STATUS - SOLD
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Description :
The Harbeth LS3/5a's tiny cabinet is constructed from real birch, veneered with wood, braced with solid beech strips, and heavily damped. The KEF B110 SP1228 woofer/midrange unit, a 114mm doped-Bextrene cone, is mounted from the rear of the cutout. The tweeter is the 19mm, Mylar-dome KEF T27 SP1032, fitted with a perforated cover. Because the baffle is recessed, some form of diffraction control in the tweeter's acoustic environment is essential; thick felt strips minimize the effects of reflections from the edges of the side, top, and bottom panels. The grille is acoustically transparent and is intended to be left on. The complex 13-element crossover on a large printed circuit board attached to the rear wall, is the heart of the LS3/5a. This can be tuned to compensate for variations in drive-unit behavior. With sound output of up to 82.5dB, these Harbeth LS3/5a will give heart-thumping audio. The impedance of 11 ohms of these stereo speakers means less obstruction to electricity, giving ample power for pumping up the volume. And, the 3000Hz crossover frequency of these Harbeth speakers gives scope for a range of sound frequencies, allowing enjoyment of every nuance. The dimensions of these stereo speakers also ensure that it can be placed in any corner of the room without having it jutting out.
The Harbeth LS3/5a features stunning midrange associated with the design. Voices sound absolutely natural, with only a slight degree of extra chest tone on spoken male voice to reveal the high-Q bass alignment. In absolute terms, however, there is still a trace of nasality present with the Harbeth version. There is also a touch of stridency in the middle of the violin's register that occasionally intrudes on the music. The Harbeth LS3/5a sounds considerably less tizzy in the high treble than older LS3/5A speakers. The ride cymbal is very prominent, but there is a feeling of a physical instrument made from brass, which emphasized the white-noise aspect of its sound. Essentially, the LS3/5a succeeds to its best extent where the original instrument's size is not too different from that of the speaker's baffle - voice, violin, clarinet, saxophone, etc.
Piano and double bass suffer the most, being rendered as too small-sounding, lacking majesty. The speaker offers a smooth, buttoned-down sound that is almost always civilized. Its balance seems optimized for lieder, spoken voice, chamber music, and large-scale orchestral recordings. There is enough bloom in the upper bass to give a feeling for the power of the small-scale but full orchestra, something at which many small speakers fail miserably. Lateral imaging is superbly accurate and stable, instruments and voices just hanging in space between the speakers. Bass instruments sound a little fat and slow, while the ultra-polite speaker just does not get the idea of rock music, or even jazz. But for a classical music lover who has only a small room, the Harbeth LS3/5a, when used on a good pair of stands well away from room boundaries, is still a prime contender.
Specifications :
Type................................................Two-way, sealed-box, stand-mounted loudspeaker
Drive Units.......................................25mm Mylar-dome tweeter, 110mm Bextrene-cone woofer
Crossover Frequency........................3kHz
Crossover Slopes.............................Not specified
Frequency Response........................80Hz to 20kHz, +/- 3dB at 1m with grilles on
Sensitivity........................................82dB/W/m
Nominal Impedance..........................10 ohms
Amplifier Requirements.....................50W max
Enclosure Volume............................5 litres
Dimensions(w x d x h)......................19.5 x 19.5 x 31 cm
Weight............................................6kg per side
Miscellaneous :
Made In............................................UK, England
Condition..........................................7/10
Product information :
http://audio-database.com/HARBETH/speaker/ls3_5a-e.html
http://www.g4dcv.co.uk/ls35a/library.html (LS3/5A versions)
Reviews :
http://www.stereophile.com/content/bbc-ls35a-loudspeaker-1993-harbeth-version
http://www.audiocostruzioni.com/r_s/diffusori/ls3-5-rogers/ls35_hifinews_shootout.pdf
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!FyVyhguRFRt2IPgR0QsS_Fo-/article?mid=4594&prev=4630&next=4531 (Chinese)
http://www.mhennessy3.f9.co.uk/rogers/ls35a_review.htm |