The revival of the BBC monitor speakers - Interview Graham Audio

We have a very interesting talk with Paul Graham and Derek Hughes about the Graham Audio speaker line-up ánd the history of the BBC monitor speakers.

[@KajottR]

I love my Spendor A2 (with vintage Accuphase E-212) It sounds phenomenal! Thank You BBC!!! Greetings from Bavaria

[@realitytunnel]

Fascinating to hear from the designer himself and some of the history and anecdotes!

[@Boatzerama]

I love my Falcon LS3/5a. The midrange and high frequency detail are excellent.

[@joseluisrodriguezpitarch71]

Im the owner of two BC1/69 LIMITED EDITION 1994. Im in love with. As classical piano player nothing can compare in terms of neutrality and mid-range ❤

[@trevorbartram5473]

I recently pulled my Tabor loudspeakers from the basement and was surprised by how good they sound. I built them in 1978, they were a HFN&RR magazine design by Malcolm Jones of Falcon Acoustics using: Audax drive units, 3/4" flooring grade chipboard, 1/8" hardboard veneer and lined with bitumous felt panels. They weigh 50lbs each. I'd like to replace the crossovers using higher quality parts but cannot locate a crossover schematic.

[@PaulSerat]

The SA3 sounded quite good, in my living room in 2008, but the Audax tweeter was limited, as Derek said. Nothing over 14khz. A lack of sparkle, and at higher volume, it began to sound like a small transistor radio. The model we see here should be quite good, where does the tweeter comes from ? And is the price blown up a bit ?

[@markwarne-d1y]

Hi, An excellent video. Can I ask you a question, please? I have a Sugden A48 Amplifier and would like to pair it with one of your speakers but not sue what I should go for? Many thanks Mark

[@michaelvincent8306]

@@markwarne-d1y have you considered the spendor bc1 if you have a large enough room or much cheaper the bw dm 4 both excellent and gives any modern speakers except the very expensive ones I tried dozens of modern speakers until I heard a pair of bc1 and gave up the upgrade ladder

[@markfischer3626]

Could you discuss the "BBC dip" in the frequency response, the thinking behind it when it was developed, and is it still considered valid and used today?

[@TheAlphaAudio]

We can find out and write about it. No problem.

[@michaelswitzer3186]

A question about amplifier pairing with the Graham speakers: to best preserve the rich mid range that the Graham speakers are known for, is one better off pairing it with an amplifier that is also warm or instead one that is more neutral?🎉

[@Cipollae]

@@michaelswitzer3186 FWIW: Graham's US distributor, On A Higher Note, claims that somewhat neutral sounding amps like those from Luxman are a less than stellar combo with these speakers, and suggests to go for Moonriver amps (which have the reputation of sounding warm and tube-like). Please do keep in mind, however, that they are also the US importer of Moonriver products and ceased distributing Luxman a couple of years ago.

[@alfovebraseth]

Interesting, thanks

[@TheJohnniegolden]

Does the " LS3/5A" made by Harbeth or Falcon these days mean it could be used as either a critical/notsomuch critical homestead speaker? Is that model definition a vaguery for cross-marketing purposes?

[@TheAlphaAudio]

I don't know... I have not tested those.

[@anandshah71]

Has anyone made a diy ls35a in active configuration I have a miniDSP 2x4hd don’t want to make passive. Any links will be great

[@TheGranty1739]

Any decent mid-fi speaker could do the job of a monitor in an OB van or three feet from the ears in a studio ,Wharfedale Delta 30s for example at a considerable saving of public funds.

[@ReferenceFidelityComponents]

Great interview and I have a lot of respect for Derek. However, not one single damped thin wall design I’ve heard convinces me it’s the best way at all. I can hear colourations an all of them at lower mid and low frequencies, the worst sounding for me being slh5 Harbeths, truly coloured and awful sounding things! Heresy? Honesty. Thicker, stiffer heavily braced and damped plywoods from an engineering perspective or high density wrmdf’s are technically the better way as they shorten time of resonance and push it up out of the midband meaning cleaner and more timbrelly accurate bass. I also dislike the b110 because it’s horrible thing to work with and you need a complex crossover to tame it which affects efficiency. There’s much better available today and the only reason remakes of the 110 are used is to cash in on its legacy, simple as that. However I agree with Derek on his approach generally and bow to his huge experience . The loudspeaker world would not be the same without him.

[@thomasschafer7268]

😅😅😅 exorbitant hohe Preise für einen 3wege lautsprecher. 1000€ Chassis Preise +crossover + sperrholz. 14000€ ein Witz. Sorry.