HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

Falcon is bringing out their LS3/5a.



http://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/ls3-5a ... ation.html

If they are less than 50 quid,i might just try a pair on my PC system,don't suppose they come with steel linings already fitted to save me the trouble.?

Prices 'tba'

That's going to be a difficult product to price. Theres going to be a whole lot of people who reckon the vintage models are better I suspect, regardless of whether it is true or not. That's just the way the game works. It's not a speaker that floats my boat but I appreciate why some folk love them.

wallace wrote:If they are less than 50 quid,i might just try a pair on my PC system,don't suppose they come with steel linings already fitted to save me the trouble.?

In your dreams. More likely less than 5000 quid...

And oh yeah, they are a yummy 15 ohms too!!

S.

Yep when I auditioned them back in the 70's must have been the 15 ohm variety. Wasn't impressed then but if I could have predicted prices being paid now I would have bought them for investment purposes, They have been available in kit form for some time I believe but original tweeter so beloved by the collectors is no longer available.

First thoughts - WHY???

The originals are not neutral and were never really intended to be. By now, apparently ALL the originals that have been tested are way off spec nowadays and that KEF bass/mid driver definitely got worse as production went along in the 80's due to necessary legal changes in production and was never consistent in build either.

Bringing it all up to date, Stirling have a good re-interpretation of the licenced model which improves on the original in most respects. The driver is a trusted one that Harbeth used in the twenty four year old P3 until the current model appeared some years ago now (and the P3ESR is so much better than ANY 3/5A in direct comparison as was the original P3 itself I remember!) and in fairness to Stirling, they can supply an equally calibrated model with no licence and with a screwed back panel (but all but identical sonics) for £800 or less.

The 3/5A was a pain to manufacture (I worked alongside Robin Marshall [Audiomaster] and saw his grief when many batches failed testing due to KEF messing around [messing up?] with the bass driver) and wasn't ever really profitable. It's the 'BBC' bit that counts I suppose, and they're off with the pretty dire Dynaudio BM5A actives now...

_D_S_J_R_ wrote:First thoughts - WHY???

...

Whaddya mean 'why' ? Demand outstripped supply a long time ago for the vintage ones hence the lunatic prices being paid for them - check out completed sales on eBay. And the people who are buying them don't want the modern take on them they want the originals. I'm surprised it has taken this long for someone to re-start production of the drivers, although I dare say that wasn't easy. I'm guessing that the market is the far east where old British classics have become a cult. Next up it will be Tannoy silvers and golds, wait and see.

I thought Harbeth had all KEF's tooling! The B110 is a hopelessly outdated pile of poo these days for ANYONE to re-manufacture and the T27 ain't much better! FFS, you can get an SB 5" driver that would easily out-perform a B110 these days...

Yes but there are hundreds of small speakers that will outperform the LS3/5a - I'd take some JPW AP2 or AP3 over them any day. But there is a huge market for the originals. Performance for those buyers has nothing to do with it they just want authenticity, perverse as it may seem to you and me

Well, at least old ones can be repaired with proper 'drop-in' replacement parts as long as they're re-calibrated to original spec I suppose, so Falcon are offering a genuine service. I hope they can make them better than the originals too... One reason for the crossover complexity was the fact that these two drivers didn't mate together very well, the larger T52 would probably have been better as it goes down a bit lower, although the deliberately fizzed up top (to emphasise tape hiss and distortion) wouldn't have been so easily achievable possibly.

Doc said right in another thread - studios and 'monitor' speakers of the finest quality exist mainly not to deliver ruthless accuracy, but often methinks, to exaggerate fine details so the engineer can work on them in the mix and mastering. Not pleasant for long-term listening...