I bought a pair of KEF LS50 Metas for Christmas and have been powering them with my Marantz PM8006. It's been a love/hate affair with these things. They sound good at low volume and nearfield which is EXACTLY what I need from a speaker. When I play a well mastered jazz record I just smile and lose myself in the session. There have been some genuinely engaging moments. Things change when I listen to rock music. It's not that the KEFs sound BAD, it's just something is missing. When I switch to my Wharfedale Diamond 225s, everything sounds bigger. Fuller. More bass. Essentially more satisfying. I had my girlfriend listen to both sets of speakers and she said it was "no contest." The Wharfedales were the better speaker, at least with rock music. So....do I accept that my $1600 speakers are outperformed by $300 speakers with my favorite genre? I have two weeks left on my return window. I have a few options. 1) Return the KEFs and keep the Wharfedales as my main speakers. This option is a bummer because I DO like the LS50s, but for $2000 after stands, I feel like I shouldn't be turning to $300 speakers to play rock music. 2) Return the KEFs for another set of speakers. I'm not sure what else would be ideal for low volume, nearfield listening. 3) Keep the KEFs and make peace that they only outperform my $300 speakers on certain genres. Any advice is appreciated whether it be different speakers to audition or tips for getting the most from my LS50s.
My LS50s didn’t cut the mustard until I got a sub. Throwing money at this stuff is annoying but that’s my experience.
I'm not sure my situation is appropriate for a sub. I live in an apartment (though I do live on the bottom floor) and worry about being a nuisance to my neighbors. Also, I'm dealing with tight spaces. My speakers are 4 feet apart and between my dresser and closet. There's zero room to play around with placement. I'd have to place them obtrusively between these speakers and hope they sound good. Am I overthinking this? Can a sub be successfully implemented into a small bedroom apartment at low listening levels?
If you can't throw a sub at it, why not look for a used pair of floorstanders from the KEF R series? They will replicate all of the things you like about the LS50s, but deliver much better bass.
Here is something of interest from a review I just read about the KEFs.... At just 30cm tall, these KEFs are pretty compact, but don’t be tempted to stuff them in a bookshelf or right up against a wall. They won’t sulk if you do, but they will sound a lot better if placed around 50cm into a room and well away from the sidewalls. You say your speakers are 4' apart how far are they from side walls and back wall? What do KEF recommend for positioning? JG
I know KEF makes nice subs but I'm a bit apprehensive about throwing money into en experiment that might fail. Would something inexpensive be sufficient? https://www.amazon.com/Elac-SUB1010...qid=1643912399&sprefix=elac+sub,aps,79&sr=8-3
I believe a relatively inexpensive speaker that does well with the things you most value will be preferable to a more expensive speaker that may be a better all-arounder but falls a bit short on the things you most value. You don't mention how you like jazz on the Wharfedales, but I would say return the KEFs and start auditioning other speakers.
I've played around with varying distances from the back wall. It seems like they sound best a foot from the rear wall. Side walls are tricky. My right speaker is inches from the side wall. My left speaker is several feet from the side wall. Depending on how far I pull them into the room, the left speaker is next to either my dresser or bed. I've thought a lot about how I shouldn't be judging the abilities of the LS50s in a less than ideal space. But, my Wharfedales deal with the same limitations and still manage to sound bigger with more bass.
If you are not happy with the sound return them while you can, at least you'll get a second chance with another new pair. Otherwise you will keep thinking the same for years to come.
I really enjoyed jazz on the Wharfedales BEFORE the KEFs. Now, if I switch from the LS50S to the Wharfedales during a jazz record, the sparkle is gone. I have trouble hearing the bass on the KEFs but the horns have this sweet, singing quality to them. The snap of the high hat cuts through in a way that my Wharfedales can't replicate.
Obvious answer. There are so many speakers out there that would probably suit your own personal preferences then why would you settle on less. Specially as you have window of opportunity to act. I’m confident you should be able to find speakers that “rock your boat” so to speak and give you much more satisfaction. All you have to do is the work required to find them. Hope you end up with the right choice.
I wonder if the KEF R3 might supply a bit of the bottom end the Warfdales are providing but keep the sparkle of the Uni-Q driver? I agree on the sub, as my LS50s greatly benefit from one, but my placement is more malleable.
There is a problem straight away, the sound just has to be unbalanced! Changing speakers isn't going to suddenly give you a great sound. Is there no way you can have the speakers the same distance from side walls? Personally I think it is pointless spending that much on speakers if you can't place them properly! JG
The KEF LS50 Wireless II, which is the self powered Meta version uses a 280 watt amplifier for the woofer and a 100 watt amplifier for the tweeter. I do not know if this helps with your thinking but it seems the Marantz might be under powered to really bring out the bass that these speaker have. Going with the KEF R series you may also find that the Marantz is under powered. The Marantz will drive the speaker and will be able to obtain higher levels of sound however it is not going to grab that woofer and bring out the bass that can be produced.
I bet running a sub like the Elac as close possible to your listening position might really do the job; close proximity to you would reduce timing issues and potentially allow you to keep the sub's volume low(ish). It would also allow you to play around with high-passing the KEFs for the low price of some extra speaker wire - that really helped in my system, too. I only suggest going to all this trouble because when the LS50s are dialed properly, they're special (but only from 100hz up, IMO). In my old room, the $1,500 LS50s needed ~$1,000 worth of sub reinforcement to do what I wanted them to (play chamber music one moment and Carcass the next). Not suggesting you need to spend hella money, only pointing out that the KEFs need lots of help in the low end.
I had LS50s in my office setup, replaced them with Falcon LS3/5as and then replaced those with LS50 metas. I run them with a sub. The metas deliver what I was searching for. If you don’t have a sub, get one - that should solve it.
The R3s were actually on sale when I bought the LS50s for $500 off. I almost bought them but read somewhere that a 3 way speaker wasn't ideal for nearfield listening. Now the R3s are back to their original price.
Based on this I believe the KEF line of speakers are not for you due to the fact that KEF speakers like to breath. They need space out from the front wall and away from the side walls which sounds like this is just not possible in your situation. There are numerous good speakers out there that will sound better than the KEFs in this type of a restricted situation.
Return them and look for something else. That feeling of disappointment ain't going away over time, it'll just get worse. I tried to like the LS50s, but when challenged, they had a mechanical quality I couldn't get past.
My girlfriend agrees with you. There have been times when I was CERTAIN I was sending them back. Then I'd have a really great experience with them and the thought of returning them became profoundly disappointing.
$150 on a sub to determine if the room limitations make them impossible is a fair price to pay, I think.
