neutralzz 0 Report post Posted November 29, 2005 (edited) As a midrange-freak i've decided to take an audition of the current offerings of the vocal/mid legend, the LS3/5a on the market, and at the same time compare to my experience with the older roger specimens, both the spendor ls3/5a and my current ls4/2a. Speakers auditioned today : ---------------------------------------------- Stirling LS3/5A - Dealer : Music By Design - Specifications : Identitical to the original rogers LS3/5A, but does not use the original KEF drivers/tweeter, instead in place is a Stirling designed driver/tweeter, and the driver is embedded more deeply into the cabinet, unlike the original rogers, where the driver is almost flushed with the front of the speaker. Solid wood cabinet - suggested retail price $2800 Equipment - Wavac 300b monoblock ($22,000 a pair) - No Pre-amp used - CDP was used as a pre-amp, didnt take down brand, was too obsessed with listening ($6.5k) - Zul Speaker Cables ($1.4k) - $360 interconnects.. argh i forgot the brand.. i asked abt it though - $120 Zul bi-wire shorters, (short wires to short the bi-wire terminals for usage with a single pair of cables in place of the original jumpers) ---------------------------------------------------- Richard Allan LS3/5A - Dealer : Electrades - Specifications : Exact 15 ohm LS3/5A, according to Richard Allen's specifications, 70hz-20k, KEF drivers, KEF Tweeters, solid wood cabinet (birch ply + veneer) - quite non-negotiable retail price of $2998 Spendor S3/5 - Dealer : Electrades - Specifications : identical to the richard allen's LS3/5a, but using Spendor designed driver/tweeters, instead of the KEF, solid wood - Retail price of $1496 Equipment : Sugden A21 integrated class A - didnt ask price, but probably $3k+++ Sugden Cd21 cdplayer -------------------------------------------------------- Opinions : I listened to the Stirling first at MBD, and was quite impressed by the hospitality/friendliness considering i m in my twenties and most dealers dont take you seriously sometimes. Cds auditioned - The Greatest Basso/Caiqin/Some zither recording, MBD was friendly enough to keep popping up with these cds asking whether i would prefer to listen to this or that etc. Initial impression was that the speakers sounded a little bright, which i thought to be the new-ness of the speakers and setup, which hasnt much run in. However after : 1. the CDP output which was initially at max, was reduced to 50-60% 2. the output increased on the single end Wavac monoblock amps 3. the replacement of the original stirling jumpers with the zul-connectors The sound signature change entirely. Instead of the forward sounding brightness, the expansive soundstage and the mids became richer, almost all brightness disappeared. When caiqin spoke, the depth of her voice was rich, speakers were very detailed, you could even think of the lip movement. When caiqin pushed her voice towards the highs, the highs were very smooth, clean, not a single bit overwhelming nor piercing. The Greatest Basso was a difficult cd to drive for many speakers, due to the low-ness of the voice, its difficult sound warm and engaging, however the Stirlings in this setup performed rather well, the voice thick and musical, when it came to the thumps in the song, bass was tight & controlled, detail and accuracy was very well preserved with no loss. The Stirlings can definitely handle bass much better, and sound more satisfying at the low-ends. When it came to the zither music, the degree of separation was very high, you get very good imaging, notes were sparkling, crystaline, at certain parts of the tracks you could even hear the "pick"ing motion, and the snapping of the string against the wood of the instrument. On the overall, the Stirlings surprised me with the soundstage that a speaker of this size could present. I almost thought the sound was coming from the larger floorstanding speaker behind. One thing remarkable of this 35k setup is the cleanliness of the sound, and the silence, listening to them is so enjoyable, you would not get listening fatigue, you get the feeling of the rich vocals embedded in clean pure silence with the right amount of decay, definitely not an experience i have had with many lower-end systems. imaging was excellent, very musical sounding, but unfortunately very expensive too. ----------------------------------- Richard Allen LS3/5a & Spendor S3/5 Electrades is the only source of brand new Richard Allen LS3/5a in singapore, and due to the rarity, the price remains high, probably 2-3 sets left according to the lady. Was unable to pry the cover off to take a look at the driver/tweeter, but by specs and the "brochure" given, the specs, drivers, build, the Richard Allen LS3/5a is indeed the legendary LS3/5, except with a birch plyed cabinet, instead of the chipboard cabinet in the past. A quick listen to the RA LS3/5a, i found it very similar to the Stirling, probably due to similar crossover designs, the highs were very smooth and comfortable, midrange rich and thick, however, i felt the RA LS3/5A to sound a little more natural than the Stirling. strings, plucking etc, the RA LS3/5A shines in these aspects very much. Bass response was much less defined, and a little less satisfying than the Stirling. The thumps were there, but less strong, and a little less decisive. Soundstage sounded much bigger at MBD on the Stirlings, but a little less "wide" at Electrades, it might be due to amplification and source etc, or other components.. However much, i felt a transistor combination at Electrades, Sugden + LS3/5A doesnt seem to go very well, i didnt experience the similar musicality i had at MBD (of course its not fair to compare a $10k+ setup with a $30k+ setup). The sound decay was different, and transistors didnt satisfy my fetish for airiness. was hoping electrades had a tube amp or something around but didnt seem to see any on demo there. If only MBD had the original LS3/5A there for comparison.. that would have been really great.. battle of the titans on the same equipments. Comparing the RA LS3/5a to the older Rogers LS3/5A, also by richard allen, the older rogers seemed a little richer in mids, and a little more "life" to the vocals, inevitably warmer, probably due to the difference in cabinet material, chipboard is light, and vibrates more than solid wood. Spendor S3/5 is a spendor clone of the LS3/5A. Spendor used to make LS3/5A as well, but with the ceasing of production of the KEF drivers, spendor came up with a S3/5, utilizing a similar crossover, but with spendor drivers/tweeter. I didnt manage to listen to them for long, but i did not experience the same midrange richness, the greatest basso sounded a little "raspy" at parts, but similarly, it shines in the higher/mid ranges, despite a little thinner, a little laidback. Bass was a little better than the RA-LS3/5A. -------------------------------------------------- After listening to the legendary speakers, i decided to go home to listen to my self-tuned setup comprising of my toobs amp + ancient rogers ls4/2a speaker, hoping to find some areas of redemption in them. The Rogers ls4/2a utilizes rogers driver/tweeter, and in the past was thought to sound very close to the l3/5a sound. Using the same cds/similar songs, i put my speakers to test. I was very much relieved to have found the similar smoothness in highs, and the richness of the mids, but a heavier bass response, which might have clouded out some details. I tried to be as discerning as i could, i would say my amp isnt that good, i didnt find the transient/lingering sound in MBD's setup, but the speakers were very warm sounding, soundstage was just as decent as the Stirling, but of course with a larger driver and a larger cabinet, definitely would excel in such aspects much better. saxophone/vocals were excellent, i definitely love this pair of rogers over my chario academys. the chario academy packs a huge punch, moves quite a bit of air despite being highly inefficient at 81db/w, does not perform as well in highs and mids, as its a small speaker attempting to sound big.. i would say it has failed if one doesnt position them properly, needs more space to shine, and definitely not in vocals, but other genres of music. --------------------------- Conclusion - Stirling at MBD at $2800, very well preserved the original ls3/5a sound, the highs and mids, excellent soundstage, much better sounding with respect to bass response, but could have sounded a little warmer - RA-L3/5A, ls3/5a specs, exact same KEF drivers, and definitely exclusive due to the halt in productions, warmer sounding than the Stirling, but a little bass weak, its there!.. it just goes.. poooop.. or thud..instead of.. THUMP.. I like the older chipboard cabinet After listening to several bookshelfs etc, i've always wondered, why is the LS3/5A a legend? Why not any other exotic models, brands, etc proac? harbeth? totem? chario? VA? one contributing factor is that only richard allen's ls3/5a or the old rogers ls3/5a has the KEF driver/tweeter, no other KEF speaker utilizes the same driver.. and its an agreement between richard allen/KEF. production has ceased, making this "sound" something that is not easy to replace in the future. A major factor is that these speakers can be DRIVEN LOUD.. without you feeling harsh,shrillness, etc, you drive them well enough, the vocals come at you, speakers produce very thick, juicy midrange notes. The highs are smooth even when loud, without being piercing. Many other speakers cant be driven the same way without the bass overwhelming everything else, or without you running out of the showroom cupping your ears. It is a speaker which doesnt attempt to sound like anything else except itself, focused at reproduction of the human voice, and the middle frequency. Crossover is well designed, highs are not harsh at all. Many bookshelf speakers have been designed to sound as big as they could go, but this way, such speakers end up losing out in clarity, warmth, but of course you get better bass and soundstage with them. In the LS3/5A focus on midrange/highs, inevitably itself it became one of the best sounding speakers in tiny rooms, very comfortable and easy to place, unlike other speakers, ported, or larger floorstandings which may be a little too overwhelming or too difficult to place in similar sizes.. so.. am i gonna get the stirling or the RA ls3/5a?.. well...thats if i strike lottery first I would buy the RA LS3/5A first due to the exclusiveness. And if i strike lottery again i m gonna get the stirlings. not without an amplifier upgrade either. with $3k, sometimes you are quite spoilt for choice for speakers..unless you are a midrange/vocal freak like me(hyperion has decent floorstanders at 4k+). till then i'm happy with my old crumbling ls4/2a, not a legend, but some where nearby *YMMV though.. its good if one could go down and have the "legendary" experience as well Edited November 29, 2005 by neutralzz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neutralzz 0 Report post Posted November 29, 2005 *disclaimer - be careful when driving such speakers!! especially the original LS3/5a on the kef drivers.. dont over drive them as the driver is known to clip and might get stuck when you force them to push too much bass at too high a volume.. you cant get driver repairs/replacements these days for such speakers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heady 0 Report post Posted November 29, 2005 Great review. Wish I could write like you. But even more envious you can find the time to audition them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neutralzz 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2005 Great review. Wish I could write like you. But even more envious you can find the time to audition them. thanks.. the more i listen the more i feel like drifting from headfi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lengcm 0 Report post Posted December 1, 2005 (edited) Great review. Wish I could write like you. But even more envious you can find the time to audition them. thanks.. the more i listen the more i feel like drifting from headfi Not surprised at all. There are somethings headphones cannot offer. Edited December 1, 2005 by lengcm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
