KEF ls50 - Highly Recommended

[antskip]

I have the KEF LS50's with the Rega Brio-R and Apollo-R. This combination also is very very nice - yet I know the KEF's would work even better with a much more expensive amp! - but everything is a matter of balance - and budget. If it sounds nice, with no undesirable noises, the KEF's are probably happy. I do find LS50's are very responsive to different cabling - which makes sense, as they are so transparent and let you know about any weak parts of the system. Oh, and I also leave the amp on 24/7. In the case of the Brio-R, they use only about 10watt per hour, which is insignificant in my home power total. And if that seems a waste, we make 2X what we use through roof-top solar panels.

 

[spoorarthur]

Hmm, I must say that I am getting more and more interested in these little wonders. Haven't had a change to demo them yet, but I will do so soon. A question that's on my mind when I read al the good reviews; what if Kef used this design and create a top quality product from it, a reference series. A bit bigger perhaps. I would love to know how that would sound .

 

[Frank Harvey]

A question that's on my mind when I read al the good reviews; what if Kef used this design and create a top quality product from it, a reference series. A bit bigger perhaps. I would love to know how that would sound .

Like the Blade, I'm sure the LS50 will be a taster for whatever KEF has in store for us in the future

 

[alchemist 1]

A question that's on my mind when I read al the good reviews; what if Kef used this design and create a top quality product from it, a reference series. A bit bigger perhaps. I would love to know how that would sound .

Like the Blade, I'm sure the LS50 will be a taster for whatever KEF has in store for us in the future

Mmmm ! Is this a veiled code for you know somefink......?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Mmmm ! Is this a veiled code for you know somefink......?

Unfortunately not....

 

[plastic penguin]

Where's the grilles?

 

[alchemist 1]

Where's the grilles?

Yes. they would be welcome ......mumble,mumble.......:wall:

 

[stevieray]

Is there much difference sound wise with the a50 to a70?

 

[alchemist 1]

Well six months spent with these purveyors of sound have given me much musical pleasure.

They just get better day by day, digging up more and more detail by the bucket load.

The bass amazes me for the size of the cabinets.

Voices are presented in such a natural fashion.

I get the impression that they still have a lot more to offer.

How are fellow LS50 owners finding their black magic ,rose tinted wonders ?.............8)

 

[SonofSun]

I am very happy with mine also, they took a little time to run in but now sound superb.

Interesting to know what amps people are using, and what is the most expensive? My primare is certainly a good match.

 

[antskip]

I have had mine for 3 months now, and they are wonderful. I did find them very responsive to changes of other components. To get the beautiful sound they now have I had to experiment (and spend!) a bit. It has been all settled now for the past month, A great team, all in support of the amazing KEF LS50's.

 

[jcarruthers]

antskip,

That's good to hear.

I have read a few articles that state they don't really go with a Brio-R as it's not powerful enough to control them properly.

I feel my speakers are likely to be the next upgrade for me.

 

[antskip]

I have read a few articles that state they don't really go with a Brio-R as it's not powerful enough to control them properly.

Once I had installed the remarkable TQ Greens, the KEF LS50's were beautiful even with a far inferior amp than the Rega Brio-R. I listen to classical music, mostly song, and i do not demand a huge sound. For how I play it, the Rega Brior-R with the KEF LS50's is just stunning in both tone and clarity, bass and soprano, quiet and "loud" (10 o'clock on the amp dial). The upgrade to the superior mains chords really helped overall sound result. The KEF's do seem to respond to hardware changes. I don't claim my "economy" setup is ultimate - just that it works beautifully for me, with my music sources, and in my smallish living room.

If I were to some spare serious money, I would definitely upgrade to the Rega Osirus integrated amp, the Rega Isis CD player, and the TQ Ultra Black speaker cable. That would be some system!

But I am nevertheless utterly in love with the system as it is now! In so many ways it is revelatory. Every music source gives me so many new discoveries and new happiness.

I have my hifi shop manager to thank in steering me towards the Rega Brior-R and Apollo-R (I already had the KEF LS50's, and I described my musical needs and my budget - I agreed to double it!). He was spot on.

 

[CnoEvil]

If I were to some spare serious money, I would definitely upgrade to the Rega Osirus integrated amp, the Rega Isis CD player, and the TQ Ultra Black speaker cable. That would be some system!

It's probably a long way off, but imo you shouldn't get tunnel vision. I heard the Osirus / Isis and was left underwhelmed for the money..........just make sure there are other brands in the mix. Then if the Rega wins out, it deserves to.

 

[kev g]

I heard these speakers at the Bristol Hi Fi show & thought they sounded boxy & bass shy - 99.9% of the postings I`ve read on here say they are superb so perhaps it was the room they were in & would fair better in my 5m x 3m (placed along the long length) furnished bedroom attic ?

When you have to consider adding stands is there a similarly priced floorstander that has the same qualities, can equal, better them ?

Would they go well with the Naim Unitilite ?

How would they compare with the PMC DB1i, Tannoy Rev Sig DC6 ?

So many questions I should audition them.

 

[The_Lhc]

I heard these speakers at the Bristol Hi Fi show & thought they sounded boxy & bass shy - 99.9% of the postings I`ve read on here say they are superb so perhaps it was the room they were in

Doubt it, I heard them there as well and thought they sounded extraordinary.

 

[Pipila]

Hi, is it possible to compare LS50 to Q700, what would be the main differences (advantages, disatvantages of both)?

I've heard the in direct comparisom, buthow confused I am!... the listening room wasn't perfect, and I just cannot make a clear opinion about them, the view of anybode else would be helpful

 

[Overdose]

Hi, is it possible to compare LS50 to Q700, what would be the main differences (advantages, disatvantages of both)?

I've heard the in direct comparisom, buthow confused I am!... the listening room wasn't perfect, and I just cannot make a clear opinion about them, the view of anybode else would be helpful

If you couldn't separate them by listening, then why not choose the one you like the look of the most or the cheapest?

 

[Pipila]

Hi, is it possible to compare LS50 to Q700, what would be the main differences (advantages, disatvantages of both)?

I've heard the in direct comparisom, buthow confused I am!... the listening room wasn't perfect, and I just cannot make a clear opinion about them, the view of anybode else would be helpful

If you couldn't separate them by listening, then why not choose the one you like the look of the most or the cheapest?

I could separate them but both had some stronger and weaker points - I suppose it was influenced by the listening room a lot. Im just wondering how others think of each of them. And both were a new pieces, running for a few hours.

 

[Overdose]

Hi, is it possible to compare LS50 to Q700, what would be the main differences (advantages, disatvantages of both)?

I've heard the in direct comparisom, buthow confused I am!... the listening room wasn't perfect, and I just cannot make a clear opinion about them, the view of anybode else would be helpful

If you couldn't separate them by listening, then why not choose the one you like the look of the most or the cheapest?

I could separate them but both had some stronger and weaker points - I suppose it was influenced by the listening room a lot. Im just wondering how others think of each of them. And both were a new pieces, running for a few hours.

You are the one that is going to live with one or the other of these speakers and you are the one who has listened to them both, back to back. Do not let others sway your choice.

What do you think?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hi, is it possible to compare LS50 to Q700, what would be the main differences (advantages, disatvantages of both)?

I've heard the in direct comparisom, buthow confused I am!... the listening room wasn't perfect, and I just cannot make a clear opinion about them, the view of anybode else would be helpful

Did you hear both of them on the same amplifier that you own and will use? If not, which amplifier was used for the comparison, and which amplifier do you own?

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Hi, is it possible to compare LS50 to Q700, what would be the main differences (advantages, disatvantages of both)?

I've heard the in direct comparisom, buthow confused I am!... the listening room wasn't perfect, and I just cannot make a clear opinion about them, the view of anybode else would be helpful

Haven't heard the LS50s, but spent some time with the Q700 while audioning for DACs. The Q700 was rather too forward to my liking, a bit in-yer-face. They had good bass, which you would expect for floorstanders, and were highly detailed, but, in the end, I found them a bit tiring. It was a long session, however, an hour or over.

Plenty of comments in this thread and elsewhere about the LS50s.

Perhaps it would pay to listen to some other makes to give you some perspective - Neat, Dali, B&W, Spendor Dynaudio all have a slightly different way of presenting the music. The other thing to try is to see if you can borrow them for a home loan.

 

[Pipila]

Hi, is it possible to compare LS50 to Q700, what would be the main differences (advantages, disatvantages of both)?

I've heard the in direct comparisom, buthow confused I am!... the listening room wasn't perfect, and I just cannot make a clear opinion about them, the view of anybode else would be helpful

If you couldn't separate them by listening, then why not choose the one you like the look of the most or the cheapest?

I could separate them but both had some stronger and weaker points - I suppose it was influenced by the listening room a lot. Im just wondering how others think of each of them. And both were a new pieces, running for a few hours.

You are the one that is going to live with one or the other of these speakers and you are the one who has listened to them both, back to back. Do not let others sway your choice.

What do you think?

I see your point, you're right. To be honest I'm a novice, and quite in doubt between these two. Surely there are more experience people here who are familiar both eith Q700 and LS50, heard them much longer time than me, and have a clear opinion about their qualities (and bad sides) - such opinion would help me . My experience with these two is 2 hours, huess its very little time to make qualified decision.

 

[Pipila]

@ David, I heard them in a Hi-Fi shop, but in a quite large (poorly designd for audio listening) room. Both speakers were connected to Cambridge Audio 651A amp, and Cambridge audio Cd player (cannot remember the exact model, but it was sme price level as the amp). I just switched the A/B source during listening the songs form Q700 to LS50 - so the comparison was fairly direct. I took a chance to listen to KEFs because its quite complicated in my region to listen to speakers, and listened even to Q300, but these did not impressed me at all (especially with direct comparison to Q700). I still believe that it was not the problem of amplifier, or CD player, but the problem of the listening room and slight noice from street, but my first impression of Q300 was ("hell, my 10 years old Philips micro system for 200€ sound better with the same CD!"). So I was offered to replace Q300 for LS50 and compare these to Q700. LS50 was a significant improvement over Q300 form me, but stil the sound in that particular room did not let me immerse into the music as expected, it was not so detailed, deep, real... even though I believe these speakers can play musc this way (hopefully?). Q700 sounded more adult, more sure, but as stated in post below a bit "too forward" and Im a bit affraid how such floorstanders would sound in my living room (5x4m - speakers need to be placed at the longer wall in almost corners). Im a bit affraid that Q700 are too much for such room (Im not sure with their bass), and perhaps LS50 too little (?) I definitelly cannot listen LS50 from ideal 2m distance, it will be at least 3m having speakers 4-4.5m from each other.... whats your opinion?

 

[Pipila]

@ altruistic.lemon

Thank for opinion! "rather too forward to my liking" is exactly my feeling of these speakers What room did you listened them in? What is the soundstage, imaging with these speakers? I'd love to borrow them and listen at home, byt that's not possible.

Concerning B&W, I listened to some of smaller BWs but did not convince me...on the other hand I had a chance to listen to the top range of BW (802 D2) fed with same level amp and player - could not listen it aloud, just at low volume, but it was jaw dropping, terrific sound! So much of everything, but for me the most exiting was the ability to absolutely precisely distinguish each single instrument in music and its exact position-unbelievable!