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LS50 + Sub Or Floorstander?

I’ve been happy with my LS50s from the day I got them. But there’s no getting around the fact that they are small bookshelf speakers. While bookshelves undoubtedly have their advantages (ease of placement, imaging, coherence), I find myself thirsting for the bass and sense of a floorstander. Particularly the bass.

I’ve been preparing myself for the thoroughly enjoyable task of making my rounds of NYC’s stereo stores, listening to some of the many well-received floorstanders in the $3,000 range. Maybe even blow the doors out on a pair of Proac DT8s.

But is that the best way to go? What if I add a subwoofer(s)? That will solve my bass problems, right? Probably better than most floorstanders. But will it give me the sense of big, orchestral scale that I associate with floorstanders? (I don’t listen to a lot of orchestras but I still want a sense of scale.)

I listen to indie rock and jazz, 66/33. (One percent for Sinatra.) My room is a thoroughly medium sized 15x20. I think it would be perfectly happy with a small floorstander and none that I’ve read about top 40 inches.

After all is said and done, new cables are bought, the LS50s are sold, etc., the bookshelf plus sub configuration will be significantly cheaper than the floorstander. No small consideration.

I’d much rather make this decision based on first-hand listening but I don’t think that will be possible. I’ve never heard of anyone auditioning a subwoofer, probably because of the difficulty of setting it up properly. So I need all the help I can get. 

Thanking you in advance.

paul6001
zufan's avatar
zufan
563 posts
 

Currently own Blades, mainly bc 5 yrs ago I owned the Ref 1, the good ones that are $6k ish. They’re smallish but they bring the thunder. And of course you maintain the uni-q coherency. Nothing like them.

Well tannoy & fyne mebbe. I owned fyne 501 last yr, & my buddies didn't believe their eyes or ears when I played them. 

yyzsantabarbara
4,989 posts
 

I had the LS50 for a decade and recently got the LS50 Meta. What a speaker, so much better than the LS50. More clarity, detail. and the speaker disappears better. I have it hooked up to KEF KC62 sub which I have raised off the floor on a bar stool. Now I have not compared it to the sub on the floor. It sounds too good, and I am lazy to do so.

My room is not too big, 12x 11 x 9. I think this is the ideal sized room for the LS50. I had the Thiel CS3.7 in this same room before the LS50 Meta, The Meta is a much better fit in this room. I did have the CS3.7 working fatigue free in the room. The smaller Meta + sub just fits and sounds better in this space.

I was going to get the Yamaha NS3000 monitor from Canada because I love the bigger NS5000. The NS3000 is about $9K USD. I got the LS50 Meta first because the old LS50 got damaged, and I always want a LS50 around. 

The level of quality I heard on the LS50 Meta + KC62 sub made me forget about buying anything else for this room.

The only time I was disappointed with the LS50 Meta was one day when I listened the whole day while working deep on a project. At the end of the day, I was thinking the magic is gone with the LS50 Meta. Maybe I need to revisit the NS3000 idea, I found out that I had turned off the sub the prior night when I was listening to some headphones on my 2-channel gear. Turned the sub back on (wirelessly) and the magic was back.

Do not let the relatively low-cost fool you. The LS50 Meta and KC62 sub in a small room is reference level sound. I use Benchmark AHB2 monos on the speakers.

 

 

 

ddd1
261 posts
 

Subs will make a big improvement but the LS50 is still a small speaker in the range the subs don’t cover. Plus a couple subs that match the quality of the LS50 are expensive and require a crossover frequency that is higher than optimal. Personally I prefer standmounts that go low enough in the bass or floorstanders.

yyzsantabarbara
4,989 posts
 

I should have also mentioned the new Baby Blade, KEF LS60. Sell all your gear and just plug these 2 speakers into a wall outlet. Done.

musicaddict
382 posts
 

I'd probably side with small floorstanders for the sense of scale, especially in a room of your size (and I've heard LS50s several times). You may not get as deep bass as a  separate sub, but many great 2.5 or 3 way designs have in-room performance rather low and a good sense of body, or of a larger sized speaker-I get it.

My 2.5 way speakers manage solid in-room to 31Hz with two 4.5" mid/woofers and ports, in a 17x21x10 room with openings. Small floorstanders, well-designed can accomplish a lot of most musical requirements, IMO.

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