Kef LS50 competitors that fit on a desk

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by uncola, Oct 20, 2015.

  1. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

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    I'm thinking of replacing the ls50. Funny timing with all the negative feedback here recently...i wouldn't say I'm displeased with them so I must have the infamous tin ears haha. I enjoy them but find them a notch or two too bright and bass distortion is a bit too prevalent with a decent bit of my music.

    Thinking new philharmonitor or maybe something from atc or pmc, maybe dynaudio. Wish there was a better way to audition stuff...Buffalo sucks.
     
  2. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    no worse than Rochester. At least you are closer to Niagara falls and have less crime in the city. Though I do know of a few ok places to try stuff here, not a very big selection.
     
  3. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    nah the ls50 are pretty good, but really try before you buy or simply dont buy imo.
    id suggest to try atc, proac, harbeth
     
  4. ak2angel

    ak2angel Acquaintance

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    I suggest trying out the Harbeth P3ESR. IMO they are one of the smoothest (HD650-like) <$2K mini-monitors. Their midrange is to die for, vocals and instruments sound very real, organic. Treble is sweet, unoffensive, and importantly, have no audible peaks. The only downside that they have quite limited usable LF (-3dB at 75hz). They dont thwack you like a LS50 would, but then I found their bass more linear and easier to listen through long sessions. ATC SCM7v3 is also a good choice, they offer a deeper, more controlled bass but require tons of power and dont quite have the smoothness and midrange magic of the P3s.
     
  5. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    lol, am I talking to myself? having the P3ESR and SCM7v3, I agree with your comments. Id say that atc also are really organic but just a tad less so then the P3ESR.

    imo, choosing between SCM7 and P3ESR will depend on what genre of music one listens the most. For rock or hard driven beat, the SCM7 are more dynamic and more believable in terms of scale and drama. im pretty sure that for classical orchestra, the ATC are definitely more suited (I dont listen to classical) and also if someone listen to higher spl, id chose the SCM7.

    if someone listen to a lot of acoustic music, vocals, jazz, world music, ambient or small classical ensemble, the P3ESR are just magic.

    I can live with the SCM7 without subwoofer (I need a sub with the P3) as the bass is very controlled, go deeper then P3 and seemingly distortion free. that is very impressing about the SCM7. you just have to hear that kind of bass to understand how much ATC drivers are well behaved. The P3ESR bass is definitely not as controlled, but has also qualities thats hard to explain. the P3 bass sounds like the real instruments, it almost pops out of the speaker, vibrant and alive. the atc bass is more analytical. id take the bass of SCM7 with the P3ESR mids/higs. that would be my dream speaker.

    the kef ls50, the more I listen, the more I agree about the jack of all trades master of none or swiss army knife. the biggest problem I have so far with the ls50 is that it sounds more like hifi then music. sometime I get distracted by some details or how it sounds rather then following the music. I also find it brighter then neutral.
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2017
  6. Purastikku

    Purastikku New

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    LS50 was one of the contenders on my list for a bookshelf speaker, but listening to them at a friend's house, I found them too bright and analytical as you described them. And while bright sounding, highs seemed to roll off too quickly, lacked extension with flutes, triangles or high pitched violins. I settled on Dali Menuet that popped up for a good price, and gave them a try. Not as detailed, but beautiful trebble and mids, and surprisingly strong bass when positioned as they should next or against a wall. Definitely worth a listen IMO, even against P3ESR.
     
  7. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

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    @murphythecat, would love more impressions from you on how your continuum matches up with some of these other speakers. I'm thinking of going that route in the near future (or some other diy like tango or something completely off the wall).

    Yep, I did get a chance to listen to the harbeths at the local speaker store a bit ago (ok, Buffalo, you don't utterly suck haha). It's a nice store but small with not many of the brands I'm interested in.

    Anyway, I think I liked the harbeths the best out of what i auditioned (also heard the ls50's and the technics sb-700c). I didn't have a good selection of music to try, though. I actually liked the ls50 the least but ended up with those due to a decent price on a used pair (and they were the sexy frosted black with blue cones).
     
  8. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    the Continuum are good and great for the money but they cannot compete with the P3ESR or ATC SCM7 v3.
     
  9. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    Here are some stream of consciousness thoughts about my Dynaudio X14A, LS50s, and Adam F5s for desktop usage. Comparing the X14A/F5 to the LS50 isn't really on an even playing field considering we're talking about active monitors vs the passive LS50s, but all comparisons were made using a Jotunheim (with Modi Multibit or Internal DAC) as a pre for the active monitors, and an Yggdrasil & Ragnarok for the LS50s. All speakers were on Isoacoustics stands, and no tone controls/EQ were used.

    [​IMG]

    LS50: I've always liked my LS50s for their decent clarity & resolution, but tonally I've had issues with their stridency in the upper mids & treble that kept me from getting 100% behind them for nearfield usage. I used to run them fully plugged which emphasized some of the issues with the upper mids, but running them unported/half ported caused too many issues with bass reflections in the small room I had them in at the time. I currently have my LS50's on living room duty with my TT rig, however they're way too small to adequately fill the room that they're in. These are going to get sold as soon as I get my new floorstanders to replace them.

    Adam F5: Treble was a bit rough but very airy and well extended. Mids lacked clarity, and bass performance was extremely limp (poor extension & impact). With the Jotunheim & XLR inputs I really had to crank the gain & volume to get any attack out of them, so I'm not sure if the internal amps are underpowered or if there's some weird input impedance issue. These reminded me of my ESP-950s in the sense that they were tonally good but lacked a satisfying amount of impact. They could make for a pleasant listening experience for nearfield usage, but couldn't hold a candle to the LS50s or X14As in any respects and completely fell flat in terms of filling a medium sized room. Currently have these dedicated to a secondary desk setup with a Vali 2/Modi Multibit as a pre.

    Dynaudio X14A: These hit the "Goldilocks" zone for me in terms of good nearfield performance with enough impact to fill a medium sized room well. Tonally I would say they have a downward sloping FR with a bit of low-midbass emphasis and slight treble roll off. I would say the clarity in the mids is equal to the LS50s, but without the annoying upper mid/treble emphasis. Bass seems to extend surprisingly low considering these are the smallest speakers of the bunch. They're much more sensitive than the Adam F5's, to the extent that I'm running them at -10db and only need about 25% volume travel on the Jotunheim (low gain) to get to an acceptable listening volume. Resolution might be a bit behind the LS50's, however this impression might be due to the more analytical tone of the LS50s or Rag/Yggdrasil driving them. I think they're well worth the price of admission (especially if you can get them used) and I have no desire to keep searching for a desktop solution at the moment.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. fierce_freak

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    I just snagged a pair of ATC SCM11 v2 speakers. Can't wait to check them out when they land.
     
  11. anetode

    anetode Friend

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    That sounds familiar from what I recall with Dynaudio's other speakers. Must be the house sound, smooth but subdued treble and hint of thickness to the bass. Haven't heard their TOTL yet though.
     
  12. groovyd

    groovyd New

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    Got a pair of mini maggies on my desk and they sound incredible. Driven by PrimaLuna ProLogue integrated amp.
     
  13. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Envy! Congratulations and enjoy.
     
  14. pippenainteasy

    pippenainteasy Acquaintance

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    Dynaudios are a great choice. They don't have the treble extension of metal drivers but are forgiving of virtually any recording and have any amazingly smooth sound. Btw the Dynaudio Contour SR is even smaller than the X14 and desk friendly, and I believe have slightly better drivers. Additionally I think Contour SRs are discontinued by the larger Dyanudio Contour 20, so the formerly $2400/pair model can be found for around $900-1000/pair now from dealers (they are $1k on Amazon or Audiogon typically). The SR has inverted woofer and tweeter, making it even more ideal for desktop use (as it raises the woofer and reduces boundary reflection from the desk).

    At 386in³ they are ridiculously small--they managed to fit a full 6" woofer into the speaker and it's only about half the size of the of Excite X14! (750in³)
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2017
  15. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Old quote, but I came across this today for $500...
    http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=150702.msg1612377;topicseen#new

    Before I sunk money into my ATCs, these were on my short list.
     
  16. SPS

    SPS New

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    what budget amp would be best for Harbeth P3ESR?
     
  17. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    Well, I looked them up and theyre small alright - unfortunately you can see what got sacrificed here, as the bass extension is rated 85Hz. Yes, adding subs takes care of this but its all additional pain for me. YMMV of course
     
  18. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    I have Amphion One15 with Isoacoustics Aperta stands and couldn't be happier, liked them way more than LS50 and ATC SCM12 pro.
    It's a linear, room friendly, honest but no analytical sounding speaker, also is phase coherent...can't ask more for what it costs.
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2017
  19. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    very interesting
    I had the amphion one18 for 2 years and I regret selling them. stellar and im sure the on15 are just as good.
     
  20. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    Amphion rocks :cool:
    To be fair, the only bookshelf speakers that I've heard that made me say: "Okay, this is another league" were the new Piega Coax 311, with a Gryphon amp, it had the same detail and almost equal tonal balance of BHSE/007 MK1 that I've heard at Canjam, which is almost impossible for a speaker, but it was a 20k setup...for a desktop solution, the Amphions are end-game, don't see the need for more.
     

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