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' Chartwell ' LS3/5a

It certainly looks like an LS3/5A! I assume they are cloning B110s and T27s specially for it?
 
Yes, those Chinese can make a good copy. The images of the B110 & T27 drive units look very much like the genuine Kef models. Incidentally, Falcon Acoustics are making an FB110. It exactly matches the Kef units, as Malcom Jones ( late of Kef ) is involved. He designed the original ! As daytona600 says, best to stick to the Sterling model...
 
The Sterling LS3/5a is the most dissapointing speaker I've heard to date. :confused:

(within my own room/system that is. It was not at all recognizable as an LS3/5a. (I had the chance to compare it with a Rogers 15ohm LS3/5a)

Perhaps it demanded a better/other amp (Naim Nait 5i).
The sound was slow with boomy, uncontrolled bass, veiled mids, lacking tranparancy and treble was very laid-back, lacking in detail, sparkle and attack.
 
Alco said:
The Sterling LS3/5a is the most dissapointing speaker I've heard to date. :confused:

(within my own room/system that is. It was not at all recognizable as an LS3/5a. (I had the chance to compare it with a Rogers 15ohm LS3/5a)

Perhaps it demanded a better/other amp (Naim Nait 5i).
The sound was slow with boomy, uncontrolled bass, veiled mids, lacking tranparancy and treble was very laid-back, lacking in detail, sparkle and attack.
Click to expand...

Crazy things you read on the internet.

This is one of them.
 
Jodet said:
Crazy things you read on the internet.

This is one of them.
Click to expand...

I am inclined to agree. I have never heard the Sterling, only the earlier LS3/5a. Designer Derek Hughes' skills and Doug Stirling's commitment to quality, plus a BBC Licence, must mean something...
 
Martin, Jodet

I read you loud and clear but Alco is no bomb thrower. Check out his posts. If he hears something there is a rational reason for his opinion. It would be interesting to read more details on the circumstances of his audition. Some of the characteristics detailed are not inconsistent with brand new speakers that have not broken in.
 
Clay B said:
Martin, Jodet

I read you loud and clear but Alco is no bomb thrower. Check out his posts. If he hears something there is a rational reason for his opinion. It would be interesting to read more details on the circumstances of his audition. Some of the characteristics detailed are not inconsistent with brand new speakers that have not broken in.
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Alco had Rogers Studio 3s, as I did at the time. I recall we agreed on their sound. I also recall he has a pair of Stirling V2s delivered some years ago. He posted on PFM under 'LS3/5a madness', on 10-06-06, the following: ' I'm a bit underwhelmed. It can be due to the lack of running in, room acoustics, match with my system, or personal taste. Who knows...' That was some time ago, of course... Martyn .
 
I read you loud and clear but Alco is no bomb thrower. Check out his posts. If he hears something there is a rational reason for his opinion. It would be interesting to read more details on the circumstances of his audition. Some of the characteristics detailed are not inconsistent with brand new speakers that have not broken in.
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Thanks Clay. :) I must say that I was also Very surprised and can totally understand Martyn and Jodet's reply. When I auditioned the Sterlings it was alsmost as if there was something wrong (as in broken) with the speaker. It wasn't, but at first I even listened with my ears close to the tweeter to see if they actually worked!
I have to confess that the room in which the Sterlings were playing had some horrible acoustics. (standing waves) which gave many speakers a naste bass-boost. Still, this rarely occured with closed cabinet speakers, like the Rogers LS3/5a. Therefor I didn't expect the boomy bass from the Sterlings either. :confused:

Regarding burn-in time. The dealer that offered me to try the Sterlings insisted on having me to try them for at least 3 weeks, as the speakers were indeed brandnew.

So,...in the end my dissapointment could have someting to do with a lack of burn-in time. (although I never experienced night/day differences with new speakers after a certain period)

Another reason could just be that the Sterlings didn't like my amp. (Nait 5i)

I recently had the chance to try of the most musically involving small speakers I've ever heard (Penaudio Charisma), in my own room/system.

The owner brought along a Nait XS. To my surprise the Pen's didn't sound special at all at the end of the Nait XS.
Hooked up to my little Rega Brio-R though (costing less than a third) it made for an unexpected, very nice combo!

So,...I don't wanna bash the Sterling LS3/5a, as they might be great in the right setup.

cheers,
Alco
 
Alco had Rogers Studio 3s, as I did at the time. I recall we agreed on their sound
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Aah yes...the Rogers Studio 3. :) Eventhough the Studio 3's weren't that highly regarded in the press I loved them.
I regret having sold them 3 years ago! :( (never seen a pair on the s/h market since!)
 
my friend has a pair of the sterling ls5/a driven by a Orbe deck with valve amp

small room , nearfield listening about 7feet away , 99% female vocal/acoustic/ folk/classical

sounded bloody good to me
 
Alco said:
Aah yes...the Rogers Studio 3. :) Even though the Studio 3s weren't that highly regarded in the press I loved them.
I regret having sold them 3 years ago! :( (never seen a pair on the s/h market since!)
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You're not the only one to regret selling them ! I sold them for about what I bought them for and acquired a pair of Audiomaster LS3/5as. After those Harbeth '3/5as and an then unusual pair with Falcon crossovers & RAM cabinets. Now in Germany with a happy owner. In the end I bought Harbeth HL-P3s. They are superb with my Quad 303. I could live with LS3/5as, but in my system the P3s perform better. Horses for courses. I also have an early pair of Harbeth HLs. Lovely... Martyn .
 
from my own limited experience (15ohms rogers), so many (too many?) factors can really limit LS35a's potential. wether it is tubes or trans, some records sound divine, others sound flat and dull. i stopped questioning the reasons and live with it. i only play the good ones!
 
Guys,

As I has asked one of the best dealers ( Acoustic Sounds ) here in the states about my options of which version worth pursuing between the Harbeth P3-ESR and Stirling Broardcast LS 3/5A V-2, this is what he told me!, if you're using a solid state amp?, go with the Harbeth. But if you're using a tube ( valve ) amp?, then the logical choice is the V-2, as it was designed with said amps in mind.

I had taken it upon myself at the time to even email Stirling Broadcast UK, and was told that I'd be able to buy a vintage tube integrated at say $50 and compare it to a $10.000 solid state amp - and the cheaper tube amp would win out.

In this case, it's merely trying to take into account - one size doesn't fit all, and all amps aren't designed as the only options worth pursuing - these speakers were merely made to be used with tube amps period - as much as several of my friends here whom own Harbeth Compact 7ES-3's and P-3ESR's try their damest to enjoy listening to either with SET based systems, over the last few months reality kicked end once they both had a chance to hear them driven with one of the current Luxman Class A solid state integrated's that put out a mere 20 wpc - put made these speakers sing in all their glory.

Yet, for the last three years - I has been trying to tell both that Harbeth were in fact designed/voiced using solid state, and guess what?. Neither of these guys whom love tube amps more - were willing to be without them - so the Harbeth's were sold.

It's about finding an amp that one adores and then building around it - as opposed to merely buying this or that speaker and hoping/praying it works with the amp you already own?, in some cases - it might?, in others - it won't?.

The key word here is ' Synergy '. And in said case, nothing is a given.

Best Regards,
o_O scar
 
Life moves on, and so have my Harbeth HL-P3s. I now have a pair of nearly-new P3ESRs. An evolutionary move from Harbeth, as they have all the great things the P3 gives, with a smoother response and a bass end I've never heard before from such a small loudspeaker.

As for the amplifier, the same Quad 34/303 is employed. It works, so I wouldn't change it. Harbeth's Alan Shaw has his own ideas on amplification which will not be appreciated by some on PFM, I suspect.
 
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