I will still agree in getting a trial or listening session with the 3/5a you have in mind. They have similar signatures, but still sound different and most of them are similarly priced.
I will also +1 on the electronics though. I’ve had some bad pairings that I disliked, but the fortunate part is my Harbeth feel like they scale almost forever. They certainly perform much better with quality stuff, so don’t skimp out on that.
Ah ok lol my bad, I mean most of the established models are pretty solid, the og rodgers gold tag and graham chartwell are really great, as were spendor models. I can’t say I liked the kef models as much though along with harbeth ls3/5a as well actually (but this is not the p3esr to be clear) so personally I wouldn’t suggest those. The modern falcons are pretty faithful to the first designs and are solid, as are the stirling models (but those are closer to the older kef but without the issues iirc). There are also a ton of modern designs that take inspiration from the ls3/5a, so traces of the 3/5a are pretty everywhere lol
Unfortunately this isn’t really an option for me as I live in a pretty remote area of northern Canada but to me they seem very similar to how people describe a Sennheiser 600 series headphone which I know I love. I’m okay with the risk. I’ve dealt with it this long lol.
I see a p3esr and a Stirling ls3/5a V2 on CAM. Also a Rogers but not the gold tag. I’ll keep an eye out for sure.
Yeah keep an eye out for pretty much all of em lol
this doesn’t have to be a rabbit hole, this doesn’t have to be a rabbit hole, this doesn’t have to be a rabbit hole
There seems to be a LS3/5A inspired speaker from warfdale on sale on Amazon right now https://www.amazon.ca/Wharfedale-Denton-85th-Anniversary-Walnut/dp/B011TZFQOY/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=wharfedale+denton+85th&qid=1600628899&sr=8-2
It’s ported!? Blasphemy!!
J/k. Appreciate it. There’s a few decent options on CAM I’m inquiring about atm.
It will Be a DEEP rabbit hole, i fell in face first while my ass was also on fire. It led to me buying, bartering and trading for thousands of dollars worth of amplifiers, dac’s, cables and freakishly blowing 2 sets of speakers, having to purchase a Pelican case to ship back and forth across the country to my dealer And working hand in hand with Jerry at Falcon to figure out what was going on. I love my own LS3/5A’s very much but they really had a STEEP learning curve and severe break in period.
No, They do no mate With well just any amplifier and It’s NOT about high power It really is about the types of amps and what environment you use them in.
Let me know if you want to know more about my own experiences and likes and dislikes…
Dang man sounds like quite the epic journey! Definitely curious what amps you’ve used and which you settled on (if you have yet lol)? Also what your current setup is and the configuration?
Idk if you read above but my plan(ish) is near field in a room potentially with subs. Any advice or experiences is always awesome.
also currently in discussions about purchasing an old rogers (late 70’s early 80’s he figures), a stirling v2, or a p3esr special edition (I know its technically not a ls3/5a) so any advice there would be cool too
@donjklassen, My speakers are 15ohms and 83db. When brand new they require a slow prolonged break in period. I had success with a Sugden FPA-4 https://www.sugdenaudio.com/fpa-4-power-amplifier
I have also had success w/ a Line Magnetic 216ia which is just as hard to find.
I have used a Glow audio II GLOW Amp Two Push Pull Tube Amplifier – Glow Audio with success after they were well broken in and once i managed to roll some quality tubes. For near field it works well and is enjoyable but a bit more power output is required and appreciated when run head to head and compared to the other 2 amplifiers. (20-40 watts of quality power seems to be their sweet spot).
The speakers WILL work with many amplifiers, for example my Emotiva BassX but for multiple reasons they don’t sound right, the treble will be off, the midrange sounds anemic and the low end is off some how. If you feed them too much power you run the risk of separating the fine material that covers the tweeter, especially if they have been shipped via air at some point. It took their engineer a few weeks to figure out that quirky weird issue and we proved his theory correct, 2x 
.
I honestly thought because they are 15ohm they were dropping the output of the amplifier by half and along with their low sensitivity they needed more power, NOPE, they just need good class A or tube power to sound right. Their build and design is such that an old school designed amp seems best. That is MY experience and if you go and read some of the reviews on them and pay attention to which amps seem to give reviewers best results you will understand what i mean.
Next comes DAC and source material…ugh, where to begin here. These things will find any crap in your source or bad traits your DAC may have and throw them in you face for some reason. You will be sitting there listening to a song and wonder why it sounds “off” or worse yet hear crackles in the high end or muddied, sloppy mids and wonder what the heck is wrong. Well, guess what, that’s what your DAC and source really sound like…So then you will spend a bunch of money looking for a dac that plays well with them. Now we move onto your source itself, good record player? Probably have no issues. All digital front end? Have fun figuring that one out.
This is a funny little speaker design, it was originally designed to be consistent for the BBC and work with whatever it is the British used back in the early seventies in their studios And in their mobile stations. It scales with your system quality and has limitations. It’s “hard” to drive and requires a bit of finesse and patience to figure out. I can make them play and they will lull you into a state of tranquility, peace and relaxation or they will get on your nerves quickly, it really depends on the combo of kit you use.
I honestly don’t know about the other brands and makes, (Mine are Falcons) but if those manufacturers tried to follow the original design i would NOT recommend these for anyone with a short temper or shallow pockets IMHO. Audition them if you can and pay attention to what they are hooked up to. Read reviews and make sure you know what those folks are using to drive them with when thye are reviewing them and make sure your wallet can handle that. Plenty of other speakers out there at this price point that do not require this much coddling…YMMV and everything i went through Was due to my own lack of experience and Knowledge, it was a steep learning curve for me.
Also, the insides of my speakers, i am intimately familiar with them, read up on the crossovers if you like, to understand the tolerances these things are built to. There is a reason i have pics of the guts though…
Lastly, take a few minutes to read my adventures in this thread: i ate my words and upgraded the whole front-end for these buggers…read my profile for descriptions of kit purchased since then…
This Vista Audio amp is a great pairing, apparently (Vista Audio Spark 2).
Edit: 390$ ? If it’s this one, Class AB, 20wpc.
The vista spark is a sweet little amp for the money, I would imagine it would be pretty nice with a bbc style monitor
Yeah, I’d just buy that – otherwise trying different pairings is hell apparently. 
Keep in mind it’s only 20 watts so you’re looking at a near field setup or music levels on the lighter side.
I opened the video and read title " An Audiophile Desktop Solut…" and then i started laughing.
Closed the video.
A fantastic audiophile desktop solution. 
I youtub’d AB is low watt but high current ?
Not sure what you mean. Can you elaborate?
A,B,A/B amps are low on horsepower but high on torque, like a large displacement motor ?
Well ab amps can get up to 300-600 watts per channel
