My little Rogers LS3/5A BBC monitors surprised me again today..

Great little speakers.

You have some nice stuff to feed them with too, this helps

 

The pair I saw here a while back were $2k.

Outta my league.

 

Compared to a lot of hifi gear, $2k is not outrageous for speakers, but it's still a lot more than I can afford, at least right now. I'd sure love to hear those Rogers speakers though, they're the perfect size for my 9 x 12 room.

Who's making LS3/5a's for $2k these days? Stirling?

 

The Fisher 500C is one of those nice things

 

You can get the Spendor S3/5R2 for $1,500 CAN.

 

2K is silly money for LS3/5a s
KEF LS50s will give them a run for money and AVI actives will trounce them.
Small cabs always image well, drivers are now so much better, crossovers always distort something, active is now very do able .

 

Time to save my money.

Those are on my short list too! Too bad they're so weird looking.

 

I thought the Tenor hybrids were the amps you used with the big Ventures and not the VAC amps.

 

I always love the Rogers LS3/5a. I remember the first time I ever heard a "soundstage" falling in space behind a disappearing set of speakers was demoing a set of 'em in the mid 1980s. Wish I had those speakers today, especially considering how pricey they've gotten.

 

This may be a dumb question but ......... Is there any real dramas in stacking small speakers on big floorstanders if you're never going to run both pairs at the same time anyway ?

 

I wouldn't recommend stacking speakers on top of what is essentially a hollow box. A mass-heavy stand is best.

 

I have Chartwell LS3/5a's from back in the late 70's that I'm using as rear surround speakers. Maybe I should move them to the front for awhile....

 

I hope my little Chinese "Ho's" sound good when I bring them home to the US.

Ho's are BBC3/5a clones I doubt they will compete but they are decent speakers, for the price I paid. Probably missing that magic mid-range quality. I want to hear them on my Fisher 400.

 

Why to you feel this was a non-issue with these speakers? Do you think the performance would have improved at the proper height? I ask because the woofers on my speakers are firing upwards, above ear level.

 

I love the tonality and spaciousness of 3/5a but could never get along with the squashed dynamics.
All relative of course. If you like this sound, investigate the larger Rogers Export monitor, Studio 1, Spendor BC1, SP1 and some of the older Harbeth models.
Similar tonality and expansive presentation but less 'sat on' dynamically.

The price on the vintage 3/5 is crazy.
They were actually pretty cheap back in the day and have been driven up by the current cult status. The Jim Rogers JR149 makes a nice alternative using the same drivers and BBC inspired crossover for about 1/3 the price.

Be aware that the design changed a lot through production despite the strict BBC blueprint.
The Kef bass driver in particular changed quite a lot and the design was adopted accordingly, though often there was some lag so plenty of examples exist where the crossover isn't accounting for the changed driver characteristics. Most notably this is peaking around 1khz which gives a nasal character to the sound. So select vintage examples carefully.

 

The LS3/5a, now there's a blast from the past. My late uncle had a pair of the original 15ohm speakers with their Maida Vale studio tags still on them bought from a BBC equipment sale in the early 80's. In his system he switched between these and a pair of Quad ESL's with a Radford STA15 Amplifier. Even 30 years later I've heard precious little equipment that can come close to that mid-range. I only wish I still had them.

 

Doesn't surprise me in the least. I'll probably have my forum membership revoked for saying so , but I always have my speakers significantly above or below ear level angled slightly down or up, respectively; they just sound way, way better that way to my weirdo brain (although I'm sure the soundstage/imaging thing is probably awful, but that's OK because the whole room is an acoustic disaster anyhow). This is why Gallo floor speakers are so likable -- they don't shoot sound directly into your face but waft it toward you. Seems to mimic amphitheater seating to have music aimed up, and most rock venues have overhead speakers pointing down.

I haven't heard any super-spendy ultra-hi-fi speakers, so they are probably much more pleasant at recommended height, but all the ones I have heard make me actively miserable if they're ear-level because they vibrate my sinuses or jangle my facial nerves or something. As I get older, high frequencies especially are more pleasant if they float down onto me.

 

WHAT?! My head just exploded. Chartwell LS2/5a are my dream speaker and you're using them as rear surround speakers! SACRILEGE!!!!! Sell me those speakers immediately and I will coo and cuddle with them as my mains forever! I need to go have a drink. I'll trade you a Fisher 500b and two Technics Sl-1700mk2 and throw in a Marantz receiver for good measure!

 

As I mentioned, the mid/woofer on mine is aimed up, and the speakers sound very pedestrian if you toe them in so the tweeters are aimed straight at the sweet spot.

Someone else was fondly remembering a set of speakers with the best imaging response that were designed with a bunch of tweeters fining in all directions.

I guess in a live performance one is rarely in a sweet spot, getting second and third hand sound that is bounced off of anything in the room.