Полочная акустика — Musical Fidelity LS3/5A

The Musical Fidelity LS3/5A is a two-way standmount monitor manufactured according to BBC R&D design 1976/29. It was announced in 2023 at GBP 2,349 or EUR 2,499 per pair, with an Australian price of AUD 5,000, and is built at the Pro-Ject factory in Litovel, Czech Republic, Musical Fidelity having been owned since 2018 by Pro-Ject chief Heinz Lichtenegger. The BBC originally created the design for listening places where space was limited, such as mobile control rooms for television, aiming for a linear frequency response down to 100 Hz.

Key specs that matter

The closed-type enclosure houses a 110 mm KEF B110 mid and bass driver with a Bextrene cone and a 19 mm KEF T27 tweeter with a mylar dome. Musical Fidelity rates the frequency response at 80 Hz to 20 kHz within plus or minus 3 dB. Nominal impedance is 15 ohms and sensitivity is 82.5 dB at 1 W and 1 m. Each speaker stands 305 mm high, 190 mm wide and 165 mm deep and weighs 4.9 kg.

Engineering and use context

Cabinets are made from 12 mm birch plywood, with side walls that are damped, and finished in real palisander wood veneer. The crossover is a relatively complex multi-element network, and the Musical Fidelity update uses polypropylene capacitors in it. The company says extensive testing and long listening sessions went into making the custom drivers work together through this network. Over the years the LS3/5A became an industry standard for music studios, especially for classical recordings, and it quickly drew interest from home listeners as well. Musical Fidelity points out that the speaker has been produced by several loudspeaker manufacturers over many decades, and its own version is the latest in that line. The maker positions it for near and midfield listening at distances between two and four metres, and describes the small size as a fit for small living rooms.

Pairing

Musical Fidelity recommends amplifiers rated between 20 and 150 W for the LS3/5A. The company names its own A1 integrated amplifier, with its Class A amplification, as the partner it has long associated with this speaker, and it has offered the two together as a system. At the launch the brand also signalled a high-voltage device intended to complement the LS3/5A pair.

Alternatives

Musical Fidelity also makes the LS5/9, a two-way bass reflex monitor built to BBC R&D design 1983/10 and announced at GBP 4,099 or EUR 4,500 per pair.