They were designed by and made for the BBC.
The BBC uses three types of monitor loudspeakers:
#1 large full range for music production: 12 inch woofer 2 way or 3 way design, big ported boxes on stands. These cover the full musical range including the lowest octaves.
#2 medium size two way for speech and light music production, medium size ported boxes on stands. These do not cover the bottom octave or two but are otherwise the same as #1.
#3 small size two way design for speech and occasional light music, small boxes on stands. These have weak bass but for speech that is not a problem. The major quality is natural reproduction of speech.
The LS3/5 design was #3 twenty five years ago. The current BBC requirements are being met by HARBETH among others. I own Harbeth Monitor 30s which are category #2. They are first class.
The BBC uses three types of monitor loudspeakers:
#1 large full range for music production: 12 inch woofer 2 way or 3 way design, big ported boxes on stands. These cover the full musical range including the lowest octaves.
#2 medium size two way for speech and light music production, medium size ported boxes on stands. These do not cover the bottom octave or two but are otherwise the same as #1.
#3 small size two way design for speech and occasional light music, small boxes on stands. These have weak bass but for speech that is not a problem. The major quality is natural reproduction of speech.
The LS3/5 design was #3 twenty five years ago. The current BBC requirements are being met by HARBETH among others. I own Harbeth Monitor 30s which are category #2. They are first class.