Kef ls50s

[audiohobby]

I went to listen to these after hearing so many good reviews. I was not very impressed. The bass was weak, I could hear the port, and it sounded a bit bright.

Anybody heard these?

 

[Rodney Gold]

I had a pair...they are very good when played within their capabilities , lowish volume , music with little low bass , small room , nearfield listening
I subsequently paired them with 2 x SVS sb13 ultra subs , running the crossover in the 80-90hz region *via minidsp*.. a little better in that they went a bit louder without sounding bad when bass was limited to them.

 

[audiohobby]

How and why did you go from ls50s to vivid giya? How do they compare apart from the bass

 

[Rodney Gold]

A pair of 2nd hand LS50's came up for sale at $500 so I bought them to hear what all the fuss was about... I was running Meridian DSP actives at the time ..
I used a Bryston 4bSST amp to drive the Ls50s , used the minidsp as pre/dac/room correction
There really is no comparison to the Giya's..the G1 spirits do scale and grandeur , they slay the kefs in all departments...

 

[patagent]

I have the KEF Q100 in my closet somewhere. Heard LS50 at the Schiit store running off of Vidar and Yggy. Unimpressed. Heard LS50Wireless. Unimpressed. Heard Reference 1 at an audio show. Was not bad but I can think of better ways to spend $8000 on speakers. You might want to demo Elac AS-61 which is a 3 way bookshelf and will be shipping soon (retails for $2500).

 

[audiohobby]

Unimpressed because?

 

[patagent]

Unimpressed because?

The LS50 sound like small speakers (which they are). The music was not immersive and the soundstage is meh. There are other small speakers that can provide immersive experience and large soundstage (Kii 3's) albeit at a much higher price point.
As you mentioned, the low end is lacking and I'm also not a fan of its aluminum tweeters (sounds tinny to my ears).

The reference 1's sound much bigger but the demo I heard had all kinds of room issues.

 

[audiohobby]

I also found to my surprise that the sound changed quite noticeably with ear position. I thought the coaxial driver would minimise this problem.

Why are they so highly reviewed? Stereophile and other magazines gave the five star reviews

 

[thedudeabides]

The LS50 sound like small speakers (which they are). The music was not immersive and the soundstage is meh. There are other small speakers that can provide immersive experience and large soundstage (Kii 3's) albeit at a much higher price point.
As you mentioned, the low end is lacking and I'm also not a fan of its aluminum tweeters (sounds tinny to my ears).

The reference 1's sound much bigger but the demo I heard had all kinds of room issues.

I've heard both the KEF's you mention and preferred the LS 50. Probably the room differences, etc.

IMHO, the LS 50's are an outstanding speaker for the money.

 

[flez007]

I do think this are one of the best audio bargains in the planet.