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Graham LS5/8 Loudspeaker
The LS5/8 is the BBC’s flagship design, and was developed because of the need for higher sound pressure levels and greater transparency and consistency than the ageing LS5/5 offered.
The BBC LS5/8
The LS5/8 is the BBC’s flagship design, and was developed because of the need for higher sound pressure levels and greater transparency and consistency than the ageing LS5/5 offered. This was the first BBC loudspeaker to use a polypropylene diaphragm which, being lighter than Bextrene, offered greater efficiency and lower colouration. A carefully researched cone profile enables the unit to work successfully well into the midrange.
After many months of intensive development, the Graham Audio LS5/8 refines the concept further. Designed in conjunction with Derek Hughes and Volt Loudspeakers and manufactured under license in the UK, it features a unique 12 inch bass/mid unit that is married to the same 34mm Audax tweeter that is used in the LS5/9.
As with all our BBC monitors, the cabinet is a finely tuned structure that uses high quality birch plywood and hardwood batons. The 12mm panels are mass-loaded to move resonances away from the midrange region and Rockwool is used in preference to cheap foam for air damping.
The design retains the same midrange clarity and balance of the LS5/9, but offers an extended bass response and greater authority at high level in larger rooms. The continuity of sound quality between the two designs means that engineers can move between the two different loudspeakers with complete confidence during the recording and mastering process.
The LS5/8 was originally conceived as an active design, but Derek Hughes has designed a passive crossover that greatly improves on the resolution and imaging of the original design while still conforming to the demanding BBC specification.
The LS5/8 is available in Cherry. Optional Finishes available with tiered pricing.
System: 2 Way, reflex loading
Enclosure: Thin wall construction, birch plywood
Finish: Real wood veneer
Dimensions: 76cm by 46cm by 40cm
Weight: 34kg
Frequency response: 40Hz to 16kHz, ±3dB
Nominal impedance: 8Ω
Sensitivity: 89dB SPL (2.83V, 1m)
Maximum output: Over 110dB for a pair at 2m
Bass/midrange: 300mm Diaphnatone polypropylene
Tweeter: Son Audax HD13D34H
Recommended amplifier power1: 50 to 250 watts unclipped program
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“With its much larger 12″ woofers, the LS5/8’s reach significantly deeper. The speakers also sound more sonorous but only when playing music that actually engages these low bass notes. And when they do, boy, do these speakers GO!”
HiFi Advice, November 2019 <learn more>
“The soundstage depth is stunning, as amazing is the ability of these two speakers, of still contained dimensions after all, to fill with music also very large spaces. All the people present at the Show in Munich in 2015 will be able to confirm this beyond any doubt. …Also impressive is the speed of transient response. …Let me also add one thing: if I had, for some reason, to change my reference speakers, I would replace them with these Graham LS5/8 for all the reasons that I have above mentioned. I cannot find any downside for these speakers even if I try hard to. ”
Audio Activity, July 2016 <learn more>
“The Graham LS5/8 is a mighty fine loudspeaker. Those who value the mid-band and have a need for full-range (or nearly so) loudspeakers should investigate. Those who listen to a lot of vocals and classicals should do so too. The price is not cheap, but here is something that can convey atmosphere when most modern speakers fail to do so. If you know Maria Callas’ inimitable and never surpassed Casta Diva, you will know this factor is critical. Enthusiastically recommended!””
Doctorjohn Cheaptubeaudio, December 2015 <learn more>
“The LS5/8 is extremely smooth across the midrange and bass, with an effortless dynamic range that only a big, easy-driving bass unit can bring.”
Hi-Fi Plus, October 2015 <learn more>
“In some respects, BBC-derived loudspeakers are the easiest products to review. If you like the sound of one, you like them all – they just get bigger, capable of going louder, with deeper bass, and more dynamic range. The port changes the parameters, and a 100+ litre ported loudspeaker with a 300mm drive unit is never going to sound quite as fast and as lithe as a five litre sealed box with a 110mm ‘bass’ driver – but the basic character is retained across the board. And that’s what you have here in the Graham Audio LS5/8. It is a loudspeaker that perfectly follows the BBC legacy and heritage. This is a loudspeaker that might have forever been hidden away from public view and the last of the line of BBC speakers could have just been a footnote in audio’s history. Graham Audio deserves great credit for bringing these classics to light.”
HIFI+, (UK) November 2015 <learn more>
hi-fi+ Editor’s Choice Award 2020
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