Rogers originally intended the LS3/5A to be stacked on top of the AB1 and spikes are provided with them to do this to make mini-towers. It was thought at the time that because the drive unit in the AB1 fired vertically it would have little effect on the performance of the 3/5a when used as a stand. Experiments have shown that a significant improvement in quality can be achieved by seperating the LS3/5A and AB1. I first saw and heard this positioning used by Jo Ki in Malaysia in his system and have come to call it “Ki’s Method”, although it may be that the idea was thought of elsewhere as well.
Jo has wired his LS3/5As and AB1s in parallel and not in the conventional way as shown in the diagram. The + terminals on the AB1s and LS3/5As are wired together as are the -ve terminals. In theory this gives a bump in the bass because the LS3/5A is no longer rolled off. In practice Jo’s system sounds superb.
Pictures of Jo’s LS3/5A & AB1 system on the HiFi Unlimited blog.