2. speakers
  3. 131793-2291

KEF LS50... The ultimate anal-ytical speaker for living rooms?

I am looking for a VERY revealing with razor-sharp imaging type of bookshelf,  but not the cost of TOTAL loss of musicality.... In other words, not necessarily full range, but at least balanced - not something that starts to roll-off at 200hz... They would be listened to mid-field, 6-7ft away in a somewhat open space.  Could it be the ls50, or is there anything else around their price-point? Thx for suggestions...
chrisr
chrisr's avatar
chrisr OP
543 posts
 
Thanks for all these recommendations!  If I had the $$$, the ATC, Dynaudio, KEF reference 1 would definitely be in my living room.  But with a son in college, l have to not look in that direction.   I am currently looking at LS50s because I have been trying some kef q100s  this week.  The one remarkable quality in these is their capacity to image and their transparency... they reveal a lot more what's in recordings, which is double edge as they are merciless with so so masterings or sources.  But they stop there.  They roll-off below 200hz, with some peaks here and there, are "hot' with undesirable colorations, and they sound really thin, almost smaller than their size would indicate.  THey were probably meant just for surrounds in affordable HT setups.
But if the Q100s are what the MMGs are to Magnepan's bigger panels, then I am thinking that the LS50s edition must have what's missing with the Q100...
Only one way to find out, right?  I'll try to get a pair for home audition.
thx again for your comments.
glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
1,772 posts
 

I really want to say try a used set of ProAc’s like the Tablet or any in that model rang over the years. possibly the Response 1sc, 1.5 if you can take a small floor model. Great imaging speaker huge width and depth and detailed but not in your face detailed more refined then most smaller speakers for the size and money. ProAc speakers are known for their musicality and imaging, they play nice with tubes only thing they may not do enough of is the hard edges you like but the newer you get the more refined they get.


you could also almost buy a new set for the same price as the LS50

of the current tablet 10. in either ported or none ported versions.

I started my Audiophile journey in the proac Line, still miss them to this day.  

dbphd
1,633 posts
 
I'm using a pair of LS50s driven by Ayre KX-5 Twenty preamp and VX-5 amp.  They are supplemented below 100 Hz by a pair of Velodyne HGS-10s and SMS-1 bass manager with acoustic room correction.  Sources are Ayre C-5xeMP, Oppo 205, and files managed by Roon through an Ayre QX-5 Digital Hub.  The sound is excellent, even for large orchestrations, and a delight for jazz and baroque.

db
yyzsantabarbara
5,123 posts
 
Chrisr,

The top end of the LS50 is detailed and just a revelation to me. I have wrote on here many time at how much I prefer the top end of the LS50 over the top end of my previous speaker, Revel Salon 1 (a $20K speaker). You need to lower your expectations in terms of room size and bass. On a near-field setup, such has my desktop in a small office, it is excellent.
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
One thing that most LS50 owners agree on is the SQ of the speakers depend greatly on how much good power you feed them.  I don't own a pair but have heard them in three or four different systems, including dealer showrooms, and the SQ ranged from mediocre to excellent mostly based on the partnering amplifier. Something to keep in mind.

More to discover