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Graham Audio LS5/9

No one has yet mentioned Stirling Broadcast.
Their speakers are designed by Derek Hughes, just like those made by Graham Audio. Finish is perhaps not as luxurious as that of GA speakers.

The LS3/6s used to cost as much as the GA LS5/9s but their prices have recently gone up, and they also manufacture the smaller SB-88 which is closer in size to the LS5/9:

I'm very happy with my pair of 3/6s, preferred these over the SHL5+s.
 
tuga said:
Were you aiming the speakers towards the listening spot as intended?
The LS5/9s are flat on-axis up to 19kHz.

graham-audio-ls-5-9-fr1.jpg


O52XeI3.png


But they probably relax a bit more in the presence region off-axis than the SHL5+s, as do the M30s.
Click to expand...
ive seen those measurements, doesnt corellate with my measurements.
you can see from the first graph a small peak at 6khz, but this scale has alot of smoothing. but what I dont understand is their small dip, mine was much larger, covered from 1.7khz up to 3khz.
anyhow.
curious about ls3/6. what was the condition in which youve compared them to the shl5+?
 
Strictly Stereo said:
Let's be absolutely clear. I will be making in-room measurements, complete with all of the room-derived colouration that entails. I won't be making pseudo-anechoic measurements like the Stereophile ones. This type of measurement is unlikely to provide a reliable insight into any "BBC dips". What they ought to show is the difference in treble roll off between the LS6 and the LS5/9, when the two speakers are measured in the same spot in the same room.
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ok
my room is entirely treated (1st reflections point with panels). 1m away from the speakers in my room my measurements could clearly show the different FR of the shl5+ and ls59
 
Ayya Khema said:
ok
my room is entirely treated (1st reflections point with panels). 1m away from the speakers in my room my measurements could clearly show the different FR of the shl5+ and ls59
Click to expand...

The tweeter on the LS5/9 is supposed to be at ear height. Where do you place the mic?
 
Ayya Khema said:
ive seen those measurements, doesnt corellate with my measurements.
you can see from the first graph a small peak at 6khz, but this scale has alot of smoothing. but what I dont understand is their small dip, mine was much larger, covered from 1.7khz up to 3khz.
anyhow.
Click to expand...

The Hi-Fi World plot uses 1/3 octave smoothing which correlates reasonably well with listening (some sources mention 1/6 octave).
REW has an option called Psychoacoustic smoothing, which uses 1/3 octave below 100Hz, 1/6 octave above 1 kHz and varies from 1/3 octave to 1/6 octave between 100 Hz and 1 kHz. It also applies more weighting to peaks by using a cubic mean (cube root of the average of the cubed values) to produce a plot that more closely corresponds to the perceived frequency response.

Did you perform your measurements with the tweeter pointing at the listening spot/mic? This can make all the difference (it does with the LS3/6s).
 
Many thanks for your replies so far!

@Strictly Stereo - looking forward to those measurements, thank you!

tuga said:
Were you aiming the speakers towards the listening spot as intended?
The LS5/9s are flat on-axis up to 19kHz.

graham-audio-ls-5-9-fr1.jpg
Click to expand...

What is the source of those measurements? "flat on-axis up to 19kHz" refers to +/- 3dB? Those measurements I have seen so far (e.g. in German Stereoplay magazine 2015) shows them dropping off quite dramatically after 10kHz, ending up 10dB lower at 20kHz (on axis).

I understand room acoustics don't come into play much in this frequency range, so they can't be responsible for it?
 
vln said:
Many thanks for your replies so far!

@Strictly Stereo - looking forward to those measurements, thank you!



What is the source of those measurements? "flat on-axis up to 19kHz" refers to +/- 3dB? Those measurements I have seen so far (e.g. in German Stereoplay magazine 2015) shows them dropping off quite dramatically after 10kHz, ending up 10dB lower at 20kHz (on axis).

I understand room acoustics don't come into play much in this frequency range, so they can't be responsible for it?
Click to expand...

Is this the measurement you are talking about?


kz4Uddj.jpg



It's by Audio Magazine Poland:
https://audio.com.pl/testy/stereo/zespoly-glosnikowe/2375-graham-audio-ls59

I don't know why the response falls so abruptly above 12kHz since it's spec'ed 50Hz to 16kHz, ±3dB.
The other two measurements don't show this behaviour, nor does the Audax specs sheet I linked before...
 
tuga said:
The Hi-Fi World plot uses 1/3 octave smoothing which correlates reasonably well with listening (some sources mention 1/6 octave).
REW has an option called Psychoacoustic smoothing, which uses 1/3 octave below 100Hz, 1/6 octave above 1 kHz and varies from 1/3 octave to 1/6 octave between 100 Hz and 1 kHz. It also applies more weighting to peaks by using a cubic mean (cube root of the average of the cubed values) to produce a plot that more closely corresponds to the perceived frequency response.

Did you perform your measurements with the tweeter pointing at the listening spot/mic? This can make all the difference (it does with the LS3/6s).
Click to expand...
ive measured both the mic at tweeter level and woofer level. the bbc dip and 6khz peak of the graham's was definitely always present.

and did the same with shl5+ many times, shl5+ always measured ruler flat

graham ls59 do not measure totally flat. not like its the end of the worls though, just tought id mention it. My seas a26 is also definitely not 100% flat but I still love em!
 
Ayya Khema said:
ive measured both the mic at tweeter level and woofer level. the bbc dip and 6khz peak of the graham's was definitely always present.

and did the same with shl5+ many times, shl5+ always measured ruler flat

graham ls59 do not measure totally flat. not like its the end of the worls though, just tought id mention it. My seas a26 is also definitely not 100% flat but I still love em!
Click to expand...

I only asked because the magazine measurements I posted don't show a dip in the presence region.
 
tuga said:
I only asked because the magazine measurements I posted don't show a dip in the presence region.
Click to expand...
havent you just posted a measurements that show that 7 degree off axis has a pretty serious dip?

again, im genuinely curious, how and when did you compare the stirlings vs shl5+. what did you prefer from the ls36, how long was the audition, ect...
 
I had a brief listen to a pair at the Wigwam Show recently, what I heard sounded really good. I'll certainly seek out a longer listen when it's upgrade time. They look very ugly with the covers off though.

Cheers BB
 
All this about FR measurement is not the key thing with these speakers. They're "polite" and that won't show in the FR plots - some would say laid back, I would say lacking drive and dynamics. Some will like this, others not.
 
Ayya Khema said:
havent you just posted a measurements that show that 7 degree off axis has a pretty serious dip?

again, im genuinely curious, how and when did you compare the stirlings vs shl5+. what did you prefer from the ls36, how long was the audition, ect...
Click to expand...

I said that they were flat on axis but relaxed progressively off axis in the presence region as all BBC-style speakers do (and those from many manufacturers).

BBC speakers are meant to be listened to on axis.
 
sunbeamgls said:
All this about FR measurement is not the key thing with these speakers. They're "polite" and that won't show in the FR plots - some would say laid back, I would say lacking drive and dynamics. Some will like this, others not.
Click to expand...

I've not heard them but I agree. Measurements will only show if there's something seriously wrong.
 
sunbeamgls said:
All this about FR measurement is not the key thing with these speakers. They're "polite" and that won't show in the FR plots - some would say laid back, I would say lacking drive and dynamics. Some will like this, others not.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by polite, and compared to what?
 
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