Designers and builders of Loudspeakers in the BBC tradition

Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a Monitor Loudspeaker

In 2004 the production of our original version of the LS3/5a was interrupted by the decision by Kef to end the supply of the B110 and T27 drivers and crossovers that we relied upon. At this point in time the only companies supplying new LS3/5as to the marketplace were Stirling Broadcast and Richard Allan. This event lead to the introduction of our V2 version of the LS3/5a.

Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V2

Built under license from the BBC, the LS3/5a V2 was our first design collaboration with Derek Hughes.
Derek drew upon his extensive experience of the LS3/5a, dating back to his work for the BBC in the 1970s, to design a new LS3/5a loudspeaker that retains the legendary sonic character of the original, capturing the much loved vocal abilities of the classic 15 ohm version, whilst combining this with the faster more modern sound of the newer 11 ohm version.

This was such a success that the V2 won the 2005 Hi-Fi News & Record Review award for its category of loudspeaker and followed this with a collection of other accolades, including Editors Choice in The Absolute Sound (2006/2007) and Stereophile Class B (2007).

The design of the V2 benefited from both computer aided design and reference to the LS3/5a pair known as BBC 001/002, which featured in the Hi-Fi News LS3/5a ’shootout’ article and which were loaned to Stirling Broadcast by Paul Whatton, son of one of the BBC engineers that authored the BBC report “The design of the miniature monitoring loudspeaker type LS3/5a”.

Derek combined modern drive units sourced from Norway, customised to his specification where necessary, with a new crossover he designed, to provide improved power handling and bass response compared to the original version, along with a greater handling of dynamics.

All this was housed in thin wall (9mm) birch plywood cabinets, damped using double layers of bituminous pads, with the crossovers mounted on the rear panel to further decrease distortion. Such cabinets and crossover position feature in both the BBC 001/002 pair and the prototype versions that were built at the BBC Research Department at Kingswood Warren, and which more closely follow the BBCs “lossy” thin walled cabinet design philosophy than standard LS3/5as that use normal 12mm thick cabinet walls.

Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V3

Building upon the strengths of the Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V2, the Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V3 retained the same drive units and thin-walled cabinets but substituted the V2 crossover with a new crossover that replaced the iron-cored inductors with very large air-cored inductors. This change resulted in much lower levels of distortion, higher levels of transparency and more attack in the transient response. We gave the V3 the moniker “Ultra Low Distortion Monitor”.

This new version was well received by the press and the user community, with Jason Kennedy of the online hi-fi+ magazine saying "I have to hand it to Stirling; the V3 is a beauty” and users commenting "What the V3s have is almost holographic imaging, subtle layering of instruments and voices within the music. Once heard, I found I couldn’t go back”.

Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V3.2

In 2024 Doug Stirling made the decision to retire due to health reasons. With help from a former customer and close friends a direct sales model was adopted with subsequent reductions to pricing, and selling began. Once the final stock of V3s were exhausted Derek Hughes was again commisioned to design a new V3 grade crossover that could be used to upgrade the remaining V2 stock to V3 standard. The large order quantities required precluded the use of the original V3 crossover.

The new V3.2 crossovers are hand built by Derek Hughes Audio Services and use high-quality Jantzen Cross Cap capacitors and Air Core inductors. Whereas the brief was for a V3 grade crossover this new crossover exhibits slightly improved performance with increased transparency and detail combined with a greater sense of balance, with the degree of improvement varying according to amplification.

User comments for the new V3.2 version include “Phenomenal” (when asked to compare them to standard LS3/5as), "They are fabulous, the insight into music without sounding harsh is magical!” and "I have not heard anything like it. … excellent foot taping groove … Very engaging holographic sound”. Check out the link to the PinkFishMedia discussion on the V3.2s below.