Best LS3/5a with Naim amps?

Some years back I ran my early Rogers gold label LS3/5as on the end of the big Naim system.  They worked reasonably well but overall I felt that they were totally eclipsed in just about every area by my SL2s.  

The LS3/5a speakers should all sound the same because they should all conform to the BBC spec, but the 15 ohm Rogers LS3/5a is the most prized of the original ones. I have two pairs of LS3/5a but one is driven by my SuperUniti and the other by a Unitilite. I do have a 272/XPS DR/250DR as well but that is driving Quad floorstander speakers (see my Avatar). So I can't answer your precise question.

I would expect any pair in good condition to work much the same though. They don't produce much bass and the sound quality is immeasurably improved if you give them some space.  They aren't really successful as a bookshelf speaker. You only need to bring them forward from the wall by about 20cm though and I do that by having them sit on cantilevered oak shelves sticking out of the front of the bookshelf that covers the wall. They are very relaxed loudspeakers, easy to drive and clean sounding. Great for classical, but I would look elsewhere for loud rock music.  I'm sure your 250DR will think it's been sent on holiday and behave impeccably whatever music you play.

best

David

N-Sats are closed box speakers and were literally made by and for Naim. I love mine and use a sub with them but if you don't share my taste for rock and reggae at very high volume you may well be satisfied with them alone. Regularly come up second hand - I think I paid £350 for mine - and if you don't like them they are easy to sell on.

Spendor S3/5se’s were sublime with my 202/200, they were a really good match and delivered all the prat with the wonderful BBC sound.

Pev posted:

N-Sats are closed box speakers and were literally made by and for Naim. I love mine and use a sub with them but if you don't share my taste for rock and reggae at very high volume you may well be satisfied with them alone. Regularly come up second hand - I think I paid £350 for mine - and if you don't like them they are easy to sell on.

Yes great little speakers. Need the dedicated Naim stands to perform at there best. A couple of others to consider are the Harbeth P3ESR or if they need to be back against the wall then the Proac Tablette 10 is very well regarded.

Useing the original Rogers LS 3 5A's the 15 Ohm variants in a vintage system the last 25 years with a Bryston 12 B preamp and 2 B poweramp which is 65 watts a chanel and they sound superb.Their midrange clarity is astonishing.I have also used them on the end of a NAP 250 and they where very,very good indeed.I have also used Kans in the past but the Rogers are more accurate as you would expect with their BBC heritage.But there both classic small speakers.Can't see any reason why Naim amps would'nt be suitable.

I had some Chartwells at one time. (Selling them is my only audio regret). They predated my NaimLife™ but they were great on an Exposure X.

Edit: As per David, give them a bit of space to breathe.

You have the purer 3/5 examples from Graham's and Falcon.  Then you have variants/derivatives from Harbeth and Spendor (the D1 is the most accomplished example Spendor offers).  I'm a big fan of all of these and I think it's tough to go wrong with any of them.

Spendor S3/5R-2's here & they are always surprising me with great sound 

I’ve got a pair of KEF LS50s to try out. 

  My initial reaction is -  Missing the broader cleaner dynamic sound of the Momentums.

Someone saiid LS50s were developed along the lines of 3/5as ( I think!).

cheeselet posted:

I’m moving my system to a smaller room. I’ve been using 282/HC/250dr with Neat Momentums for quite a while now and thinking about an LS3/5a type option as so many of the recommended mini monitors seem to be transmission line designs to maximise bass.

i find closed boxes less boomy especially in smaller rooms.

There seem to be so many brands and variations of the LS3/5 I would be interested to hear opinions of how well matched to the 250dr they might be?

I’m curious: who other than PMC makes small transmission line speakers? Or did you mean reflex, which is quite a different beast? (And I personally find transmission line bass to be better than reflex, in all that I have heard.)

Innocent Bystander posted:

cheeselet posted:

I’m moving my system to a smaller room. I’ve been using 282/HC/250dr with Neat Momentums for quite a while now and thinking about an LS3/5a type option as so many of the recommended mini monitors seem to be transmission line designs to maximise bass.

i find closed boxes less boomy especially in smaller rooms.

There seem to be so many brands and variations of the LS3/5 I would be interested to hear opinions of how well matched to the 250dr they might be?

I’m curious: who other than PMC makes small transmission line speakers? Or did you mean reflex, which is quite a different beast? (And I personally find transmission line bass to be better than reflex, in all that I have heard.)

Role Audio - Sampan is another brand/speaker that uses transmission lines.My dealer has a pair of Sampans,they sound MUCH bigger than they are...I almost bought a pair at one time.

Yes. Apologies, I meant ported speakers generally as opposed to the closed box type. 

The LS50 I am currently trying are transmission line, right? 

No,  KEF LS50 are reflex ported,  the port is located in the rear panel top left corner.

n posted:

N-Sats are closed box speakers and were literally made by and for Naim. I love mine and use a sub with them but if you don't share my taste for rock and reggae at very high volume you may well be satisfied with them alone. Regularly come up second hand - I think I paid £350 for mine - and if you don't like them they are easy to sell on.

I have had past experience with LS35A, kan 1 & 2 and  nSat, for me is the best experience in its class. I still got 2 pair at home

Regards

Roberto

Those of course are very much stylised diagrams!  Or at least, the transmission line one is - reflex designs are generally essentislly like that. Transmission lines are usually continuously tapered, and either loosely filled or deeply lined (depending on specific design) with absorbent material, often different grades in different oarts of the line, and in moresophisticated designs the driver and vent are often not at the end of the line. They are far more complex than reflex to design - and to build. And in my experience that is justified by the quality of bass they can produce.

Interesting. 

The KEFs are now growing on me having allowed them to settle in and find their strengths  (definitely jazz!).

Innocent Bystander posted:

Those of course are very much stylised diagrams!  Or at least, the transmission line one is - reflex designs are generally essentislly like that. Transmission lines are usually continuously tapered, and either loosely filled or deeply lined (depending on specific design) with absorbent material, often different grades in different oarts of the line, and in moresophisticated designs the driver and vent are often not at the end of the line. They are far more complex than reflex to design - and to build. And in my experience that is justified by the quality of bass they can produce.

Indeed,  but I wouldn't call the diagrams stylised,  simplified for ease of differentiation. 

I've designed & build a few TL's & some qtr wave types.  Yes there're complex, or at least more complex than reflex & not so easy to get them to work without a lot of fine 'tuning',   the driver chamber volume, the line exit area, line length & consistent taper to correctly the sized line exit port,  & then the line damping,  its all far from straight forward. 

For me really well set up Kans ....... are fantastic.....but they are very fussy over setup and require the best amps/source possible. The Kan over the years has received some negative press mainly due to them being paired with the likes of the Nait ...... they require a min of a 250 or a 135.  To me the LS35a sounds constrained .... and politely nice ........ the Kan is not the most accurate but boy is it fun......and funky. The LS35a uses a complex subtractive crossover to drop the mid range by around 4dB or so ... and requires plenty of space behind speaker, it is around 83 dB efficient. The Kan ....... has a simpler crossover and relies on wall reinforcement to lift the bass by around 2-3dB it has an efficiency of around 86-87dB.

Mike-B posted:

I've designed & build a few TL's & some qtr wave types.  Yes there're complex, or at least more complex than reflex & not so easy to get them to work without a lot of fine 'tuning',   the driver chamber volume, the line exit area, line length & consistent taper to correctly the sized line exit port,  & then the line damping,  its all far from straight forward. 

Indeed, and nominally a present project of mine, though despite some computer modelling, and playing about with filling it went back to the drawing board for a third iteration,  awaiting time to get back to the construction - pretty confident for the next go...  One day they’ll meet or exceed the sound quality of my PMCs, when I can stop!

I have a Stirling MS-88 (Rogers ls3 / 5a 60th) with NAC112 / NAP200 and I am delighted.

I think you have very different styles of sound presentation here and so you probably won't get the best from either. Having said that I haven't heard this particular combination.

If you like the Neat so much why dont you try the Iotas or the Alphas?

cheeselet posted:

I’ve got a pair of KEF LS50s to try out. 

  My initial reaction is -  Missing the broader cleaner dynamic sound of the Momentums.

Someone saiid LS50s were developed along the lines of 3/5as ( I think!).

LS50 are great speakers indeed, bit silly no grilles are available

Nothing to do with LS3/5a at all

Perol posted:

cheeselet posted:

I’ve got a pair of KEF LS50s to try out. 

  My initial reaction is -  Missing the broader cleaner dynamic sound of the Momentums.

Someone saiid LS50s were developed along the lines of 3/5as ( I think!).

LS50 are great speakers indeed, bit silly no grilles are available

Nothing to do with LS3/5a at all

 

Quote from the KEF website -

LS50

An innovative concept inspired by the legendary LS3/5a, the LS50 mini monitor speaker is designed to bring a professional studio monitor concept into the home. 

notnaim man posted:

Perol posted:

cheeselet posted:

I’ve got a pair of KEF LS50s to try out. 

  My initial reaction is -  Missing the broader cleaner dynamic sound of the Momentums.

Someone saiid LS50s were developed along the lines of 3/5as ( I think!).

LS50 are great speakers indeed, bit silly no grilles are available

Nothing to do with LS3/5a at all

 

Quote from the KEF website -

LS50

An innovative concept inspired by the legendary LS3/5a, the LS50 mini monitor speaker is designed to bring a professional studio monitor concept into the home. 

I missed that marketing gimmick ????

My own LS50 sounds far from LS3/5a