Nait 50 with Falcon Acoustic LS3/5a speakers

Hi-Fi Corner
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I thought better to start a new thread… I have been demoing a pair of Falcon Acoustic L3/5a speaker on SS60 stands fed by my N50… now these are the older Silver Badge cross over version — really pleasantly surprised compared to my Russell K Red 50s .. the mids are more forward and nuanced.. really exude detail from vocals.. kind of what I expected with LS3/5a speakers but it is done so beautifully… picking up nearly everything..

The high end is perhaps not quite as detailed, but I understand the Gold badge crossover addresses that.

Then there is the bass, and I was expecting to be severely constrained… sure no room shaking sub bass, but musical bass and dynamics are there, with bass drums, bass guitar riffs or time tapping feet in folk all coming through suprisingly with impact … and it’s so tuneful without obvious resonance or overhang… yes I noticed the bass hump that was built into the L3/5a but a bit of room placement adjusted dealt with that ..

So I put some of my favourite folk and 60’s pop and blues tracks through them… outstandingly good as I would expect.. with the vocals and instrumentation rendered gorgeously… and poor recordings conveying that evocative 60s production feel.

I tried some reggae / soul, mainly the Pioneers, though.. really captured and rendered those recordings brilliantly…

So what about electronica and rock… what many say is the L3/5a weak spot.. well at my listening levels not at all, it worked wonderfully… whether it be the Chemical Brothers or Queen.. all fantastically and toe tappingly rendered…

I must just be falling in love with these speakers with N50/DAVE

Be interested in anyone else’s experiences.

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anon70766008

Jan 2024

Incidentally, I have my Falcon LS3/5As in a little system powered by a Nait50, so I imagine that a Nova would match perfectly.

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garcon

3

Jun 2022

Well, I thought I had this one pretty much sorted for me with the ProAc Tabs 10 Signatures…

I’ve had more small to mid size standmounts than I care to remember, but the last time I was at a point to choose from a few small mini monitors, it was between the ProAc T10Sigs, the Stirling V3, the Falcon LS3/5a and the Harbeth P3ESR 40th - and I liked them in that very order.

One thing, however, was that the Falcons I had back then were the Silver Badge (standard) crossover LS3/5a model. How would the upgraded/better Gold Badge Falcons compare remained an open question and a curiosity for me. I decided it’s time to do something about it when I had the opportunity with a Falcon Gold Badge Q7 version which, for all I know, is the same but only with a slightly deeper cabinet (9" instead of 7" approximately) providing in theory and as a design spec for a more optimised bass response.

All of the listening last time was done with a Nait 2 and a Supernait 3 + HCDR, so I did the same this time too, comparing the ProAcs T10s and the Falcons Q7 with each amp.

I won’t keep you long - I now have the Q7s. Whether it’s more the Gold Badge crossover or the slightly deeper cabinet, or both equally, I don’t know, but the Q7 sounded just as open, agile and coherent as the T10s but more vivid and convincing without at any point starting to loose tempo or speed, or start sounding like a “big” speaker, if that makes sense. Yes, the lower end was more pronounced but it’s more about overall presence and not just bass performance, and it’s the overall effect and realism that won me over, essentially immediately. The Falcons, Silver or Gold, have always had the mids absolutely golden, and both are slightly better than the ProAcs in this respect, so no surprises there.

I should note about the ProAcs though - somehow they retain a superb unique palpability with acoustic instruments, sometimes slightly lean but always totally believable. They also may be have a (very slightly) better soundstage too.

I also had a chance to compare each of the 2 Naim amps with each speaker. I would say that the SN3 plays better with the Q7 than it does with the T10s but regardless I preferred the Nait 2 in a smaller, about 4m x 4m room, and that’s how it will stay. While the SN3 has an edge with the Q7 in a larger room, I think no large room would do any LS3/5a type speaker justice (or is it vice versa), or at least they no longer sound so special in my view. Still, the SN3 and the Q7 are rather attractive in a slightly larger space too.

Now, the previous question of how the smaller “original” Gold Badge Falcons would compare remains still an open one for me … may be some other day:)

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Listen to the Gold Badges carefully if you’re thinking of moving in that direction. Yes, the highs are more prevalent than the Silver Badges and this may not be entirely to your liking. I’ve used LS3/5As for over 40 years in various incarnations and while the Gold Badges retain much of the classic sound signature, they are slightly different from that traditional sound.

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Hi guys, those you liked the post 3. I remind you that it’s the original post from @garcon , not mine. But the quote doesn’t appear clearly.

May it helps Simon S.

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Of course, it’s not the same system, but I switched from the Proac T10 Sign (which was a bit thin and bright with my Rega system) to the Falcon Ls3/5 Gold Badge and was happy with the change.

FALCON => Better midrange (richer) with a little more detail in the bass (the T10s were more punchy, but a little “monotonous” in the bass). Overall a little less “aggressive” in my environment.

A little more meat on the bones would be even better, but due to room constraints (back wall), I have to stick with LS3/5-type speakers.

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Did you notice the mid bass hump/lift on the L3/5a - I have done - which is one of the only detracting things I found on the L3/5a with the Falcon Silver badge cross overs, though room placement can minimise it. I am using 50% filled SS60 stands, but to be honest I have been surprised by the bass energy from the l3/5a in my room.. especially with electronica and some rock - not used to hearing that sort of clarity and detail in the bass going down rather low (as you suggest sometimes down there it becomes a bit monotonous and lack of timbre with some small speakers).. I can hear 35 hz sine waves clearly . though I turn the volume right down as I dont want to damage the speakers!

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Yes, still here. I had to refine the positioning to prevent it from dominating my room (20 m²)..30 cm from rear wall, but I must admit that I appreciate this characteristic when listening to jazz, acoustic music, and vocals on my P10/Aura.

My stands are 70cm high

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If anyone swimming around here in these millions of threads deserves the Grand Larousse encyclopédique badge of who owns or said what, that would be @frenchrooster !

I would be very interested to hear more about experiences with the Falcons or indeed any of these LS3/5a and similar small monitors alike. I seem to be enjoyably running in some sort of a loop, chasing the best among them (or rather the best flavour) in terms of truthful and enjoyable musical experience combining both the classic and modern worlds. Funnily enough I’ve still not tried the Falcon gold badge! After the Falcon Q7 I went back to an old favourite of mine, the Spendor D1 - I still think their soundstage, detail mastering and just placing the instruments right there, in front of you is essentially unsurpassed in a modern small monitor. This won me back over, so I enjoyed them for a good while.

But then, when I got the N50 in place of the Nait 2, my curiosity for another tiny round of demos returned. Recently I had a chance to listen to the Q7 again and also decided to try the Harbeth XD as the 40th Anniversary previously confused me feeling shouty but bloated at the same time. I believe the only model that was actually reworked in the XD series was the P3 so I thought ok, let’s give it a go, likely still not as easy to drive etc. but hey, I have the mighty Nait 50 now. So there I did it and the P3 XD stayed … well, for now anyway. I think they are a different speaker, still expressive but nicely balanced and very little behind the D1 for overall impact, while retaining some nice warmth. I am wondering if the Falcons are just not too direct, especially at higher volume, while the Q7 did bring some maturity… a bit like the Stirlings but less calm if you like..

I think the P3 XD may be less demanding than previous P3s? Or the N50 just does it but it all sounds pretty effortless in an average room anyway.

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Would love to know what you would make of a pair of 15Ω Chartwells with your N50.

I sold mine in the mid nineties. Huge regret… but we move on!

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As you know I tried the Harbeth M30 recently. The French distributor of Ear Yoshino told me that Ear and Harbeth marries well. I won’t say it was not the case but the gap with my speakers, bought near 13 years ago for similar money, is huge.

It took me 5 minutes to realise.

But maybe the guy was a bit wrong. With a powerful solid state the results could be different. I don’t know.

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Hi, your observation is nice, thanks. But it’s less than half true, unfortunately. I just remember what some members globally have as gear, but only some. The big help is the search part. I tapped falcons and copy paste the post which interests me.

Sorry to disappoint you :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes::chicken:

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You can’t fool me!

As for the M30, they are different, quite easy to drive and do not need too much power at all, so it’s just that they are not as good:) Good decision.

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Still auditioning the silver badged Falcons. I have experimented with a little decoupling between my SS60 platform and the bottom of the LS3/5a cab.. and that magic mid has popped into existence.. and the bass become very tight… quite a revelation. I understand the golds provide even more clarity here which must be something…

What I am surprised about is how much I am enjoying my EDM/IDM tracks through these speakers… it really feels like I am producing as I can hear so much mid to low end info it opens up a whole world of musical layers on some of these tracks. further after a bit of careful positioning, the beats become super tight and transient in a way I have not heard much in my listening room. I do think the slightly compressed presentation really flatters so many recordings and aids a beguiling in room response.. for near and mid field listening in my relatively modest listening room.

Then I have been listening to my favourite Bob Dylan tracks.. and his voice which can sound a little thin, sounds balanced and totally believable..

Oh yes I have noted my N50 does seem to get warmer than I am used to for the same listening levels.. no doubt due to the lower sensitivity compared to my RKs

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Those are exciting impressions with the Falcons. What did you use to decouple the Falcons from the top plate of the SS6 stands? I had previously assumed that, based on the SS6 design, it was best to place the speakers directly on the top plate of the SS6 to ensure proper coupling to the stands.
With the right filling of the stands, vibrations should be dissipated downwards into the spikes (or, in my case, the Isoacoustics Gaias) at the end. I have therefore never worked with BlueTrac or additional isolators because it seemed to be contrary to the system of the stands…..

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What did you use to decouple the Falcons from the top plate of the SS6 stands?Good question. I was noting a slightly muddled/confused upper bass, no matter on placement, and I read elsewhere such a decoupling had helped other L3/5a owners.. so I tried it and really positive… it also helped with imaging, those beguiling mids popped, and the bass totally tightened, with the extension not seemingly impacted … though obviously very deep bass is attenuated anyway

Interestingly now the S60 half filled tubes feel almost completely inert, whilst the wooden platform on the SS60 you can feel vibrate .. where as before I could feel the SS60 tubes vibrate slightly… whether it’s relevant or not I don’t know.. but little capsules of acoustic absorber foam that don’t deform under weight seem to do the trick. I suspect it has something to do with the thin walled cabs as well, since the bottom of the speaker cabinet does vibrate like the rest of the cab. I used to find blu-tak robbed speaker performance on stands, never use it now.

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I’m using Herbie Fat Dots.

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Mine look similar, but smaller diameter.

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They come in different sizes, thickness, weight accommodations, W/without adhesive.

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Yes I leave the adhesive covers on and don’t stick the isolator pads down. Mine are 15mm by 8mm