Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a 15 ohms

Saw the below mini review on cnet and wondering if it aligns with anyone's experience regarding the Falcons. I'm looking for a very compact set of speakers for my bedroom.

"I couldn't resist comparing the Falcon LS3/5a with my KEF LS50 speakers; it's a thoroughly modern design inspired by the original LS3/5a. First thing, the LS50 sounded richer, warmer, with softer treble. The imaging wasn't as big and clearly focused as the Falcon LS3/5a's, and the midrange wasn't as natural on the LS50. They are both excellent, but very different-sounding speakers."
5fef690761032ce6e9f21bc528af14c7.jpg
 
Warm, rich, and soft are the exact opposite words that I'd use to describe the KEF LS50. This hobby is crazy. :D
 
kzhtoo said:
Saw the below mini review on cnet and wondering if it aligns with anyone's experience regarding the Falcons. I'm looking for a very compact set of speakers for my bedroom.

"I couldn't resist comparing the Falcon LS3/5a with my KEF LS50 speakers; it's a thoroughly modern design inspired by the original LS3/5a. First thing, the LS50 sounded richer, warmer, with softer treble. The imaging wasn't as big and clearly focused as the Falcon LS3/5a's, and the midrange wasn't as natural on the LS50. They are both excellent, but very different-sounding speakers."
5fef690761032ce6e9f21bc528af14c7.jpg
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What !?! Must be typo !!
 
I see. Like Joe said, it could be a very fun speakers to own, the Falcon's that is..
 
good morning gents,

I also recently purchased a pair of Falcon Acoustics in Rosewood (run them via a Naim Unity 2) . Fantastic little speaker. However, i was quite surprised to read the latest review in The absolute sound; In my view it was quite negative , and very biased towards the Harbeth p3esr. The interview was almost like a long commercial to buy Harbeth speakers iso giving a good analysis about the ls3/5a and Falcon Acoustics in particular. Now, like some of you guys i also have owned the Harbeth p3esr for several years and also still own the larger super 5HL in another system. Harbeth are great speakers. But in terms of pure musicality and joy the little Falcon wins it from the little Harbeth. Think that Jerome has detailed it very well in one of his earlier messages. Its just funny to see how subjective people and so called experts can be and have opposite views in terms of quality etc.

cheers

leon
 
leon said:
good morning gents,

I also recently purchased a pair of Falcon Acoustics in Rosewood (run them via a Naim Unity 2) . Fantastic little speaker. However, i was quite surprised to read the latest review in The absolute sound; In my view it was quite negative , and very biased towards the Harbeth p3esr. The interview was almost like a long commercial to buy Harbeth speakers iso giving a good analysis about the ls3/5a and Falcon Acoustics in particular. Now, like some of you guys i also have owned the Harbeth p3esr for several years and also still own the larger super 5HL in another system. Harbeth are great speakers. But in terms of pure musicality and joy the little Falcon wins it from the little Harbeth. Think that Jerome has detailed it very well in one of his earlier messages. Its just funny to see how subjective people and so called experts can be and have opposite views in terms of quality etc.

cheers

leon
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Hi Leon,

You nailed it. The Falcon's are supremely balanced.
This is my Falcon set up. Please show us yours !
047e27018987327ad1801059e89b67b5.jpg
 
Very nice set-up you have there Jerome. It looks that you have more than enough space to put numerous sorts of speakers (like AN-E or Devore O96). I will make some pictures later as I'm currently travelling. At the moment I run the falcons on a Naim; i also own a Leben sc 300 tupe amplifier (driving AN-E lx HE) in a second system, but I'm afraid that the 12 watts is just a little short driving the Falcons. Did anyone read the Absolute Sound review ?

cheers

Leon
 
leon said:
Very nice set-up you have there Jerome. It looks that you have more than enough space to put numerous sorts of speakers (like AN-E or Devore O96). I will make some pictures later as I'm currently travelling. At the moment I run the falcons on a Naim; i also own a Leben sc 300 tupe amplifier (driving AN-E lx HE) in a second system, but I'm afraid that the 12 watts is just a little short driving the Falcons. Did anyone read the Absolute Sound review ?

cheers

Leon
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Hello Leon,

Thank you !
Funny that you're thinking about the AN-E. I think about them too !
The room is large yes ( 50m2) but with poor acoustics. Very resonant and clear.
The only speakers that worked here are the P3ESR, the Falcons and the 40.1.
So I am not in a hurry to try something else.
The Falcons, like the P3ESR, are able to fill the room incredibly.
 
Hi all- I've been thinking of trying the Falcons and just contacted a dealer. He said the price started at $3195, which was exactly $1000 more than what I expected. Either he is confused or there has been a (significant) price hike that I didn't know about. Does anyone else have any insight? (I do have an email into Tone Imports but haven't heard back.)
And I am wondering too if people have ideas about amplification. I was thinking either Line Magnetic 211 or Leben 300 or 600. (Huge variation in price of course.) The source is a Line Magnetic 515 cd player.
Thanks for any insights!
Margot
 
mcanaday said:
Hi all- I've been thinking of trying the Falcons and just contacted a dealer. He said the price started at $3195, which was exactly $1000 more than what I expected. Either he is confused or there has been a (significant) price hike that I didn't know about. Does anyone else have any insight? (I do have an email into Tone Imports but haven't heard back.)
And I am wondering too if people have ideas about amplification. I was thinking either Line Magnetic 211 or Leben 300 or 600. (Huge variation in price of course.) The source is a Line Magnetic 515 cd player.
Thanks for any insights!
Margot
Click to expand...

Hey Margot..... That is the correct pricing for the Falcons (well...they actually begin at $3295 so it's really $100 more then what you were told).
 
Last edited:
sheltie1 said:
Hey Margot..... That is the correct pricing for the Falcons (well...the actually begin at $3295 so it's really $100 less).
Click to expand...

Thanks, Sheltie. But any idea what happened? They were being sold at $2195 a year ago, and all the reviews list the price this way.

Does it make sense to folks that they are 1000 more than the Harbeth P3? I am willing to be convinced but struggling a bit....
 
mcanaday said:
Thanks, Sheltie. But any idea what happened? They were being sold at $2195 a year ago, and all the reviews list the price this way.

Does it make sense to folks that they are 1000 more than the Harbeth P3? I am willing to be convinced but struggling a bit....
Click to expand...

Not sure if/why the price may have gone up, but it is for sure the case..... (FYI...this is Taylor at Goldprint Audio, we chatted via email a few days ago).
 
sheltie1 said:
Not sure if/why the price may have gone up, but it is for sure the case..... (FYI...this is Taylor at Goldprint Audio, we chatted via email a few days ago).
Click to expand...

hi margot,

u right; i noticed the price change as well. when i bought my speakers about half year back, i bought them directly from Falcon Acoustics, of the Falcon Acoustics website. however since some time ago you can't do that anymore so you have to buy them from a dealer. The price change i guess has to do because of the dealership in between. In any case, i run these little speakers every day and they truly sound fantastic. I run them on a naim amp , but i also do own a leben cs 300. it sounds fantastic on that amp as well. I think that this little leben is a fantastic amp anyway, but that is a different subject (i run the leben in a second set with Audio note AN-E lx HE ). ideally though according to Jerry (present owner of Falcon) they need a little bit more power to avoid clipping when played at very loud levels. apparently the combination with a sudden a class works very well.

bottomline: my naim unity 2 (70watts into 8 ohm) with the falcons -> superb
my leben cs 300 (12 watts tube) with the Falcons -> superb

cheers,

leon
 
leon said:
hi margot,

u right; i noticed the price change as well. when i bought my speakers about half year back, i bought them directly from Falcon Acoustics, of the Falcon Acoustics website. however since some time ago you can't do that anymore so you have to buy them from a dealer. The price change i guess has to do because of the dealership in between. In any case, i run these little speakers every day and they truly sound fantastic. I run them on a naim amp , but i also do own a leben cs 300. it sounds fantastic on that amp as well. I think that this little leben is a fantastic amp anyway, but that is a different subject (i run the leben in a second set with Audio note AN-E lx HE ). ideally though according to Jerry (present owner of Falcon) they need a little bit more power to avoid clipping when played at very loud levels. apparently the combination with a sudden a class works very well.

bottomline: my naim unity 2 (70watts into 8 ohm) with the falcons -> superb
my leben cs 300 (12 watts tube) with the Falcons -> superb

cheers,

leon
Click to expand...

Hi Leon-
I guess that's it; I hadn't realized that the guy who was selling them before was Falcon Direct (I thought he was in Florida) but it must be the move to dealerships that is responsible for the price increase. Like I said, I wish I had purchased them before. I was slowed down a bit by the Absolute Sound review, before I decided I didn't care....Oh well.
Great news that the Leben is a good option! My room is really small (9 feet by 11 feet) and I don't play loud so I am thinking the Leben CS300XS at 15 wpc may be enough. But I would also spring for the 600 if it's a safer choice with a bit more power. Or think about Line Magnetic 211 too. The Leben is appealing because of the option of 16 ohm taps, which seems like it would work really well with the Falcons....
Thanks again! Margot
 
mcanaday said:
Hi Leon-
I guess that's it; I hadn't realized that the guy who was selling them before was Falcon Direct (I thought he was in Florida) but it must be the move to dealerships that is responsible for the price increase. Like I said, I wish I had purchased them before. I was slowed down a bit by the Absolute Sound review, before I decided I didn't care....Oh well.
Great news that the Leben is a good option! My room is really small (9 feet by 11 feet) and I don't play loud so I am thinking the Leben CS300XS at 15 wpc may be enough. But I would also spring for the 600 if it's a safer choice with a bit more power. Or think about Line Magnetic 211 too. The Leben is appealing because of the option of 16 ohm taps, which seems like it would work really well with the Falcons....
Thanks again! Margot
Click to expand...

i mentioned it before but i was very surprised reading the absolute sound review; personally i found it very biased. i have owned the harbeth p3esr for about 3 years myself (and also still own the super hl5, which i have lend out to my sister since i just have collected too much hifi ...) . the p3esr is also a very good little speaker, but for me the Falcon wins it in overall musicallity. i guess we must conclude that taste is very subjective, also if you look at the super review they got in Stereophile. One more thing about the leben in relation to your room size. the 300 (or indeed the 300f or 300xs) punches well above its weight. and at half the price of the 600 i would at least try to do the comparison.

cheers
 
mcanaday said:
Hi all- I've been thinking of trying the Falcons and just contacted a dealer. He said the price started at $3195, which was exactly $1000 more than what I expected. Either he is confused or there has been a (significant) price hike that I didn't know about. Does anyone else have any insight? (I do have an email into Tone Imports but haven't heard back.)
And I am wondering too if people have ideas about amplification. I was thinking either Line Magnetic 211 or Leben 300 or 600. (Huge variation in price of course.) The source is a Line Magnetic 515 cd player.
Thanks for any insights!
Margot
Click to expand...

Hi,

First time I post here. I build the Falcon Acoustics BBC LS3/5A Kit few months ago when they were still available at their online store. I can’t say the Falcons are better than my Harbeth Compact 7 ES-3, but I enjoy them more. I tried the LS3/5A with my Leben 300XS and IMHO the Leben is not powerful enought to drive them. However they do love tubes. With my Audiomat Reference, it’s the perfect match. As much I like the Leben, I guess the Line Magnetic would be a better bet here (same EL34 based integrated amp).

Bert
 
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