KEF LS50W review

[davidf]

Back on topic. I admit the LS50Ws are great value, even compared to the AE1 Active. David please confirm they can stream from a server/NAS?

Yes, they can. They will see the server on the network, you choose that server from the list, and away you go.

 

[stickboy85]

Anyone tried/using a sub with these yet? If so, what did/do u think?
I'm picking up a REL T5i from my dealer sometime next week in a quest to try and solve the slight boomy bass I get with certain tracks. I'm putting this down to room acoustics.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Shouldn't the on board dsp take care of any boom issues.

 

[stickboy85]

That's what I was thinking.
I've got them about 35cm from a wall (not brick) and bass is set to -4 at the moment yet it still occurs.
Same thing happened when I had the passive LS50s which was what made me think it could be down to room acoustics.

 

[davidf]

If it's the odd one or two frequencies, it'll be the room.

 

[stickboy85]

Unfortunately the Mrs isn't too keen on acoustic panels/bass traps for the living room in my quest for musical nirvana....cant think why

 

[davidf]

Have you tried strategically positioning her favourite chair?

 

[stickboy85]

Not an option I'm afraid; not through fear of death I might add, more layout of living room!
Rectangle shape but speakers and TV are firing across towards sofa and not downward if that makes sense!?

 

[davidf]

Certainly does

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I'm about to buy a set.hooking up my naim cd player and virgin media box and use Spotify connect when it's rolled out for the system.just got rid of the vinyl to streamline it all....I'm tired of fettling and all those damn boxes/plugs etc.

 

[davidf]

And that's exactly the situation they're designed for. Despite what you'll be coming from, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised as to how good they sound (I'm presuming you haven't heard them yet).

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

No David I haven't heard them as yet..but I'm easy pleased as long as I have a nice sound I'm not too bothered what I use to get it....I pretty much bought all my kit blind as there is not many dealers close to me....it sounds good and I'm happy but would be happier without all the boxes etc.Wouldn't mind one of those zen thingy jigs also at some point...they look as if they could really streamline my whole cd collection and put it in the palm of my hand and am I right in thinking I wouldn't need my external arcam dac as the kefs would also take care of this aspect?

 

[davidf]

No David I haven't heard them as yet..but I'm easy pleased as long as I have a nice sound I'm not too bothered what I use to get it....I pretty much bought all my kit blind as there is not many dealers close to me....it sounds good and I'm happy but would be happier without all the boxes etc.Wouldn't mind one of those zen thingy jigs also at some point...they look as if they could really streamline my whole cd collection and put it in the palm of my hand and am I right in thinking I wouldn't need my external arcam dac as the kefs would also take care of this aspect?

The Innuos servers are purely digital - no analogue circuitry at all, but with LS50 Wireless, a DAC isn't needed anyway as they're built into the speakers. All the Innuos needs to do is sit on your network somewhere (anywhere, it doesn't matter), and the LS50W will see it and be able to stream from it.

I doubt very much you'd be disappointed - as you haven't heard the wireless ones, if you've heard the passive ones you'll sort of know what to expect, only the wireless ones are far better.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Where would you recommend I buy a pair?

 

[davidf]

Where would you recommend I buy a pair?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Ha ha . I've just done a wee search and there's possibly dealers in Falkirk or Edinburgh.couple of hours drive.mmmm.Then I can dem a pair.

 

[davidf]

Always worth a demo, just to make sure

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

OK . Just had a demo of both the kef ls50w and the avi dm10.....just a few words..not in the same league as my current naim nait xs and pmc twenty 21's I'm afraid.the kefs were just too false,overblown bass,a certain graininess to the sound and the overall clarity was far from what I'm used to...the dm10's faired slightly better imo but still too far behind my current set up . it's a bit of a shame and a shock as I was getting a bit seduced by the rave reviews and general hype that I didn't possibly think that they'd be not so all that...well guess it's either a superuniti or nac172xs/nap200 combo.

 

[luckylion100]

would get around to comparing the Kef LS50 Wireless with the AVI DM10's...

Mark were either of these speakers paired with a subwoofer? I know others on here will disagree with me but I think the DM10's were designed with a sub in mind and from my personal experience the difference in performance with sub and without is night and day.

I'm wondering was the slight difference between the models perhaps also due to the mid/bass driver size difference?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

No sub woofer was tried in the dem but the dm10's had more refinement and control to my ears probably in part to the larger mid bass driver.I was looking forward to having a pair of actives but they were just not good enough to compete with what I already own.It was the overall clarity and space around instruments wasn't great and a certain graininess to the kefs was the first thing I noticed in all it just wasn't quite what I'm used to...I'm not saying that either are poor speakers...it's just made me realise how good what I have actually is.

 

[luckylion100]

two pairs of PMC floor standers previously, GB1is and Twenty 23's I know how superb PMC speakers are. As I've stated many times previously my amplification was the weak link in my system. I've never heard Naim amplification but have heard the combo is good. I suppose if nothing else demos like this just reaffirm how good one's existing system is... still I think whoever demo'd these systems should have added a sub or at least the option to hear one. For me both systems would have been seriously lacking because of this, so IMO a big FAIL there. ;-)

Do you think, regardless of the comparison with your own existing setup, £2000 is a reasonable asking price for the demo'd systems?

 

[davidf]

It was the overall clarity and space around instruments wasn't great and a certain graininess to the kefs was the first thing I noticed in all it just wasn't quite what I'm used to...I'm not saying that either are poor speakers...it's just made me realise how good what I have actually is.

Mark, can I ask what the source was?

There's no reason for the LS50s to sound overblown - they never have here, but I've taken the time to set them up properly. Obviously I can't comment on the circumstances of your demo, but is there a possibility that the deal just plugged them in and played them "as is"?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I'm pretty sure that they weren't optimally and set up....on stands and in free space and I asked him to change it to close to the wall in the rear settings...but was still off the mark...I'm sure given time with them,they could be made to sound better but the bass seemed to take over and just felt false and the separation of instruments and placement of them just sounded muddled compared to my own system.So I've itched that scratch that I had to hear some actives and I really can't see what the fuss is about....my 19 year old daughter sat in with me also and the wireless speakers thing is more her type of thing having a sonos speaker in her room but even she came away feeling unimpressed . I'm just going to stick with naim kit for now and get myself a superuniti,amp,streamer,dac,radio in a box and I'll hold on to my pmc's.

 

[davidf]

I'm pretty sure that they weren't optimally and set up....on stands and in free space and I asked him to change it to close to the wall in the rear settings...but was still off the mark...I'm sure given time with them,they could be made to sound better but the bass seemed to take over and just felt false and the separation of instruments and placement of them just sounded muddled compared to my own system.So I've itched that scratch that I had to hear some actives and I really can't see what the fuss is about....my 19 year old daughter sat in with me also and the wireless speakers thing is more her type of thing having a sonos speaker in her room but even she came away feeling unimpressed . I'm just going to stick with naim kit for now and get myself a superuniti,amp,streamer,dac,radio in a box and I'll hold on to my pmc's.

If they'd have set them up properly for free space, they would either have refused to move them, or set them up again via the app. So my guess is that they'd just popped them on their stands and plugged them in. If they were a bit bassy in free space, they won't stand a chance against a wall. My pair here are about half a foot away from a solid wall. No boom (although I do have a concrete floor, which helps a little). Why does a store not make any effort for someone who has booked a demo? I partly understand if you'd walked in off the street and asked to hear them, but even when that happens, I would always listen to the system in a closed demo room before letting the customer having a listen. This is a £2,000 item (possibly plus stands etc), not cheap, so why aren't customers still being treated this way?! Winds me up.

It boils down to the fact that when set up properly, their balance is excellent, and there shouldn't be any grain to the treble. I was hoping you were going to mention the source - CD? Media server? TIDAL?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

The source was a newer primare cd player....I didn't even bother getting on to the streaming side of things...we moved them closer to the wall and set them up for being close to a wall in the settings but it still wasn't floating my boat it just sounded too forced...I wonder if I'm just too used to that transmission line type bass from my pmc's, ...even the slightly more refined sound from the dm10's couldn't rescue my waining apetite for a pair of active speakers.On another note it would have been nice if he gave me the tablet hosting the app to try and tweek the kefs but he didn't.The sales assistant /manager was pretty adamant that the kefs would not better my own system over the phone while I booked the demo but I persisted that I'd like to at least give them a go.Dissapointing 160 mile round trip in all honesty.