KEF LS50 - for David@FrankHarvey

[John Duncan]

Hi-Fi News & Record Review?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Review by...? (No actually, let me take a wild guess

)

 

[Frank Harvey]

......

 

[matthewpiano]

Review by...? (No actually, let me take a wild guess

)

John Bamford. I was surprised it wasn't KK.

 

[The_Lhc]

Review by...? (No actually, let me take a wild guess

)

John Bamford. I was surprised it wasn't KK.

Kim Kardashian? #downwivdakids

 

[Andrew Everard]

John Bamford. I was surprised it wasn't KK.

Ah right – me too, given how Ken was raving about the speakers at the show!

 

[Frank Harvey]

There's a YouTube clip of their Munich launch, with a certain Paul Messenger sneaking a peak behind the ad board between the speakers looking for a subwoofer....

 

[chebby]

There's a YouTube clip of their Munich launch, with a certain Paul Messenger sneaking a peak behind the ad board between the speakers looking for a subwoofer....

I'll do the link then...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTYVcb1X4vI

 

[Frank Harvey]

Sorry, I was on my phone

 

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know how these speakers would compare to a pair of Monitor Audio Apex A10's.
Would they be better?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Way better, but will require some decent amplification as they'll be ruthlessly revealing.

 

[Jumping Jack]

How would these match with a SuperUniti?

 

[The_Lhc]

Way better, but will require some decent amplification as they'll be ruthlessly revealing.

Don't be ridiculous, haven't you read The Apex Club thread? There's NOTHING better than an A10! Why there's even a whole suite of films that sound rubbish on any other system except Apexes (Apices?). That's what they appear to be saying anyway.

 

[Deliriumbassist]

I got wind that my local Superfi was getting them in, so I left them my number to let me know when they had landed- got that phonecall on Wednesday, went in yesterday. WOW. They ran them with a Kandy K2 setup, and they first used the Dali CD with Skunk Anansie on it- the bassline was coming through really nice and punchy. We also tried some 30 Seconds To Mars, InMe, Sigur Ros and Yves Carbonne. I felt they reached down into the bass extremely well for the size, but it was the soundstage that really wowed me. I was considering the R300s, but I may well save £200 and go for these!

 

[Frank Harvey]

How would these match with a SuperUniti?

They'll work fine on a SuperUniti - we've been running ours in on a Nait XS for two weeks now, and like the R Series, have found they work extremely well with Naim amplification. If you like low bass, you may want to try the R300's, but I feel the detail level and more open nature of the LS50's win out.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Way better, but will require some decent amplification as they'll be ruthlessly revealing.

Don't be ridiculous, haven't you read The Apex Club thread? There's NOTHING better than an A10! Why there's even a whole suite of films that sound rubbish on any other system except Apexes (Apices?). That's what they appear to be saying anyway.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I can't seem to find the post, so maybe it was on another forum, but I'll mention it anyway. The UniQ used in the LS50 isn't identical to the R100's - improvements have been made to the voice coil to facilitate a better low frequency response, as well as improvements to the acoustic and mechanical damping.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all.

I am interested in getting the ls50's. I have a few questions after reading this post.

Am I supposed to run them as 4 ohm or 8 ohm?

Is my high end choice of a nad c390dd a good match?

Is my low end choice of nad375bee too weak?

Or is there a better integrated amp for these?

I am trying to build a 2 channel system for music with female vocals and jazz. I'm more concerned with clarity not bass.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I haven't heard the NAD C390DD, but I do like the LS50's with Class D/digital amplification, so it should work well. I'm sure the C375 will drive them fine too. As you're after clarity, Class D should give you that in spades.

You could also look at the Primare I22, Onkyo A9070 or A9000, Musical Fidelity M3i, Leema Acoustics Elements, Cyrus 8A, and the Naim Nait XS.

 

[Anonymous]

Awesome thanks for the response. I will look into each of those suggestions.

Any more info on running them as 4 ohm or 8?

 

[Anonymous]

Don't think you get the choice, their nominal resistance(impedance) will be either 4 or 8 ohms and this will change over the frequency range that the speaker is required to work.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't think you get the choice, their nominal resistance(impedance) will be either 4 or 8 ohms and this will change over the frequency range that the speaker is required to work.

on the nad 390dd I know you can set the ohm setting on whatever you want. I was wondering after reading this post if I should pick 4 ohm as a setting even though the ls50's are rated 8?

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry didn't realise the amp had this feature.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The LS50's will dip to 4ohm, so it might be best to choose this setting. Unless it acts like an AV receiver where it restricts the current output to "play safe" - if you're not playing at high volumes, this wouldn't be an issue anyway.

 

[Anonymous]

The LS50's will dip to 4ohm, so it might be best to choose this setting. Unless it acts like an AV receiver where it restricts the current output to "play safe" - if you're not playing at high volumes, this wouldn't be an issue anyway.

ok I never really blast my music really. Thanks again.