LS3/5A production resumes
Veteran UK speaker manufacturers Rogers have just restarted production of the legendary LS3/5A, alongside that of its bigger brother, the LS5/9 (pictured below). As well as making Classic models (built to the exacting specifications of the originals), both speakers will also be available in SE (Studio Edition) versions, which are fitted with Panzerholz (a hardwood/resin compound) baffles and upgraded crossovers, for the most demanding of studio applications .
The revival is being headed by Andy Whittle, who was Rogers Technical Director back in the 90s, when the company were still making the original LS3/5A. To find out what makes that speakers design so special (and why second-hand models are still so highly sought after), well let SOS speaker guru Phil Wards fascinating history lesson (originally published in SOS June 2016) do the talking...
History Of The LS3/5A
The LS3/5A originated in the mid-'70s, at a time when the BBC designed a fair proportion of their own broadcast and studio equipment. The whole idea of state-owned broadcasters designing and building their own kit is all but unthinkable now, but right up until relatively recently, if the BBC found themselves needing a specific tool that wasn't available commercially, their Kingswood Warren research labs were tasked to come up with the goods.
The genesis of the LS3/5A was not as straightforward, however, as the Kingswood Warren boffins simply being asked to design a compact monitor and dutifully delivering. Although there was a need at the BBC for a Grade II' compact monitor for use in outside broadcast trucks, the development of the speaker that became the LS3/5A didn't kick off in direct response to such a request. In fact the progenitor was a speaker designed for one-eighth-scale acoustic modelling of concert halls...
Long before virtual' computer-based acoustic modelling of performance spaces was possible, such work was done using literal modelling techniques. A physical scale model of the space would be built and miniature speakers and microphones placed appropriately within it to analyse its internal acoustic characteristics.
Now, there is no record (well, not in any document I've found) of who the engineer was to whom it first occurred that the acoustic modelling speaker used at Kingswood Warren actually sounded pretty good and might form the basis of a compact monitor. But whoever it was, I'd wager they had no idea at the time how significant a lightbulb moment they'd had.
In the early 1970s, when our story begins, speakers, whether for domestic or professional applications, were on the whole pretty big. Stereo hadn't really been around all that long, and neither had powerful transistor amplifiers, so a single, large speaker was still the norm. Now, even if it's on the large side, positioning one speaker is far easier than positioning a pair, as is required to create a stereo image, so the physical size of the speaker wasn't so much of an issue. With stereo, however, came the problem of speaker positioning, and with that not only came the need for speakers to be smaller, but also for pairs of speakers to be closely matched in terms of performance.
It hardly seems believable now, but back then, there were very few commercially available small speakers that would satisfy the BBC's needs. One of those few speakers that was available to the BBC was the original Goodmans Maxim, and a 1965 internal Kingswood Warren report describes its performance and assesses its potential. The report was written by Dudley Harwood, who went on to found Harbeth Audio (the company name being a conjunction of Harwood's name and that of his wife, Elizabeth). The Goodmans Maxim itself was designed by a young Laurie Fincham, who went on to become Technical Director of KEF, manufacturers of the drive units eventually used in the LS3/5A. There's none of that six degrees of separation' stuff in the British loudspeaker business; one or two degrees will usually suffice.
Harwood's Maxim report, which can be found at http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pu..., makes interesting reading (well, it does if, like me, you're irrationally interested in the history of speaker design). Even without converting the archaic imperial measurements of the test results, it's obvious that the Maxim, by today's standards, was inefficient, had restricted bandwidth at both ends of the spectrum, and displayed precious little power handling. However, those shortcomings weren't issues that Harwood expressed much concern over; in fact he was generally satisfied with the Maxim's performance. The issue that was of most concern to Harwood was sample consistency.
Along with the basic requirement for a small speaker that performed adequately for broadcast quality monitoring, the BBC needed the speaker to be consistent from sample to sample. If, say, a single speaker in an OB truck failed, it would be decidedly inconvenient if the pair had to be replaced, and equally unsatisfactory if the second pair didn't sound the same as the first. So each individual speaker was required to perform within response limits that, even today, are a challenge. If the Goodmans Maxim report revealed one thing, it was that this degree of consistency would not likely be found in an existing commercial speaker. So, with a concept on the table for a design inspired by the acoustic modelling speaker, the Kingswood Warren engineers turned to KEF Electronics for help.
KEF got the call partly because, now under Laurie Fincham's engineering leadership, the company were by some distance the most technologically advanced in the field, and partly because there was already an established relationship with the BBC. An earlier research project at Kingswood Warren into thermoplastic diaphrag
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
21/07/2026
In a time of disarray in regional sports broadcasting, the league will provide c...
21/07/2026
When NEP designed one of its largest recurring mobile production unit fleets for PGA TOUR
coverage, the leading media services provider faced a familiar challe...
21/07/2026
High-end analogue channel strip boasts plug-in recall
Originally revealed as a prototype back at NAMM 2024, the Channex Studio channel strip represented a b...
21/07/2026
Relies on same DSP as plug-in range
Musik Hack's line-up has been influenced heavily by founder Stan Greene's work as a mixing engineer, and their M...
21/07/2026
Official collaboration with boutique builder Dirty Boy Pedals
Warm Audio have just announced the launch of a new guitar pedal range created in collaboration...
21/07/2026
SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final
21 July, 2026
Media releases
Spain v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of al...
21/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC SIPI 2026 in ...
21/07/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's unbroken lead is interrupted as sports and live mus...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Across the TV and streaming ecosystem, industry players face mounting pressure to do more with less. They must simplify operations, protect premium content and ...
21/07/2026
Tuxera, a leading prover of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is bringing its latest advances in connectivity performance to the media w...
21/07/2026
COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
HIRING: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP ...
21/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will use its presence at IBC2026 (stand 7.A01, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to...
21/07/2026
Calrec will be located in Hall 8, on Stand C47
Beyond bigger
For years, broadcast facilities were built around one assumption: provision for the biggest pro...
21/07/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of medi...
21/07/2026
nxtedition returns to IBC2026 with its consolidated production platform, showing how scripting, editing, graphics, AI-assisted tools and automation can work wit...
21/07/2026
C2PA content signing helps broadcasters, public institutions, and publishers give audiences a verifiable record of where their video content came from and how i...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
New capability centralizes collaboration, feedback, security and status tracking within VIDA, providing a structured, auditable approach to master quality contr...
21/07/2026
Lightcraft Launches Exclusive Spark Story Beta for Filmmakers and Creators at SI...
21/07/2026
Indie Road Movie Where in the Hell Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
Brie Clayton July 20, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist blends vintage film looks to shape...
LS3/5A production resumes 
