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Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V3 Review.

Omer, For electronic music, I’d be inclined to suggest something more along the lines of Neat Motive 3 or Momentum SX3 or Kudos C10s in standmounts, or their smaller floorstanders, Neat Motive 2, Kudos X2 or 3. Very lively sound with Naim or Rega integrateds...or perhaps the Proac Tab 10s...
 
That’s interesting, as I’ve never heard ( or even heard of ) those speakers. Except for the ProAc.
The Tablette 10s do get mentioned, I’ve noticed.
I mentioned earlier I’m not into electronic music, so can someone recommend some for me to listen to.
Who knows, I may be missing out...
 
Thanks Martyn and Paul pls continue writing your impressions...
I don't listen mostly to electronic music, I am trying to understand how "general purpose" is the V3... Speakers that really fail in that music fail for me in the long run, it's usually weird treble or treble integration, that a simple "beat" sounds off.

Martyn I listen now to Nils Frahm/Screws Reworked. It's laid back ambient music, starting from acoustic (perhaps "treated") piano and towards the end advancing to ambient electronic music. A nice example how there isn't a gap really.
Omer.
 
[QUOTE="omers, post: 3868441, member: 6"....
I don't listen mostly to electronic music, I am trying to understand how "general purpose" is the V3... Speakers that really fail in that music fail for me in the long run, it's usually weird treble or treble integration, that a simple "beat" sounds off.

Martyn I listen now to Nils Frahm/Screws Reworked...
Omer.[/QUOTE]

Worth a mention here are the Graham LS6 and LS6f (floorstanders). Of the two, I’ve only heard the floorstanders, had in my den for a few weeks My twenty-something son, a onetime DJ, likes all sorts of music including electronic and hip hop and other genres I cannot name. He thought the LS6fs were the most amazing things he’s heard. These Grahams have the benefit of the BBC monitors’ way with vocals, but a more lively and modern sound, not tied to particular BBC specs. I found the bottom port too much for my sprung wood floor; son thought I was mad to move them out. The standmount LS6 might do better for me, but I’d like to hear before committing...

Omer, if something like Brian Eno’s “Here Come the Warm Jets”, or Michael Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” qualifies as electronic- ambient for you - I can give them a listen on the V3s...
 
If you want to really put a speaker through its paces with ambient electronica, Telefon Tel Aviv's "Fahrenheit Far Enough" is a good demo album, especially the title track. A seller used it to demo the IMF TLS 80 mk2 I was purchasing from him and it made quite the impression, - I bought the CD on eBay later that day! The CD has genuine low frequency content all the way down to 1Hz and crystal clear high frequency transients, however online versions might be bandwidth limited (e.g. I believe Youtube applies a 15kHz low-pass brickwall filter to its audio).

https://telefon-tel-aviv.bandcamp.com/album/fahrenheit-fair-enough

 
Thanks Paul, I like better "Here Come the Warm Jets", I guess halfway electronic? I look to the parts when electronic notes have an acoustic colour, a tail that won't leave...

Toto Man, thanx for the great track. Unrelated to the band, but I am still from Tel Aviv.
 
If you want to really put a speaker through its paces with ambient electronica, Telefon Tel Aviv's "Fahrenheit Far Enough" is a good demo album, especially the title track....”

Okay, thanks. I’ll look for that on my Roon, as well as the Nils Frahm/Screws Reworked mentioned by Omer - See how the V3s respond.

Meanwhile, I’ve just ordered the Stirling AB-2 Bass Extenders to play with under the V3s. I’ve been through a few larger (relative to the LS3/5 types, and relative to the size of my room) standmounts; Graham LS5/9s, Harbeth Compact 7 ES3.

I like the idea of a matched bass extender designed to partner the small LS3/5 types - gambling that it should do as well with the V3 as the V2. The hypothesis being that this will preserve the V3 presentation, but provide some well-judged heft.
Also, I can simply disconnect the bass extender when using the V3s for Netflix etc. The V3 on top of the bass extender will add up to a very slim, unobtrusive little floorstander.

Prior to this, a friend set up my Harbeths at his place with a small sealed design subwoofer, and the sound was quite wonderful. I wasn’t able to make it work with the preamp I had at the time. But that experience led me to think the V3 and AB-2 approach is promising.

Why not just get a small floorstander? I have done, but found none I liked as much as the V3. Neat Elite IIIs and the more up-to-date Neat Motive 2s, as well as the somewhat larger Graham LS6f are/were excellent in many respects, but the bottom port proved too much on my sprung wood floor.

So, the V3 / AB-2 combo may hit the sweet spot. Or just advance the march of science...
 
In part for Omer’s benefit, and for any one interested, and to orient myself a little with the genre, or genres variously described as ‘ambient’ , ‘experimental electronic’, ‘avant- garde rock’, ‘downbeat’ and ‘glitch???’, I spent a little time with Nils Frahm, Brian Eno, and Telefon Tel Aviv. Went to my Roon set up to locate them.

To address Omer’s question, as I understood it, I didn’t hear any grating anomalies in the way the V3s rendered the treble or high notes, or rhythmic elements of the music.

Turns out I’d heard Nils Frahm’s production work on the Chopin Project with Olafur Arnalds, which I liked immensely; a rather unique take on Chopin’s nocturnes with electronic elements. But Nils Frahm’s own recordings, as with Telefon Tel Aviv; both were new to me, and I enjoyed them very much, most especially the Nils Frahm. Because these recordings were slower, and Nils Frahm’s especially- simpler in the sense of having some melodic piano lines without a lot of clutter or clamour, the V3s seemed more confident - or maybe I was.

The Brian Eno - selections from ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’ had a lot going on all at once; voices, multiple layers of recognizable instruments such as electric guitar and drums, along unfamiliar electronic sounds created out of whole cloth, so to speak. Hard to say if the V3s were having trouble making sense of all that, or if it was just me. Recent experience suggests the Neat Momentum SX3 or the Graham LS6f might handle ‘the Warm Jets’ with greater aplomb. But I cannot test that...I may try with the Kudos C10s which are still handy.

As an aside, I thought ‘ambient’ music would mean ‘suitable background for reading the news or puttering around’. Not elevator music exactly, but something that might reward your full attention, but didn’t necessarily demand it; in the way I confess to using classical guitar or ‘nouveau flamenco’. Personally, I can’t see how the Brian Eno squares with the term ‘ambient’, but to each his own...
 
Thanks Paul, much appreciated.

Yes "ambient" is great you can attach it to everything - i like doing the dishes with ambient Led Zep ...
I think "here come..." is not ambient? Eno has enough ambient music w/o it. Also the Nils Frahm is maybe too melodic and catching to be ambient...

I can't stand most of the ported speakers, i usually just stuff a sock and see how it sounds, so the Grahams and Neats are likely not to be a good choice ..

I currently listen with Kef reference 101's which are a different take on ls3/5. They can take lots of power and reach stupidly loud, and somehow in my room, which is an open living room, positioned 15 cm from back wall, they reach down to 40hz clearly. I know they are not supoosed to...

They are a bit unspectacular, but this neutrality is their forte also, nothing jumps out. Soundstage is immense. I wish i could find a similar package with just a touch clearer more open sound.
 
If you have some time, and are interested in a little story....; I couldn’t resist a pair of Proac Tab 10s I heard in Toronto. They are the same size as LS3/5a’s, such as the Stirling V3s, give or take a quarter inch or so.

Once again, I’ve put myself in the familiar dilemma; three pairs of speakers ( my trusty old Harbeth P3ES-2s being the others) occupying the same niche. All high quality, each with their own balance of spices in the curry; any given audiophile might describe the differences as subtle or vast...

The Proacs tend to the more lively, open-throated, unconstrained end of the spectrum, with an extra sense of space and air compared to the others. Lots of punch and snap to percussion, maybe a hint more sibilance. A beguiling mid-range to be sure...

Not much to choose between the three pairs for fidelity to the human voice. Harbeths ever so slightly warmer or richer in tone, very even across the frequency band, but more controlled, even a little rounded at the high frequencies. Stirlings very clean, very delicate higher notes, perhaps a touch drier or cooler.

The main distinction now is that the Stirlings are now running on top of their dedicated AB-2 Bass Extenders. This set-up preserves the desirable qualities of the LS3/5 lineage, but adds a nicely measured increase of lower frequency reserves. The small, inward facing side ports of the Bass Extenders avoid undue resonance with the wall behind and the sprung-wood floor below, compared to several other approaches I’ve tried, including bottom-ported floorstanders. Visually, the V3s atop their Extenders present an elegant solution, with the matching dimensions and veneer.

I don’t doubt someone with a good ear and a deft hand could set up one or two good small subwoofers to accomplish comparable enhancement of good ‘shoebox’ speakers, but it wouldn’t be easy for some of us, and wouldn’t look as good...

In short, a nice alternative to a bigger box in a smallish room...
 
The Falcon version exactly conforms to the BBC spec. so in fact you are correct.
Or are you ?
According to the U.K’s LS3/5a Guru ( Ken Kessler, not me ) the Rogers Classic is pretty close, if
not an equal.
Then again, Ken said the Falcon ‘Kingswood Warren’ version was the best LS3/5a he’s ever heard.
The world of the LS3/5a isn’t a simple one...

i wonder if anyone here has bought The Kingswood Warren. It just may be a really good investment, and that’s quite hard to find - should I . . . ? Is it low risk, high reward, secure? Maybe I should buy a few pairs.
 
The only KW LS3/5as I’ve seen belong to Far East collectors.
Jerry Bloomfield told me that all 50 pairs were sold before the run was completed.

My own Falcon LS3/5as stayed a while, but I sold them on.
I’m enjoying my Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V3s...
 
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Has anyone heard the current Rogers LS3/5a? They’re more expensive than the Falcon despite the use of drivers/ components made in China, “re-engineered to recreate exact copies of the KEF drivers”.
https://www.hifinews.com/content/rogers-ls35a-classic-loudspeaker

Again perhaps a great time for a new shoot out- with Falcon, Graham/Chartwell, Stirling and Rogers on the panel. A twist would be to try them with typical source and amplification of the late 70s/early 80s, compared with current source and amplification at similar inflation- corrected prices.
 
Re. the new Rogers Classic LS3/5a, I recently saw a You Tube video with Andy Whittle being interviewed.
It was interesting to hear him say how much extra work is done in the UK, such as doping and measurement
of the bass/mid driver.
All adds to costs, I suppose.
Graham use a B110 ‘look-like’ in their 3/5, made by Volt Loudspeakers in the UK.

As for a new ‘Shootout’, I would love to be involved in one.
Perhaps after the present emergency has passed.

I’ve yet to hear about anyone in the UK owning the new Rogers Classic, but there are Falcon and
Graham/Chartwell owners around.
Incidentally, I saw a pair of Chartwell 3/5s on Gumtree for £875.
I was tempted, as I have never heard a pair in my house.
 
As for a new ‘Shootout’, I would love to be involved in one.
Perhaps after the present emergency has passed.

I’ve yet to hear about anyone in the UK owning the new Rogers Classic, but there are Falcon and
Graham/Chartwell owners around.
Incidentally, I saw a pair of Chartwell 3/5s on Gumtree for £875.
I was tempted, as I have never heard a pair in my house.

I did one shootout with Andy and Ken Kessler for HFN, enough for me in my lifetime:)

I saw the Graham Chartwell knock offs too but not tempted.
 
I gather from ‘canonman’ is was about 2006.
Spendor S3/5, Harbeth P3, original LS3/5a and the Rogers LS3/5a 60th.

I can’t remember it, but I was going through a difficult time in my life at the time.
 
The only KW LS3/5as I’ve seen belong to Far East collectors.
Jerry Bloomfield told me that all 50 pairs were sold before the run was completed.

My own Falcon LS3/5as stayed a while, but I sold them on.
I’m enjoying my Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V3s...

Hey Martyn, how would you compare the falcon ls3/5a with the stirling v3?

i own the falcon ls3/5a and was told by the previous owner that he sell them on because it is not as good as his rogers ls3/5a

I own the graham ls6 which @Panderos mentioned and I have to say, the ls6 is easily better than the falcon ls3/5a. my reasoning from then is that, rather than seek small little increments through switching around differen iterations of ls3/5a, might as well get a slightly bigger one with better bass and scale. The graham ls6 does that for me.

P.S. Just an interesting story, the dealer in my country selling the very limited Rogers ls3/5a 70th anniversary quoted me USD3400 making it sound like the best buy you can have. I was utterly disgusted by how companies like rogers can overcharge like that but i guess its the sign of times (at least before covid19)
 


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