LS3/5a as reference for X-over design

[ekaerin]

Hi guys,
The other day I ran into a pair of Chartwell LS3/5a on the fleamarket.
Never seen theese guys for real before. The cabinets had some scratches
but the drivers looked good so I bought them....about 20$ !!!!
I realised later I got them kinda cheap.
1st commercial speakers I have ever bought.

Now, I really like the midrange and highs tonal balance. The upper
bass is a little bit pronounced on male vocals but that might be
subjective.
All & all I think I'm falling in love with them.

My question is, will theese guys do for references when designing X-overs.
The reason I ask is because I have discovered that after a few hrs
of tweaking my new projects X-over, I become lost.
(My shop is not where I usually live so I lack references there)
The idea is to switch to the LS3/5a to recalibrate the ears.
OK, I will not try to get the exactly same voice as the LS3s, but still.

/ Mattias

[dnsey]

The LS3/5A is a great design (wish I could find some at that price!), but was never intended as a reference monitor.

The BBC designed it as a 'Grade 3' monitor, for outside broadcast use, and it was produced within a relatively tight budget (by pro standards). As such, it has significant colouration, as you've discovered.
A lovely speaker for casual listening, with exceptional imaging capability, but I personally wouldn't use it as a crossover reference.

FYI, history and specs of the LS3/5A can be found here:
http://www.harbeth.co.uk/LS3-5a.htm

Dave

[Jonathan Bright]

I have 3 or 4 reviews of he LS3/5a. They are not ruler flat but they are better than many others. The comments you make about the bass is quite typical of the journal reviews. I have always thought that if I came across a pair that I would put the hardware in a slightly bigger box......say another couple of litres. This would reduce the under damped bass resonance. Also there was some suggestion that a wider box may assist imaging. (Collums) As was suggested above you will profit from reading about them. The BBC have the original paper by the creators on one of their sites and there is an unofficial LS3/5a site that has a lot of info'. Many people will think that you have been extraordinary luckly.

[ekaerin]

Thank you for the response / links.

I think I'm aware of how they are voiced. And you realise their character
is dependent on listening position. And as monitors on the desk I
believe they outperform the NS10 by Yamaha which causes at least my
ears to get tired.

I think I'll still use them for labwork, maybe not as direct A/B references
but more as a change. Also my friend who is a music producer is eager
to get them but there is no way I sell them, borrow inbetween my
projects, maybe.

Thanx / Mattias

[Dave Jones]

Originally posted by ekaerin
Thank you for the response / links.

I think I'm aware of how they are voiced. And you realise their character
is dependent on listening position. And as monitors on the desk I
believe they outperform the NS10 by Yamaha which causes at least my
ears to get tired.

I think I'll still use them for labwork, maybe not as direct A/B references
but more as a change. Also my friend who is a music producer is eager
to get them but there is no way I sell them, borrow inbetween my
projects, maybe.

Thanx / Mattias

I would sell them in a flash! Have you seen what they will bring on ebay?

I suppose they were quite impressive for very small speakers in their day, but I don't care for the thumpy pseudo-bass at all.

[rdf]

Originally posted by ekaerin
And as monitors on the desk I
believe they outperform the NS10 by Yamaha which causes at least my
ears to get tired.

A quarter century later I still recall the georgous image thrown by a pair LS3/5a's driven by an SAE system playing Proprius vinyl. IMO, and I've installed a few NS10, it's apples and oranges. The Rogers design kills it dead. (The 'classic' way to reduce NS10 fatigue was to tape a sheet of tissue paper over the tweeter. )
Have you tried the Chartwells (series x-over I think) on stands optimally placed in the room yet?

[markp]

They are 'cult' favorites and have been for many years. The bass bump is to 'fool' you into thinking there is real low bass coming out of the speaker. They were made of a KEF B110 woofer and T27 tweeter for the most part but other companies that bought a liscence for the BBC could make thier own as long as it fell into spec. Chartwell was one of the also-rans back in the '70s and '80s. They are nice to listen to but not as a true reference. That said, they are much better than NS10s. The NS10s are used to give the mixer the sound that most peoples systems will be like, real-world sound. That way they can know what it will sound like on non state-of-the-art systems at home.