus some repairs.
All good fun...
 
I have and enjoy a pair of Stirling V1s and have not heard any of the later versions. Maybe one day.
 
If my memory serves me well, I recall that the V2s had a slightly more ‘robust’ bass than my V1s.
Also a little ‘smoother’ in the treble, though a change in programme could alter this.
The V2 was the first widely accepted ‘non-Kef’ LS3/5A and Stirling Broadcast have gone from
strength to strength.
 
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