My 8 DAC landed with me the other day so I've been doing some demos at home as the local hifi shops demo room is terrible.. Really bad for bass being lost etc...
First up were the KEF LS50s. Initial feedback:
My 8 DAC landed tis afternoon so I went and picked up the KEF's.
Got them set up on some Partington Dreadnought stands and had them running for about 2 hours now
Sound absolutely fantastic. Phenomenal bass weight for their size and with a superbly detailed midrange and top end...
But...
That seems to be the issue. They're a little too open at the top and with some music the midrange seems to disappear as well...
With electronica they seem to excel but with older stuff (Sam Cooke, Wilson Picket et al) and other music such as Vampire Weekend to Metallica; they become ever so slightly brittle..
Sod's law though that the amp is new but speakers are well run in!
Still going to demo the KEF R100s tomorrow and the Rega RS3s..
Does anyone have experience of the 8 series amps and the B&W CM range and Monitor Audio RX range?
Im still trying to keep my budget to £800 or less... Am I dreaming?!Feedback again for LS50s after a few hours:
The speakers have begun to sound much better! We had a break to have some tea and get the hoovering done (well music was on and loud for an hour whilst the doors were shut).
Same tracks played and the amp is beginning to open up; sounds daft but it could be heard fairly clearly! More fuller bass and not as bright at the top end etc...
Will still demo the KEF R100s and MA GX50s tomorrow...Now to the MA GX50s which I picked up this morning:
Picked up some GX50s this morning for a home demo and took their demo LS50s back...
Initial impressions; stunning speaker to look at. Weighty as well but not as heavily built at the KEFs..
Sound wise; very good indeed. The ribbon tweeter is lovely but I think, for me, that's its downfall.
After hearing the LS50s for a lengthy period last night and again for a few hours this morning their more open soundstage and more detailed midrange and top end really win it for me.
The GX50s are fantastic but they do sound ever so slightly muffled at times and you feel as if you need to yawn and pop your ears lol
Decided against the Rega RS3s as had a quick demo in the shop and they're fairly boxy sounding to be honest and amazingly light...
I also think, after having heard the KEF R100s a few times before, that going back to them would be a slight backward step...
Currently the LS50s are leading the pack by some distance...!Both sets of speakers are very well run in indeed with 500+ hours through them. Been using QED Silvery Anniversay XT and standard QED copper speaker cable from the Cyrus amp to the speakers (standard QED is much better IMO, not as bright) but will be changing to Chord Odyssey 2Music all from iTunes in highest bitrate via AirPlay and ATV2 into the DAC in the amp...
First up were the KEF LS50s. Initial feedback:
My 8 DAC landed tis afternoon so I went and picked up the KEF's.
Got them set up on some Partington Dreadnought stands and had them running for about 2 hours now
Sound absolutely fantastic. Phenomenal bass weight for their size and with a superbly detailed midrange and top end...
But...
That seems to be the issue. They're a little too open at the top and with some music the midrange seems to disappear as well...
With electronica they seem to excel but with older stuff (Sam Cooke, Wilson Picket et al) and other music such as Vampire Weekend to Metallica; they become ever so slightly brittle..
Sod's law though that the amp is new but speakers are well run in!
Still going to demo the KEF R100s tomorrow and the Rega RS3s..
Does anyone have experience of the 8 series amps and the B&W CM range and Monitor Audio RX range?
Im still trying to keep my budget to £800 or less... Am I dreaming?!Feedback again for LS50s after a few hours:
The speakers have begun to sound much better! We had a break to have some tea and get the hoovering done (well music was on and loud for an hour whilst the doors were shut).
Same tracks played and the amp is beginning to open up; sounds daft but it could be heard fairly clearly! More fuller bass and not as bright at the top end etc...
Will still demo the KEF R100s and MA GX50s tomorrow...Now to the MA GX50s which I picked up this morning:
Picked up some GX50s this morning for a home demo and took their demo LS50s back...
Initial impressions; stunning speaker to look at. Weighty as well but not as heavily built at the KEFs..
Sound wise; very good indeed. The ribbon tweeter is lovely but I think, for me, that's its downfall.
After hearing the LS50s for a lengthy period last night and again for a few hours this morning their more open soundstage and more detailed midrange and top end really win it for me.
The GX50s are fantastic but they do sound ever so slightly muffled at times and you feel as if you need to yawn and pop your ears lol
Decided against the Rega RS3s as had a quick demo in the shop and they're fairly boxy sounding to be honest and amazingly light...
I also think, after having heard the KEF R100s a few times before, that going back to them would be a slight backward step...
Currently the LS50s are leading the pack by some distance...!Both sets of speakers are very well run in indeed with 500+ hours through them. Been using QED Silvery Anniversay XT and standard QED copper speaker cable from the Cyrus amp to the speakers (standard QED is much better IMO, not as bright) but will be changing to Chord Odyssey 2Music all from iTunes in highest bitrate via AirPlay and ATV2 into the DAC in the amp...
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