Kef LS50 competitors that fit on a desk

Please comment once you get them! I've always wanted a pair of Omegas but never really had the space for them in my small bedroom.

I wasn't impressed with the LS50 that I heard when paired with the McIntosh system either. But that's probably cause the McIntosh smooths everything over way too much.

 

It is a very interesting option for the desktop. I've heard, a few years ago, a small pair filling a room, and not doing a bad job of it.

ISTR that Americans get a return-if-you-don't-like offer too.

 

If you also consider something from the DIY corner, have a look to the following concepts (from German DIY magazins):
NADA (from Klang und Ton)
Illuminata 15 (from HobbyHIFI)
ILLU18 (modified version of the Illuminata 15)
You may use google to find more information. Depending on the configuration, these should go from around 1200$ a piece to 2000$ a piece.
All three concepts use Scan Speak speakers and will blow the KEF LS 50 out of the water. If you use the beryllium version of the tweeter, you will have a absolute reference class studio monitor.

 

I have a pair of D5's at work. Not bad, but they're no KEF's. Their internal DSP sometimes acts funny.

 

is there any english guide for any of these...links would be appreciated

 

I got my D5 recently and I can attest they work quite well for my n00b ears. Would be interesting to compare face to face with the KEFs but for less than Senn HD 650 money (how the hell do they do it?) this pair of powered monitors blew my socks off and essentially replaced all headphone time (I am a fortunate fussy and lazy bastard - hate to be tied to the desk with a cable and my neighbors don't complain for being exposed to moderate sound levels). The D5s sound detailed and clear with exceptionally smooth vocals and wide stage and are not fussy with positioning. Best spot is 2-3 meters in front of them but are more than acceptable wherever I move in the living room.

Did not experience any funny sound distortions suggestive of DSP problems - but not sure how this would manifest either. Maybe the current version with improved housing, bass port, tweeter etc took care of rough edges from the first version? All in all solid performers for comparatively little money (KEFs in addition to costing, give or take, x4 as much, also require separate amplification so the value proposition will be hard to swallow for most people).

 

For the money they are really a swell pair of speakers, that's for sure. I don't have access to the data, but I remember that during our anechoic chamber testing there was something funny going on in highs. Also I'm not sure which revision we have. In any case - I'm sure that there are plenty of happy folks using these speakers.

I would very much like to hear the bigger models of the Q series. When I'm crossing my LS50's with a SB-2000 sub there is a "hole" in dynamics around 50-150Hz, where small speakers start to struggle and the sub just starts swinging. It's the "thwack" range, where large full range speakers in my opinion perform much better due to larger moving area. Q10 in mid field might be perfect in that regard.

 

Good points! I hesitated about getting the next level up, D8, but they are much larger and not desktop friendly - doable but a little overwhelming. The Q10 may be up to something, but again they are massive. Looking at their response curve, probably a sub woofer is not needed

As for the D5 - it seems it got reworked late 2015. I got a blurb in the box stating they re-tuned the bass port to decrease distortion at the lower end and changed details of the enclosure to make it more stable and facilitate disassembly in case of repairs. I think they also mentioned changing to a different tweeter and altering the wave guide pattern to allow for more precise upper frequencies. As far as I remember there was no mention of changing the circuitry - but I can not find the paper to confirm.

 

If you (like me) find the LS50 a little too heavily voiced but like the idea of fairly narrow treble directivity, Tannoy is another brand to consider. Their new "Omnimagnet" Dual Concentric is very good. I reviewed the biggest tower for SECRETS (Revolution XT8F - see link below; there is some detail on the evolution of Tannoy's Dual Concentric driver in the reviwew). By sound and finish quality I think it's one of the best value tower speakers on the market. I would have bought the trio if we didn't have a fireplace front and center in our living room. I've not heard the 6" standmount, but I'm currently listening to the XT Minis on my desktop (on "stands" from the Container Store) and I enjoy them for casual background listening (with DIY Peerless XLS12 PR sub and cheap Dayton plate amp).

The review above has on axis measurements and polar maps of the XT8F. I've not measured my XT Minis.

If you don't care about narrow treble directivity, Ascend has a new mini-monitor coming out with a 4" Seas woofer and Raal tweeter. The theoretical downside of wide treble directivity is lots more reflections off of monitors and the like. I'd like to hear if it's actually a problerm.

 

You found the LS50 to throw a narrow projection, Jay? I found them to have a pretty wide sweet spot. Haven't done polar response measurements in our chamber.

P.S. Cool reviews! I might drop you a message someday.

 

Objectively the LS50 have narrow treble dispersion. It is limited by the phase plug and the woofer cone. The funny thing is, that often results in exactly what you observed: a pretty wide sweet spot. Narrow dispersion speakers work even better when you toe in the speakers substantially, as time/intensity trading keeps the center locked in place. With wider dispersion, you can't take advantage of time/intensity trading so often the image will collapse out of a smaller sweet spot.

The other theoretical advantage of narrow treble dispersion, especially on a desktop, is fewer HF reflections off surrounding surfaces.

 

I honestly don't know why people go nuts for the LS50s. I've heard them in about a dozen different setups now, and some of them were quite nice (decent room to speaker size, room treatments, entirely competent electronics, etc.) and they were very disappointing for $1500. I've personally found KEF's to be too dull, but even putting that aside, there's a massive lumpy dip in the lower mids/upper bass. I guess it's not an issue if you only want to listen to string quartets, but dang. Sweet spot is of course room dependent, but seems fairly wide, although I didn't notice as dramatic an improvement in listening quality when you sit exactly in the sweet spot as with other speakers. Decent presence and the imaging you'd expect for a small standmount. Kinda rolled highs above the upper presence region (imo) I feel like these would be a lot more competitive at a couple hundred dollar lower price point. I will say that they look cool though, and whoever does the marketing for these boxes should get a helluva raise...

Anyways, I happen to think the ATC standmounters are quite good (if pricey) and Wharfedale and Tannoy make some pretty nice stuff if you're into the british monitor sound. As far as desktop at $1500 goes there's a ton of competition...

 

Related to the original topic but even more restricted in size, what are some good (passive) bookshelf speakers that can fit on an actual small bookshelf? I'm talking paperback size (4.5"x7"), with shelves not much higher nor deeper than that (maybe at most 8" high and 8" deep?). Speakers can possibly be laid on their sides to sidestep height restrictions, but I'd still like to keep overall size to a minimum.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/diyaudio/comments/3me2gj/pimp_my_kef_ls50/

Because if you're okay modding $1500 headphones, you should be okay modding $1500 speakers.

 

I have Monitor Audio Gold GX-100's in my living room, ELAC b6's in the family room, and MartinLogan LX16 on my desk. I have a small sub with the LX16s, and I think that makes for a very good sounding and affordable set up. I don't listen to these speakers all the loud; and I need volume, I use headphones.

The ELACs hit pretty low, but they are a bit rolled off in the treble region. I picked them up on Prime Day for under $200, so I couldn't pass up that deal.They are pretty good for casual listening. Too big for a desk, IMHO.

Another thing I like about the LX16s is they are relatively small.

 

I'd be curious to see if anyone has modded the LS50 and went with an external active crossover/dsp bi-amp setup.

 

Lots of varying recommendations here in place of the LS50s. I'm curious for an alternative as well that could work with my PC, though I'd prefer an active speaker to eliminate the need of a speaker amp (I'd like to use my HA-1 as DAC and pre-amp).

Listened to the A5+ and was not impressed at all. My Hd650 sounded much better. I'm curious about the KEF X300A and Definitive Technology Incline. Any other recommendations?

 

Nothing comes anywhere near matching the looks, though!

 

When I heard the X300A I wasn't impressed to say the least. Nowhere near a well driven LS50 even though I think the LS50s aren't all that great either.
You just can't fit an Yggdrasil + great amp into a LS50 and make it active. All these active speakers (even the big ones) are held back by their electronics, not to mention that the overall design wouldn't be all that great passive anyway.

If you need to go active, I would try get one you can use your own dac with. I wouldn't be surprised if even the Modi MB is much better than what's integrated in 99% of the actives.
I don't know much about cheap speakers but I was impressed by the Overnight Sensations MT, atleast when driven by multi-thousand dollar electronics. They're small and go deep which means that they're low sensitivity and need a beefy amp.