They’re also not as power-hungry as the ATCs. Good news too on the mid bass hump front: on the LS50 there isn’t one. There’s also some of the tonal fatness that I enjoy in the ATC SCM 11. Music emanates from a space between and behind the speakers, seemingly physically disconnected from the boxes spinning the aural illusion.Įxcitement and dynamics are more up in yr grill with the LS50 than the Spendor SA1 – they present closer to the PMC DB1i’s “where’s the party?” vibe without giving up anything in the midrange transparency department. Nothing images like a ProAc? The LS50 do – that’s ‘Uni-Q’ coaxial magic at work. Bass integration is also better on the KEF. The rear-ported KEF isn’t transmission line like the DB1i but bass goes considerably deeper than even the PMC. The LS50 release more upper-frequency air than the SA1 and the ATC SCM11 but not as much as the ProAc TR8 (which sizzles) or PMC DB1i (which sparkles). The LS50’s top-end is as smooth as that of the Spendor SA1 but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. This pick of the pops now shifts to KEF’s 50th birthday badboys. Aside from Harbeth’s P3ESR, Spendor’s SA1 – a sealed design – are the least rock n roll in the aforelisted boxes and yet I’ve consistently name-checked them as my favourite in the sub-$3k standmount category because of their talents with imaging, tone and transparency (particularly with voices). Put away that knee-blanket, no afternoon nap for you! I’ve spent considerable time with. If you’re expecting pipe and slippers from KEF here you’re in for a rude awakening. I’ve spent weeks and weeks on end with PMC DB1i and TB1i, ProAc Tablette Reference 8 and 1SC, ATC SCM 7 and 11 and 19, Rega RS1, Harbeth P3ESR and C7-ES2, Spendor S3/5se and S3/5r and SA 1. But many contemporary models are pretty darn good with implying a sense of bass, even if they don’t do so explicitly with chest-thump impact. Standmounts don’t go as low as floorstanders as a rule. I asked myself: how do the LS50 compare to the (mostly British) standmounts that I’ve owned/borrowed over the past couple of years? Also, which amplifiers to hand work best? Rather than re-inforce the raves that precede this review, I thought I’d take a different approach. So successful have they been with reviewers and the general public alike that KEF intends to continue the LS50’s production indefinitely. The LS50’s rose-gold coaxial driver array is now unmistakable. Global brand manager Johan Coorg says the push for more radical aesthetics came from Hong Kong mothership GP Acoustics. Perhaps the (wo)men in white coats at KEF’s development lab in Kent instead asked themselves: what might the LS3/5a sound like today? I suspect the connection might be more marketing spin than genuine genetic extrapolation. Their design is a future-facing take on an old standard, the BBC LS3/5a. The LS50 were birthed to celebrate KEF’s 50th Anniversary. It makes me wonder if KEF has an active LS50 waiting in the wings? Both can get you ripped but the latter takes one’s palette through more complex flavours. It’s the difference between a Jack + coke and a modestly priced single malt. They sound simultaneously punctilious and suave. The LS50 are warmer in the midrange, more inviting and enveloping and – with the right amplifier attached – FAR more dynamic. In case you’re in any doubt (and as good as the X300A are) the LS50 outclass their powered siblings in almost every respect. Before swiping the credit card on a pair of LS50 at Apollo Hi-fi in Sydney’s inner west, I first took time with the X300A to furnish readers with some broader context on KEF’s Uni-Q coaxial designs (trickled down from the Blade). KEF’s X300A powered loudspeakers caught my eye – I winked back. Here’s the spec skinny (for those who can’t be bothered with the above click-clack):ĭrivers: 5.25″ aluminium-magnesium alloy woofer, 1″ wave-guided aluminium tweeter, “Uni-Q” coaxial configuration, crossed over at 2.2kHz, 79Hz-28kHz frequency response, 85db sensitivity.īoxes: 12″ x 8″ x 11″ dimensions, MDF construction except convex polymer front baffle (to minimise diffraction), elliptical rear port with flexi-foam mid-section (to minimise chuffing/distortion), vertical and horizontal internal bracing.Īhead of (this) LS50 coverage proper there would be a minor (de)tour. John Chillari of Sydney’s Apollo Hifi with the KEF LS50 …however, my personal interest only intensified. Inner Fidelity (Steve Guttenberg again).Months passed and as the reviews tumbled down my professional interest began to wane. How could I further advance a conversation that was already bursting with accolades? Having first heard them sometime in mid 2012 and then again later that year at RMAF, I’ve been pestering KEF HQ about a review pair for some time. In getting to my door, KEF’s LS50 (AU$1999) took the long way around. A May 2016 update to this post can be found here.
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