Kef LS50 competitors that fit on a desk

Parts cost isn't cheap for the NegMonitor. And I'm not going to claim it's the best thing ever because I can hear hte drawbacks. $1000 of drivers that were graciously donated to me for experimentation, and another $200 (or more depending if you want to go full-audiophile) on crossover components. But I could make a thread more thoroughly documenting the design and performance if you guys wanted.

 

I'd be interested at least.

 

Sounds pretty interesting to me.

 

Like.

 

They are very very pretty though. But for bookshelfs, i suppose you cant go much better than those. Maybe a Decware DM945?

 

Or you could go with the ELAC Debut B5 and $1,000 in your pocket.

 

The Elac B6's are worth considering as well. They're not much larger and are only $50 more ($279 for a pair). I plan on purchasing a pair later in the year to try them out on my desk. I haven't heard them yet, but feedback from shows and others who haven listened has been very positive. For the price, I'm willing to take the risk.

 

Hehe I haven't heard the new Elac stuff but I was not impressed by andrew jones pioneer stuff even for the price. It was below my threshold of listenability. I feel a bit like you guys saying save yourself $1000 and get an elac b5 is like someone on head-fi saying don't bother with hd800 save yourself some money and get audio technica M50. This is a thread for ls50 level speakers, not super cheap value kings

 

Listen first, pontificate later. You're so far off the mark that the mark's not even in the same area code. The ELACs punch way, way above their weight.

 

Things would be easier to recommend if you would state what speakers have you liked and what not.
They are no less personal than phones. Which compromises in sound are you willing to make?
Have you heard the LS50-s yourself?

 

I live on a tiny island with like 2 audio dealers that mostly deal in super high end Anyway I'm ordering the new philharmonitor next week
I've had the andrew jones pioneer towers and center, some bic acoustic horn towers, kef q900. that's about it for passive speakers. oh and my psb image b5 bookshelves. THREE of my friends have ls50 though. anyway I love the illusion of soundstage the psb create, they've scaled well between a few different amp upgrades. I'm hoping the raal tweeter brings everything to the next level. Plus I suspect the crossover in philharmonic speakers are better/less cheapo than mass market speakers so better cohesion between drivers

 

I'm on the hunt for some relatively high efficiency (full range, if possible) speakers for my desk/office, to be driven via my first watt f3 clone.

Omegas, Tektons, Blumensteins, Klipsch rb 5i or ii (if I can find a pair) are all possible contenders. Anyone have any other suggestions along these lines? Currently running Boston cr85's (sensitivity: 90db), set out 3ft. on each side of my monitor and angled in. They don't suck are have nice range for bookshelves, but I think the f3 would shine with higher efficiency speakers. A sub would likely irritate my colleagues in the adjacent offices and is a no go.

 

DIY? I could give you some nifty Fostex drivers

 

Thanks Oj! DIY is certainly an option, although I'd say I'm more competent with an iron than I am a saw or wood glue. I had briefly looked at the kanspea kits on madisound, but per the specs, it looks like the drivers should be about on par with the sensitivity of my current speakers - or does it make a significant difference going from a 2 way rated for 90db to a single driver? Are there ready made enclosures for the drivers you referenced? Thanks again!

 

Full range, high sensitivity and small? Choose two or even one and a half. 15W for near-field is quite okay, even with standard sensitivity speakers.

 

I have the KEF LS-50 and like them, though I would like them better if they were a touch less aggressive in the upper mids. But nothing's perfect.

You might consider the Technics (!) SB-C700. They also use concentric drivers and appear to be the descendants of the (Sao) Win SM-10 and the Technics SB-RX50 from 1986. I heard them at the Westchester NY show and they sounded quite interesting. They were thoroughly trashed in review by the British mag "What HI-FI", so they might sound good...

Kevin

 

If you want good and small you get inneficient. I recommend ATC SCM11, PMC DB1 Gold and Amphion Argon1. All superb.

 

I meant full range more as a term of art - looking to get down around 50 hz, not 30 hz. In any event, I ended up ordering some omega super 7 mk2 monitors in graphite tweed cabinets. They appear to tick all the boxes - high efficiency, full range (down to 45hz) and small. Also, they look bitchin and reportedly pair well with first watts like my f3 clone. Fingers crossed that they sound as good as the guys on the omega forums suggest.

 

I'm in the same boat. Demo'd them at a few times at local stores, have a friend who has a pair as well, he got a little bit offended when I asked why he didn't just buy some decent floorstanders and get a better experience for the same or less.

To me it just seems like KEF dropped a big, big wad of money on marketing and getting every possible review site to cover them.

I will give them their appearance though, they are up there with the B&W PM1 in visually appealing, small bookshelf speakers.

 

Another interesting option is made by Equator: part for part those are closest to HEF HS50 as they use a coaxial tweeter/woofer configuration. As a bonus, being active, they include the amplification, supposedly optimized for the speaker, so one less box on the desk and more cash in the wallet. They have front baffle bass ports (recently updated) so no problem with placing them against a wall and getting funky resonances. For the price of a new HD 650 and with excellent reviews from the studio community, I took the plunge and looking forward to firing them up. (they seem to produce small batches and run out of stock frequently; I am waiting for delivery at the end of the month)

http://www.equatoraudio.com/D5-Studio-Monitors-with-DSP-Pair-p/d5.htm