i have totally re-engineered my system around these fabulous performers. the KEF LS50 are already a legend - an incredible bargain.
due to changes in my life, i had to downsize in general, and hence come up with a smaller system. my old system (accuphase DP65v cd/dac and Accuphase E306v IA w/ 10k tower speakers) seemed too big for my new listening room, so it went into storage for now.
when I saw Stereophile gave the KEF LS50 an A rating, i decided to give them a go (i was about to get Dynaudios or Amphions previously). as soon as i heard them (still hooked to the Accuphase E306v) i was blown away: John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman never sounded better. The KEF LS50 strikes a magic balance between utter accuracy and mid-range musicality. voices and instruments like saxophone or trumpet or cello sound organic and alive. the stage is clinically accurate, but not huge (my loudspeaker placement may be the limiting factor here) - it is a lot of fun to hear the walk-around in Sheffield Labs' setup CD.
bass is room dependent, in my case utterly and totally sufficient. i do have a Velodyne Minivee but have it turned down to 5% - so basically it is off, which tells you what i think of the LS50s bass.
i feed FLAC files to a Benchmark DAC2 HGC, which is connected to a Creek Destiny power amp using balanced Analysis Plus cables. Analysis Plus speaker cables then connect to the LS50. the setup is very analytical, yes, but between the LS50 and the Creek things don't get cold - warm tonality comes through and makes the listening *highly* enjoyable (while still giving you the ability to hear a mouse fart in a back corner of the recording studio :-D). as i write this Grover Washington's "Winelight" is playing, and the percussion is staggeringly accurate, as is Grover's sax, of course.
i am very happy with this <$7k system, it is an amazing time to be an audiophile when you can get such live sound in such a small, elegant package.
due to changes in my life, i had to downsize in general, and hence come up with a smaller system. my old system (accuphase DP65v cd/dac and Accuphase E306v IA w/ 10k tower speakers) seemed too big for my new listening room, so it went into storage for now.
when I saw Stereophile gave the KEF LS50 an A rating, i decided to give them a go (i was about to get Dynaudios or Amphions previously). as soon as i heard them (still hooked to the Accuphase E306v) i was blown away: John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman never sounded better. The KEF LS50 strikes a magic balance between utter accuracy and mid-range musicality. voices and instruments like saxophone or trumpet or cello sound organic and alive. the stage is clinically accurate, but not huge (my loudspeaker placement may be the limiting factor here) - it is a lot of fun to hear the walk-around in Sheffield Labs' setup CD.
bass is room dependent, in my case utterly and totally sufficient. i do have a Velodyne Minivee but have it turned down to 5% - so basically it is off, which tells you what i think of the LS50s bass.
i feed FLAC files to a Benchmark DAC2 HGC, which is connected to a Creek Destiny power amp using balanced Analysis Plus cables. Analysis Plus speaker cables then connect to the LS50. the setup is very analytical, yes, but between the LS50 and the Creek things don't get cold - warm tonality comes through and makes the listening *highly* enjoyable (while still giving you the ability to hear a mouse fart in a back corner of the recording studio :-D). as i write this Grover Washington's "Winelight" is playing, and the percussion is staggeringly accurate, as is Grover's sax, of course.
i am very happy with this <$7k system, it is an amazing time to be an audiophile when you can get such live sound in such a small, elegant package.