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Falcon LS3/5a review: early impressions

My main listening room is a tiny bit larger than is ideal for the Falcon LS3/5a, so I’ve been using the ‘tilt’ function on my Quad 34 today.
 
Martyn Miles said:
Many experiences of LS3/5as with any type of sub-woofer aren’t always positive.
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One of the best sounds I have heard was a pair of Rogers 15ohm electronically crossed over with a pair of 12 inch subs. The xover point was played with until we were happy and the resulting sound was fantastic and it even converted a non LS3/5a believer
 
I heard some Falcons on the end of Primare amps at the NW Show in Knutsford, sat on solid steel stands, and it was the standout sound of the show for me. But... that was definitely in a near field scenario in a fairly small room.
I’m not sure I could live with them in a different scenario. Have got possibly a bit too used to some proper bass in a decent sized room.
 
It is often repeated that ls3/5a were designed for a van and are best heard in the near-field. There are plenty of music enthusiasts who found that these speakers are in fact surprisingly flexible. Those who want the near-field experience can enjoy that. Others discovered that the room/speaker interaction yields lots of other pleasing options too. I treated my room in-between ls3/5a ownership and I purchased a powerful ss amp. Those two factors transformed my understanding of what I could get out of these tiny monitors. The use of a sub (with Stirling V3 model) became less imperative in my treated room, which is just as well because I haven't had great outcomes with the sub options I've tried. The 'lack' of deepest bass becomes a minor issue to me when the overall sound is so coherent and beguiling.
 
mandryka said:
What size of room, Martyn? And how closely do you listen?
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I listen in a Conservatory, albeit with absorbent furniture.
I’m about 2.5/3.00 metres from the speakers, one side of an equilateral triangle.
It works well.

They have been used ( briefly ) in our front room where the V3s are approx. 2 meters apart.
and I’m about 4.00 metres away.
Different system, but superb using the tuner on R3 & R4.
The realism is astounding on radio plays.
 
Just measured my main listening room. It’s smaller than I’d assumed. I’m approximately 1.6m away from each LS3/5a speaker in an equilateral triangle, so in fact just about perfect.

Playing this DSD64 (SACD rip) right now and sounds heavenly:

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Great review. And Jackie McLean and Sun Ra in your first picture, top stuff.

I'm a huge fan of LS3/5as, a speaker I could never live with in my own systems, but I love them in a setup and room that suits them. If I was a nearfield small room listener nowadays, they'd be my forever speaker I suspect.
 
Tarzan said:
Nice review Greg The Falcon's are getting a lot of love at the moment do you listen to rock music on them much?:)
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I’ve not played much rock yet Andy, I’m mostly a Jazz and Classical listener these days. Keep wondering about playing some Alice in Chains and Soundgarden though.
 
GML said:
The Falcons suit my smallish room perfectly and sound marvellous on all genres, although I'm never likely to try them with opera!

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GML, how close are you to them? I find 2m pretty good. As with all these BBC style minis, they just get cant handle the power required for big room listening at greater distance, though they can still pull the big soundstage trick.[/QUOTE]
 
Robby said:
Same as yours - the 1200G. The only part of my system that hasn't changed for a couple of years. Easily the best t/t I have owned.
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Ah great choice :)

I’ve owned a few well-regraded decks - SME 10, Rega P8, 301 - and I’d have to give it overall to the Technics. It’s the reassuring feeling of stability in sound and function coupled with the user-friendliness that wins it for me.
 
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