KEF R500 vs B&W CM8

[rainsoothe]

System + room synergy is the most important thing one needs to consider, so, if you can, try to arange home demos. And don't restrict yourself to one or two brands when auditioning, it will pay dividends in the end

I will do. My amp is an Arcam A85 with plenty of reserves for my room. I think it will be powerful enough to drive these, but synergy is something I need to test, and that will happen when I go in for a serious prolonged listenening session. I have others that I want to listen too, but my room size is such that they can't be wider than 18cm or they run the risk of being bumped into when walking past. This eliminates quite a few candidates such as Tannoy , Focal, and a few others. I did spot a few Dali's that have the right dimensions for my room, and I am considering listening to those too, along with Monitor Audio models (Bronze 5 and Silver 6's). I also like the Q acoustics Concept 40's, but they have that wide 'wing shaped' support on the back, which will be bumped into sooner or later, they just stick out too much, which is a shame as the speaker itself is beautifully proportioned and sounds nice...

The A85 is known to be detailed but polite sounding, so taking your amp with you when auditioning is a must imo. I would argue for the Focal Aria's ease of positioning, as my 906 didn't require a lot of space around them, but they fall into the same camp as your amp: detailed yet polite (not veiled at all, but sometimes they lack some get up and go). So the combo might be overly-polite. But hey, YOU might like it, so it's still worth a demo.

Having heard the Dali Zensor floorstanders, I find their bass a bit sluggish. Speakers that reportedly are easy to position are the Rega RS series.

I'll also strongly suggest a pair of tiny floorstanders, which might be exactly what you need: Neat Alpha (I think they're called). Also, maybe you can find a pair of Sonus Faber Toy Towers - these are out of production, but some stock might still be available.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Nah, I prefer my speakers au naturale. *good*

When I dem'd the LS50s a while back the dealer said did I want to take the bungs. I respectfully declined the offer.

I'd rather have a speaker that fits the room size without any enhancements or reducers, even if that means going out of my sonic comfort zone i.e. brands I'm not familiar with.

That's fair enough, as it is how the speaker has been designed. I'm not against calming the bass down a little though if needed if it suits my preference, as chances are, ANY speaker will produce some boom, regardless of their size.

The bungs come free with the speaker! I'm generally against full bungs, but for some reason, the R Series and LS50s don't seem to be affected as much as some other ported speakers when fully bunged.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hi David - I've heard both the LS50 and the R300 in seperate demos (different dealers). I was listening to amps at the time before I bought a Unitilite. I liked both sets of speakers.

What's your preference between the two and why? - hope you don't mind me asking

regards tonky

Hi Tonky

I like both, and I find that where the R300s are a little big to work, the LS50s aren't. I have had R300s all round in the past, but I just felt they were a little large in my 12x14ft space to sit as close as I was to them (my seating position is about a metre from the rear wall). Nothing technical, just the feeling I got.

Obviously, the R300s have a benefit being 3-way, and being a bigger box with a dedicated bass driver, they do produce more, and deeper bass. Their balance, I find, is a little more on the warmer, softer side in comparison to the LS50s. Whilst the bass from the LS50s isn't lacking, they do lose out a little in depth and ultimate output, but the bass they have is very well balanced. The cabinet adds in even less than the R Series cabinets, and the curved front baffle removes any cabinet diffraction associated with virtually every other flat fronted speaker. I like their focus, their detail, their transparency. I their balance, which is a little less laid back than the R Series. I also like the fact that they're about as "point source" as you can get without going for a speaker using a single full range cone. I'd love to see a very similar speaker sitting somewhere between the LS50s and Reference 1s.

I would guess more people will prefer the R Series over the LS50s though. The R Series - when used properly - are fantastic speakers for both music and movies.

Their genuine differences are easy to demonstrate, as long as both are partnered to a suitable amplifier.

 

[tonky]

Cheers David@frankharveyhifi - an excellent appraisal

tonky

 

[torikoos]

System + room synergy is the most important thing one needs to consider, so, if you can, try to arange home demos. And don't restrict yourself to one or two brands when auditioning, it will pay dividends in the end

I will do. My amp is an Arcam A85 with plenty of reserves for my room. I think it will be powerful enough to drive these, but synergy is something I need to test, and that will happen when I go in for a serious prolonged listenening session. I have others that I want to listen too, but my room size is such that they can't be wider than 18cm or they run the risk of being bumped into when walking past. This eliminates quite a few candidates such as Tannoy , Focal, and a few others. I did spot a few Dali's that have the right dimensions for my room, and I am considering listening to those too, along with Monitor Audio models (Bronze 5 and Silver 6's). I also like the Q acoustics Concept 40's, but they have that wide 'wing shaped' support on the back, which will be bumped into sooner or later, they just stick out too much, which is a shame as the speaker itself is beautifully proportioned and sounds nice...

The A85 is known to be detailed but polite sounding, so taking your amp with you when auditioning is a must imo. I would argue for the Focal Aria's ease of positioning, as my 906 didn't require a lot of space around them, but they fall into the same camp as your amp: detailed yet polite (not veiled at all, but sometimes they lack some get up and go). So the combo might be overly-polite. But hey, YOU might like it, so it's still worth a demo.

Having heard the Dali Zensor floorstanders, I find their bass a bit sluggish. Speakers that reportedly are easy to position are the Rega RS series.

I'll also strongly suggest a pair of tiny floorstanders, which might be exactly what you need: Neat Alpha (I think they're called). Also, maybe you can find a pair of Sonus Faber Toy Towers - these are out of production, but some stock might still be available.

Thanks for the additional tips and suggestions, I have looked all of those up, but I will have to pass on them. Stand mounters are out due to high traffic area and risk of bumping them off. The others are too wide (and thus will also get bumped into ). Floor standers no wider than 180mm are what I need but am flexible in height, depth and brand. Front ported or closed would be best for placement however.

 

[plastic penguin]

Nah, I prefer my speakers au naturale. *good*

When I dem'd the LS50s a while back the dealer said did I want to take the bungs. I respectfully declined the offer.

I'd rather have a speaker that fits the room size without any enhancements or reducers, even if that means going out of my sonic comfort zone i.e. brands I'm not familiar with.

That's fair enough, as it is how the speaker has been designed. I'm not against calming the bass down a little though if needed if it suits my preference, as chances are, ANY speaker will produce some boom, regardless of their size.

The bungs come free with the speaker! I'm generally against full bungs, but for some reason, the R Series and LS50s don't seem to be affected as much as some other ported speakers when fully bunged.

Agree that all speakers will boom at some point. It is the architypal unstoppable force against the immovable object, so therefore hi-fi will always remain a compromise. No doubt the active brigade will tell you otherwise. *pardon*

 

[Frank Harvey]

Just to clarify - I didn't mean any speaker would naturally produce boom, I meant that any speaker will produce some boom because of the room it is in.

 

[plastic penguin]

I've only ever associated room size/shape/acoustics with potential speaker boom. I doubt any speaker will boom in the middle of a back garden, unless, of course, it is shoved up against a flakey brick wall.