Sound Artist LS3/5 speakers

[spirovious]

Rogers since the 70s

Beautiful sound

 

[magma]

Here is some info
Background
And history about Sound Artist

BBC LS 3/5 _ Speakers Launch SoundFoundations - SoundArtist

Soundartist LS3/5 The LS 3/5 a is a legendry design licenced by the BBC .It is one of the most famous speakers in most audiophile circles known for is natural and smooth vocal presentation and immediate emotional connect. It has been a favorite on almost every forum and music afficandos have...

www.hifivision.com

 

[rikhav]

Jenson

The LS3/5
was made for originally made for monitoring commissioned by BBC

And so the harbeth , spendor , falcon , Rogers and the Soundartist ( who was the OEM or Rogers since the 70s ) etc
which are based on this design play the same way since they are almost identical designs ( crossover, cabinets , size or druvers , even the impedance and wattage )

They ALL play in a small sealed box of the same size
And so they obviously have a limit on the bass they produce

None of the above are for parties and very large spaces
They are all intimate sounding , if you have heard a harbeth you would have an idea

As for your question about jazz
Well bbc didn't design these speakers just for jazz but more so for vocals so obviously they would play all kinds of music

The BBC flavour is a bit different from modern speakers
It's more to do with the sweetness of the human voice , the tone and texture of the instruments rather than the accuracy and pin point imaging and detail


So it's a highly enjoyable and listenable speaker if you are not going to analyse it
A bbc is thus an emotion fir easy listening rather than a critics speaker

I don't agree with the imaging part you described about the speaker.

Not comparing it with any other brand or model of speaker , not even other LS3/5 models.

Have heard it an untreated room and for me it did image pretty well.

 

[Sushant Sharma]

These are suppose to be good imitations of the original ls3/5a and are cost effective and from reviews it seems these replicas sound pretty close. Wish I could hear them.

 

[vea]

I hear these speakers are better used in small rooms. Is there any chance these might work in a 2500 cubic feet room with a listening distance of 11 feet from the speakers?

 

[Analogous]

I hear these speakers are better used in small rooms. Is there any chance these might work in a 2500 cubic feet room with a listening distance of 11 feet from the speakers?

This video may help getting some insight into the “what speakers size for my room” question :

Adding a subwoofer to argument the low frequency response of these speakers could be an option

 

[vea]

Thanks @Analogous. I was wondering if these speakers project the sound well into the room. I read some of these monitors are better for near field listening.

 

[Analogous]

Thanks @Analogous. I was wondering if these speakers project the sound well into the room. I read some of these monitors are better for near field listening.

Someone who has heard them would be best placed to describe their performance (keeping in mind the partnering equipment and room of course)
In my experience with small bookshelf speakers, I prefer them in near field set up. This eliminates room modes and other room acoustic irritations to a great degree. I have a small dedicated listening room so can pull them out from the walls (4’), but this may not be practical for everyone.

 

[magma]

For these speakers room size is secondary

listenign distance and width between speakers is more important

You have to understanf the history behind the BBC LS3/5 ddesign
they were designed by bbc engineers for mastering nearfield and medium field

though the newer production format has been tweaked for medium field
the speaker is Not meant for a LARGE room without using a sub

as i said these are intimate sounmding speakers with a lot of emphasis on natural voicing and tone
Not for scale
they will do soundstafing and depth though

THIS GOES FOR ALL ls3/5
incluisng the harbeth , faclon , rogers , graham
Despite what their respective dealers may say

In mumbai they are playing 8 feet apart with a listenig distance of 7 feet ( from the centre line )
and they sound phenomenal
( mumbai members can always go in for a listen )

 

[amrutmhatre90]

This speakers absolutely shine in desktop environment, no boomyness, smooth midrange and highs remind me of KEF's.
They sound best in medium to small sized rooms.
The vocals blew me away while watching Youtube Videos, the voice has the texture which make them sound true to life.
These speakers do disappear well too,

Having used multiple speakers for near field, this should be on everyone's list to audition list.
Don't shy away looking at the frequency response, they have enough mid bass to compensate it.

One gripe though, they are very difficult to drive, needs a 50Watt amp minimum!
SMSL VMV A1 struggled
Audiolab 7000a was driving them very well
Best of the lot was the Akai AM 2850, maybe the old 85 vintage watts did help.

 

[magma]

Wow
That's a nice huge workstation

Almost the size like something seen at studios

At that size and separation between speakers
You must get a nice soundstage even in nearfield

And yes the tone and human voice is where the where the bbc designs are known to be good

 

[anuragjoshi]

It surely plays loud for an average room size
Maybe not to insane levels like a pro audio speaker but I don't think would expect it to go that loud

 

[Hari Iyer]

Those interested in technical analysis can find some graphs here https://www.stereophile.com/content/falcon-gold-badge-ls35a-loudspeaker-measurements

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

This speakers absolutely shine in desktop environment, no boomyness, smooth midrange and highs remind me of KEF's.
They sound best in medium to small sized rooms.
The vocals blew me away while watching Youtube Videos, the voice has the texture which make them sound true to life.
These speakers do disappear well too,

Having used multiple speakers for near field, this should be on everyone's list to audition list.
Don't shy away looking at the frequency response, they have enough mid bass to compensate it.

One gripe though, they are very difficult to drive, needs a 50Watt amp minimum!
SMSL VMV A1 struggled
Audiolab 7000a was driving them very well
Best of the lot was the Akai AM 2850, maybe the old 85 vintage watts did help.

View attachment 76918

View attachment 76919

They really look lovely with the Akai vintage amp

 

[SKR]

These are suppose to be good imitations of the original ls3/5a and are cost effective and from reviews it seems these replicas sound pretty close. Wish I could hear them.

You can hear at my place. Lying with me for over an year. Installed just today.

 

[Rosenarayanappa]

Every now and then these LS3/5a keeps pricking me. Was after those elusive preloved Harbeths and spendors and kind of gave up.

 

[Sushant Sharma]

You can hear at my place. Lying with me for over an year. Installed just today.

How are you liking them Sir? Do youbuse them in your main music room. It would be great to do that when i am in Dehi. I was fortunate to find a pair of Spendor ls3/5a. I use them sometimes and quite enjoy them.

 

[Mayasandra_l]

The LS35A has something in them. I have the Falcons and I forget the passage of time. Music just flows.

 

[SKR]

The LS35A has something in them. I have the Falcons and I forget the passage of time. Music just flows.

From what I have heard from friends in Bangkok Falcon’s are the best among all the manufacturers of LS3/5A.
I heard Falcon’s latest model with golden badge in a high end show in Bangkok and they were sounding fabulous driven by some tube monoblocks from China. And they were playing in a huge room and filling the room with sound quite satisfactorily.
Although some claim Rogers to be best which I haven’t heard.

 

[SKR]

How are you liking them Sir? Do youbuse them in your main music room. It would be great to do that when i am in Dehi. I was fortunate to find a pair of Spendor ls3/5a. I use them sometimes and quite enjoy them.

Yes I connected them just 2 days back and placed them over the speakers made by Bakshi Sir as I have no space for anymore speakers. They are sounding good but need 100 to 200 hours to fully burn in.