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LS3/5As and long term listening.

M

Martyn Miles

pfm Member
Some LS3/5A aficionados will recall my PFM review of the Stirling Broadcast V3 model, in early 2020.
As a long-term owner of Harbeth P3-ESRs, I was intrigued how the Stirlings would compare.
First impressions were positive, the V3s showing a greater image depth and subjectively deeper bass than
the P3s.
Don’t get me wrong, the Harbeths were far from outclassed.
In the end the Harbeths were sold, to help finance purchase of the Stirlings.

Time moved on and the ever-changing ‘3/5A world moves forward.
Falcon Acoustics’ models and the Rogers Classic, to name but two.

Having lived with and throughly enjoyed the Stirlings, I decided to try something new.
With help and purchases from Jerry Bloomfield of Falcon and Andy Whittle of Rogers, I decided to
build some LS3/5As.
All new Falcon drive units and a pair of ‘silver’ Falcon crossovers,
plus new Rogers cabinets.
With new mounting hardware I slowly built up the speakers.
Jerry had showed me how to build an LS3/5A Kit he delivered back in 2015.

The result ?
Now they have settled in I am very pleased indeed.
That ‘warm’ and open midrange.
A top end which seamlessly transitions from the midrange.
The bass is a revelation and reminds me of my Stirling V3s.

I also currently have a pair of Stirling V2s, which will be sold on.
Both pairs of these speakers give such listening pleasure.
 
Still loving my V3s, purchased primarily because of Martyn's gushing about them. They are not not dynamic: Nina Hagen no problem, Elgar no problem, Mahler no problem.
 
I too am a big fan of these magic little boxes, and as Martyn knows I recently bought a new pair of Stirling LS3/5a V3's which I'm much enjoying.

Which means that I have Martyns old pair in very good condition (Rosewood veneer) which I'm about to put in the classifieds (shameless plug).
 
What I find fascinating is that considering how great everyone says the LS3/5a's are, the number of folks who keep flipping them. Surely if they were so good and conformed to the LS3/5a standard as defined by the BBC, they should be a fit and forget speaker!?
 
lilolee said:
What I find fascinating is that considering how great everyone says the LS3/5a's are, the number of folks who keep flipping them. Surely if they were so good and conformed to the LS3/5a standard as defined by the BBC, they should be a fit and forget speaker!?
Click to expand...

Same for most people with most gear whatever your particular preferences are. Endlessly trying out new toys is all part of the hobby, innit.
 
@lilolee

If they’re anything like my JR149s there’s something very good about them and something very unsatisfactory about them too. In the case of the 149s the unsatisfactory thing is that you have to listen at low volumes and to be seated close to them in order to hear them at their best. If there were lots of versions of the 149s I’d be chopping and changing them too (in fact, I’m itching to stack mine!)
 
I think they make the most sense in a second system, i.e. don’t even try to get them to match a big speaker on filling a room, natural dynamics etc, use them as an alternative nearfield perspective to pick up on headphone levels of detail etc that is usually lost further away. I’ve always really liked small speakers, but I also like really big ones!

I currently have too many mini-monitors; LS3/5A (Falcon, ‘gold label’ crossovers), JR149s (Falcon B110 & T27), and Spendor S5/5R. The latter are doing superb work in the TV system, they are just faultless for the money and unquestionably the bargain of the three (typically £500 for a mint boxed pair). As such I have one pair too many, though given they are so small it is no huge issue. I may eventually sell the LS3/5As as I have far more connection to the 149s as they were my first proper speakers, but no rush. I want to play with stands first, really want to hear the 149s on 450-500mm (ideally wood) stands as I think I’m listening to them far too high up on the LS3/5A stands. I'm pretty sure that would address a slight leanness and mid-forward character.
 
Re. wood stands, Tony, I have a pair of HiFi Racks ‘Duet’ models.
They work really well with the LS3/5As.
They look excellent, too.
I have had Linn Kan stands and some B & W ones as well.
The Linn ones looked OK, in a sort of ‘angular’ way.
The B & W ones were just a stand-in ( groan ) until I found something I preferred.
HiFi Racks are an excellent company.
Very helpful indeed.
 
mandryka said:
@lilolee

If they’re anything like my JR149s there’s something very good about them and something very unsatisfactory about them too. In the case of the 149s the unsatisfactory thing is that you have to listen at low volumes and to be seated close to them in order to hear them at their best. If there were lots of versions of the 149s I’d be chopping and changing them too (in fact, I’m itching to stack mine!)
Click to expand...

Completely agree with this. I love my 149's, and swap them in fairly regularly, but they are not the speaker to use when I want to listen to something that requires a little more juice. They're the only speaker that I own that I can say this about, and it's the main reason I hesitate buying any version of the LS3/5a.
 
FWIW I’d argue the JR149 has rather more kick and punch than the LS3/5A. It is a slightly bigger cabinet and more simple crossover, which translates to a db or two in efficiency. The trade-off is the mid isn’t quite as seamless to my ears, plus it hasn’t got the LS3/5As 100Hz bass bump so needs some help from a wall. Positioned right the 149 has remarkably good deep bass for such a small speaker.

PS If you want a really nice small speaker with a lot more volume and dynamic headroom I’d look closely at ProAc. I loved the 1SC and assume the more recent ones of that size do similar things. I’ve owned Tablette 50 Sigs and Ref 8 Sigs, and both are really good, but I still feel the 1SC was the best I’ve heard in that general size class for a ported mini-monitor.
 
Martyn Miles said:
Gervais is organising some for me.
Click to expand...

Good on Gervais! A scholar and a gentleman. I looked at the link about posting pics, dropped out when I came to the part about selecting a third party host.

As to favourite mini-monitors within the BBC ‘70’s research sphere of influence, I reached the point where the differences are more subtle than crucial to my ear. Currently, that applies to my first, the Harbeth P3ES-2, the most recent Spendor Classic 4/5s, and those assembled for me (by a hobbyist well-known here) with modern Rogers LS3/5a cabinets housing tweaked Stirling V2 internals. Each of these 3 still in the house. All excellent.

In the past, I’ve had the Stirling V2s, followed by the V3s, and the Graham LS3/5s (but not their LS3/5a). All at that high level.

By any rationale measure, I could have rested with the Harbeths I bought 15+ years ago - I keep coming back to them anyway- and gone on a cruise or donated to charity, or left more to my adult offspring…

Just to prove I’ve learned nothing, I’d love to hear the Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge, and the Harbeth P3R XD…but that requires goin’ down the road to Toronto…

But in this room, I do get more out of the Graham LS5/9s, the Neat SX3i, and the Spendor Classic 3/1s. More appreciable difference between these, but that for another thread…
 
Martyn Miles said:
Re. wood stands, Tony, I have a pair of HiFi Racks ‘Duet’ models.
They work really well with the LS3/5As.
They look excellent, too.
I have had Linn Kan stands and some B & W ones as well.
The Linn ones looked OK, in a sort of ‘angular’ way.
The B & W ones were just a stand-in ( groan ) until I found something I preferred.
HiFi Racks are an excellent company.
Very helpful indeed.
Click to expand...
If anyone’s interested I have a pair of hi fi racks 50cm wood stands in oak they can have for £80 posted. I’ll even give them a quick coat of briwax before posting!
 
'Long term listening'?

I bought my Chartwells in 1978. Still in use daily, with what they where designed for. Voices. As in audio books. Nothing else.
 
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