Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V3 Review.

[TonyScarlett]

I've owned both V2's & V3's in the past. Enjoyed both immensely. If forced to choose between the two I think I would take the V2's & pocket the change. The V3's offer a little more insight & resolution but the V2's are already among the best speakers you can buy in that regard. The trade off to my ears was the V3's lost a little of the warmth of the V2's.
I'm currently listening to my home built LS3/5A clones. They sound as good as any LS3/5A type speakers I've ever heard. The truth is these speakers all sound very much alike (as they should) so any small differences will be very much down to personal preference.

TS

 

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The V3's offer a little more insight & resolution but the V2's are already among the best speakers you can buy in that regard

I've had both too, and I thought the V3s took it up a significant notch towards Kan II attributes: Speed and upper mid clarity resulting in a thrust to the music. Any party to my listening session this afternoon would have had a challenging time to tell the Kans from the V3s.

 

[sktn77a]

Any party to my listening session this afternoon would have had a challenging time to tell the Kans from the V3s.

That's really odd. I always considered the Kans and the LS3/5As were at totally opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

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I always considered the Kans and the LS3/5As were at totally opposite ends of the spectrum.

It's an oft-quoted 'fact'. I have always experienced Kans, whether I or IIs to be in the same realm as the ls3/5a. It's reasonable: Same size box, drivers more similar than different. As far as my experience goes, the major differences are in the crossover designs which necessitate a different wall-loading relationship for each design.

 

[MTBBiker]

I had the pleasure of visiting Stirling Broadcast this week, and came away with a pair of LS3/5a V3s to try. I have them set up in my study in a very temporary manner with kit borrowed from my main system, and they sound great. Does anyone have recommendations for stands?

The Partington Super Dreadnought stands used to (35+ years ago) be a highly regarded stand, and Doug still recommends them - and they are quite reasonably priced for a high performance stand.

 

[Meursault]

The Partington Super Dreadnought stands used to (35+ years ago) be a highly regarded stand, and Doug still recommends them - and they are quite reasonably priced for a high performance stand.

The state of the art is the IfDesigns Tallis then Foundation Designer II, both of which are only rarely available second hand and usually £400-700. After that, it’s a mixture of cheaper Partington, Linn Kan stands, Heybrook HB1 and Something Solid. The Spendor SA1 stands might be good if they can be found s/h.

 

[narabdela]

Any party to my listening session this afternoon would have had a challenging time to tell the Kans from the V3s.

Did the listening sessions involve listening to a solo piano.

In my own experience the LS3/5a V3s manage to sound like a piano. The Kans fail miserably.

 

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In my own experience the LS3/5a V3s manage to sound like a piano. The Kans fail miserably.

Hmm...I'll take a listen this afternoon. The Kans are presently pulled out to ls3/5a position, so perfect.

 

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Did the listening sessions involve listening to a solo piano.

In my own experience the LS3/5a V3s manage to sound like a piano. The Kans fail miserably.

Well, I looked for a decent sounding, more recent recording of piano in my collection, and found Todd Gustavsen's "IGN" from 2003 on the ECM label. It has a lot of lively playing and a wide range of pitches, and seems to retain a lot of musical information in the recording.

There's no doubt that the Stirling V3s produced more of the components of the sound of a piano: particularly sustain and timbral colour,.
The Kans were drier, with less sustain and tonally less realistic. However, I'm running both sets of speakers with the same sub and overall, the presentation is similar, with the Kans creating better sound staging and instrumental location.

I tried a few other piano recordings. I preferred Bill Evans on the Kans. These were older recordings from 1961 and I felt more excited by, and drawn into the music on the Kans. In this case, the piano sounded more similar on both speakers. The Kans pushed the music's leading edges in a way that I liked.

But, I can appreciate why a piano-lover would choose the V3s.

 

[Tarzan]

Did the listening sessions involve listening to a solo piano.

In my own experience the LS3/5a V3s manage to sound like a piano. The Kans fail miserably.

Have heard Kan Mk1 sound pretty darn lifelike in the past- especially guitars etc- this was in a very well set up mid 90's and mid level Linn/Naim system ( Mana and a good acoustically sounding room)- a very involving sound.

 

[MTBBiker]

After that, it’s a mixture of cheaper Partington

When I got my dreadnoughts in the late 80’s the commentary had them rate about the same as the designers, I think it was probably Ken Kessler making that commentary. Hence I bought some dreadnoughts.

However I also bought a Nakamichi DVD player as KK said that it was a good CD player, but it sounded sh1t

I had some Tallis stands but sold them, preferred my Slate Audio stands for looks

 

[MTBBiker]

Probably a better test for accuracy would be to record a relative and play them back on the speakers and see which one was more correct - I am guessing that it would be the V3.

Alan Shaw of Harbeth is supposed to use his daughters voice like this.

 

[Meursault]

When I got my dreadnoughts in the late 80’s the commentary had them rate about the same as the designers, I think it was probably Ken Kessler making that commentary. Hence I bought some dreadnoughts.

However I also bought a Nakamichi DVD player as KK said that it was a good CD player, but it sounded sh1t

I had some Tallis stands but sold them, preferred my Slate Audio stands for looks

I had the Super Dreadnought. They’re good though the ‘speakers I used with them were less sensitive to stands. The LS3/5a are very sensitive to stands. I have the Tallis in solid rosewood (they probably only made a handful) and will probably never sell them because if I do, I will never manage to get another pair. It’s probably true of your Slate stands too that they very rarely come up for sale.

KK is variable, I like his writing though.