KEF LS50 setup modification/upgrade. Satellite and wall mount? KEF 3001SE or E301

[michaelb4917]

Hi all,

I'm looking to change my current LS50 "basic" stereo setup in my small living room.



- I want to add two satellite speakers. I'm thinking about either the KEF 3001SE or the newer E301. I can get both of them for pretty much the same price in good condition (around €120). I'm not looking to add a center speaker or a bass speaker. Center needs to be huge to match the LS50's and even though a lot of people think otherwise, the LS50's have enough deep end to my liking and in my small living room with neighbours.

- Second I'm thinking about wall-mounting the LS50's to get them up to ear level and tidy up the look. I know it's an audiophiles nightmare but how bad is it really? Something to maybe take into account is that they'll be mounted to a 12mm drywall. I'm not worried about holding them up but more about maybe enhancing the muddiness as compared to stone/concrete. Another option would be to raise them on stands like these to get them away from the wall. Of course that doesn't really clean up the look as much but it's something. At the moment when I move the speakers close to the wall I don't get a lot of muddiness, but resonation through the mounts might change that.

Amp/receiver is Onkyo TX-NR686. Living room is around 3,5m deep and 4m wide, with couch sitting at 2-2,5m from TV. Satellites will be at 2m hight at around 1-2m from couch depending on where you sit.

Use is a mix of music (vinyl and streaming) and TV/movies.

Any advice?

Thanks!!

 

[RJW232]

You need to take the space needed for the bass reflex port at the back of the LS50's into account. What's KEF recommendation in the manual for minimum distance to the wall?

 

[michaelb4917]

Hi there, appreciate the comment. I have done some testing since and moving them as close to the wall as they would be with mounts does a lot more to the speaker than I thought. Or take more away I should rather say. Sound stage and imaging are virtually gone. Got a renewal on these speakers' capabilities and I won't be mounting them. They really need to breathe. I'll be DIYing some speaker stands from some acrylic glass, stainless steel rods and some hardwood. The stands I posted are too studio like.

KEF has a guide for wall mounting speakers and even sold a wall mount specifically for the LS50 for a while. Don't know what that's about considering the decrease in performance but I guess there's situations where you have no other choice.

As for the satellites I went for the E301's. ChatGPT argued that the newer technologies will make the sound more suitable to go together with the LS50's which are more or less from the same era. In my research I found they're more or less neck-a-neck. Except I came across a certain die-hard group of fanboys who think the 3001SE's are absolutely magical. Even almost some conspiracy theory type ****, saying KEF accidentally made them too good and had to discontinue them earlier than they were intended for. Then down tuning the E301's because they would otherwise just be to godly and would eat into the margins of other speakers. Anyways, I think the 301's are solid.