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Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V3 Review.

Stirling’s SB88 could be described as a smaller standmount speaker.
It has many of the characteristics of the LS3/6.
I’d like to hear a pair in my home.

Martyn, If not in your home, have you heard the SB88s at all? Done some reading about them and I’m intrigued, despite what I said about preferring something smaller...

Back to my V3 order. They made it from Wales to the Canadian prairie in 48 hours. Now they’ve sat in a depot somewhere in my hometown for a day and a half, even after clearing customs etc. Aaaargh. No reflection on Stirling whatsoever.

That aside, going back and forth a bit on whether to bring in the AB-2 Bass extenders for the V3s, or shoot for the SB88s.
 
I hear ( pun intended! ) mixed reviews of using LS3/5as with bass extenders. Some really like them. Others are
lukewarm. The conventional way, standing the ‘3/5as on the extenders, is tidy and aesthetically pleasing.
I understand the results are mixed.
Someone in the Far East stands his extenders behind the LS3/5as and finds the results pleasing.
Sonically a success, but I suspect not acceptable in a family situation !
I’ve never heard the combination of ‘3/5a & bass extender, but would like to.
I suspect my wife would like the sound, but not the looks.

As for going for the SB88s, that is a difficult call.
They are between the LS3/6 and the LS3/5a.
Personally, I’d only go for them if I had a third ( middle ) system.
I realise I’m not addressing your question of AB2s or SB88s, but that is a personal decision
only you can make.

In an ideal world ( ! ) I would buy a pair of Stirling’s LS3/6 to replace my old Spendor BC1s.
I’d have SB88s in a third system and keep my V3s.
In an ideal world I’d have an old rambling house with many rooms.
Some say I’m old and rambling.
I really couldn’t comment...
 
Fair enough Martyn. I won’t struggle further with those decisions till the V3 s reach me, and I can listen for awhile.
 
LS3/5As have always interested me. I have a pair of Ergo IXs at the moment.

What is the cheapest way to put together a good pair of LS3/5As?

2nd hand and DIY can be included. If it's a valid option, I could buy a pair of the Moldovan cabinets on ebay and finish them myself.
 
Stirling Broadcast make well-regarded baffle assemblies which would be a great starting point:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=163983801135

I was headed in this direction until Martyn Miles sold me a pair of LS3/5a speakers with Rogers 60th Anniversary Baffles (made by Stirling) in Harbeth cabinets. He may be along to comment himself, but he advised caution with the Moldovan cabinets as they don't have the damping material and better grilles are available.
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
LS3/5s Guru ?
I have been elevated to ' higher places ' after all this time...
The Moldovan cabinets are OK, but I can't say they actually meet the BBC spec. As mentioned, no panel damping or foam lining.
If you're using Monacor rather than Kef drivers, you may have to trim the bottom batten.
The grilles stand proud from the cabinet front, so they don't look right. The grille material is rather thin.
They look good value, but delivery is expensive.
I bought a pair, but I don't think I will again..
Falcon do a BBC spec. cabinet kit ( about £190 ) but you have to paint or varnish them after assembly.
Genuine LS3/5a cabinets are now hard to find.
 
Any to sell canonman?
Sorry Stuart, no. I will make them up after restoration but probably not this year.

I have built close to 100 pairs over the last 20 years but getting harder all the time.

Owned every version too, including the ultra rare Rogers 50th Anniversary which I still regret selling. Owned 3 pairs out of the 50 made. Really special and never bettered, even by early Chartwells.
 
I have heard the SB88 in a private demo. With a luxman integrated the bass was too full and uncontrolled. With a Lindemann digital amp things were under control and it was a very enjoyable listen.

However I must question something re some of the BBC sound - with both the Stirling SB88 and the Spendor SP3/1R2 , I heard the same overdoing of the midrange, as if someone is playing with my mind and enhancing the music to sweetness.

Anyone can relate to that?
 
I have heard the SB88 in a private demo. With a luxman integrated the bass was too full and uncontrolled. With a Lindemann digital amp things were under control and it was a very enjoyable listen.

However I must question something re some of the BBC sound - with both the Stirling SB88 and the Spendor SP3/1R2 , I heard the same overdoing of the midrange, as if someone is playing with my mind and enhancing the music to sweetness.

Anyone can relate to that?


This is useful Omers. You’ve listened to two speakers I’d love to hear, but have not.

I think it is a matter of taste. Based on your comments, and my listening to other BBC style speakers, what you experience as unduly prominent midrange, is probably what I find natural and compelling. If the human voice, singing or speaking, sounds right to me, the rest tends to fall into place nicely. What I don’t like is bass that tends to take over and blanket or dominate the midrange. It is partly taste in music, but also typical North American home construction, tending to sprung-wood floors over a basement space, which can easily act as a large drum under the speakers.

But I recognize that sufficient bass for me doesn’t do justice to the music for others. The designer of PMC speakers seems to share your perspective on the shortcomings of the BBC approach to speaker design - based on interviews I’ve read, as well as listening to his speakers.

So, thanks for your views, they help us zero in on our preferences. By all means elaborate if you care to...
 
Thx Panderos. Not much else ...Note that I found what I reported with the larger, ported designs. It's been a while since I've heard a ls3/5 family speaker other than the Kef ref 101 which are my interim main speakers now and which is "flatter". The ls3/5's are sealed boxes. Perhaps the smaller, sealed nature makes the cabinet effect less prominent.

PS the spendors are one of the most beautiful speakers I've seen. The 88's are bulkier but they go deeper.
 
I’ve had to drastically reappraise my opinion of the original spec LS3/5a after acquiring a pair of the Falcons. This is my third pair after Rogers 15ohm teak cabs and Rogers 11ohm black ash back in the 80s and 90s. Both were second hand and it’s a very strange experience to hold box fresh Falcons with the same drivers but looking like they were newly minted.

I foolishly passed on a new pair of KEF Raymond Cook Anniversaries for £350 back in the early 90s. A guy round the corner from me in Edinburgh had won them in a HFN competition and decided to sell them on, I tried them an decided not to. The best investment I never made..
 
I’ve had to drastically reappraise my opinion of the original spec LS3/5a after acquiring a pair of the Falcons. This is my third pair after Rogers 15ohm teak cabs and Rogers 11ohm black ash back in the 80s and 90s. Both were second hand and it’s a very strange experience to hold box fresh Falcons with the same drivers but looking like they were newly minted.

I foolishly passed on a new pair of KEF Raymond Cook Anniversaries for £350 back in the early 90s. A guy round the corner from me in Edinburgh had won them in a HFN competition and decided to sell them on, I tried them an decided not to. The best investment I never made..

Decameron; I realize you’ve likely posted elsewhere about where the Falcons fit in the LS3/5a story, but what is the gist of your reappraisal? What are your thoughts on why the supposedly dated materials seem to work as well as they do compared to more ‘advanced’ drivers...?
 
I can’t compare them with Rogers versions form 25 years ago. I last heard the Rogers maybe 12 years ago and thought ‘nice but wouldn’t buy them again’. There’s probably a reason for this, Its down to amp and source availability at the time and the influence of aging drive units.
 
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It looks like we’re getting into that ‘old versus new LS3/5a’ debate again.
My experience, for what it’s worth, is the sound of them.
My Audiomasters were less ‘bright’ than the Falcons, which I found a little wearing on some music.
Yes, it could have been the music.
Perhaps my favourite ‘3/5as were the Harbeths.
But to muddy the waters, the Harbeth HL-P3s were better than both these LS3/5as.
In my opinion.
Back to the ‘old v new’, it’s widely reported that Paul Whatton’s BBC Numbers 1 & 2 are the best LS3/5as.
Of course, that’s in the opinion of those that have heard them.
Perhaps time to pause now...
 


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