KEF ls50 - Highly Recommended

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alchemist 1

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jaxwired said:
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What stands are you ls50's on jaxwired ? :)
 

alchemist 1

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FrankHarveyHiFi said:
Try listening to No Doubt's Hella Good on them - this track seems to show how solid and powerful the bass can be. It's not the be all and end all of bass tracks, but I was quite surprised how good this sounded on them after being used to how good the track sounded on Reference 4.2's...

Also try Avalon by Roxy music, stunning sound. 8)
 

recruit

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I got to say this but they look the business Jax, I really do love the distinctive looks of the LS50's and of course I bet they sound great too :)
 

The_Lhc

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Saw these in my local KEF dealer today (bit surprised, didn't think they'd have them, they don't carry the R series for example), they look lovely, had a brief listen but couldn't get much of an impression because of how they had them set up, about a foot off the floor, less than two feet apart and right up against the wall, they sounded very nice but I couldn't get any impression of soundstage or anything like that. Interesting though...
 

jaxwired

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plastic penguin said:
Interesting - look a lot bigger on stands. How do they compare with PMC DB1is?

I'm a big fan of PMC and the DB1i's in particular. IMO, both the PMCs and the KEFs are pack leaders in their price point, however, they don't sound quite the same. I would say the PMCs are slightly more colored sounding and the KEFs are more accurate. Both have great clarity and detail, but I think the KEFs are more true to the source. Doesn't mean I'd pick the KEFs over the DB1is. The PMCs have more bass IMO and colored or not, I just plain love to listen to them. What makes the KEFs remarkable is the price. I've never heard a speaker this cheap sound this good. I did have to play with room position to get great sound though. Before I found the right spot, I was less impressed.
 

ID.

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Thanks, Jaxwired. I'm admiring your listening room as much as the kit.

They sound great, although Youtube + my Mac's speakers mean that I'm probably not really getting a proper idea of the sound.

With a baby in the house, I think speakers with grills might give a little more protection (who am I kidding, once he's a toddler nothing will stop him). I'll check out the LS50s at my local dealer when I have the time, but I don't think I'll be trading in my PMCs yet. If I happened to come across a set 2nd hand at a good price, that might be a different story.
 

DIB

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ID. said:
Thanks, Jaxwired. I'm admiring your listening room as much as the kit.

They sound great, although Youtube + my Mac's speakers mean that I'm probably not really getting a proper idea of the sound.

With a baby in the house, I think speakers with grills might give a little more protection (who am I kidding, once he's a toddler nothing will stop him). I'll check out the LS50s at my local dealer when I have the time, but I don't think I'll be trading in my PMCs yet. If I happened to come across a set 2nd hand at a good price, that might be a different story.

I know, I wish I had the potential to set up my front room like that.

As for 2nd hand LS50's, someone off these forums is/was flogging their less than 1 week old
smiley-surprised.gif
pair on another forum. however he wanted only £50 less than a brand new pair so no real bargain there.

.
 

Frank Harvey

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The_Lhc said:
Saw these in my local KEF dealer today (bit surprised, didn't think they'd have them, they don't carry the R series for example), they look lovely, had a brief listen but couldn't get much of an impression because of how they had them set up, about a foot off the floor, less than two feet apart and right up against the wall, they sounded very nice but I couldn't get any impression of soundstage or anything like that. Interesting though...

A clear advert for selective dealership if ever I heard one!

It wouldn't surprise me if this is why the R Series dealership is kept purposely limited. I think KEF want to make sure they are demonstrated properly, as this can mean the difference between forum users coming on here and saying a product sounds crap or sounds great, and in turn influence people's opinions of a brand in general.
 

The_Lhc

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FrankHarveyHiFi said:
The_Lhc said:
Saw these in my local KEF dealer today (bit surprised, didn't think they'd have them, they don't carry the R series for example), they look lovely, had a brief listen but couldn't get much of an impression because of how they had them set up, about a foot off the floor, less than two feet apart and right up against the wall, they sounded very nice but I couldn't get any impression of soundstage or anything like that. Interesting though...

A clear advert for selective dealership if ever I heard one!

It wouldn't surprise me if this is why the R Series dealership is kept purposely limited. I think KEF want to make sure they are demonstrated properly, as this can mean the difference between forum users coming on here and saying a product sounds crap or sounds great, and in turn influence people's opinions of a brand in general.

He did say they were in the demo room initially but they have so many requests for Home cinema demos they were constantly taking them out again. He offered a proper demo if I could come back during the week between 5pm and 6pm but I don't get home from work until about 8.

They had them hooked up to a Pioneer A207 or something, I wasn't convinced that was quite enough for these speakers? They only sell Pioneer, B&O and KEF though, so choice would be limited I think.
 

AL13N

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recruit said:
I really do love the distinctive looks of the LS50's

Those drivers certainly look very distinctive. The enclosures remind me of the Mackie HR Series with the gloss-black finish and matt-black curved front baffle.
 

inbox4

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What are owners experiences of running these little beauties in?

How long did it take?

Does the sound change much?

How did they sound during the new, unbroken in period compared to when they stablised and started singing?

I've found new speakers to sound horrible in the past (very bright and sharp with one note bass) before they reach the stable optimum and these charactistics completely pass.

Such an amazingly reviewed speakers sound very appealing but I'm not sure I have the patience to run them in! I'm sure they're worth the wait...
 

recruit

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AL13N said:
recruit said:
I really do love the distinctive looks of the LS50's

Those drivers certainly look very distinctive. The enclosures remind me of the Mackie HR Series with the gloss-black finish and matt-black curved front baffle.

Yes, Kef have certainly made an impression with these speakers looks and a good one too :)
 

Frank Harvey

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inbox4 said:
What are owners experiences of running these little beauties in?

How long did it take?

Does the sound change much?

How did they sound during the new, unbroken in period compared to when they stablised and started singing?

I've found new speakers to sound horrible in the past (very bright and sharp with one note bass) before they reach the stable optimum and these charactistics completely pass.

Such an amazingly reviewed speakers sound very appealing but I'm not sure I have the patience to run them in! I'm sure they're worth the wait...

They sound very good out of the box, and you can instantly hear their strengths in relation to other speakers. Of course they do improve, and just become more free of the box. I ahven't listened to music in a week or so as I've been watching films, but I plan to transfer the music I have from my laptop to HDD so I can stream it through my Sonos box. Maybe get a good listen on my day off and see how they've improved since I last heard some music on them.
 
A

Anonymous

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Hi, am new to this forum so bear with me as I like to side step and ask the LS50 as a centre speaker.

I chance upon the 50 last week bought a pair as front speakers after a couple of demo. Now I plan to get a centre speaker as part of HT set up and is considering the KEF LS50 or the R200C. As I do not have a chance to hear the R200C, can anyone help comment on how it sound compare to the LS50 and if I should get the R200C or the LS50 as the centre speaker.

Thanks
 

recruit

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sq13z said:
Hi, am new to this forum so bear with me as I like to side step and ask the LS50 as a centre speaker.

I chance upon the 50 last week bought a pair as front speakers after a couple of demo. Now I plan to get a centre speaker as part of HT set up and is considering the KEF LS50 or the R200C. As I do not have a chance to hear the R200C, can anyone help comment on how it sound compare to the LS50 and if I should get the R200C or the LS50 as the centre speaker.

Thanks

I cannot comment on the 2 different models of Kef, but to keep the front soundstage as cohesive and tonally correct as possible it is a must to keep the front 3 speakers the same, the rears are not so important as they are only there for effects and ambient sounds.
 

gregvet

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According to a thread on another forum Kef have said that its fine to put one ls50 on its side if that makes placement of a centre speaker easier. It's one advantage to the uniq speaker design.

Some enterprising dealers are selling them in threes or fives as appropriate too!
 

recruit

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When I first heard these speakers I said to my dealer that get 5 of them and a good sub and you would have one stunning speaker system, and now like you say dealers are selling them in sets of 3 and 5's so as to make a good AV system.
 

The_Lhc

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recruit said:
When I first heard these speakers I said to my dealer that get 5 of them and a good sub and you would have one stunning speaker system, and now like you say dealers are selling them in sets of 3 and 5's so as to make a good AV system.

Which dealers? I've only spoken to 2 on that subject and neither of them were in a position to sell odd numbers of KEF speakers (one of them was David, although we were talking about the Q300 at the time I think). The only thing my local dealer said was that if I bought three pairs for a 6.1 system they'd be able to do me a deal. I should think so at £3200...
 

Frank Harvey

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While the R200c will do a good job - and it'll be the closest any centre speaker will get to the LS50's - it will sound more laid back than the LS50's. It is vital to have a properly matching front set of speakers as these are producing the majority of what you're going to hear. Most "matching" centres have a different driver layout, different cabinet volume, and most of the time even a different driver count.

If movies were just an ocassional thing for you, I'd understand going for this as it is a cheaper option, but it isn't that much cheaper, and you could always try and sell your unused one on to someone else in the same situation.
 

recruit

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The_Lhc said:
recruit said:
When I first heard these speakers I said to my dealer that get 5 of them and a good sub and you would have one stunning speaker system, and now like you say dealers are selling them in sets of 3 and 5's so as to make a good AV system.

Which dealers? I've only spoken to 2 on that subject and neither of them were in a position to sell odd numbers of KEF speakers (one of them was David, although we were talking about the Q300 at the time I think). The only thing my local dealer said was that if I bought three pairs for a 6.1 system they'd be able to do me a deal. I should think so at £3200...

Well officially they are sold in pairs but it is up to certain dealers whether they will do a package deal, might not be right for me to mention what delears publicly unless they are willing to mention it themselves, but I do know of some.
 

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