RMAF 2018 - The BBC LS3/5A 1968-2018: The Icon Live

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Speaker: Jerry Bloomfield, Falcon Acoustics – Oxford, England

The BBC LS3/5a is one of the most iconic loudspeaker designs ever created. It is still being produced in 2018, 50 years after the original design work was undertaken by the Research and Development Department of the British Broadcasting Corporation ( the BBC).

This seminar will trace the story and the design behind the LS3/5a, starting with the development of the drive units by Malcolm Jones of KEF (the founder of Falcon Acoustics) in 1964. It will examine how the BBC Specification and design brief for this small speaker evolved over time, and the re-design in 1974 which resulted in the Classic LS3/5a which was then produced commercially in large numbers.

We will be looking at the various subsequent versions of the LS3/5a made over the production period and detailing the technical changes that occurred. We will also be showing the complexity of parts and engineering skills needed to produce a genuine authentic hand built BBC LS3/5a. We will also touch briefly on the various clones, facsimiles and fakes that have appeared over the years.

Falcon Acoustics and Malcolm Jones have been involved with the LS3/5a since the design was first conceived, and for this RMAF seminar we have uniquely bought over from England a full range of working examples and archive parts from the whole period of development and production. These range from the LS3/5 (1969/70), BBC R&D Reference versions, production versions from the 1970’s and 1980’s, right through to the Falcon Acoustics Classic 15 ohm LS3/5a in current production and the Falcon Acoustics Active LS3/5a currently in development.

All these versions will be demonstrated as the seminar progresses, and for the first time it will be possible to hear and compare versions from 1970 right through to 2018.

THE RMAF 2018 Seminars are sponsored by EnjoyTheMusic.com