Graham Audio LS5/9. Classic speaker design with a sound that still shines!
Graham Audio has done a great job bringing it to life.
The LS5/9 are a piece of hi-fi history, and should be judged as such. We wouldn’t expect a classic car from the ’80s to be better than current designs in every aspect, and nor would we expect that from any piece of hi-fi.
The shock is just how excellent these speakers sound by current standards. Feed them a good enough signal and their superb midrange, insight and finesse shine through. They sound authentic in a way that still eludes most price rivals, and while there are aspects of their performance that fall slightly behind the very best at this price, these aren’t enough to dull our enthusiasm.
The LS5/9 design is a testament to the quality of the BBC’s engineers of the time, as well as an indication that speaker design hasn’t progressed over the decades as much as we would like to think. Graham Audio has done a great job bringing it to life.
Review published: 29th June 2026
