LS3/5A Union Audio Anubis Beydas Audio Stirling Falcon

Click pics to enlarge. Falcon Gold Badge on stands. On floor, AE2 SE, Anubis, Aosibao 6P1 amp and Chinese 300B monoblaocks. Preamp is Weiliang clone FM Acoustics next to the TT.

Review: Anubis “LS3/5A”, Part I, A Cautionary Tale

This is likely one of the hardest articles I have had to write. I stared at the blank page for quite a while, before deciding to just plunge on. There's no escape.

First, I had to own up to the fact that whatever good vibes I had initially did not withstand close scrutiny; second, this loudspeaker, as I gradually discovered, has one of the most peculiar responses I have ever encountered. It was not that I didn’t harbor any doubts early on, it was that I simply didn’t pay enough attention when I should have.

My Initial Reaction was documented here. See pics of the Taobao Page at bottom. It must be mentioned that, given my satisfaction with my heavily used main system in the study, the Anubis was only meant to serve just occasionally in the LR, in a more casual manner. I just placed them on top of a low TV cabinet, very close to the front wall. I picked it simply because it looks good and is the cheapest LS3/5A “clone” (little did I know how far it has strayed). It did completely trounce my leftover Sansui AV Rear Loudspeakers I was using before (easy feat really). However, in many ways, what I wrote about its balance still stands. Like the LS3/5A, it is quite pleasing and balanced in the vocal range and it does disperse widely, at least more than my previous Sansui (but more laterally than front to back, now I know). I wasn’t asking much of it.

I did feel, even from early on, that there is a somewhat congealed feeling about the sound 浓得化不开, and a certain lack of air. Changing loudspeaker cables and jumper wires did not significantly ameliorate that, but I wasn’t seriously concerned.

Meeting Falcon LS3/5A proved to be illuminating and perplexing (Top pic; I haven’t written this Home Visit up yet). About 3 months ago, my friend Honwo and I paid a rare visit to David (aka daiwok of Lencoheaven fame) in Dongguan. He was among the early adoptees of the Falcon. He built the (then available) kit himself (but did not apply the supplied bitumen) and upgraded to the Gold Badge Crossover. Now, this marked the first time I heard the Anubis in-room (in fact, half-way into the long axis), on proper stands. The host was using a Chinese 300B amp and I also brought my Aosibao 6P1 PSE amp (which I preferred on that occasion). The Anubis sounded better than in my LR, BUT whereas the Falcon threw a very deep soundstage behind, the Anubis was mostly confined to the loudspeaker plane/axis (the line linking the 2 loudspeakers), with not much behind. It was kinda like mono (but even good mono can go deeper)! No wonder the somewhat congealed feeling I had before! Very strange, an experience I have never had with any other loudspeaker. Honwo said the Anubis was forward, but I think that’s not quite the case - there is little real depth that the sound is mostly collapsed into a single vertical plane, so that the term forward even loses its meaning. The LS3/5A is famous for its imaging prowess, but the Anubis fails miserably in this department. That said, the perplexing part is that I did find the Gold Badge Falcon too lean in the midrange, and tonally (only) I preferred the Anubis. The contrast between the two was stark, to say the least!


Latest Incarnation of the Study. Sharp eyed readers will have noticed that I have now also the 11 ohm Beydas Stirling (on stands, with the 15 idle tot he fore). They are more similar than different, but the 11 is perhaps even closer to the LS3/5A. Article to come.

The Chinese “Stirling” 史特灵 (made by Beydas) then entered my life (here in Chinese; product unfortunately not available outside of Chinese speaking world; if u are in the west, don't even try, just to save your time), and it was a revelation. This is yet another LS3/5A clone I discovered recently but its performance completely destroyed the Anubis. Mind you, if I had not harbored doubts about the Anubis I’d not have taken another chance! It is not available outside China (including HK) and likely will end as a limited run with no future production in sight (this is inside news). The performance of the “Stirling” was so good that I finally bought a pair of stands for the study, which now permanently (if I can say that about my somewhat nomadic existence) includes a pair of the “Stirling” as reference! Of course, I did bring the Anubis in and it did throw a somewhat better soundstage than at daiwok’s, but let’s put it this way, the quasi-mono plane in front is still there and whatever there are in the soundstage behind are more dimly lit than should be. I then bought another pair of stands for the LR and the Anubis sounds better there too, but still not close to the “Stirling” (yes, I did bring the “Stirling’s” out to the LR too).

Reader Shawn P Weighs In Shawn was kind enough to write a blip on his perceptions. So as you know I'm not alone in my findings:

"First off, thanks for John’s invaluable suggestion on the Anubis positioning. I had no experience with any version of LS3/5a and John’s suggestion improved the sound stage enormously. Just about all aspects of the Anubis improved with his suggestion.

Regarding how the Anubis sound, vocal was great with the Anubis and I picked a good “vocal” CD for the first run and that was the main reason for the initial good impression. I enjoyed the entire CD.

I then tried a few CDs which had good balance between vocal and background (based on my regular speakers). Problems emerged, the vocal was still there but the background became distanced and confined. It sounded odd, simply put.

Instruments sounded sort of glued together. There was no weight or texture, as if the only information I had was that there were guitar, piano and bass at the background but they were not contributing to the music. It sounded odd.

I was eventually able to find a few CDs which had good balanced sound stage with Anubis but why were they so rare with Anubis? The speaker positioning was good, and I had listened to those CDs for many years.

Anubis did have nice vocal which stood out and perhaps why Anubis was a 霎眼嬌 for me. "

The Postmortem There is nothing much left (of the Anubis) after the above encounters - except to open it up (as a reader, likely Malaysian, suggests), AND plan to modify it (which is why there shall be a Part II, not any time soon though). Wow! Look at the pics!

Unlike what my Malaysian (I presume) reader commented on, the cabinets appear to be plywood (the ads said Russian Ply). Note the tell-tale chipping of the edge of the top layer in one of the pics. Except around the area of the binding posts, the cabinet has been treated with Bitumen. It should be noted that bitumen treatment was used in the original LS3/5, but I’m not sure of all subsequent A versions (the Falcon uses them). The woofer is Chinese. The tweeter is unidentified (the Taobao page says imported silk dome parts). The wires I’m not happy about, stiff and ungainly. The Crossover is on a Circuit Board (the copper traces are not robust either), and only 5 components as opposed to the 10++ ones of the original 15 and 11ohms! Values are erased. Careful reading of the TB page indicates this is second-order, whereas the original is probably third-order. Just contrast that with Beydas’ “Stirling” and you shall see the divide. Yes, just like what they mentioned on the TB page, the product is “in the spirit” of LS3/5A, not an attempt at replica. It’s funny that it seems to disparage those who do! Problem is, their "spirit" seems far astray of the BBC intentions.

The Anubis seems to have been around a while. The TB page credits (which turns out to discredit) HK veteran Wilmer (威马, whom older HK audiophiles will remember, but he was never a person of particular import) and a certain Ouyang from China. Combing the Chinese net yielded very little, but it does seem early on there was another participant named 小刀 (Chinese for dagger). Unfortunately, blind men could not re-construct the elephant that is LS3/5A. 这一次，三个臭皮匠，凑不出一个诸葛亮， 远尓！The Beydas “Stirling” in details of execution (like the expensive Autoformer laden crossover) and in sonics just completely put the Anubis to shame, and I’d love to know who’s behind!

Anubis is sold by Union Audio 联盟音响 of Guangzhou, who does a brisk business with “own-design” loudspeakers that kinda look like large ATC’s, sporting Eton woofers. They also made clone electronics, ranging from “McIntosh” to “Pass Lab”. Yes, I’ll pass. FYI, I actually did contact them early on in the hope of obtaining more info on the Anubis but, no, requests for crossover pics and response curves were not fulfilled.

I decided to write this mainly in English because I know Anubis has a dealer in Singapore (whose website is stuffed with the same hyperbole) and an older KS version is still sold on Aliexpress (here). Buyers beware. My experience should serve as a cautionary tale for you! A misstep for sure, but one that indirectly generated a real find (Beydas).

寄语香港及其它东南亚地区华人朋友：如果想买老翻35，切记我的经验，把联盟 Anubis 忘得干干净净。光有长相没有用的，打肿脸子充胖子，只是一个扶不起的阿斗。12.10 晚 8 点 淘宝 12.12 活动就会提早展开，抢一对 史特灵 是上着。内幕消息是贝达斯不想后续，所以可能成为绝唱。智者先行动为妙。短期内，在 12.12 前，我会另外写一篇关于 11 ohm 的文章，会包含我香港朋友的经验，到时见！

Anubis TB Page says Russian Plywood  

and Second Order Crossover

Claims about its Sonic Attributes, including imaging,

 are at odds with the listening experience

Claims that it will trounce other loudpseakers

 under 5K was repudiated by Beydas

Aosibao APPLauseAudio Union Audio Anubis LS3/5A Xinyi Sini

Click all pics to enlarge. Above, from National Geographic, a man living on the receding shoreline of Java, Indonesia, has his house flooded with water as a permanent and worsening state. I doubt he still listens to his audio, but it's obvious they are his worthy possessions. 

Editor’s Note: A New Trajectory, Previewed
Letter from Shenzhen (22-11): My Lowest Fi - but a High
HiFi Basics: What’s the Correct Audio Value (and Why Bluetooth can Help You)

Editor: Subsequent events prove that I was not entirely on the money with the Anubis. Its place in the living room means less critical listening. Simply put, the clone ("Stirling 史特灵") just completely killed it. I have opened up the Anubis and a post-mortem is coming. 

I shall start with myself (and it’s lengthy), but this Note is not just about myself. Collectively, this Blog has some new and surprising articles coming from its authors. This is kind of a Preview.

This letter first traces an Inner Journey of mine that led to the start of a new phase here in China. Shenzhen is literally a stone-throw away from Hong Kong (where I still have quite a bit of treasured audio equipment). Yet, with the complicated requirements of border crossing, and consideration for family, one cannot easily move around, and so for now I don’t have access - neither to equipment nor the large number of exceptionally endowed fellow audiophiles (only in terms of equipment).

The past 10 years For most of this period, although I had drastically (by my standards) scaled down my activities, whether in NYC or HK. I still had access to my stuff and would buy something now and then, not to mention I still had all my audio friends around - and so I still had things to write about.

Pandemic and Watershed Moments The pandemic changed everyone’s life, as it did mine, in more ways than I would want to relate here. In NYC From the Fall of 2018, when I repatriated to NYC, till March of 2020, when Covid hit NYC in full stride, I had not acquired much, nor did I feel the need to. Then, finding myself alone and in isolation, for the next few months (before I exited NYC for HK) I did what many audiophiles did (I’d think): I perused listings and actually acquired a few things (the most notable being my Yamamoto preamp). But by far the most significant event during this period was getting into Streaming and Bluetooth. Reviewing the small and inexpensive gadgets in many ways re-affirmed this blog’s cheaptubeaudio roots. Even more importantly, it portended a way of listening which has extended into my current life here without my humongous collection of LPs and CDs. Mind you, many of my friends in HK, at least those around Icefox, had long been pioneers and influencers in this respect, and I was a latecomer. Now, they are emphatically not novices, but seasoned audiophiles (many use complicated and ultra-expensive horn systems and WE) who play LPs and CDs, but who employ BT a lot for casual listening. I know there are skeptics, but I’d say (and I think my predecessors would agree) that if you can make your BT (or low-res files) sound satisfying to you, your system is right on the money. Yes, given the right circumstances (like in my NYC home) for the greatest pleasure I’d simply play LP, but the portability and comprehensiveness of Streaming is just indispensable, and not partaking in that can only be your loss. In Shenzhen The Past Year and A Half In terms of audio, this period had been the most atypical in my audio journey, indeed an anomaly. I just streamed music and didn’t buy a thing. People like ELO repeatedly reminded me that Taobao is audio heaven (and it’s true), but I never perused it. Indeed, I had gone into Retreat. In terms of exploration of music, if you read my Streaming articles, you’d know it has been the most fruitful. Before streaming it’d have been impossible to think of living here. Without diddling in audio, I had time to expand my musical horizons. Let’s not forget: Audio Hibernation is not Inaction; Music Appreciation continues unabated, or even heightened in sensation. As Alex, once prominent in tri-state audio activities, said in our wechat group, it forces one to listen harder to the music. And that has its considerable rewards (not that my setups sound so bad).

Hitting the Play Button Again
As I mentioned in my recent article on the wildly popular Aiyima T9, the audio aspect of my life here (as opposed to musical appreciation) had started to change after its arrival. Like the advent of Spring, or a single digital switch from 0 to 1, it woke me from an audio hibernation. The last was no exaggeration, for during the preceding year and a half I had not harbored any thought of new acquisitions. It’s not that the Aiyima, competent as it is, is an earth-shattering event in my long audio life; it was just the right timing.

More Personal History

It was not the first time I had taken a hiatus. For the longest time in NYC, as chronicled here, I just used a modest system as a means to listening to music. Thirty years ago I repatriated to Hong Kong. For more than a year before that, having rented out my apartment (and sold or given away my stereo, but not my LP collection) I was kind of nomadic. I then spent some time living with my mother (and saddled her with my LPs) before leaving for HK, and did not really keep a steady system, though by this time I did start to acquire some vintage electronics. When I arrived in HK, as an expat, the University paid for my stay in a hotel. I had in advance shipped about a hundred CDs and listened to them on a Discman I bought, through generic earphones. After 4 months, I was given a cavernous University apartment but I still felt impermanent and did not really install a decent stereo system. Another 8 months later, given a different contractual arrangement, I moved out of the campus into a local “village” type apartment. And gradually there I started to build a meaningful system. I bought a second-hand pair of Spendor LS3/5A (plentiful and cheap in those days) and brought back from the US one of my Dynaco ST70s (with the more desirable earlier trannies). My student DIYed a “Marantz 7” for me and I was all set with a cheap Philips CDP - the rest is history, albeit a very long one which I may write about some day (I am inspired by Signore Surdi’s recent Tannoy article, very much down his memory lane)

Quitting vs Hibernation

I have met many audiophiles who, for various reasons, often rather abruptly, called it quits. Many reasons were offered, ranging from WAF factor, interest in another hobby to lack of money. It’s not my place to question anyone’s choice, but my observation is most of these individuals lost interest in music. If you look into what they listen to, you’ll find a lot of audiophile picks (much mediocrity) but few selections of their own liking. Mind you, the reverse is not necessarily true, as quite a few who are only obsessed with audiophile tracks soldier fearlessly on (but usually the longer they go, the more they begin to like some real music - the power of music is such that few remain incorrigible to the end). Suffice to say, the more one really likes music for the holistic aspect, the more one stays an audiophile (who wants to get more out of music).

Audiophiles are Very Lucky Today

Cheap equipment has improved to such a degree that, if one loves music and develops a strong personal value system, one does not need to spend much to really enjoy music. Even more than that, streaming has put an end to having to own all that physical media (and in cases like my generation, moving them around wherever we go, which btw showcases our dedication to software). Of course, ultimately, vinyl and tapes sonically reign supreme, but those are only for stable (and discriminating) folks to enjoy, and who today will count himself as destined to stay in one place?

Chinese Audio Products, Then and Now
For the last twenty years, perhaps more, many people, including older yahoo cheaptubeaudio group readers, have asked me why I don’t “review” more Chinese products. Well, there had been many reasons, and I must say that my early exposures in the mid 90’s were not encouraging, which stopped me from buying Chinese products (with few exceptions, I only review what I buy), or even from looking at them as bargains. Over the next decade, things started to change as I heard some very competent stuff. Much of it was DIY oriented, but things by then started moving in the right direction.

It was not until the Digital and T-amps arrived that I started to consider the cheap and cheerful stuff. It was really a revolution, as it made good sound available in a small and green package (even an old Class A veteran like Ray of Rayaudio recognizes the development as such). There is no question the Chinese manufacturers saw an opportunity and they surely wedged themselves into the preeminent positions in the bargain market - deservedly so (and here, especially as one who champions efficient loudspeakers, I shall re-emphasize that all the “high-end” digital amps are mostly nonsense).

Bluetooth, and Why it is a Good Audio Tool
As mentioned in detail above, during the pandemic, I finally took up Streaming and BT and never looked back. In terms of Streaming, I use free sources (mostly NML through the NYPL, and sometimes others,) which are not hi-res. I use mostly USB, but sometimes resort to BT, and I don't find the divide so big. Mind you, I’m aware that I’m likely a laughing-stock in some circles. Like everyone, I know BT is lossy, but BT today can be surprisingly listenable (I have been streaming for 2 years, sometimes eschewing USB for BT). What most people forget is that BT is kinda like Radio Wave which is analog in its transmission, and that could be a strength. Talking about the latter, remember the many audiophiles who sneer at FM, who (just like with LP playback) decry its limited bandwidth and dynamics? It’s likely these people have never heard a great tuner. The superb sound of Analog Sources serves as the best proof that there is something seriously wrong with over reliance on measurements.

In audio, I maintain that it matters very little if your system can play audiophile tracks well; whereas it matters a lot more if you can stream over USB or BT well. The former usually means there are many “unlistenable” stuff in your encounters; the latter however conveys pleasure even in musical but not sonically impeccable material. Many years ago, my friend Hoi (a horn user and a classical fan) said to me that it’s most important to be able to playback mono well. Time only makes me agree with him more. There’s a treasure trove of mono stuff that are heritage material (especially jazz) that should be listened to (I spend at least a few hours per month exploring the latest jazz, but I’m sorry to say most of the stuff sound tepid next to a mono Ellington or Miles). One my friend Andy likes is Ellington Uptown. It will likely sound execrable in a “high end” system, but I can enjoy its music with my humble setups, and that is what I advise you to strive for too. This kind of album mercilessly exposes the over-inflated audiophile “values” that often in the name of resolution creep into the system: wiry treble, lean midrange, un-natural bass. When a system is right (especially with horns), this kind of album can be listenable and enjoyable, and our sonically vastly superior audiophile albums that we enjoy for the physical thrills (make no mistake, I love them too) will not be worse for it. In passing, I cannot help to mention that this album, even in a latter day “mono” Columbia pressing (ubiquitous, as it was likely a best-seller in its days) really comes to life with a true mono cartridge (even the ridiculously well built and cheap Denon DL-102)! We often say there has been no progress in audio, which I agree with in sonic terms, though I make an allowance that compact and green and ridiculously cheap modern digital amps have changed the landscape (including mine) forever.

Value, that is what it is. NOT audio value, but musical value - more often than not, you cannot have “all” of both (but you can have most of it if you listen and work hard), and it is YOUR CHOICE. But audiophiles are a masochistic bunch: we mess up ourselves as much as we make improvements, meanwhile murmuring to ourselves that it must be our fault!

A New Budget and Acquisitions
Now, what’s happening to me. After the Aiyima T9, I have decided to spend not much more than USD 1k on Chinese products, and I finally went for some tube equipment (just to remind myself)! This is a much harder decision than you think. Given that I have tons of gear and good tubes in NYC and HK, I’m not about to spend a lot on swapping tubes here. But there is little doubt in my mind that Chinese transformers have gotten a lot better (indeed likely the best in the world now in general), so bring forth the tube amps!

I also got some cheap cables and I’m getting some tools and a soldering station, all to make my life here a little easier and more interesting. I chose equipment that are cheap and good-looking. Some previews:

AOSIBAO 6P1 PSE The 6P1 is not so far away from the 6AQ5/6V6 and EL84. This is a hard-wired, tube rectified, all-tube amp with 2 meters for about USD120. As expected, sweet sound from the 6P1, and it’s a great pleasure to look at! I may do a little tube swapping but it sounds pretty good as it is.

APPLauseAudio 300B amp Finished in hammer tone, in pseudo-WE fashion, this is at least several rungs lower in price from the better known Chinese WE imitators (and miles from that newly launched garbage “WE”). At USD 350, it is hard-wired, double tube-rectified. I also chose it because it uses a 2-stage triode-pentode 6F3 (similar to 6BM8) in front, ensuring good driving power. It is solid sounding and I think will put many competitors to shame.

My preliminary evaluation is that both of these sport decent transformers. I hear good bandwidth and tight bass, signs of quality. They also do not unduly overheat. At this price, especially if you are handy to upgrade parts (which are not bad), they are ridiculous bargains.

Union Audio Anubis LS3/5A (Update 11/27/22: I have kept the original text here, but reservations have emerged - see Editor's Note at top) I wanted another pair of loudspeakers but would not like to spend time auditioning. So I picked this “clone” of the venerable BBC monitor. It freely admits of following the sound but with some updates (and is 8 ohm, though a 15 ohm version is coming). At USD 300, this is an excellent choice. I don’t have my LS3/5As (or Harbeth P3 ESR) with me, but, given my long-term familiarity, I can safely attest that the sound is in the same vein. I’d think it is slightly more polite and less forward in the midrange, smoother and more efficient in the bass. Most of all, it does not suffer from the slower transient of the LS3/5A. It has completely transformed the sound of my System 2 (less used living room). In fact, unlike before, whenever I get the chance now, I happily listen to and tweak this system. I’m struggling over whether to get a pair of cheap stands to use them occasionally in the Study (which houses my main system). See, in audio one thing begets another, and I have to exercise restraint.

XINYI Sini Audio amp Now, this is a real surprise (from here in Shenzhen no less). I bought it with another function in mind, but it came up with such a good effort that I was charmed off my pants. It’s a bluetooth amp with auxillary input and output. The input chip is a Chinese JL bluetooth chip (different from the Aiyima one) but the output chip is the familiar TDA3116 (same as the SMSL I own). There are 4 versions: single 3116 vs double, and audiophile upgrades for both (I guess only caps for USD 2 premium). Given my efficient loudspeakers I opted for the single chip one. The result is so good that I’m contemplating also buying the double-chip one. At USD 6 for the whole amp it is absolutely the LOWEST Fi in my entire life - but that is referencing the price, not the quality! I’d not be surprised if Goldmund takes this, puts it in a nicer case, calls it JOB Mk X, and sells it for Euro 2000. But they won’t as it’ll sound much better than their lousy and crazily expensive digital amps.

I’m just too excited to report all this to you, and there are more, but not too much more. All of these will be duly reviewed in depth soon, so watch this space.

Finally, even more exciting stuff are coming from some of the other Authors! In no particular order:

--For those interested in Tannoy, Michele Surdi has more on amps that he has used and a few loose ends that are quite interesting. Plus, I don’t know where he gets all these nice brochures! His contribution makes sure this site shall contain the most comprehensive useful information on the Tannoy Prestige series. He shall likely contribute on some other surprises too! Maybe the heat in Europe is cooking him to our advantage!

--ELO was abroad and had just returned to HK. His soul searching continues. He has a couple of articles left with me and one audition (albeit brief) is a surprise, on something that I had been interested in a long time. Soon.

--Some of our occasional contributors have things up their sleeves, but they are just too busy. Let’s hope they find a moment to pen something.

--Last, but absolutely not the least, my dear colleague mrgoodosund is boiling soup in a BIG cauldron. I may have inklings, but true to our understanding, I’m not to divulge. I love his surprises, even when his views are not quite in agreement with mine (such as on LTA; but I can totally understand his view). In fact, with like-minded individuals I look at different views as healthy, and contribute to our understanding. No less a mind than the great Kierkegaard argued with himself in Either/Or.

I am thankful for the contributions of all. This blog is not a corporation, does not monetize (even if it can), nor adhere to a schedule or fixed agenda. All in due time. Check back often. Salut!