LS50s and room size

Just wanted to update that I did pick up the LS50s and could not be happier. These things sound amazing and my initial concerns were all eliminated with moments of hooking them up. My system has never sounded so good!

@Jedinite24.

My basement office is exactly where I have mine setup and the dimensions are pretty similar. I am very happy with the sound. These speakers do an amazing job of sounding very big. I was blown away by how much bass they actually put out. It's not subwoofer bass but they really reach down low with lots of detail. They do a much better job than my old vandersteens ever could, even with their 8" drivers.

I wouldn't want them too close to the wall though. That would really mess with the low end. Mine are a about 2-3 feet from the walls and I'm quite happy with their positioning. I Can sit directly in front of them and completely loose myself in the music or I can be sitting over at my computer and still be able to really enjoy them. You practically have to leave the room for them sound anything less than fantastic.

As for the logo, they are invisible from my listening position. I pretty much have to be standing right on top of them to even really notice it. Out of site, out of mind I guess. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

I had/have the Vandersteen 1Bs. Not sure how they compare to the 1Cs but between the KEFs, the difference is night and day. In just about every way, the KEFs are a vast improvement. I was specifically referring to the bass when I mentioned the vandees. In particular, the vandersteens could put out an impressive amount of bass, room shaking even, but it really wasn't very good bass. The KEFs, on the other hand, put out far more bass than their size would lead you to believe and the bass is very tight and detailed.

Ultimately what pushed me to upgrade was a "audiophile sampler" that audiogon released through HDtracks. It was only $5 so I grabbed it. I picked a particular track that had two very complex piano parts playing together. One was high while the other was low. I used that track to do a proper A/B comparison between the vandees and my little audioengine p4s that I use on my computer. Both were played from the same amp and source.

On my p4s the highs were clear and airy. You could easily here the room in which the recording was made. The notes were neatly separated from each other which made the music much more engaging and highlighted the technical skill of the pianist. The bass line came across just as strongly. You could clearly hear the character of the piano within each note. The imaging was clearly placed right between the speakers so that they almost vanished into the music. The p4s readily presented the piece as two very complementary and masterfully played piano solos.

The vandersteens were a completely different story. While the high notes still sounded good, the space around them completely vanished. The room was gone. The separation also took a massive hit and the notes all just sort of ran together. The bass line was even worse. Again the separation between notes was gone and everything just got mushed together. There was almost no detail in the notes themselves. The bass line sounded so muddy that it no longer sounded like a piano at all. It sounded more like an electric bass just plodding along behind piano solo. There was also no real imaging to speak of. There was clearly a left and right speaker making the music.

That little test is what motivated me to replace the vandersteens. I loved them dearly but now I had heard their limitations and could no longer un-hear it. The p4s hinted at what I was missing and the KEFs give it to me in spades.