Hello, I'm currently listening to a pair of Graham Chartwell LS 3/5A but I'm curious how the other speakers LS6 and LS 5/9 will sound and if they are significantly better. My room is relative small 3,155m by 4,49m (14sqm) and I'm sitting 1,7m away so close to near field conditions. I really like the nimble, detailed and detailed midrange, the imaging and that the speakers completely disappear. They also work very well in the small room and the room nodes are relativ low. I'm curios if the LS6 and / or LS5/9 are better in every way or if there will be disadvantages too if I will switch to one of them. If I wish for something to improve with the LS3/5a it would be a deeper bass and more air (no more brightness!) The LS5/9 will play deeper but won't give me more air because of its larger diameter dome tweeter. The LS6 will also play a bit deeper but I have read that the bass isn't as tight or more on the soft and warm side. They will probably will have a bit more air. I would appreciate you experiences with these three speakers and how you would describe them in comparison.
Based on my room size classifications you’ve got a medium size room in which you’re listening at a mid-field distance. With no other changes except switching to the LS6, what I’ve heard is a cleaner, more timbrally accurate mid-bass, notably more balance in the low bass range (i.e., 45-180Hz) because of less low frequency rolloff compared to the LS3/5A. Midrange from the LS6 will be almost identical to the LS3/5A, but some midrange harmonics and some studio and live venue spaces that have deliberately been captured in the recording sessions will be a bit more present. Treble accuracy and smooth extension, to my ears, are identical to the LS3/5A. If you keep SPL the same at your usual listening position, the LS6 is unlikely to excite any room modes (no more than your current LS3/5A). The LS5/9 and 5/8 are another matter. While they’ll function perfectly well in your current setup, there won’t be any useful way to hear the advantages of the large cabinets and large mid/bass drivers in these models. You really do need a bigger room to avoid wasting money on them. Based on the information in your OP, I think the LS6 is your best bet. However, if you’re planning on expanding your listening room in the near future or if you’re going to me moving to larger premises in the near future - anywhere that will accommodate a listening room that is at least 25% larger than your current room, the LS5/9 could be the better choice. Absent that, the LS6 is a champ - a truly wonderful speaker. Your Graham Chartwell LS3/5A, alongside the Falcon Acoustics version are, IMO, the two best LS3/5A models on the market today and have been at the top of that heap for a number of years. Wonderful speakers. Enjoy your LS6 audition.
Hi, thank you for your response. Even if I disagree with you definition of a medium sized room and that 1.7m is mid field listening already I found your impressions very interesting. I have listened in the past to a M30.2 40th.A.E. in this room which worked good but the C7 XD was a bit too much in that way that it exited the deepest room mode @ around 37Hz. So I guess a LS5/9 will still work properly.
The C7 does dig a bit deeper in the low end. I call it a little bit ‘loose’. Ive not heard Graham’s LS 3/5a but only the LS6, LS5/9 and the LS8/1. The LS6 will work great but you need to factor in that it’s rear ported. Will want a bit of space from the front wall.
The C7ES3 XD plays deeper indeed but it isn't loose anymore to my ears compared with the C7ES3 (40th.A.E.). Yes I know they will work and I bet the LS5/8 also. I'm looking more for a sound description about the differences and advantages of each speaker or in comparison.
I had the Graham/Chartwell LS3/5's (no 'A') a few years back, and now own LS6's. As is usually the case, I largely agree with @Agitater on the entire matter. I'm a small-space listener too (18' x 15', approx.) ... the LS3/5's were fine for the space, and allowed a deep view into recordings. The LS6's give enough bass to make rock records more convincing, while retaining that clear window into the session. They do need some space behind them, else there's a small amount of 'boom' in the bass area; I can only site mine about 13" away, so on some recordings I get that overhang. But it's worth it, for me, to enjoy the other virtues of the speaker: very even tonal balance, transparency, no 'sugarcoating' of subpar recordings, and a gorgeous midrange in the BBC tradition.
Ive stayed away from the L6 because others in the past have said that the Bass overloads their small/med size rooms and they had to sell them. Try to audition a pair in your own room to see if they work for you.
I live in a tiny space, and 'overload' isn't a term I'd use. Some slight extra 'boom' on really bass-heavy recordings, is all.
@bhazen I'm very sensitive to bass modes and I prefer a linear or slightly recessed bass to an emphasized or booming one and what you are describing fits in what I have read elsewhere and leads me to the conclusion that the LS6 probably won't suit my taste. I love these clean (not lean) sound and ability to hear deep in the recording of the LS3/5A and won't trade that in only for more amount of bass. I only would sell them if the LS6 or the LS5/8 are better in every way. Like a Mercedes S-Coupe is superior in very way compared to a Mercedes C-Coupe. I won't switch to a Mercedes C-Limousine if you understand what I'm trying to say. I really like the LS3/5A and I'm trying to figure out if it even make sense to buy an LS6 or LS5/8. I can't (or will) listen to one at a dealer because I prefer buying used stuff and don't want to wast the time of a dealer without a real interest in buying something.
If you need more bass a Micro sub like the one I am running might work. I am not a sub guy, or at least I wasn’t, until I bought the one I am using. It doesn’t mess with what I love about my LS3/5a’s while adding the bottom end I was looking for.
If I will keep them I guess I will add a small subwoofer but the sound right now is very pure and I'm afraid to smear this wonderful clean midrange. One thing that comes to my mind about bass is what the great Franco Serblin (RIP) said about bass: "When you want more bass, you miss it; when you have it, it disturbs you." Sonus Faber Minima FM2 loudspeaker Franco Serblin Interview
Based on my experience owning the LS3/5, and auditioning the Chartwell LS3/5A, I'm very sympathetic to your view!
For what it may be worth to anyone, I sometimes partially stuff the ports of my LS6s, depending on the recording. I just roll up a bit of that rubber-like mesh sold as kitchen shelf liner. It doesn't completely block the port but does enough to reduce the upper-bass/lower-mid bloat that is found in some recordings. It's a nice, balanced compromise and really tames things down without creating problems elsewhere.
You really need a home demo- the Graham Audio speakers are all superb- the LS6 has a rear port ( which normally means space is required behind ) and the LS5/9 are front ported...sometimes less is more, but a home demo would be essential..... Good luck Sir.
It’s the port tuning frequency, not the port location, that dictates whether a speaker will work within particular placement constraints.
Measurement graphs the likes of Stereophile produce. But that will only tell you the tuning frequency, not whether that frequency will excite one your room’s bass modes.
Is the LS 5/9 capable of playing Rock with adequate slam and dynamics (assuming is fed by the right amplification)?
Who should answer such questions? That is totally subjective. How big is the room, how dynamic is the music, how far do you sit away, how loud in dB do you want to listen at your listening position? How deep should the bass play?
This was replied to me; Harbeth Speakers- Doing Something Right.... However, this was in contrast to the old Harbeth C7s. He followed that with "I prefer the C7 for rock." I have the new C7 XDs and they are better in every way to the regular C7s. No regrets and no more interested in getting the LS5/9s. Since I listen primarily to rock, I'd prefer to stick with the speakers that'll do it justice more than audiophile standard fare (light jazz, female vocals, one acoustic instrument, etc).
I completely agree with your assessment. I have a pair of LS6 in one room and the Falcon LS3/5A speakers in another room. I swap them occasionally. Your description of the differences matches my impressions
I just heard the 8/1's at CAF playing on the long wall of a hotel room driven by Moonriver electronics they sounded excellent.
Could just be a ‘placed a speaker with a rear port too close to the wall’ issue. It’s not like the LS6 is a ginormous, ‘bass beast’ speaker. .
But a ported speaker behaves different compared with a sealed one in the bass and interaction with the room IME.
