In the here & now. To get a legitimate reference for this audition, Craig Wu, CEO of the Melbourne-based Rogers distributor Dared Audio, inveigled a pair of rare Rogers LS3/5A 15Ω from a friend. They were part of the last production run in 1987 before Rogers turned to the 11Ω version. They'd been given to his daughter who painted them white to suit her home's décor, leaving him, Craig and myself speechless. See below.

I also had on hand a pair of Quad’s exquisite new Z1 ribbon speakers priced at $3'499/pr. The designer of the Z series is the highly regarded Peter Comeau. The Z1 that is in honour of Quad’s original corner ribbon speaker comes equipped with a 90x12mm ribbon tweeter crossing over at 3.4kHz to a 150mm glass fibre driver. The Z1 has a sensitivity of 86dB and a nominal impedance of 8 ohms. Size is 21.9 x 38.3 x 28.3cm WxHxD. Internal volume is 10 litres. From my brief time with the Z1, I can tell you that it's lightning fast and much quicker than any Rogers new or old. It's also immensely detailed thanks to that ribbon. As for the crossover between moving coil driver and ribbon, it was barely perceptible. Tonally, the Z1 is more Quad ESL57 than ESL63.



Facing the music. The opening track of Sam Baker's Say Grace is laced with tuneless and grating electric guitars either side of a cavernous soundstage where Baker's dry solo voice is centered. What should be a musical experience engendering compassion for the human condition prevails as smugness and satire on less-endowed equipment. Both LS3/5A pairs and the LS5/9 recreated the subtle musical clues hidden in the soundstage, keeping Baker's message of compassion intact. The Z1's soundstage was the equal of the LS35/A but not as wide, deep or detailed as the LS5/9.
Division Bell is one of Pink Floyd's most artistically even albums and a paean to loss and longing on a cosmic scale. What do you expect? Floyd albums are always  massive productions and at loud listening levels, many small speakers fall apart in distress. Tracks 3 to 7 range from wailing single vocals joined by complex harmonies to pinpoint guitar licks and ascending guitar riffs for a must-have disc on rhythm, pace and timing wrapped in an enormous 3D soundstage. Both LS3/5A struggled as the volume increased. Not so the LS5/9 or Z1 which coped with what seemed like confident ease.