Rogers LS3/5A Replacement Recommendation

I've had the same dilemma for many years! I tried all sorts of different speakers but always went back to the LS3/5a. I used them with a subwoofer - compensates for most of their deficiencies, especially if you cross them over at 120Hz.

I haven't owned the Rogers, but have listened to the Totems, and like the soft tweeter, more open stage, and better bass of the Reference 3A mmdeCapo, $2400.00 new. A Canadian company that also makes the same speaker in a granite enclosure, I'm told, for over twice the price. Has a carbon fiber driver with a soft dome tweeter-with no crossover.

Check out the Spendor SP3-1P. It is 2-3 times the size of the 3/5a (still relatively small), and uses a larger low frequency driver. It retains much of the 3/5a's magical midrange, yet with more extended top end and substantially deeper, and heftier, bottom end. List price is right at $1500. There is a nice review from TAS on the Spendor website. A second option is the Rogers ll ohm 3/5a with the AB 1 subwoofer. There is a used pair on Ebay just now for $895, which is a really good deal. Just remember that the newer models take a REALLY long time to run in. I hooked my 11 ohm units up to an FM receiver 24/7 for two weeks, and this yielded a nice improvement. (They were purchased used, too.) A second round made less difference, but I like them much better than when first purchased.

I owned Harbeth HLP3 and LS5/12a for 6 years and they are nice improvements on the LS3/5a. However, with small "woofers" you always get small sound. The 5/12's did have better bass than the P3's. Having heard the ProAc's I'd have to say that the Harbeth's have better music.
Another option, though I have not heard them, is the small speaker from Coincident Speakers (www.coincidentspeaker.com)
It's a little larger, and also has a larger (6 1/2") woofer. It's quite efficient (something that the Harbeth's are not). With the increased efficiency and larger driver, bigger sound and more bass should happen.
There's also the Audio Physic Step, but I've not heard those either.
My experience with the Harbeth's was that the lack of bass got tiring and I had to get a small, fast subwoofer (hard to get one that had a fast enough driver).
Harbeth eventually came out with a passive subwoofer for the HLP3, the X-Tender. The X-Tender also functioned as a stand for the P3's. The driver is same as in P3. I used the X-Tender with the LS5/12a's and the sound was great for most all music with a good bottom to the sound. I don't know if Harbeth still makes the X-Tender or not.
BTW, I no longer have any Harbeth speakers as they were sold last year when I got new, and larger, speakers.

Thanks Paul: I didn't mention the Trente because I did not audition them (out of fear:-) and the lowest I have ever seen a pair offered at was $1800, think they are usually around $2000 used right now.

I wasnt going to respond to this but now I guess I have to. The Harbeth Compact 7's that I own, are not "compact" at all. They are about 6 or 7 times as big as the LS 3/5a in volume, ie, twice as high and deep and maybe 1 1/2 as wide. They are wonderful and if you can use a speaker that large, check them out by reading the reviews downloadable from the Harbeth website and call Simply Music, an Audiogon dealer and their North American distributor. I also have a pair of LS3/5a size Harbeth HL-P3's that I prefer to the ProAc mentioned, but it does not really have more bass than the 3/5a and it is small scale.

If you like the ProAc it's a good bet in a small speaker. Reference Audio Video is a good source.

It seems to me though that if you want to stay with a small speaker and can spend a little more money, JM Reynaud makes something better than the one Dekay mentions (the "Trente" maybe?), and there's a small Sonus Faber model too. In the same small size as the 3/5a (almost) but with a lot of bass and louder bigger sound is the Totem Model One.

You should try to listen to some of these.

I owned your speakers (the Rogers) from the late 70's through the mid 80's (I do regret selling them) but now am happy with a pair of Renaud Twins, which retail for a little more than half of your stated budget. They are exceedingly musical. Had I wanted to spend more money, I would have gone with Silverline SR17's (I think that is the model number, it's the one with the angled sides like a cathedral ceiling). They are very reasonable when purchased used and are generally sold well within your budget. Both of these models struck me as being "musical", more so, IMO, than the many other mini monitors that I auditioned and they also perform well with most types of music (they are easy to push as well). But as with all things in this hobby, it is really up to your personal taste. There are other small British speakers that I have heard good things about but that I have not auditioned. The one that comes to mind is a small Harbeth model that PaulW at this site owns. The thing that struck me most about the Rogers "was" their musicality and I think that you may want to search along these lines instead of super Hi-fi models that kill at imaging, detail, etc. This is the path that I chose anyway as I listen for hours on end. Good luck.