Rogers LS3/5a (BBC) Speaker Review

[DSJR]

You know, every time I read that a loudspeaker is 'bland' or 'boring', I find I like them. To me, bland and boring is neutral and uncoloured.

As our transatlantic friends say, YMMV!
S

I love and would prefer big boxes - ymmv on this too

 

[Willem]

Don't know the P3, so really can't comment. I did read the P3ESR review in Stereophile, and the response looked OK, except for the oddity around 4-5kHz.

I really can't get enthused over small passive 'speakers, especially expensive ones, when there are plenty of active 'speakers, from Kali to Genelec, for no more or rather less money.

S.

I still have a pair of 11 Ohm LS3/5a speakers by Rogers. I used them for quite a few years as my desktop speakers, and liked them. However, a few years ago I replaced them with the Harbeth P3ESR and the latter is clearly superior (time to sell the LS3/5a). The P3ESR has more and cleaner bass extension, more power handling (not important in my desk top use case), and a far less coloured sound. I think they are very good as desk top speakers, and in small apartments where anything larger would be in the way. I experimented with a small Kef Kube 8b subwoofer in my 18 sq m study, but decided that I did not need a sub in that room. Out of curiosity I also experimented with the P3s in my much larger 70 sqm main listening room to find out how well they could be integrated with my subwoofers. The answer is that the combination was very impressive, although it did not quite fill the room. But for a smaller apartment where space is at a premium I would recommend them anytime, preferably with some small subwoofers.

 

[AudioSceptic]

I still have a pair of 11 Ohm LS3/5a speakers by Rogers. I used them for quite a few years as my desktop speakers, and liked them. However, a few years ago I replaced them with the Harbeth P3ESR and the latter is clearly superior (time to sell the LS3/5a). The P3ESR has more and cleaner bass extension, more power handling (not important in my desk top use case), and a far less coloured sound. I think they are very good as desk top speakers, and in small apartments where anything larger would be in the way. I experimented with a small Kef Kube 8b subwoofer in my 18 sq m study, but decided that I did not need a sub in that room. Out of curiosity I also experimented with the P3s in my much larger 70 sqm main listening room to find out how well they could be integrated with my subwoofers. The answer is that the combination was very impressive, although it did not quite fill the room. But for a smaller apartment where space is at a premium I would recommend them anytime, preferably with some small subwoofers.

This is what I would expect but the price still seems very high for the performance.

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

This is what I would expect but the price still seems very high for the performance.

How a product is perceived determines its value. I paid $500 US for my teak 15 ohm Rogers LS3/5A's in 1986.
They we're great little bookshelf monitors in their day if not a bit pricey at the time. I had no idea when I purchased them that
their value would sky rocket 40 years later. IMHO, those who are paying these elevated prices are buying nostalgia rather than high-performance, since once again IMHO, there are new moderately priced bookshelf speakers that can easily out perform the LS3/5A on every level from an objective stand point. Still, from a subjective level, the older LS3/5A does have a colored sound that can be very appealing.

 

[AudioSceptic]

How a product is perceived determines its value. I paid $500 US for my teak 15 ohm Rogers LS3/5A's in 1986.
They we're great little bookshelf monitors in their day if not a bit pricey at the time. I had no idea when I purchased them that
their value would sky rocket 40 years later. IMHO, those who are paying these elevated prices are buying nostalgia rather than high-performance, since once again IMHO, there are new moderately priced bookshelf speakers that can easily out perform the LS3/5A on every level from an objective stand point. Still, from a subjective level, the older LS3/5A does have a colored sound that can be very appealing.

Indeed. As Amir said, "The history is not going to pay the bills there."

 

[Westsounds]

And now you can buy a new pair for 10 grand !

If anyone is stupid enough to buy a pair. As they're all supposed to sound the same, lol.

LS3/5a by FALCON ACOUSTICS. BBC LICENCED 2024 LIMITED EDITION. LAST PAIR

FALCON ACOUSTICS 2024 LIMITED EDITION. FULLY BBC LICENCED. LAST PAIR THE BEST LS3/5A FALCON ACOUSTICS HAS EVER MADE. “The best LS3/5A I have ever heard” - Ken Kessler “Surely the best sounding LS3/5a that I’ve ever heard. Forget the exquisite build and finish, the truly stellar thing about the...

www.falconacoustics.co.uk

 

[Toni Mas]

Of course this cult for LS3/5A has become kind of crazy, but the case study was absolutely serious these days, achieved by quite serious researchers, is still interesting today and does not deserve any kind of despise...

https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/reports/1976-29.pdf

 

[Freedom666]

I wonder what the response looks like in a bookshelf or at least close to back wall.

Maybe the response gets better in the 200hz to 1khz region?

The speaker was used in small spaces so a side wall close would also fill in

 

[AudioSceptic]

And now you can buy a new pair for 10 grand !

If anyone is stupid enough to buy a pair. As they're all supposed to sound the same, lol.

LS3/5a by FALCON ACOUSTICS. BBC LICENCED 2024 LIMITED EDITION. LAST PAIR

FALCON ACOUSTICS 2024 LIMITED EDITION. FULLY BBC LICENCED. LAST PAIR THE BEST LS3/5A FALCON ACOUSTICS HAS EVER MADE. “The best LS3/5A I have ever heard” - Ken Kessler “Surely the best sounding LS3/5a that I’ve ever heard. Forget the exquisite build and finish, the truly stellar thing about the...

www.falconacoustics.co.uk

Insanity! I've also just found out that there's a special version of the (in)famous Linn LP12 for a mere £50k! <https://petertyson.co.uk/linn-sondek-lp12-50-turntable>

 

[Pensator]

Apparently they were used for more than that but currently application is home hi-fi music.

The original LS3/5, of which there were only 20 or 21 pairs produced, began their design process at the BBC from 1968 and utilised the iconic Kef B110/T27 combination that had been available since 1966. At this time the BBC were looking at studio designs working at 1/8th scale modelling and included designing speakers that could climb to 100kHz, managing to create a pair of 110mm Bextrene bass cones that could get as high as 15kHz, then adding a large number of 25mm diameter electrostatic transducers in an omnidirectional array looking like a disco mirror ball to fill the rest of the frequencies. To get those high frequencies for the test they used specially built condenser microphones and adapted tape recorders running at 750mm/sec (30ips – which is 8 times 3¾ ips) creating top-end frequency response of, wait for it, 105kHz! Mathematically dividing the target 400-105,000Hz by 8 comes out at the important broadcasting frequencies of 50-13,125Hz. During tests the findings were assembled to not only help in the designing of studios, such as Maida Vale 1, but also to create the very first LS3/5 built to pick up the important frequencies from 400Hz to 15,000Hz, though their final design actually managed better than 100Hz, something unthinkable at that time for such a small box.