KEF Ls50 driver issue!

[spl84]

Wow! that's sad....

 

[nopiano]

If you zoom in on your very first picture, you'll see it. Whether it's a mark on the tweeter part or just something stuck to it I know not!

You’re right, it looks like a ‘nibble’ out of the extreme edge. In practice, it quite conceivable in a domestic setting that somebody has walked past with something perhaps long and pointy - a telescopic tube from a vacuum cleaner, and curtain rod, an umbrella, could be almost anything. It catches the edge of the tweeter, and dents the outer area on the way past, with barely a tap noise.

All supposition, but a theory at least.

 

[Stuart.W.D]

FAO: 12th monkey & nopiano!

Sorry, I thought I had covered the debris between the tweeters at 2 o'clock in a previous post. Updated image! 📸

After giving the KEF's a thorough dusting, I turned them on to observe how it affects the sound. The vocals are distorted.

 

[davidf]

I appreciate your perspective. I spent most of the night looking through various American sites and gathering information. These images, comprehend the appearance of a blown LS50 driver. The comparison is vastly different from my driver, which I'm putting down to a durability issue. The amplifier is not the culprit in this case.

Those examples are definitely overdriven - yours is more like physical damage. Abuse tends to be more uniform around the cone, particularly long term stress.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

My money's still on accidental and unnoticed damage.

 

[nopiano]

FAO: 12th monkey & nopiano!

Sorry, I thought I had covered the debris between the tweeters at 2 o'clock in a previous post. Updated image! 📸

After giving the KEF's a thorough dusting, I turned them on to observe how it affects the sound. The vocals are distorted.

Missed this post. If you put @ in front of a user name it creates a link. Like this @Stuart.W.D

How are you getting on?

 

[Jimboo]

Missed this post. If you put @ in front of a user name it creates a link. Like this @Stuart.W.D

How are you getting on?

Not being funny, what hoover do you own ? Really looks like it was hit. Someone hoovering probably wouldn't realise they had struck the speaker.

 

[clevs121]

I recently discovered that I purchased them on 20 March 2019, not 2017 as I had previously thought. I have included a picture of the driver in natural daylight. @Gray - The speakers are located on the opposite side of the room from the radiator. My heating system is a kerosene oil tank located outside which heats the radiator. It is on for only one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening during the cold days. Due to the increase in oil prices in Europe.

I have same issue please see photo these speakers are 3 years old and i paired them with a Roksan k3 amp

 

[clevs121]

Also the other speaker seems to be going the same way as the other ive contacted Kef so will wait to see the outcome. I dont play too loud so im gutted i have this issue.

 

[nopiano]

Also the other speaker seems to be going the same way as the other ive contacted Kef so will wait to see the outcome. I dont play too loud so im gutted i have this issue.

Welcome to the forum, and sorry about your KEF woes.

Something not quite right seems to be happening here, but it’s not clear if this is ‘user error’ or design weakness, or something else. I appreciate that these are huge selling speakers, so that’s important for context. Have they ever been stored face down?

Yous looks more internal than an external impact, so hopefully your guarantee will cover it. I believe the warranty for drivers is five years, so I hope it’s all registered.

 

[davidf]

Also the other speaker seems to be going the same way as the other ive contacted Kef so will wait to see the outcome. I dont play too loud so im gutted i have this issue.

You don't necessarily have to play them too loud, it can be down to playing strong bass through them, stronger than they're designed for, which produces over-excursion of the mid/bass driver. LS50s are ideal for small to medium size rooms, as it's a 5.25" bass driver (less the surface area lost to the HF unit).

It will seem a relatively common problem because people who happily use them day in day out with issues aren't posting up photos on social media - only those with issues. Used within their limits, nothing will go wrong with the drivers. I've owned them myself before (on two occasions) and never had any issues.