I just bought a used LS50 last week from A'Gon and have it hooked up with a Parasound Halo 23 amp. My office, where the speakers reside is about 12x13. I have a cheapo Emotiva XDR-1 dac in the office with all inputs coming from various computers. There 2 digital inputs and 1 USB input being used.
My main rig has a Thiel SCS4 driven by Bryston PowerPac 300 (4B-SST). The room is 20 x 13. The electronics in this room are substantially way better than in the office.
Both speakers have very similar driver designs.
The SCS4 sounds very good in the larger space and can play loud. I currently use the LS50 as desktop speakers and it sounds incredible in the near-field space I listen in, but I don't not crank it here. I would say that the sound from the LS50 is better than what I am getting from the SCS4. The LS50 would sound even better on stands off my desk in the smaller room.
However, I don't not think the Ls50 would work as well in my larger room as it does in my office. I don't think it would fill the room as nicely as the SCS4.
I bought the SCS4 thinking that they will be relegated to rears in a 5.1 system when I get Thiel CS 3.7's. However, now I am thinking I have to out and hear the KEF Blade for my main rig since the LS50 sounds so incredible. The big speakers are for when I move to a new house. |
Thanks, Milpai--Cleveland Plasma can order them but they do not stock them. Too bad. |
Seikosha, my amp before current Bel Cantos was 120 w/ch Musical Fidelity A3CR. Big sound difference between the two on my OHMs and with Dynaudios to a lesser extent. I wonder what the KEFs would sound like in your room with a good 250w/ch or higher Class D or comparable amp? I bet it would make a difference more towards what we heard with KEFs in my 12X12 sunroom off teh 500 w/ch BC Class D amps. Somewhat more towards what you get with your high eff. full range speakers and tube amp, FWIW. |
Good review mapman,thanks. |
Jonathan1257,
Did you check with Cleveland Plasma? |
It was great to be able to hear the LS50's at Mapman's place. I was most surprised by how poor they did in a large space; even with a fairly powerful amp and the Dynaudios clearly sounded better in every respect. I always suspected that the LS50's performance in my smaller room was being limited by the size of that room, but now I'm not so sure. As soon as we moved the speakers out of his larger room and into something more my size, the performance improved. Besides really enjoying the Ohms that I heard, I also gained a newfound respect for Dynaudios which I'd never heard before either. Nice sounds! |
Got to hear the ls 50s in my house with my gear this past weekend thanks to another audiogoner stopping by with his.
We listened in a couple of rooms and I was able to compare to my other speakers currently in each.
First in my larger family room/kitchen open area, running of the 180 w/ch TAD Hibachi amps in my second system compared to somewhat larger and more costly Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkII monitors there currently.
I think we both clearly preferred the Dynaudios there. The dyns sounded "bigger" which they are, and more open and dynamic overall to me.
The sound was not unlike what I have heard in years past running way undersized older smaller KEF monitors in larger rooms off an amp that may not be 100% up to the task of driving a less efficient speaker that is capable of very good extended low bass performance for its size.
Then to the 12X12 sunroom off my main system (500 w/ch Class D BEl Canto amps). Now we were talking! The KEFs were a very nice fit and performed quite well in there I would say! Definitely a sound I could live with and perhaps the best fit to that room of anything I have tried there. THE KEFs seemed to wake up significantly with the 500 w/ch Bel Canto ref1000m ams driving them in that room. Compared with Triangle Titus XS speakers I had in there otherwise, bass levels were better and fairly spot on and sound was full dynamic and open top to bottom. Triangles a re just a touch thin sounding in there normally, but work well at lower volumes I typically listen with there in general. My larger Dynaudios and OHMs tend to have too much bass in that room due to room acoustics.
THe little KEFs impressed with right amp in a smaller sized bass-friendly room. Not as much so in larger room off a 180 w/ch SS amp designed to sound more like a tube amp.
Right speakers in the right room with the right am to drive them usually wins. KEFs were winners in one of two scenarios tried. I would have liked to have tried them in my main 12X12 listening room as well, off same amp. I think they could have given Dynaudios and OHMs a run for their money in there, but time did not permit.
KEFs are a lot of good sound out of a very compact yet quite nicely built box. Way cool looking as well! THey may not quite have lived up to the hype being asked to perform in a larger room off a less than optimal amp most likely, but did it quite well under more favorable conditions.
Match them with an amp capable of pushing them to their limits, and I would expect very good sound in most any room. Bass levels in larger rooms would likely be the shortcoming. No speaker I know of that is this small alone is likely up to the task of optimal bass performance in a large room, but the KEFs with the right amp will likely tackle the task with a lot of guts. Add a sub, or two and you are likely pretty golden.
Thanks to Seikosha for stopping by and allowing the listen. |
they will be available on Amazon.com on Sept 7th. I think they do returns. |
A new pair is on Ebay for $1199 with free shipping. Buy them and resell them if you don't like them. |
You can find it at ebay too |
Excellent near field monitor. I listened to a friends pair with the Parasound A21 (can't recall source and pre) and enjoyed it very much. Just find a used pair on here and keep what you have. That's the best of both worlds. |
USed ls50s have been coming up on agon somewhat regularly. No harm in picking up a pair to try if you really want to hear them and do not overpay. SHiiping should not be too bad if seller is not cross country and you can easily resell and move in if desired.
I am expecting to hear another Agoner's pair in my system sometime in September. Looking forward to it.
Lots of hype on these. I buy into a lot of it, but there is always a limit to how much sound can come out of a small box. If that is enough case by case, I think these are a very solid quality product. If not, subs might be added to fill the gap or else just move on, these will not break the bank for many if common sense is used.
I'm expecting sound similar to my tiny old, overachieving Realistic Minimus 7s on steroids, bigger and more refined due to the somewhat larger package and new technology. That's not shabby at all! Minimus 7s are still a good example of good sound on a smaller scale from a tiny box. They sound great outdoors on my deck. |
Don't listen to (you are borderline psycho) he know not what he say. Your amp and preamp should match well. Hopefully you can get a listen. Best |
LOL--I can't recall ever posting a "what would you do?" question that didn't elicit an almost equal number of "do it" and "don't do it" responses. That's why I want to hear a pair. Anyway, thanks for the input so far. |
I have a room sized like yours and the LS50 has stolen my heart, at least for the moment. Just do it. |
A room sized like yours wants a floor stander, like you already have. On the other hand, a room sized like mine (10 x 9) wants a small stand-mount. Keep what you have. |
I would say you are border line psycho to do that.
KEF has always been a favorite of mine,but LS 50 is VERY in your face forward IMHO. A rocker period.
Must be a reason dealer isn't stocking such a rave review item. |
