Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V2 Loudspeaker

The Ressurection of a Classic

“Wow, those things realy sound rich. What are they?”—my wife Daniele upon hearing Stirling Broadcast’s revival of the clasic BBC LS3/5a minimonitor. Danielle’s no audiophile, but she knows what she likes. As her reaction to most speaker systems is an understated but devastating, “Can you just hook the Quads back up again, please?” this qualifies as a rave. Not much later our close friend Jennifer stopped by—like Danielle, no audiophile but a serious music lover who also loves my Quads. Same response, even one of the same adjectives: “What a big rich sound!” When a speaker flips the skirts of the two ladies, I pay attention.

Originally designed in the mid-seventies by the BBC as a small monitor for vans, control rooms, and other small quarters, the LS3/5a had a remarkable run for well over two decades before production ceased in the late nineties owing to KEF’s no longer finding it financially worthwhile to manufacture the T27 tweeter and B110 midrange/ woofer that formed the nucleus of the design. Although it was never intended for consumer use, audiophiles were not long in discovering its virtues.

First and foremost is a midrange of quite extraordinary richness and presence, with an almost palpable thereness, particularly on voices and acoustic instruments. Second is its sheer openness. At the time of its introduction in 1975, only speakers without enclosures (Quads, KLH Nines, Magneplanars) exhibited greater freedom from boxiness. Third is superb imaging and soundstaging. And fourth, rarely remarked upon but noticeable: a subjectively “bigger” presentation than that of most mini-monitors or, to put it another way, less of the miniaturization effect. Soloists, instrumentalists, jazz trios, string quartets, and so forth are projected with a realism that is still rather startling.

The reasons for this last, I’d guess, is because the LS3/5a was so cannily designed for its designated purpose that on much music its dynamic and bass limitations pass almost unnoticed, which also obtains in domestic use given a medium-size or smaller room and a not too heavy hand on the volume pot. To be sure, there is virtually no deep bass and midbass is light, but a clever equalization circuit in the crossover that puts a slight boost (2–3dB) in the upper bass around 100–125Hz ensures that the speaker never, ever sounds thin; on the contrary, it is rather warm and full.

With the exception of the original Quad ESL, no other speaker, perhaps no other single audio product, has acquired so enthusiastic, focused, and loyal a following, and none so large or vocal a one. As of 1998, when it ceased production, some 100,000 pairs were in circulation, with 3000 pairs sold in its last year alone. The immediate result was that the used price shot up and stayed there, and a groundswell of clamor developed for its return.

Doug Stirling’s U.K.-based Stirling Broadcast was for many years involved in servicing LS3/5as and even for a short time manufacturing them under BBC license. When the supply of KEF drivers dried up for good, Stirling began to think seriously about making the LS3/5a anew. The first thing he did was hire Derek Hughes, the son of Spendor’s Spencer Hughes and an accomplished designer in his own right, who has long experience manufacturing the original at Spendor. (Derek is also auteur of the Spendor S3/5, one of the best mini-monitors to follow the LS3/5a.) When Spendor was bought out, Hughes left and landed at Harbeth, where he now works with another of the most talented of current designers, Alan Shaw, designer of the HL P3, another of the best post-LS3/5a minimonitors.

The whole story of its development, along with the history of the LS3/5a, is too long to retell here (see sidebar). The gist of it is that while it was possible (though hardly cheap or easy) to duplicate cabinet size, materials, and construction, what was to be done about drivers? Reputed to be a genius with crossovers, Hughes developed a sophisticated network that managed to make the new proprietary drivers, sourced from SEAS and Scan Speak, mimic the response of the original KEFs. But as they’re not KEF originals, honest man that he is, Stirling added a “V2” to his model designation, even though his LS3/5a is fully licensed by the BBC.

Drivers aren’t the only issue. Fourteen years after the LS3/5a’s introduction, the BBC discovered that a number of units already in the field were failing to meet spec, while it was getting increasingly difficult for the KEF drivers, the woofer in particular, to be manufactured within acceptable tolerances. The problem was solved with a combination of matching drivers by computer and a new crossover, resulting in among other things an overall impedance drop to 11 ohms from the original 15 and a second pair of binding posts for biwring (thus also providing an easy way to distinguish which side of the dividing line a unit comes from).