I had LS50 Anniversary edition’s from 2012-3, kept until about 2 years ago, upgraded to Wilson Tune Tot. The LS50’s are pretty hard to fault at under $1,500 a pair, very revealing speaker for their price point. Only issue I saw with the LS50’s is they are very picky with their chain, definitely need proper pairing which can lead to spending a decent amount more on the chain. They are almost to a fault true to chain in front of them. If you like LS50’s general tone, Harbeth are definitely a next step up while keeping a similar British sound signature. I’m in love with Wilson Tune Tots ability to handle little details and nuances that many other stand mount speakers miss, incredible micro and macro dynamics from such a small speaker. Definitely doesn’t have the low end of a larger Harbeth, but Wilson kills both Harbeth and KEF LS50’s in micro dynamics with ultra clean not forced details.
I am a LS50 quitter. They were purchased completely out of curiosity - LS50s hyped to, what I arrived to see, unwarranted degrees in the audiophile press. Stereophile class A and Absolute Sound editors choice selections. Not that those designations mean anything but it does create curiosity. I like compact monitors. I already have Spendor S3/5, Genelec 8030A and perhaps unfairly in a completely different class, ATC SCM20ASL. Those poor LS50 were hopelessly outclassed. Yikes, talk about fatigue inducing. No amount of speaker break-in time was ever gonna alter the basic timbre of these speakers. All the boom-bash-sizzle as caricature of audiophile sound and none of the nuance. These speakers clearly not for me and buying from a mass market online retailer showed the advantage of a no-questions-asked return. That was my get out of jail free card from a “what was I thinking” moment. Reminded me both to never fall for the hype and the Genelecs I already had were exceptional in comparison to a LS50. I don’t opine on product sound quality because it is just my opinion and doesn’t carry anymore weight than someone who likes LS50s opinion. But it is a hobby and my experience on how I wanted to try something I wouldn’t normally go after. So for once I went for a shiny object the audiophile press was making a fuss over. And I found that a speaker I would never normally go after was indeed a speaker I should have never gone after.
I have the Metas and adore them. Put on the 2016 LP reissue of Obscured by Clouds last night and was just floored.
Original in the sense they were pre-Meta but not that long ago as far as when I bought them. And in agreement as to the looks of the speaker noted by some in this thread, I purchased them when they were offered in the all carbon black finish. The LS50 was plannd to be amped via a vintage Marantz 2325 receiver, which I did. But I also tried the LS50s driven by an Ayre V-3 power amp because as an audiophile, that's whatcha gonna do - hook it up to everything you've got in order to hear it. The V-3 is a tubey sounding 100w/channel SS amp; the Marantz is 125w/channel of puffed up watts from the days of the receiver watts per channel wars. But LS50s were a presentation that for me did not compute. But in fairness to LS50s, I own some pretty nice monitors too.
Maybe you haven’t gave the LS50 the needed time to burn and play with them enough... I started this thread because I have them for years and tried really hard in two different rooms and eight different amplifiers (including cables and sources) and I feel that probably I will look for another monitor speaker. Like you, the fame of the LS50 commanded me to buy them, and that is a good thing because I have now a full experience with a certified reference speaker. But maybe it is not my cup of tea... (still thinking about it). So if there is a list for contenders / substitutes perhaps this will be on it: - Goldenear BRX - Polk Audio Legend L100 / L200 - Dynaudio Emit 20 / Evoke 10 - Monitor Audio Silver 100 7g - Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary - Dali Opticon 2 - Elac Uni-Fi Reference UBR62
I used LS50s in my office system for years, and I recently moved to ATC SCM11. I wasn’t sure about the ATCs presentation at first. I made a post here asking about them sounding flat. But, after some break in and adjustment (physical and mental), it became clear that they were more detailed, balanced and neutral. Really better all around. I recommend you check them out.
I agree that burn-in can subtlely alter the timbre of a speaker but I don't believe it will markedly change the character of said speaker's output delivery. Meaning that it might smooth itself over time but it won't change its fundamental tonal balance. The tonal balance of the Spendor; Genelec and ATC monitors I have are pretty mellow - even notwithstanding the less-than-admired Seas tweeter in the ATC because I own a earlier version of that speaker predates ATC's manufacture of their own tweeter. The LS50 was never gonna be like those no matter how much run-in it had. I knew it was a mistake. Of course. We all buy stuff with high hopes as to a successful conclusion. I'm sure neither of us seek to review poorly of any audio product we own. But truly the only way to know is to buy it and hear it knowing we have put skin in the game and the incentives are truly to find a way to be happy with what we have undertaken. HaHa spending your own cash will have that effect on projects. We are all wary about audiophile press but we still occasionally get pulled in, not because the press is dishonest but because we seek new & better experiences. Which, lacking better information, puts all hobbyists in a position where we believe what we want to believe until we can know more otherwise. And brother, buying it and hearing it will bring the facts to light a fast as you wanna see the light. Best of luck to you. Enjoy the journey while trying not to spend foolishly seeking out enjoyments. In this endeavor we are all kindred spirits.
I personally think they are, extremely accurate and life like reproduction of sound. They have amazing micro dynamics that even my B&W Nautilus speakers can’t match. But they definitely are not full range.
I am getting back to this topic because these damn things are really surprising. Like I said before I never fully enjoyed my KEF LS50’s sound, and I had tried hard to like them many times. Because they are so much loved and got so much praising reviews, I never sold them and once in a while tried again and again with several amplifiers, but the result was never the expected. Knowing my dedicated room’s acoustics plus and minus aspects and having nailed the in-room-position with my other speakers after just a couple of days, the LS50 setup efforts were always heartbreaking... until yesterday. Now, after the desired result, I think that the more surprising aspect is that they only seem to work in one precise spot (with no more than 2-3 centimeters of adjusting range sideways). The problem was that not only the correct position in the room is far from the regular spot for all other speakers, but also far from the “lines” defined by the rule of 3rds - my favorite approach to room positioning. I never had such a hard time setting up a pair of speakers. So I decided have another go with the LS50’s and proceed following way: a) use only the Rogue Sphinx MkI, Rega Saturn cd player, Belden 8402 interconnects, Atlas Equator speaker cable, Target R3 stands b) use only 3 cds: Buddy Tate - when I’m blue / Bruce Springsteen - the ghost of tom joad / Tindersticks - nanette et boni c) do this after 8pm, when my system sounds better. Starting from my Duevel Planets usual position, I move the LS50 quite a bit in all directions (in small increments), but it was when they went further into the room and then closer together something good started to happen: some extra depth and clarity to the soundstage was presented without sacrificing the mid-bass control. After a while I got stuck with options and decided to move the chair further close to the speakers. At this point the soundstage was enormous with great sense o realism to the sound but just a bit light. Moving back them just 2,5cm did the job. And with no toe-in at all. They ended up 179cm apart, 85cm from the side walls, 156cm from the main wall, and the distance to the listening position is 222cm - all measured from the centre of the front baffles. The most difficult task was to find the correct treble balance and guaranteed the absence of sibilance on the voices, the main think that always bother me with the Adding the Denafrips Pontus II dac to the described system make it even better. So I must say that I love these speakers after all. They are very demanding in every aspect, so I guess they are not for everyone, but I you already have them I truly recommend and extra effort.
I'm a few months into mine and they are incredible. Like you said above, they don't set up like the other speakers I've had, but when you find that spot, they sound 10 feet tall and the most 3 dimensional space around them I've ever heard.
I had been thinking about this post and how you have been struggling. I also remember a number of other people not 100% satisfied, but they all, at least almost all knew there was something in there that was just eluding them. For those who are interested in these speakers and just might be starting on their entry into higher end systems my suggestion is the LS50 Wireless Meta II speakers. These speakers will solve the puzzle of what amplifier to use with the LS50s, they come with four, two per speaker built right into them. If KEF cannot get the amplifier synergy correct then there is no hope. The added benefit to these speakers comes with all the other features they add; DAC (streaming), bluetooth, HDMI eARC connectivity and more. All this in just two small boxes that sound glorious. In a small room, 18' x 12' or so, a sub is not required if you mainly listen to rock and small combo jazz. Adding a sub, theirs or another manufacturers will turn this into a killer system. They have an app for your phone that integrates one or two subs very easily into the system. I have so many things hooked up to my Wireless Meta IIs that I lost count. One of my favorites is streaming from my phone or using them as the main sound reinforcement for my TV viewing. All these functions integrate easily and as mentioned sounds incredible. Obviously streaming from the phone through the Bluetooth connection does not sound as good as streaming through a Network connection using ROON and yes they are ROON certified, but still the Bluetooth is so convenient and still does sound great. When I walk into the room where they are I click the right speaker on, make sure the Bluetooth symbol lights up, then go to my phone launch the program I use to play music from my phone or lauch Qobuz also from my phone and play music while I do whatever brought me into the room for those moments. When I leave I just push the button and the right speaker to turn everything off and I walk away. Very easy. This is the way I would go if I was just beginning to step up my first higher end entry level system, but did not want to spend $5k or upwards on speakers, amplifiers and DACs as my next move. Still you need to play around with speaker positioning to get the absolute best sound, but I have found that the Wireless Meta IIs are very forgiving to placement, which I am assuming is due to all the pieces; amplifier, DAC etc, being integrated beautifully by KEF.
My 1st contribution to this board. I have fairly recently been getting back into hifi and now own a pair of the Ls50 Metas. I think they are a work of art, which is what drew me to them to start with. I then read all of the fabulous reviews, watched all the YouTube videos and thought I need them in my life. I have to say they are just incredible, every bit as good as I'd hoped, actually better. I understand they are not to everyone's taste but I am in love with mine.
OG LS50 -> B&W N805: Had wanted a B&W/McIntosh combo since my first visit to a HiFi shop. A mint pair came up locally so I bit. They didn’t quite gel for me in the end so I sold both and grabbed some… OG LS50W-> Dynaudio LYD 48: The LS50W was a revelation but after some time and unsuccessful attempts to blend a sub to my liking I moved on to the 3-way Dyns. With them I truly never felt I needed a sub. FWIW I changed to a larger room and went back to the brand but with R11s. I agree with @mds that a pair of LS50W Metas would serve as an excellent, just add source, simplistic starter setup. Glad to of hear your experimentation is paying off and you’re liking your speakers again.
Interesting thread. I’ve had LS50s for years. Had them in 6 six different rooms with tons of different gear over this period. With sub and without. With bass management and without, room correction/sans etc. Solid state, tube, you get the idea. Found them to be a versatile speaker that did the job but I’ve never really loved them. They are competent speakers but I never find myself enchanted. Recently, a friend loaned me a pair of Sonus Faber Lumina ii. Swapped them with my LS50s and was surprised to find they are more fun to listen to and cost less to boot. This experience has got me thinking it might finally be time to look for something else.
Had the LS50 from 2016-2020, loved them but eventually I wanted a more full-range experience. Went to the R3 but found it lacked a bit of the magic the LS50 had. Now I have the Harbeth 30.2 XD which are in a different league entirely.
The longer you run them the better they will play , I had mine (original anniversary edition) some 6 years then moved them on as I got first klipsch quartets and them Tannoy Berkeley’s both of which I still have and rotate , so for me it was moving house and having a larger room that could accommodate floorstanders of a decent size , that’s not to say I don’t have some days when I hanker for the sound of the LS50s piano black with copper driver stunning looks
