there are hundreds of them...please post them here:
here's two:
http://home.freeuk.com/pwhatton/lstips.html
http://home.freeuk.com/pwhatton/shootout.html
Links on LS3/5A
4 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Links on LS3/5A
by vintage_dog » Fri Oct 31, 2003 2:22 pm
-
vintage_dog - Administrator
- Posts: 7391
- Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2003 7:35 pm
- Location: south of town
by vintage_dog » Fri Oct 31, 2003 6:57 pm
From: Richard <rcwyhk@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat Oct 18, 2003 11:46 pm
Subject: Mini Party of LS3/5As
ADVERTISEMENT
Here is a brief report on a mini-party of our LS3/5A
monitors. It does not necessarily mean that a
particular release/version of the BBC LS3/5As are
better than the others.
The private party
Yesterday we had a mini-party at John Keung's place in
Hong Kong, to extend a warm welcome to Jonathan Chan
and Michael Cumming. They came from Perth, Australia
to enjoy the most beautiful weather of year (sunny &
25 degree C throughout). Jonathan is a big fan of the
BBC LS3/5A monitors who just passed his specialist
examination in a relaxing trip. Michael is a Boeing
747-400 pilot and is on a busy flying schedule. They
for sure have golden ears. Other participants include
John Keung and myself.
Systems
The party started off with a pair of Radio Craftsmen
500A mono-blocs (built on the Williamson circuit)
driving a pair Spendor 15 ohm to warm up our ears.
Source was a Denon CD player, playing specified female
vocal and classic music. When we came to the tests, we
changed to use different amps that use different power
tubes to test the consistency of our findings.
Power amps used
Dynaco ST-35, an EL84 based amp,
Radford STA-25 MkIII, an EL34 based amp, and
Leak TL12.1, a KT66 based amp
Pre-amp used throughout the party was King's
pre-release preamp (prototype Version II) with a
single Type #56 tube in each channel.
BBC LS3/5A tested
a) Spendor 15 ohm
b) Audiomaster 15 ohm
c) KEF Piano Black 11 ohm
d) Chartwell 15 ohm in Stirling cabinets
Test findings
The Spendor 15 ohm had very balanced sound and
impressive details with smooth texture of the mid and
treble. A lot of harmonics of the recordings were
heard!
The Audiomaster 15 ohm was surprisingly less pleasing,
a bit dull and dark compared to the rest. John
attributed the less desirable sound to the overly
long, over one-year idling of the speakers (see, how
many LS3/5As John has?!).
The KEF Piano Black stole the limelight of the party
by its crispy high range, much fuller texture and
micro dynamics. The bass was particularly moving!
Michael and Jonathan's gave it a full mark in
comparison with the rest three!
The Chartwell 15 ohm had a similar sounding as the
Spendor 15 ohm, being open, airy and balanced - really
very smooth!
Consistency with different amps
The above findings were consistent with different
amps! I was deeply impressed by the improvement that
Audiomaster 15 ohm showed when they were driven by a
stronger amp, Radford STA-25 MkIII. Their once rather
unpleasant sound (driven by Dynaco ST-35) suddenly
disappeared when they were driven by the EL34 based
Radford! I suspect that EL84 based amps may be
generally LESS desirable driving the 82.5 dB babies.
The EL34 and KT66 based amps have the extra power to
wake up the long-rested monitors!
The KEF Piano Black remained consistently pleasing,
warm, and had the dynamics and fine micro dynamics
with the valve/tube amps tested. Its sound was crispy
and obviously had higher definition than the rest
irrespective of the amps used. So, it stole the
limelight!
Sorry to EICO fans for we did not have any time to
test the monitors with our EICO babies.
Richard
Date: Sat Oct 18, 2003 11:46 pm
Subject: Mini Party of LS3/5As
ADVERTISEMENT
Here is a brief report on a mini-party of our LS3/5A
monitors. It does not necessarily mean that a
particular release/version of the BBC LS3/5As are
better than the others.
The private party
Yesterday we had a mini-party at John Keung's place in
Hong Kong, to extend a warm welcome to Jonathan Chan
and Michael Cumming. They came from Perth, Australia
to enjoy the most beautiful weather of year (sunny &
25 degree C throughout). Jonathan is a big fan of the
BBC LS3/5A monitors who just passed his specialist
examination in a relaxing trip. Michael is a Boeing
747-400 pilot and is on a busy flying schedule. They
for sure have golden ears. Other participants include
John Keung and myself.
Systems
The party started off with a pair of Radio Craftsmen
500A mono-blocs (built on the Williamson circuit)
driving a pair Spendor 15 ohm to warm up our ears.
Source was a Denon CD player, playing specified female
vocal and classic music. When we came to the tests, we
changed to use different amps that use different power
tubes to test the consistency of our findings.
Power amps used
Dynaco ST-35, an EL84 based amp,
Radford STA-25 MkIII, an EL34 based amp, and
Leak TL12.1, a KT66 based amp
Pre-amp used throughout the party was King's
pre-release preamp (prototype Version II) with a
single Type #56 tube in each channel.
BBC LS3/5A tested
a) Spendor 15 ohm
b) Audiomaster 15 ohm
c) KEF Piano Black 11 ohm
d) Chartwell 15 ohm in Stirling cabinets
Test findings
The Spendor 15 ohm had very balanced sound and
impressive details with smooth texture of the mid and
treble. A lot of harmonics of the recordings were
heard!
The Audiomaster 15 ohm was surprisingly less pleasing,
a bit dull and dark compared to the rest. John
attributed the less desirable sound to the overly
long, over one-year idling of the speakers (see, how
many LS3/5As John has?!).
The KEF Piano Black stole the limelight of the party
by its crispy high range, much fuller texture and
micro dynamics. The bass was particularly moving!
Michael and Jonathan's gave it a full mark in
comparison with the rest three!
The Chartwell 15 ohm had a similar sounding as the
Spendor 15 ohm, being open, airy and balanced - really
very smooth!
Consistency with different amps
The above findings were consistent with different
amps! I was deeply impressed by the improvement that
Audiomaster 15 ohm showed when they were driven by a
stronger amp, Radford STA-25 MkIII. Their once rather
unpleasant sound (driven by Dynaco ST-35) suddenly
disappeared when they were driven by the EL34 based
Radford! I suspect that EL84 based amps may be
generally LESS desirable driving the 82.5 dB babies.
The EL34 and KT66 based amps have the extra power to
wake up the long-rested monitors!
The KEF Piano Black remained consistently pleasing,
warm, and had the dynamics and fine micro dynamics
with the valve/tube amps tested. Its sound was crispy
and obviously had higher definition than the rest
irrespective of the amps used. So, it stole the
limelight!
Sorry to EICO fans for we did not have any time to
test the monitors with our EICO babies.
Richard
-
vintage_dog - Administrator
- Posts: 7391
- Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2003 7:35 pm
- Location: south of town
by ichabod » Sat Nov 01, 2003 12:01 pm
Francis, I can'thelp but agree with the results of the findings on spendor 15 ohmer, and the Kef piano black.
Several nights ago we had a listen to this piano black kef, and what we heard were strikingly similar to their findings. Good base, well extended, though a bit bright for the time being since the pair is still breaking in.
Oscar owns the piano black L.E. Kef LS 3/5a. Only five hundred were made. He sure must be grinning to read it here again in the local scene.
A sidenote on the spendor 15 ohms. Derek, I understand keeps a spendor 15 ohms which the father, the late Spencer Hughes owns, and uses this as his reference in sound for all the spendor LSs.
Several nights ago we had a listen to this piano black kef, and what we heard were strikingly similar to their findings. Good base, well extended, though a bit bright for the time being since the pair is still breaking in.
Oscar owns the piano black L.E. Kef LS 3/5a. Only five hundred were made. He sure must be grinning to read it here again in the local scene.
A sidenote on the spendor 15 ohms. Derek, I understand keeps a spendor 15 ohms which the father, the late Spencer Hughes owns, and uses this as his reference in sound for all the spendor LSs.
- ichabod
- Fanatic
- Posts: 1824
- Joined: Fri May 16, 2003 9:09 am
4 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest