I’m toying with the idea of pairing some LS3/5As with my Naim Nait 5i amplifier to see what all the fuss is about with these little speakers.
Has anyone had any experience with this or a similar pairing?
Any advice or thoughts massively appreciated. 
1 Like
I didn’t try the 5i with my Rodgers before they went, but I did try the Kans. The 5i struggled at anything above low volumes.
Aaah this is good to know.
I currently use the 5i with Celestion Ditton 33s, which it seems to pair with really nicely.
I’m just intrigued to know what LS3/5As would sound like - if paired with the right amp (which it doesn’t sound like the 5i will be).
Hi, I have been a ls3/5a users for 30 years. My first pair are Spendor 11ohm bi-wire paired with some Arcam, Accuphase, Krell and then Nait 5i. I’ve been a Naim enthusiast since then. My amps were grown up from a Nait 5i to 282/hicap/200. Speakers were still Spendor ls3/5a for a big while before changed to Totem, Harbeth, and B&W. The ls3/5a have been moved to a second system paired with Nait 1, Nait 2, Nait 50, 42/110, 72/hicap/140, 32.5/hicap/250, and SN3. They show their magic more every time I feed them with a better amp. 42/110 is a real magical. To be honest, I prefer the ls3/5a with Nait 5i the least (but I still like the Nait 5i the most among the amps I mentioned).
I’ve also acquired some Falcon ls3/5a gold badge and the latest Rogers ls3/5a reincarnation. The Falcon are most preferable in my ears. They are being paired with 252/scdr/250dr and some Rogers AB3a active subwoofers as shown in the picture.
Hope this helps.
15 Likes
I really like both the LS3/5a and the Nait 5i, just not so together.
Back in 2007/2008 I had a Nait 5i (non italic) and had the chance to buy a pair of mint (15 ohm/white belly) Rogers LS3/5a, for only € 400,- (aah, the good ol’ days! 
) The mids and treble response was magical, but the bass didn’t really respond that well with the Nait 5i. (as far as my memory goes) It felt as if the Nait 5i struggled to drive the Rogers. Therefore I’m a bit surprised to see people having great results with the Nait 50 (half the power of the Nait 5i) and (Falcon) LS3/5a’s.
(@bandit: great looking system/room!) 
2 Likes
Thank you 
I could never get on with them - as hard as I’ve tried. They have a lovely uncoloured and open-sounding mid-band, which admittedly makes most speakers sound broken here. But that’s about it. In every other way to my ears they are average to pretty awful. Slow, bloated one-note bass and no dynamics. They suck the life out of anything you play through them.
Just my opinion - some people absolutely love them. Like the Linn Kan, which looks virtually identical (but sound about as different as it’s possible to get!), they are a marmite speaker. And like the Kans, if you ‘get’ what they are all about then they can hold a magic that is very addictive.
1 Like
They don’t work as bookshelf speakers, but if you can get them onto stands in the open, they do sound magical. Obviously not for anyone wanting head-banging bass of course.
They certainly don’t work as bookshelf speakers, which is somewhat strange as they were designed for use in very small spaces.
The magic eludes me. Not about wanting head-banging bass but rather they just completely fail to engage me.
As everyone must know they were designed by the BBC for voice monitoring in outside broadcast vans. They were never designed or intended for use as a hi-fi music speaker. I concede that what they do well they do very very well. But it’s just too limited and not enough for me.
Just goes to show how we all listen differently and respond in different ways to the same thing. That’s one of the things that makes this hobby so fascinating. Nothing is set in stone. There are very few absolutes. And there are still surprises waiting around the corner.
2 Likes
Well I do agree with that!
Nice post. How do the Falcon’s compare with the P3ESR?
1 Like
Indeed, and hardly surprising given that it uses for mid/bass a small driver developed for midrange it is hardly surprising that it falls off markedly at the bottom end, and has very limited capacity in terms of loudness if music has much in the way of bass. IIRC from reading at the time, the LS3/5A achieved its design goal, having minimal colouration and well suited to its mobile monitoring function, where it was used in small spaces. I think it was its lack of colouration that endeared it to some hifi enthusiasts in mid to late 70s, when it could work well with some music in some rooms, and was perhaps forerunner of all the small standmounts that were to become ubiquitous
I had both the Rogers and the Kans. I preferred the Kans (against the general view). I still have them value a few hundred pounds. The Rogers sold some years ago for near two thousand pounds. I never understood why. Having said that both the Rogers and the Kans only ever worked well in small rooms.
I have read that it was a matter of consternation amongst some BBC staff that the LS3/5a was so highly regarded in hi-fi circles. Apparently it was never very well thought of at the BBC. In fact it was a Grade B monitor, not considered good enough for the final broadcast mix, which required a Grade A.
Thank you. Falcon have more clarity, not bright, and more nuances, and the most important more engaging in my ears than the Harbeth p3esr. The p3esr sound a bit fuller on their own though. By the way, Falcon plus the active subs are another story. I’ve try the p3esr with AB3a but found they did not go together as well as Falcon.
1 Like
I have Falcon Gold Badge LS3/5As on my mini system, fronted by LP12/ARO/Goldring Troika rebuild. The little black box on top of the Nait 50 is a Japanese-built Ortofon ST-7 step-up transformer, as the Nait has MM only phono input…
It all sounds rather wonderful.
and
3 Likes
Mini…?
Compared to two NAP135s and a NAP250, it has a fraction of the power output!
1 Like
Surely by definition any hifi system with speakers as small as LS3/5A is mini? (Smaller speakers would be micro!)
Ok, but a system with an LP12 and LS3/5As must be maxi in musical terms. Pardon the triviality…