Audiophilepure

Small speakers are limited by their physique and I have yet to audition one that is of such superlative design and performance that a separate, outboard crossover box is utilized. But two-way small speakers are not expected to deliver the same volume as full-range floorstanders, and that very limitation is a blessing in disguise. Even then, I have auditioned bookshelf speakers from companies big and small in the past few years and the Rogers is the first pair that warrants a formal review.

Accurate speakers are an essential editing and mastering tool, and some designs I auditioned were revered by professional studios but tonally boring to my audiophile sensibilities. Food without flavor is not nice. The new Rogers LS 3/5a 15-ohm is accurate enough to reveal changes upstream and is full of flavor, and listening to it play music is quite an experience. Speakers of the Rogers caliber and stature selling for $3,350 the pair accords everyone the opportunity to experience the BBC sound at least once in your lifetime.

I pulled the Sapphires another foot out away from the wall and, voilà, something magical happened: tonal balance evened out, a rock-solid and articulate low-end seemingly emerged out of nowhere and a cavernous and finely layered soundstage dissolved the front wall. “Now we’re cooking,” I said, smiling.

A subsequent conversation with Clayton convinced me that there are two reasons that my revised positioning brought the speakers into their own. First, put the Spatial Audio Lab M3s too close to the wall, and the bass energy coming out of the rear of the M3 Sapphire may create out-of-phase bass reflections off the wall that cancel out bass response, resulting in the kind of “leanness” I had experienced. In other words, unlike most box speakers, placing an open baffle speaker too close to the front wall behind them tends to diminish rather than reinforce bass response.