What? You were going to bid a $1000 just like that for this 50 year old petrified box?? Tsk, tsk... I am calling your fiancee Greta Thunburg and reporting this irresponsible behavior young man. @parkergetdean wrote
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I bought a pair of the Stirling LS3/5a V3.2 earlier this year and paid about $1,500. I think the price is slightly higher now, but still a great deal. The link below will take you to their inventory. LS3/5a are all they have left. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14e1mI51qWwNPFSx0jkoakBHgAxXd9FiM Their contact is: [email protected] Mine are in use now and for the price these are a great deal. Although I do use a pair of KEF KC62 subs with them. I swap them with my Quad ESL and have to say they more than hold their own. |
@toddalin I would guess that an immaculate pair of Chartwell LS3/5A’s in the current LS3/5A market would sell for between $2500 and $3000. In terms of marketability IME the actual brand names of these speakers also tends to have an influence on their purchase price. For example, Rogers and Spendor seem to be the most desirable brands for the LS3/5A even though other brands like Chartwell are pretty much identical both sonically and physically. IMHO, and from a practical standpoint, if you’re looking for a used pair of original LS3/5A’s from the 1970’s through the 1980’s, overall speaker condition is far more important than brand name. Personally, I have always loved the sound of the LS3/5A and wish that I had never sold mine back in the early 1990’s. However, I would never pay more than $1000 for any older LS3/5A that is in excellent condition, because you’re buying older gear whose drivers, wiring and circuitry are decades old, and likely in need of repair or replacement for them to sound their best. For those who like the LS3/5A sound but don’t want to spend LS3/5A prices, I would highly recommend the KEF Reference Series Model 101 bookshelf speakers, which were manufactured from 1979 - 1986. At the time, KEF was not licensed by the BBC to build a version of the LS3/5A, even though they were supplying the B110/T27 drivers to other manufacturers who were building the LS3/5A under license by the BBC. KEF decided to build their own version of the LS3/5A with the same drivers, however, a different, yet, equally sophisticated crossover circuit, which was called the KEF Reference Series Model 101. This way they were able to sell a direct competitor to the LS3/5A without having to obtain a BBC license. IMHO, the Model 101 has a similar sound signature to the LS3/5A but does not distort like the LS3/5A when played loudly. It’s a wonderful sounding little speaker that scales beautifully with high quality sources and amplification. And the prices of Model 101’s have stayed quite reasonable. I purchased a very nice pair about five years ago for $350 delivered (The Model sold for about $600 when new which is about $2500 in today’s U.S. Dollars). They are in my two channel system much of the time, being used on rotation with a first generation pair of Linn Kan’s and a pair of 1979 Qysonic Tad II’s. I use a pair of 2006 Quicksilver Minimite tube mono amplifiers to drive all three pairs of speakers, and the Quickies are a wonderful match with these speakers! 👍
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your Greta joke was fantastic @deep_333 I am honored. But.... she is too old for me now, maybe 10 years ago (said Mr. Tru...) |
I owned both (the electrostatics were the ESL-63) many years ago. I bought the LS3/5A because I was commuting each week to Tasmania and I needed something portable. But really, they are a bit of a joke, designed by the BBC scientists as a lightweight speaker that could be easily moved around, for example for outside broadcasts. The scientists did a good job of controlling the lightweight cabinet walls with internal bracing, but full-range, they are certainly not! |
