BBC Research Department
The BBC have made many of their R&D Reports available online. These make fascinating reading for anyone interested in the history of the LS3/5A in particular and BBC loudspeaker design in general.
Of particular relevance to the LS3/5A are:
- RD1970/13 Acoustic scaling: General Outline
- RD1972/34 Acoustic Scaling: Instrumentation
- RD 1976/29 The design of the minature monitoring loudspeaker LS3/5A
- RD1977/3 Factors in the Design of Loudspeaker Cabinets
- RD1979/22 Design of the High-level Studio Monitoring Loudspeaker Type LS5/8
- RD1983/10 The Design of the Prototype LS5/9 Studio Monitoring Loudspeaker
- RD1988/14 On the Design of Loudspeakers for Broadcast Monitoring
Books
- KEF 50 Years of Innovation in Sound by Ken Kessler and Andrew Watson now available from KEF DirectIncludes previously unseen material and photographs about the LS3/5A. A must have for LS3/5A fans.
Magazine reviews and related articles
- A Little Legend, The BBC LS3/5A.Trevor Butler. June 2001 HiFi News and Record Review. Link House. Article about the history of the LS3/5A. Available on-line but without pictures. Note that the reference to the magazine publication date in the on-line article is incorrect.
- The BBC's Home Service by kind permission of David Prakel
- The BBC LS3/5A – Revisiting a Classic from HiFi Critic. By kind permission of Martin Colloms
- The LS3/5A Shootout by Ken Kessler from the June 2001 HiFi News. Also available in Chinese
- Stereophile LS3/5A reviews available on-line including the 1977 BBC version, 1984 Spendor, 1989 Rogers, 1993 Harbeth and more.
- Inspired by the BBC HiFi News November 2007 article about Harbeth
- FM RecoPal 1981 Japanese magazine article about the BBC including the LS3/5A
- FM PecoPal 1981 Japanese magazine article about UK speaker manufacturers including Spendor, Rogers & KEF
- Stereophile LS3/5A reviews available on-line including the 1977 BBC version, 1984 Spendor, 1989 Rogers, 1993 Harbeth and more.
LS3/5A Manufacturers' and Retailers' Web Pages
- Falcon Acoustic sell spares and have LS3/5A information online.
- Graham Audio manufacture the LS3/5A under licence.
- Stirling Broadcast sell spares, repair the LS3/5A have a BBC licence to manufacture the LS3/5A.
- The Harbeth Web Site
- KEF HiFi They have given us a link! Thanks KEF :-)
- Rogers new LS3/5A
Miscellaneous LS3/5A and BBC Loudspeaker Related Sites
- Keith Snook's LS3/5A web page
- HiFi Loudspeakers.info site about KEF drive units. Datasheets here.
- Under Pressure: Loudspeakers at Altitude Ever wondered if the LS3/5A would work at 7000ft above sea level?
- The Taiwan LS3/5A Club
- Mark Hennesy's site includes information and pictures of the LS3/5A, LS5/8 and LS5/9 BBC monitors
- Graham Hartle's JR149 pages.
- Roger Beckwith's fascinating site on BBC Radio technical history. Spot the LS3/5As!
- BBC Research Dept. technical papers
- The Affordable Valve Company OK so not everybody likes the LS3/5A!
- Stereophile interview with Robin Marshall of Audiomaster
- Francis Phua's LS3/5A Blog
- The LS3/5A has a Facebook page
- The RAM Loudspeakers Story including an interview with Vince Jennings, the founder of RAM, on the Falcon web site.
And thanks to Royal HiFi we have a brochure preview here. Please note that this is a proof copy and that the contact details for Royal HiFi are incorrect.
Bibliography of LS3/5A Related Articles (not online)
- The Stirling LS3/5A V2 reviewed by Ken Kessler. HiFi News & Record Review September 2005
- The Rogers Phenomenon. LS3/5A- The Audio peace Treaty Audio Update Nine. March 1978. Audio Dimensions Inc.
- The Beeb's Famous Boxes. Graham Whitehead and David Walker. November 1991. HiFi News and Record Review. Link House.
- Pot Pourii, BBC LS3/5A Update. Ken Kessler. March 1988. HiFi News and Record Review. Link House.
- Review of Harbeth LS3/5A. December 1993. Stereophile
Other Articles of Interest
- The Monochord Sub Woofer. Richard Lord. January & February 1991. HiFi News and Record Review. Link House.
- Self Build Sub Woofer. Richard McDonald. May 1993. HiFi News and Record Review. Link House.