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Rogers LS3/5a question

I am a pro audio guy and know very little about hi-fi stuff. I was at an estate sale today and found a pair of Rogers Ls3's for a VERY good price. They were built in 1079 and the construction is some of the best I have ever seen in a speaker. The problem is that they are 15 ohms and I really don't have anything to power them. I do not want to damage them by hooking them up to something I shouldn't. I would love to hear them and make sure everything works properly. From what I gather from a little research is that the mid-range is incredible. If they are better than my reference monitors I will keep them, if not they will be sold. Thanks for your help guys!
stellastudios
celtic66
990 posts
 
I've owned Rogers and a myriad of British speakers. These do not need a great deal of wattage, however they do need very stable current. It is correct that they love tubes because the 15 ohm presents an easy load. However, hook these up to a 100 wpc Pioneer receiver and it will be dreadful. This is why the NAD 3020 was such a good match with its stable current.

British integrated amps such as Exposure, Sugden and Quad easily drive these and control the tiny woofer. Rogers are wonderfully colored and musical with vocals and acoustic instruments. 24" massed stands are a must. Enjoy a classic.
franks
150 posts
 
These were my first "high end" speakers back in the late seventies. I had them hard wired with Fulton brown speaker wire(one of the first audiophile cables).
Don gives a nice description of their sound. They also have a nice jump/aliveness to their sound.
I used a Stereo 70 then a Bedini 25/25(25watts/ class A) then a conrad-johnson MV50. Stay with best 20-50 watts/ch that you can afford.

As an aside it would interesting to hear them with an OTL like an Atmasphere S30 or SET like the Cary 805 which were not available at that time.
vinw
67 posts
 
Be informed that they are very in-efficient speakers, only about 83 db sensitivity. With that said, they need a well built amplifier sections to make them really sing. Nevertheless they are absolutely wonderful little speakers.
hesson11
233 posts
 
(Those more knowledgeable, please correct me if my memory is faulty on this.) If you're looking for "ruthlessly revealing" monitors for recording/mastering, the LS 3/5a may not be ideal. While intended for use as monitors, they were designed by the BBC (IIRC) for mobile-recording situations, i.e., mobile vans, etc. They were also (again IIRC) designed for monitoring the human voice. They are famous for a mid-bass bump to give the illusion of deeper bass. Thus, they are not the flattest of monitors. None of this prevented them from being enormously popular and beloved in the audiophile community. Sorry I can't give you any advice on amplification.
-Bob
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
I had two pairs of Rogers at various times. They are subjectively very flat and terrific for solo voice, guitar, violin, small emsembles, but due to sensitivity issue will not play extremely loud and are comparatively speaking undynamic. So for large scale orchestras and rock they are not the best choice. Recommend tube amp 20-50 watts for best results.
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