Advice on Sterling LS3/6

I have not listened to the LS 3/6. But if you want to compare speakers it would be the Harbeth 3 way Super HL5 plus ( I own). I have also owned that Spendor and many other BBC type speaker . At that price of those Stirlings I would grab them. I don’t see you going wrong with them. Just remember to get nice stands with them!

I haven't heard the Sterlings but did buy a pair of Spendors from Jeff Stake about 15 years ago.  He was very accommodating for both the listening session and the subsequent purchase.  (Looks like he don't carry Spendor anymore.)

My advice - at that price, buy them!  I owned a pair and also a pair of Harbeth Super HL5 Plus 40th anniversary edition at the same time.  As mentioned, the Super HL5 Plus is the correct speaker in the Harbeth lineup to compare the LS3/6 to.

If you like vocals and listen at reasonable levels as you indicated, and like neutrality as well as great imaging and soundstage, then that's what the LS 3/6 excel at.  

The LS3/6 and Super HL5 Plus are more alike than different.  The Super HL5 had just a _little_ more detail, but that detail could also come across as being more "bright" than the LS 3/6. 

The LS 3/6 do not lack in detail in any way, but listening to them both, you'll notice just a little more with Harbeths.  If I were to make a percentage comparison, I'd say you get >95% of the Super HL5 sound with the Stirlings.  They're also very nice looking and don't have the fussy grills that the Harbeths do.  If you're sensitive to "bright" speakers or prefer a neutral to warm presentation, you'd probably prefer the Stirlings over the Harbeths. 

They really appear ideal for me.  I told Jeff I'll take them.  Many thanks for the comments.

Congrats! I’m really jealous of your deal…

You said you intend to use a ss amp with them, but, if you’re not religious about this stuff (and maybe have the option to comparison shop?), the Stirlings sound fantastic with tubes. 

I am very impressed pairing my modded Peachtree Gan1 with my Spendor SP3/5R2 speakers,  so I thought I'd stay with the Gan or newer class D amps - but I'm open to tubes.  Any recommendations?  Budget is only about $2000, though.  Used is fine.

Since you like that Peachtree with your Spendors you should stick with that amp for your new Stirlings. No reason to explore uncharted waters!

I'm a tube guy but I wouldn't be in a hurry to find a tube amp for those under $2000. ;-)  I used to own the Spendor LS3/5's and I found they mated well with a very well-restored vintage tube amp of around 30 wpc.  I've heard other Spendors with similar vintage tube amps and receivers, and they worked nicely.  You might keep your eyes open for a *professionally* restored Eico HF-87, or a Fisher or Scott receiver.  Some Fisher 100AZ's would be lovely, or a Marantz, but $$$!  And you need to know what you're buying.  But as I said, don't just buy any old budget tube amp.  Just my .02.

@yogiboy The reason for looking for a new power amp is that I've implemented the Bacch4Mac system.  Edgar recommended that I not use the Gan1 even though I upgraded the RME interface to enable a coax out.  Long story.  Suffice it to say, I need an amp that accepts analog input, preferably balanced.

@dogearedaudio I will keep an eye out for a used Eico.  However, I am very intrigued about perhaps using a restored Fisher or Scott receiver.  I'm in Chicago and have an excellent guy who specializes in restoring vintage audio equipment.  Thanks for the suggestions.

You're welcome.  A well-restored Fisher 500c is, IMO, a musical instrument in its own right, with a midrange of exceptional beauty.  The 400 is nice too, though not as refined (IMO).  The Scotts are a bit on the "sweeter" side, if that's what you like--smooth and liquid.  The Eico HF-87 is, how to put it?  Just a dandy amplifier.  They used to be sleepers--I bought mine 25 years ago for $200, though I stupidly traded it away a long time ago.  Now they go for much more than that, but usually less than $2K.  Anyway, nice speaker purchase, I'm jealous!  My old ProAcs are getting a bit crusty but I keep them going. ;-)

BTW, how do you like the Bacch system?  I demoed it, and Edgar couldn't have been nicer or more helpful, but apparently balanced ears are a requirement and I have significant high-frequency loss in my left ear, a congenital thing.  Because of this I could not hear the effect--at all!

Buy them. No brainer at that price, given your goals / budget.

Gig Harbor Audio will make nice stands for you that will further upgrade them.

I am very familiar with the Hughes designed Graham LS8/1, which many BBC connoisseurs feel is the pinnacle of the Spendor BC-1 lineage of speakers (i.e., two cubic foot box w/8" woofer, 1" tweeter).

I haven't listened to the Stirling, but I expect you will get a lot of performance from them for $4k (closer to $6k if you get really good stands). Great value proposition, enjoy them in good health.

does he have more? It looks like a fantastic deal. 

I’ve been using Quicksilver tube amps for years with any BBC type speaker that I have owned. The Mid Mono tube mono blocks would be a nice pairing with those Stirlings. My friend is using this solid state Van Alstine with his Harbeth M30s. Both of these brands are worth a look. BTW, they are not balanced if that is what you really need!

Vision SET 120 Power Amplifier – Audio by Van Alstine (avahifi.com)

Yes, I also use the Mid Monos with the Stirling LS3/6 and they sound wonderful.

For some strange reason, however, they do not match very well with the MC275, 

With the stock Mcintosh tubes, allegedly made by J J, the sound is too bass heavy.

Or it might be my room, I do not know.

The Quicksilver are really a perfect match with the LS3/6 if one decides to go with tubes.

@yogiboy The Quicksilver amps look great, and reasonably priced.  Funny you should mention the Van Alstine SET amps as I had my eye on them for awhile.  Will check out both.

@grislybutter I will ask Jeff if he can get another pair

Thanks to everyone.

Oh, the Bacch system is very interesting.  Using it in a suboptimal room now, but with well-recorded tracks the effects are terrific. Imaging and soundstage are taken to a new level.  To give just one example, in Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side, there is the section where he sings, "and the colored girls go do, da-do, da-do" and then you hear them.  With Bacch they start they start way in the background with a light, ethereal do, da-do.  Gradually they move forward, expand in presence and volume until they are placed between you and Lou, singing on the plane of the speakers.  Wow!

I’m glad you enjoy it. I kept my demo long enough for a audiophile friend with far better ears to hear it, and he could hear the effects clearly, even in my sub-optimal room.

I’d forgotten about Quicksilver, that’s a nice little "KISS" amp and the price is right!

thank you @treepmeyer !

@grislybutter Jeff said to email or call him and he would see if Stirling can send another pair of LS3/6.  Google Jeff Stake HiFi in Bloomington, IN

thanks @treepmeyer

it won't be for me (i wish) so I will pass it on 

The Stirling LS3/6 can serve as an “end game” speaker for many listeners. The biggest caveat is that in moderate to large rooms, the bass rolls off steeply below ≈45Hz. Wall reinforcement can somewhat lower that cutoff but the speakers need a decent amount of space to produce the clearest midrange, largely due to their thin-panel design.

The good news is their woofers can be upgraded to the 8” Seas Curv cone (as I’ve done in my Stirling SB-88s) without any requisite crossover mods. This woofer will give a little more extension and considerably greater bass dynamics and punch. Other than some soldering, the upgrade is “plug n’ play.” The Curv cone also has superior bandwidth and better suited to being crossed over above 3kHz. 

The lower tweeter can also be upgraded to the Seas Prestige H0881. 

It has a rear chamber that the original lacks, which might account for the improved performance, albeit the improvement is smaller than that of the woofer upgrade. Again, this driver is essentially “plug n’ play.” 

<$4K is a steal for the LS3/6 IMO, especially for those who already own good subwoofers. Some do indeed seem to prefer the SHL5+. However, IME, the Stirlings (even the smaller SB-88s) can handle a lot more power and play much louder before straining than can any of the 8” woofer Harbeths. The Harbeths have a higher sensitivity though, so for those who prefer low power amps, they are perhaps the better choice (price differential ignored). 
 

Last I knew, Doug Stirling was still the owner of Stirling Broadcast. If he sold the company to Derek Hughes (who was only contracted to design the speakers AFAIK), that’s news to me. 
 

Sorry, my confusion.  It's Doug Sterling who is retiring and shutting down Stirling Broadcasting, not Derek Hughes.  Thanks for the correction.

Hi,

I've just joined the forum as I spotted this thread.

I'm the guy that visited Doug Stirling earlier in the year to find that he has health issues and needs to retire, but had a fair amount of stock left. So I took on the challenge...

I updated his web site and the attractive prices for the LS3/6s, and SB-88s, are down to me - I looked at his competitors products and how they were perceived/reviewed in the market and repriced his speakers, which had got priced quite high, to more realistic levels.

In the case of the LS3/6 I took into consideration REG's review that put the LS8/1 and LS3/6 on a level playing field if you added a sub to the LS3/6, so the price difference should go a long way towards that.

For the SB-88 I therefore did a similar price reduction, comparing to the latest Harbeth C7 version.

And then cut the prices by 30+ percent as we were selling direct, so Doug still gets a decent amount whilst they present a bargain for the buyer. There is actually another 7% taken off the prices shown on the website for direct (non-eBay) sales, which helps with the shipping price.

Once the stock has gone I will be taking control of all the spare drive units, as we have quite a few, but I shall also make a note of those drive unit substitution recommendations above (after clearing them with Derek when I next talk to him).

Derek Hughes is still consulting for Graham Audio and is quite busy, but he has designed and is building, along with his daughter, high grade crossovers for our LS3/5as so I can upgrade them from V2 to V3.2 in order to sell them more easily. Consequently I have become a dab hand at making tygan grills, although it still takes me 50+ minutes per pair :-(

For anyone after LS3/6s we have 6 pairs (I thought it was 4 or 5, will have to check) of cherry left, plus another four pairs I could build up but they don't have grills - I might look to make some though.

And we have quite a few pairs of SB-88s left, in different veneers.

And limited numbers of v3.2 LS3/5as as I convert them. I've been an LS3/5a fan all my life (nearly 61 and own ls35a.com) and these are the best I've heard, baring my ones with external crossovers.

I've no financial interest in Stirling, other than receiving a few speakers and other bits for compensation for time and petrol and other expenses (over 3k miles now going there and back to work).

If you email sales@stirlingbroadcast.com it will be me answering.

Andrew

And referring to the driver changes, the OEM drivers in the LS3/6 and SB-88 are actually SEAS units anyway - the bass driver has some custom doping applied by SEAS to Derek Hughes specification.

Same with the original bass drivers used in the LS3/5a V2 and V3, they are SEAS units with custom doping applied by SEAS.

SEAS have changed their business model though, and will not now supply those drive units unless in very large quantities.

This was one incentive to get involved with the sales, to secure those drive units so they don't get 'lost' when the company shuts down.

My 11ohm LS3/5as that use the Cicable external crossovers requires the SP1228 B110 variant, and those drivers are available anymore, so I wanted to delay the time that that is the same situation for Stirling speakers.

I also wanted to secure the stock of the Scanspeak tweeters used in the early V2s, as these are also not now available and the replacement uses different mounting points. My Xtracable external crossover require this tweeter. This tweeter does seem to fail often though, so I might eventually have to start recommending the Hiquphon OWI-92 tweeter as the only option.

The situation with the LS3/5as is somewhat relieved by later V2s using a Swisstone driver, which is a Volt produced driver with more Derk Hughes specified doping applied.

As we have around 60 pairs of these, and I can source more if I need for servicing, when I do the conversions of V2s to V3.2s I am replacing any SEAS bass drivers I find with these Swisstone units, so increasing the stock of spare SEAS LS3/5a bass drivers. Derek has designed the v3.2 crossovers to use either bass drive unit, according to some jumpers on the PCB.

So anybody who buys a v3.2 with the SEAS bass units in is able to switch to the Swisstone units if needed later in their life. There will be some V2s out their wth the Swisstone units, but all other V2s and V3s will be SEAS and so may require the SEAS spares. 

We have quite a lot of the SEAS tweeters used in the LS3/5a and the topmost tweeter in the LS3/6, but these have also proved to be pretty robust.

The Stirling LS3/6 is such an amazing speaker.

I own a pair and I recently purchased the Harbeth 40.3 XD a few months ago and let me tell you, the LS3/6 is not embarrassed by the big Harbeths. 
The Harbeths work better for me because of my large room but I did not sell the Stirling because I felt in love with their sound many years ago when I first purchased them and I am still in love with them.

Their sound is natural, their midrange is addictive, they match nicely with a variety of tube amps, they are beautifully crafted, they are transparent to the source, man, I should stop cause I can go on and on forever.

I might add that Andrew did a phenomenal job packing up the pair of LS3/6 that I bought.  Jeff Stake was a pleasure to do business with, too.