xxmartinxx Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I've been flirting with upgrading my speakers for a while now. I have the search narrowed down to KEF LS50's and KEF R300's. I've went to a local shop and listened to both and they both sound great, however they both seem to have some drawbacks. The R300's have more bass however they miss the air and life that the LS50's have. I can get a barely used pair of LS50's locally for $975 and I was wondering how well the LS50's would do rock (punk, hardcore, post hardcore, indie, etc) without a subwoofer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
problemchild Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I keep hearing wonders about the LS50s, but I tried them once at a shop in Cambridge, MA and was less than impressed. Maybe it was the content or room. I'll have to give em another shot next time I get the chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillwill Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I run Kef LS50s, my amp is a Rogue Cronus Magnum II and my turntable is a Vpi Scout with a 2m black cartridge. The Kef LS50s sound absolutely incredible under this setup - amazingly clear mids and highs with bass that makes you wonder if you accidentally turned your subwoofer on. I listen to tons of electronic/rock/indie/folk/whatever and these speakers can do it all. They run circles around any other speaker when properly driven, this includes the R300 which I auditioned. If you can put a quality source and power to the LS50s, they won't leave you wanting for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 Brillwill, we have somewhat similar setups. I have an Audio Research VSi55, a Rogue Triton phono pre and a VPI Scout running a Denon DL103 cart. What size is your room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillwill Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Brillwill, we have somewhat similar setups. I have an Audio Research VSi55, a Rogue Triton phono pre and a VPI Scout running a Denon DL103 cart. What size is your room? It's a smaller room, approximately 12x18? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Martin- will your local shop not give you an in home demo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 They would, but it seems like it would be in poor taste knowing that if I liked the LS50's I'd be buying them from someone else. I think I'm just going to buy them tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Nice! They were my #2 choice. Black/orange or white/blue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 They would, but it seems like it would be in poor taste knowing that if I liked the LS50's I'd be buying them from someone else. I think I'm just going to buy them tomorrow. That was my first thought, would they not get closer to the price you can get them for with a bit of pushing after a home demo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Nice! They were my #2 choice. Black/orange or white/blue? Black and orange. I would prefer the white and blue combo, but I don't dislike either color combo. Did you ever replace your Sonus Fabers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 That was my first thought, would they not get closer to the price you can get them for with a bit of pushing after a home demo? I'm still in price negotiations with the seller, but I'll be getting at least $525 off list and no tax. They may have offered me the demos at maybe $150 off list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Black and orange. I would prefer the white and blue combo, but I don't dislike either color combo. Did you ever replace your Sonus Fabers? I ended up repairing them myself with the help of SF. I love em again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 I picked these up yesterday late and set them up and listened to maybe an hour of music. So far I'm kind of meh about them. I just realized that they're 8 ohm and I have them hooked up to the 4 ohm outputs on my amp, so fixing that may help. I'm not sure how broken in these are. Supposed they weren't used much. Maybe they need to be broken in more. I thought my out-of-the-box Monitor Audio RX1's sounded horrible until they broke in fully. I dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octave Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I picked these up yesterday late and set them up and listened to maybe an hour of music. So far I'm kind of meh about them. I just realized that they're 8 ohm and I have them hooked up to the 4 ohm outputs on my amp, so fixing that may help. I'm not sure how broken in these are. Supposed they weren't used much. Maybe they need to be broken in more. I thought my out-of-the-box Monitor Audio RX1's sounded horrible until they broke in fully. I dunno. Have you had anymore listening/break in time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillwill Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 what amp are you using? in my experience they absolutely require high quality amplification,and will broadcast any deficiency in your setup chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Have you had anymore listening/break in time? I have. They've either started to grow on me or continued to break in or both as I enjoy them more now than on the first few listens. There are things I like about them and things I don't. One of these days I'm going to A/B them with the RX1's and make a decision on which I like more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 what amp are you using? in my experience they absolutely require high quality amplification,and will broadcast any deficiency in your setup chain. Audio Research VSi55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 I have. They've either started to grow on me or continued to break in or both as I enjoy them more now than on the first few listens. There are things I like about them and things I don't. One of these days I'm going to A/B them with the RX1's and make a decision on which I like more. Always a good idea, I never let anything go until I've A/B tested it with what it's supposed to replace and if the new item doesn't win the test I keep the old item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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