My LS50’s sound best at ear level. Anything else and the whole soundstage is shifted up or down. However, I have found they also sound best to me with only a slight toe-in, i.e. not pointed directly at the listener.
KEF LS50 Speaker Stands
Just bought a pair of KEF LS50s and was wondering what height speaker stands I should get. The standard approach is to get the driver at ear height. I tried several chairs that I might use and they put my ears at 43 inches from the floor. Since the LS50 driver is in the center of the front baffle that makes it about 6 inches from the bottom of the speaker. In that case I would need to buy 36 inch high speaker stands. There are very few quality speaker stands that high and the speaker stands that KEF sells specifically for the LS50 are only 24 inches high. Am I missing something? At 24 inches that would put the driver at 30 inches from the floor. You would have to be practically sitting on the floor to get your ears at 30 inches. My question is do I follow the standard rule and get 36 inch speaker stands or follow KEF and get 24 inch stands.
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I listen to my ls50 metas at tweeter level using 36” stands. I’m pretty tall. Read the setup instructions on the manual. It’s not intended that you aim the tweeters directly at you. Metas have better horizontal dispersion than originals. You have to just experiment and see what you think sounds best. Like any speaker setup. Then I have my original ls50s on very low Isoacoustics stands just a few inches off the floor. That sounds good as well but different. High end more rolled off. YMMV. |
RTFM (READ THE FINE MANUAL) ! 24" max height for bass floor reinforcement AND keeping the tweeters BELOW ear level to smooth the treble response. The treble response rises on axis and therefore should be slightly below ear height as they are designed. So many people F Up on this and wonder why they don't sound very good. Also pay attention to the port plug options as listed in the manual- one, two or no plugs depending on distance to the back wall.
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@sdecker are they work well and stable? |
So, just an update to all who responded. I called KEF and asked why they designed the dedicated speaker stand for the LS50s at 24 inches and they said it was because they sell internationally and most other countries have seating that is lower than what is typically found in the United States. They agreed the driver should be at ear level so get whatever stand gets you closest. I ended up buying 32" Pangea DS400s and filling them with sand. They put the drive almost exactly at ear height and the stands are totally solid after filling with sand. |
I just recently bought Metas, my first non-floor-standers, so I needed stands. I looked at KEF's LS50-specific stands that recommend the tweeter being 32" off the floor, despite typical ear height of 36". Picked up these through Audio Advisor: https://www.kantoaudio.com/speaker-accessories/sp-series/ and have been very pleased with their design and build quality for such a reasonable price. I should also add that these are the most horizontally and especially vertically omnidirectional speakers I've had in my room, and the measurements from Stereophile and Soundstage confirm this. I don't hear any difference in frequency balance whether a foot above or below the tweeter axis. All to say, I have no reason to take issue with KEF's height recommendations, and I'm very impressed with the stands I bought. |
@turnbowm good to know that ls50 is an exception to the usual rule for how to set standmounts at the right height for best performance... interesting that this speaker poses this interesting tradeoff for a user -- proper imaging height and presentation vs sufficient bass reinforcement... a tough one it seems (i have not heard ls50’s in my own system... don’t own them) if kef recommends this set up i would defer to that, and disregard my earlier, generic advice this being said, using a good sub for real bass reinforcement is a solution that has made many a good standmount into world beaters! i suspect that is the way to have the cake and eat it too |
The tonal balance of the LS50s is affected by the height of the stands. Going higher than Kef’s recommended stand height of 24" (max.) will reduce the amount of bass due to less boundary (floor) reinforcement. I experimented with speaker height and found the most satisfying bass at 21" but the lower image height was an issue so I went with 24" (including spikes). Buy a new listening chair if needed to get tweeters at ear level. |
