Also, and as I alluded to in an earlier post, I do think that small speakers like the LS3/5a can create a more manageable scaled-down sort of presentation that in many ways is far more suited to typical domestic surroundings.
Large speakers like my Klipsch Forte III’s create a very credible illusion of reality. As thrilling and satisfying as that is there are times when I think I would prefer something a little tamer and more domesticated. Maybe I don’t always want a live rock band or orchestra playing in my lounge. It’s an interesting conundrum and raises all sorts of potentially fascinating philosophical questions regarding music systems at home.
Here’s the Rogers LS3/5as I use in my office - the B110s were shot - like many they had delaminated and started to break up/resonate around 800-1kHz - a pure sine sweep will show this instantly. The T27 melinex can go hard over time which raises the resonant frequency and the whole thing can sound fairly average! New drivers from Falcon, new crossover, grilles etc and they’re back where they should be. The new drivers made such a difference I also did my KEF concertos.
Good observation. I went from Linn Kans to Royd Doublets - which were floor standers, but were within millimetres of the Kans on their stands. The same footprint.
More recently I moved from the Royd Doublets to Kudos X3’s. These are a bit bigger overall, but not that much.
Predates the LS3/5a if you read the added red sticker text…
Remember these were designed by the BBC in house technical teams for monitoring in the outside broadcast vans and low coloration was an important factor in the design.
(Other bigger monitors, LS5/9, were used in larger studio spaces, and the largest LS5/8 were used for high quality monitoring.)
That’s very true about the importance of having a scaled down presentation, given that most people have a limited amount of space in their homes. This is such a wonderful hobby because its purpose is to help us enjoy our music as best we can. And most people have enough room for a good quality bookshelf system.
Wow, an original Naim Naim NAT 01 with the PST power supply. I have owned most of Naim’s chrome bumper gear from the 1980’s. Also some of their gear from the early 1990’s, including a Naim CDi and Naim Nait 2 that I inherited from my late Dad a few years ago. I used most of Naim tuners: chrome bumper 101, second generation NAT 01, 02 and 03. They were all excellent but the 01 with a live broadcast was about the best sound I have ever heard from an audio system.
My understanding is that the term “bookshelf speaker” dates from the 1960’s. Edgar Villchur of Acoustic Research invented the acoustic suspension technology for sealed speakers in 1954, which made a small, reasonably full range speaker possible. His company’s smallest speaker, the very popular AR-4, was introduced in 1964. It was somewhat bigger than the later LS3/5A, but back in the day most people really did place them in bookcases.
A search of LS3/5a design and history refers to research of acoustic scaling, as I read it, the precursor to the LS3/5, becoming the 5a because of changes to the B110, was a small speaker to drive a 1/8 scale model of a studio, so yes, a scaled down presentation could be the right description.
If I remember correctly, trying to buy AR acoustic suspension speakers was not always easy in the UK, there was a whole industry building “bookshelf” speakers, Kef sold Kefkits for DIY and the various designs using the Kef B200/T27, derisorily called box stuffers.
But, UK houses were getting smaller, students wanted options for their college rooms and even smaller than the LS3/5a was the Videoton Minimax (which had a Linn Kan kind of presentation?), then later the Wharfedale Diamond.
I did, and it’s exactly how AR suggested to use their speakers: in a bookshelf, tightly surrounded by books, so as to form a sort of extended, large front panel.
I have had AR6, AR4x (twice), AR2ax, AR16, AR14. Their smallest speaker was actually the AR7, a lovely diminutive bookshelf design.
Interesting, I was not aware of the AR-7. My only pair was the 4x, part of my first real audio system along with the AR Amplifier and AR Turntable. The turntable must have been their most successful product, you would see them everywhere, at least in the US.
Yes I well remember the Minimax’s and Diamonds from around the 70’s/early 80’s and they often turned up on the end of Linn/NAD systems. Not much money left for anything else if you were on a tight budget and spent most of it on an LP12/Ittok/Supex! The NAD3020 was a superb budget amp though. I had an A&R Cambridge A60 which I loved but when I heard a 3020 I felt it was livelier and punchier although not as refined. On balance I would have gone for the NAD had I known.
I never got to hear either the Minimax’s or the Diamonds - I had a pair of KEF Coda II’s which were obviously still very much a budget speaker but rather larger. I went through several other budget speakers but never bettered the KEF’s really until I bought the Kans.
One of those was a small Castle model, which was about LS3/5a size and beautifully finished in real wood veneer rather than the vinyl of almost all other budget speakers.
I never heard Heybrook HB1’s either, which seemed to become the default choice for budget systems with an LP12.
Anyway the Diamonds had a bit of a reputation of being a poor man’s Kan. I always thought that the somewhat unusually squat cabinet proportions were rather nice and made them reminiscent of a miniature Sara. I regret never owning a pair.
Yes well that’s what the LS3/5a’s were really designed for as we all know!
When the BBC designed them I bet that nobody ever imagined that they would end up playing music in a domestic hi-fi system, or that they would still be in production in 2024!
It stands to reason that whatever criticisms one can level at them, and there are some very well justified and serious ones, they must still be doing something very right, unique and special indeed to have survived so long.
To my mind they are one of the most intriguing and fascinating speakers ever made.
Mine are also Kan 1s from 34-35k serial range.
I have to say when I first held the speakers I was surprised by the weight. I expected them to weigh almost nothing. If I’m not mistaken they are made of plywood right?
The KEF b110 bextrene woofers and the scanspeak tweeters work very well on this speaker. The more I listen to them the more I’m impressed by them. Recently they’ve seduced me with their no bloat sound. I think I’m re-adjusting my understanding of a truly neutral sound…. I know they aren’t neutral per se but with regards to the way they do bass, it makes me wonder why the world moved towards ported speakers.
I think the cabinets are made out of teak. I agree that there’s a lively aspect to the sound of the Kan 1 that makes the speaker very involving to listen to. Decades ago, I remember Ivor Tiefenbrun (not sure of the spelling) discussing how important it was to be able to tap your foot to the beat of the music, and that this was part of the criteria in designing his hifi gear. My Linn Naim dealer actually carried some pamphlets containing articles written by Ivor, where he discussed his own beliefs on what to look for in audio equipment when assembling a new Hi-Fi system. I believe that one of his articles was called The Hifi Hierarchy.
Interesting. Did you carry out the work yourself?
Also, looking at the Flacon website, they offered matched pair B110 or ‘just’ pairs for a bit less - which did you choose? Again, which crossover versions did you go for?
