Yup Westsounds, it's not by chance I asked about this speaker, one of the good they did !
Polypro from Seas iirc ! Some says the closest in quality and equilibrium would be some mixed from Dynaudio or Audiothechnology !
Seems also the englishs from Monitor Audio has good North Europe OEM yet and of course the "made in house" Arbeth...
Maybe also one of the secret is the equilibrium chosen and the filters as usual...
That's incredible in our hobby how the market needs always new speakers as if the newest was always better... No always when I can hear time to time some great old reference with newer sources that progressed more according to me than speakers related to the best that were made ! At least duno with the little monitor from the BBC... But one thing is now there are more better speakers than ever considering the numbers of references...
Polypro from Seas iirc ! Some says the closest in quality and equilibrium would be some mixed from Dynaudio or Audiothechnology !
Seems also the englishs from Monitor Audio has good North Europe OEM yet and of course the "made in house" Arbeth...
Maybe also one of the secret is the equilibrium chosen and the filters as usual...
That's incredible in our hobby how the market needs always new speakers as if the newest was always better... No always when I can hear time to time some great old reference with newer sources that progressed more according to me than speakers related to the best that were made ! At least duno with the little monitor from the BBC... But one thing is now there are more better speakers than ever considering the numbers of references...
I did look around for the Seas drivers clear polypropylene units that were used in the ProAc 1sc but these seem to have been discontinued now. That was a fairly basic speaker which sounded extremely good imo. Those clear polypropylene drivers were also used in a LS3/5A ProAc spin off called the Celef LS8. But they were no where near the value for money of the Monacour drivers. Those LS8s also used a Scan Speak tweeter which again was quite an expensive one from their range. Stewart designed those as he wanted to see what the LS3/5A could sound like if decent drive units were used. The trouble is I still think the originals sounded better to my ears having heard both 
But the kef drivers are far from cheap these days.
But the kef drivers are far from cheap these days.
If you're going to get some cabinets made can I recommend something like the attached image, the combination of using MDF with a ( tiny ) gap between the sides/top and bottom and a thin bead of PVA gives a very damped box, the " ladder rungs " glued to the MDF help to diffract the internal sound. I've used cork between the front baffle and box ( held on by tension springs ) and foam between the rear panel and box ( screws ).
Thanks for the construction tip, Cracked case. So you are saying that you don’t want the battens solidly glued to the walls but only on the edges and that helps the dampen vibrations? I was going to apply butyl sheets on the inside already and was thinking the framing is needed to strengthen the 9mm ply box. Although of flush rebate mounting the drivers, 9mm is rather thin.
I read somewhere that when someone was testing a batch of the originals they found that one sounded better than it should, upon investigation it was found that there was a badly glued joint between the sides and battern, they even considered badly gluing them in production but dismissed the idea because it would be difficult to " badly glue " consistently. This is reminiscent of when testing race engines ( I think at Coventry Climax ) it was found that one engine produced more power than it should, and it was found that it was out of specification and the piston was making physical contact with the head at TDC causing a " super squish " during ignition. So yes, have a gap and bead of glue. I wish that this thread had been around when I thought about doing a homage myself, as the considerable expertise here would have been very helpful, I gave up on the drivers and crossover in the end and just used two full range car speakers wired in series with a cap across the bottom one.
This may have more to do with allowing the panels to vibrate more like tone wood walls on a guitar than actually dampening the vibrations. Is the rear screw mounted wall critical as well? Sounds like it might if fitted with a soft gasket. These are all very fine points. The production LS3/5A’s had glued on back panels and solidly glued beech battens, screw mounted front panels, 9mm front and 12mm everywhere else.
I wonder if the in-house BBC units with all 9mm walls sounded better because of the extra tone wood effect?
I wonder if the in-house BBC units with all 9mm walls sounded better because of the extra tone wood effect?
No, they don't vibrate like a guitar, quite the opposite, they're very dead, they also have rubber sheet ( carpet tile also works ) glued to the sides. I think the difference between the real wood and MDF also helps. A magazine did a shoot out of Ls3/5a remakes and two best ones had screwed on backs. Previously on this thread there should be some pics of the ones I did, you might be able to see the triangle beams that I used to stiffen the sides, and give a non flat surface for sound to bounce off.
The german clone contest has another offspring Es klont wieder: LS3/5 mit AL130 und 'was von SEAS
Looks nice but I'm not a fan of metal mid/bass drivers. I've never herard one I really liked. Acoustic Energy AE1 / 2s were kind of cool, but thats about it and they were fussy.
I also tend to like paper and paper composites when they are done RIGHT (Mark Audio, some Fostex, Satori, NE series [now Peerless, was Vifa]), etc are the best examples I know of that I have heard for myself.
I also liked the HDA from Audax but no longer available in US or Canada (tmk anyway).
I also liked the HDA from Audax but no longer available in US or Canada (tmk anyway).
There are exceptions to the metal drivers. The RS225-8 is aluminum and special - I love how it integrates nicely using a transient perfect first order XO near 1kHz. Very smooth and low distortion with nice clean midrange and articulate bass. I have not found a replacement for it at any price or any other brand.
For example: 1st order XO with B80 at 1kHz
For example: 1st order XO with B80 at 1kHz
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Yet another one with AL130....
Tonfeile Tafal - Selbstbau Lautsprecher - Visaton Al 130 - Seas TAF 27 - Frank-Landmesser.de
Tonfeile Tafal - Selbstbau Lautsprecher - Visaton Al 130 - Seas TAF 27 - Frank-Landmesser.de
I have been searching for a suitable paper cone version of the RS225-8 for a long time. I tried the SBA SB29NRXS45-8 which cost way more but doesn’t work as well as it’s not smooth and controlled. However, just today I noticed that the Monacor SPH-220HQ which looks like it might work. The description even says works well with 1st order XO’s.
It extends out to 6k without nasty breakups if you believe the factory graph. It looks like Monacor has some good stuff worth looking at and using. I have to order and pay extra shipping though here in US.
It extends out to 6k without nasty breakups if you believe the factory graph. It looks like Monacor has some good stuff worth looking at and using. I have to order and pay extra shipping though here in US.
I have the SB29 NRX75-6 and the SB23 NRXS45-4 both. They are great as woofers but only in the lower bass. Mid and upper bass lack definition or resolution. I have tried many 8 inch; I am now using the Vifa/Tymphany/Peerless NE225 W 08 HS. It is the best 8 inch I think I have ever heard BUT, sadly, they are discontinued and have no direct replacement. Certainly one of the best in my recent dealings in the nominal 8 inch size any way. The design and build are very similar to Satori and Illuminator (no surprise really)
Yes, we need a Monacor distributor in the US or at least Canada. I have wanted to try some of their drivers (many sizes) for years now but never have yet for fear the shipping rates would be way too expensive. I also have the Wavecor WF223BD; better than the SB's but not as musical as the Peerless.