Opinions on Rogers Studio 1, Please?

[bretty]

Hi,

Just bought some of these second-hand. Stunning sound. The dealer said they were BBC monitors. Is that correct? Are they well known? cos i'd never heard of them! They're horrible to look at, but I couldn't refuse that sound. The most realistic vocal reproduction i've ever heard.

Any feedback appreciated. 

 

[matthewpiano]

I haven't heard them so can't comment on the sound but they are certainly strongly related to BBC monitors. Look at the following link for more information:

http://www.mhennessy3.f9.co.uk/rogers/others.htm

Hope this helps.

 

[Anonymous]

I have heard them mentioned many times before in the same sentence as "quality".

 

[Olli1324]

My dad runs a pair off a rotel 1070 pre/power combo. His system sounds absolutely awesome (compared to anything else I have heard), and that is with the speakers in absolutely god awful positions. I can't imagine what it would sound like properly set up.

Out of interest, what would I be looking at to get similar/better quality than the Rogers?ÿ

ÿ

Edit: Also, if you don't mind, what did the Rogers cost you?ÿ

 

[bretty]

I paid £125. Bargain.

 

[Olli1324]

125 quid. That is less than my Wharfedale 9.1s, and there is absolutely no comparison between them. If I had a bigger room.......

 

[Anonymous]

I have been using apair of Rogers Studio 1s since 1980. My wife hates them because of their large square box appearance (known as the "Woodstock" generation look). However the sound is now, and always was, amazing. Periodically I try to replace them by borrowing a demo pair of newer speakers from a high end edealer. Whereas I can find comparable speakers, I have found nothing that significantly supersedes them at a reasonable price. (At today's value, meaning under $2000 a pair). I use them with a Linn amplifier, which has a 4 ohm output and the Rogers are nominally 8 ohm, but they still sound incredible. You must, however put them on stands at least 18 inches high. My only mild complaint is the XLR connectors they come with - which are not good for connecting heavy cables.

If you have picked up a pair, stick with them. They are good.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm a former BBC Engineer and I can tell you that the Rogers Studio 1a was not a BBC design. Other similar models were produced for the BBC and these generally had the prefix LS, such as LS3/5a, LS5/8 etc.

The Studio 1a was regarded as a very fine loudspeaker and many of my BBC colleagues had these for their own home hi fi, myself included. They particularly popular amongst people in the sound department.

I first encountered these speakers in the master control room at a well known satellite broadcaster, where I also did freelance work at the time. I didn't notice them for months until a feed of an explosion came in. - WOW!! - The fact that you did notice a pair of loudspeakers is an ultimate accolade in my view.

I have looked to repace my old Studio 1a speakers on a number of occasions but have simply found anything that even compare with them. I drive them with an old Quad 303 and the combination is simply superb.

Getting a pair of Studio 1a's for £125 is a snip but you have to be acreful about the bass units sagging. The surrounds are very compliant and after time, the bass cones will tend to sag down and rub against the magnet despite having ferro fluid applied.

A great pair of speakers!!!!

 

[chebby]

I have looked to repace my old Studio 1a speakers on a number of occasions but have simply found anything that even compare with them. I drive them with an old Quad 303 and the combination is simply superb.

Have you tried the Spendor SP2/3R2s?

They look similar in proportion and only slightly smaller in cabinet size. (But they are about £2300)

 

[bretty]

I thought this thread was long gone!

Thanks for your comments, Gastropod. After having the Rogers for nearly 3 years, i'm still just as impressed with them as I was on the day I stole them for that rock bottom price! Like you, I sometimes get the 'upgrade for upgrades sake' itch, but I never pull the trigger because nothing that I've heard has comprehensively bettered the big ol' Rogers. The Mordaunt Short Performance 6 that I heard were probably their equal on vocals, and possibly had the edge on the Rogers' on the lower fequencies but, and it's a MASSIVE but, they cost £3500!

Thank you, too, for your comment about the bass drivers. Luckily mine have had a pretty easy life, before they came to me and the surrounds are still spot-on. I hope to get many more years of hassle-free enjoyment out of them!

Brett.

 

[Anonymous]

I picked up a pair in nice shape for ten dollars at a garage sale, still need stands for them though... Is there something in peticular I should be looking for?

 

[howardedwards1]

I am a former BBC engineer, and spent a good three years testing and evaluation loudspeakers in the now defunct BBC Equipment Department in Chiswick. In April 1980, I purchased a pair of Rogers Export Monitors for £250 (BBC staff discount price) which was a lot of money in those days. They were terrific. Not long after that, Rogers allowed me a free upgrade to Studio 1s - the cabinets wrere identical to the Exports, so all I did was to exchange the baffles (with all the drive units and crossover on them) for a pair of Studio 1 bafffles.

Those speakers are still in regular use in my lounge - they are still my main Hi-Fi speakers (I have a pair of Q Acoustic 2010s in my study-they also sound excellent).

I see no reason to change my Studio 1s as I still think they sound amazing. Luckily, my cones haven't sagged! Every now and again, I 'squeak' them with a sweep sinewave from my signal generator. The sine waves still sound OK - any cone formers rubbing against magnets due to surrounds sagging would produce a buzzing sound - ie the sinewaves sounding a bit more like squarewaves! Although they are not directly a BBC design, they were heavily influenced by BBC speaker design philosophy and I would say that they belong to the same genre as the Spendor BC1s, (and a similar Harbeth design). a large number of which were in extensive use in the BBC, particularly in the radio network continuity suites in the 70s and 80s.

Even if I were to buy new speakers for my main listening, I wouldn't get rid of the Studio 1s. There is too much of my past professional life tied up in them ! I only hope that if the drive units start to sag before I do, then I could get replacements. Perhaps I should have invested in spare drive units (when I bought the Studio 1s) and stored them safely just in case !

Howard (Ted) Edwards

 

[spikeanded]

Hi, out of interest are you the same Ted Edwards that had a stint at BBC Enterprises in 1984 - 85? I was there as a newly recruited junior engineer (Tony Osborne) and have recently developed an interest in vintage speakers and now also have a pair of these. Any further information gratefully received.

 

[Melchior]

Writing from USA:

I bought a pair of these in 1982 or so, at a cost of $1200. For a while I was delighted with them, but eventually the slow midrange just became unbearable. Using a single driver for the bass and mid-range simply involves too much compromise of both bass and midrange. I sold them in 2001 and got Yamaha NS-1000M speakers, which are superior in every way, though older.

The bass was boomy (caused by the small 'loose' driver and using a port) and the midrange was thick and slow (caused by using the same driver as the bass). The high end though was superb. All in all, the speakers were just too severely compromised to be satisfactory.

Not recommended!

 

[milsymoo73]

Help please from any Roger enthusiasts !! My father sadly passed away a few years ago and we have his roger speakers that he loved and raved about. He told us that they were pretty special ones (BBc?)and he bought them for a lot of money at the tottenham court road in London at a specialist shop. I have this pair that I would like to sell and I don't have an idea where to start or how much to sell them for .. I have photos of them and serial numbers at the back.

8 OHMS

300 WATTS

[style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"]86 5DB[/style]

Can anyone help me please and guide me in the right direction of how to go about selling these .. Thank you Camilla

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_112409879102632]

If in good condition and fully working are really very good speakers, if not the best looking, if you still id be interested !!

 

[ted_edwards]

Hi Tony,I had completely forgotten I had put that post up re the Rogers Studio 1s. Just came across it again and noticed your post. Sorry for delay in replying. Yes, you are right, and I remember you in BBC Enterprises Production Operations. I'm still in touch with Chris Maidwell and we regularly swap gags by email. We were mates in Equipment Dept before joining Enterprises. I've lost touch with everyone else in that dept although Chris says he is still in touch with Steve Owen. I thought I saw Steve once in Shrewsbury while I was driving along a road there (Steve's home town). My wife and I often used to go to Shrewsbury when we lived just over the border in Powys for about 7 yrs. I've noticed your name a few times on credits at the end of some TV programmes, but I've forgotten what it was to do with. Vision mixing/video effects ?

The Studio 1s are still going strong and they may well outlast me !! I love them. The cabinet veneer is a bit tatty in places - bringing two children up and moving the speakers from one house to another several times over the years was bound to take a toll. After leaving the Beeb, I got involved in adult education in north Wales.

Regards, Howard "Ted" Edwards

 

[ted_edwards]

The above should have been a reply to #13

 

[hybridauth_Google_101682570978177434853]

Hello Mr Edwards,

Hope you can see this message.

I'm interested in knowing the similarities between the Rogers and the Chartwell Studio 1, which I've been enjoying for over 20 years. As far as I can tell, they look virtually identical. As I can find little to no information on the Chartwells, can I use the spec and general comments intended for the Rogers as a substitute?

Also, any history and information you have about the Chartwells will be greatly appreciated. Thx in advance!

Tony

 

[bretty]

Well, it's been a good old while since I've been on here!

It's the end of an era, the hifi is being sold off. The Gyrodec, Rotel RCD-991 and Exposure amps have gone. Last to go are the lovely Rogers. They are on eBay right now.

Be a sad day when I post them off to their new owners!

 

[DIB]

You're the second person this week I know on the hifi forums who's selling up lock, stock and barrel.

Have you fallen out of love with music then Bretty?

 

[bretty]

Hey, nah I still love music but I don't have the time to have monster listening sessions like I used to. And I'm expanding my business and need a cash injection, so the hifi had to go.

Is a shame though. I'll definitely miss the Rogers when they're gone.

 

[DIB]

I notice in your first post many years ago Bretty, that you described these speakers as horrible to look at!

I've had a look at your Ebay ad and they look perfectly acceptable to me, and I think you were a bit harsh BITD

I'm almost tempted.

.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hey, nah I still love music but I don't have the time to have monster listening sessions like I used to. And I'm expanding my business and need a cash injection, so the hifi had to go.

Is a shame though. I'll definitely miss the Rogers when they're gone.

So what are you buying/purchased to replace your bundles?

 

[bretty]

I was a bit harsh. They grew on me over the years.

Im not replacing them any time soon, pp. I've still got my home theatre set up, that'll take up the music duties for the foreseeable. I see you've shifted the cdp. How come?