Stands for the LS50 Speakers

NorthStar · Jun 11, 2013

Black Sabbath, Jane's Addiction, Velvet Revolver, ...they are all fine bands, and their music is not as refined as Classical chamber music, or smooth Jazz music, or some nice New age music, or a pure Folk band with acoustic instruments. ...You know, and at a nice comfortable level.

- Give the speakers what they like best, and let them do the rest.

The music recording selections is one of the most important audio component, and that too has to be matched in ti-li-dam (tandem) harmony.

I know perfectly well what you're saying; I'm just sayin'.
Mark is totally free to experiment with everything he wants to. And I'm sure he'll find the right music recordings to match his new KEF monitors.
And I wish him the best of luck in integrating two subwoofers with them; not a task for the unknowledgeable.

By the way, Black Sabbath, and Jane's Addiction; I like very much so, and I think they require the adequate gear too, including the loudspeakers (subs included), to be true to their original/natural state.

* We're a funny bunch; music lovers/explorers of all levels.

mep · Jun 11, 2013

RBFC said:
Mark,

Please remind us of the room dimensions. It seems like that has become a pivotal piece of info for the discussion. Personally, I applaud you for having the "cajones" to give the KEFs a shot. They may do some things so much better than your DefTechs that their shortcomings aren't so significant.

Lee

Lee-my room is 15' W x 23' D x 9' H. The room is "L" shaped at the listening end which adds another 4' of width.

Steve Williams · Jun 11, 2013

Stands in 3 weeks but when do the speakers arrive

mep · Jun 11, 2013

Andre Marc said:
I'm just worried that you with all the praise that has been heaped on them from members who have heard them may
have built them up to the point that they can't be anything but a let down.

I believe ALL monitors are a let down unless they are used in the right sized room, with appropriate expectations
of bass, over all loudness, and scale.

Andre-I understand your point, but if I feel let down, it won't be because of all the praise that has been heaped on the speakers. It will because they simply are too small for my room even with subs to deliver the SPLs that I"m accustomed to with the requisite dynamics. Obviously as stand-alone speakers they would never have the bass to satisfy me, but I do have a pair of the Def Tech Ref subs with 14" drivers and 1800 watt amps so bass shouldn't be lacking. I also won't have eight 6 1/2" bass/midrange drivers pressurizing the room.

Once upon a time, I used to design and build my own speakers and many of them were two-way 1/4 wavelength transmission line monitors using Dynaudio drivers. I would use those monitors with a pair of 1/4 wavelength transmission line subs tuned for 20 Hz (big bastards). I had these setups in a fairly large room and I had no problem generating all the SPLs I could tolerate. I think the key is having a good pair of subs to fill out the bottom and a pair of monitors that are clean and can take some power without compressing and breaking up. All speakers that I used to own (as well as the amps) had a point they couldn't be pushed beyond. The pair of Def Techs I now own have shattered that mold. Unless you are deaf or want to go deaf, you simply can't and shouldn't tolerate the SPLs these are capable of. The combo of the KSA-250 and the Def Techs always gives you a feeling of ease even at high levels.

Another thing that I don't believe in is speakers that you can only play a certain type of music on. If a speaker is accurate and can reproduce the SPLs to bring life to different recordings, it shouldn't matter whether you listen to rock, classical, jazz, or opera (or country and hip-hop if that's your bag). The speaker is either accurate or it's not. The LS50s are very accurate speakers up to the point where the bass nosedives because of the small woofer and enclosure, but that is where the subs come into play.

mep · Jun 11, 2013

Steve Williams said:
Stands in 3 weeks but when do the speakers arrive

KEF told me yesterday that if I ordered before 2:00 PM, they would ship yesterday from NJ. I ordered before 2:00 PM, but I have not yet received a tracking number to let me know they actually shipped. I was thinking if they really shipped yesterday or today, I would have them by this Friday.

microstrip · Jun 11, 2013

mep said:
KEF told me yesterday that if I ordered before 2:00 PM, they would ship yesterday from NJ. I ordered before 2:00 PM, but I have not yet received a tracking number to let me know they actually shipped. (...)

Audiophile anxiety?

microstrip · Jun 11, 2013

Andre Marc said:
(...) I believe ALL monitors are a let down unless they are used in the right sized room, with appropriate expectations
of bass, over all loudness, and scale.

Andre,
Great sentence! IMHO very true.

mep · Jun 11, 2013

microstrip said:
Audiophile anxiety?

I inquired and KEF responded and said that my speakers shipped this morning and tomorrow I would receive an email with the tracking number.

mep · Jun 11, 2013

microstrip said:
Andre,
Great sentence! IMHO very true.

Pretty much everyone who has reviewed these speakers or heard them has commented on how they sound way bigger than their size and that is with no subs, just the pair of LS50s. My listening room is not the size of a broom closet, but it's certainly not as cavernous as some people's rooms either. The LS50s will either put a smile on my face in my room or they won't. Remember, these speakers are only $1500. This is not like committing to spending $50,000 or higher on a pair of speakers and hoping you like them. If KEF truly takes them out of production as they said they would, I do think they will become collectable and could go up in value as so few audio products ever really do.

Andre Marc · Jun 11, 2013

microstrip said:
Andre,
Great sentence! IMHO very true.

Thanks, I find it quaint when reviewers say how great a pair of mini monitors are UNLESS...you want real low bass, realistic
scale, and unlimited SPLs. Really? Thanks for the head up. LOL.

I think mep will enjoy the KEFs. Whether they are appropriate for his room, we shall soon find out. But I can tell you, within
the proper parameters, they are really amazing.

mep · Jun 11, 2013

Andre Marc said:
Thanks, I find it quaint when reviewers say how great a pair of mini monitors are UNLESS...you want real low bass, realistic
scale, and unlimited SPLs. Really? Thanks for the head up. LOL.

I think mep will enjoy the KEFs. Whether they are appropriate for his room, we shall soon find out. But I can tell you, within
the proper parameters, they are really amazing.

I'm not sure what the proper parameters are, but I do hope they sound amazing in my room.

Andre Marc · Jun 11, 2013

mep said:
Pretty much everyone who has reviewed these speakers or heard them has commented on how they sound way bigger than their size and that is with no subs, just the pair of LS50s. My listening room is not the size of a broom closet, but it's certainly not as cavernous as some people's rooms either. The LS50s will either put a smile on my face in my room or they won't. Remember, these speakers are only $1500. This is not like committing to spending $50,000 or higher on a pair of speakers and hoping you like them. If KEF truly takes them out of production as they said they would, I do think they will become collectable and could go up in value as so few audio products ever really do.

This is true. They do sound bigger than their size. The look on Steve's face was priceless when I asked the Kef rep to play
a few hugely dynamic classical pieces. I sat through two demos. The first time, people were looking around the room to see
if they were being tricked...were there any hidden subs? Some floor standers behind curtains? Mind you, the room was medium size
for sure.

Andre Marc · Jun 11, 2013

mep said:
I'm not sure what the proper parameters are, but I do hope they sound amazing in my room.

The proper parameters, to my way of thinking, are relatively near field listening, medium sized room, and good stands.

If you installed these in place of Steve's X-2s, with the volumes he likes to listen at, Kabooey!

mep · Jun 11, 2013

Andre Marc said:
The proper parameters, to my way of thinking, are relatively near field listening, medium sized room, and good stands.

If you installed these in place of Steve's X-2s, with the volumes he likes to listen at, Kabooey!

Steve's room is smaller than mine. I don't know what you consider to be a medium sized room and I don't know what SPLs Steve likes to listen to. You're scaring me.

Andre Marc · Jun 11, 2013

mep said:
Steve's room is smaller than mine. I don't know what you consider to be a medium sized room and I don't know what SPLs Steve likes to listen to. You're scaring me.

No, no, not my intention! Steve likes to listen two what he calls "realistic" levels..pretty loud..I enjoyed it like hell btw.

Thinking of it, yes, his room was not that big.

mep · Jun 11, 2013

Andre Marc said:
No, no, not my intention! Steve likes to listen two what he calls "realistic" levels..pretty loud..I enjoyed it like hell btw.

Thinking of it, yes, his room was not that big.

Then Steve and I are on the same wavelength because I like to listen to what I consider to be "realistic" levels. Look, these speakers are either going to make me happy or not. If I turn them up and they fall apart, I won't be happy. I will be feeding them with electronics that are many times the price of the speakers. Even my damn speaker cables cost 2x the speaker cost. Hell, the Sound Anchor speaker stands I just custom ordered for them cost over half of what the speakers sell for. Their will be no excuses other than my room is too large. However, I watched the video that Peter B posted with the LS50s and they did appear to be in a cavernous room and they still sounded great even over YouTube.

Steve Williams · Jun 11, 2013

Mark

I truly believe your room will not only be fine but with your electronics and pair of subs you WILL have a wow factor and could wet your knickers. If so you might just have come up with an amazing system. I also think based on what the driver is made of, break in could be long.

Steve Williams · Jun 11, 2013

BTW those speakers would sound great in my room.

mep · Jun 11, 2013

Steve Williams said:
BTW those speakers would sound great in my room.

Steve-If they won't sound great in your room I'm screwed because we know the expense and effort you went through in order to have a great sounding room. I hope you are right about the "wow" factor. I will tell the truth whether it's favorable or non-favorable. I have read the speakers need around 300 hours of break-in.

Steve Williams · Jun 11, 2013

mep said:
Then Steve and I are on the same wavelength because I like to listen to what I consider to be "realistic" levels. Look, these speakers are either going to make me happy or not. If I turn them up and they fall apart, I won't be happy. I will be feeding them with electronics that are many times the price of the speakers. Even my damn speaker cables cost 2x the speaker cost. Hell, the Sound Anchor speaker stands I just custom ordered for them cost over half of what the speakers sell for. Their will be no excuses other than my room is too large. However, I watched the video that Peter B posted with the LS50s and they did appear to be in a cavernous room and they still sounded great even over YouTube.

Mark

I have always listened at realistic levels especially with larger speakers. Having said that I won't turn up something that is meant to be played soft nor will I turn down something which is meant to be played loud

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