Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I got curious about these when Stereophile gave them a much coveted A rating (with the caveat of "extreme" bass extension). A ratings are typically reserved for speakers in the (in average) $20k category. You also have to know I do own a 15 year old Accuphase + tower speaker rig worth $30k+ that I worshiped - I speak in the past because it is mostly in storage. I used to have an audio room that was large and tower speakers looked and sounded good there. But I have moved into a new place, and decided I needed something more space efficient - plus it is my conviction that good bookshelf speakers will beat towers in accuracy and staging most of the time, since they resemble that ideal audio source vanishing point more than anything else - and especially when you are sitting less than 8 feet away from them. But really - you will need good, clean electronics. I don't necessarily mean esoterically expensive stuff - simply a good clean source, and good clean power (I think an amp with a high damping factor really helps these).. And well-recorded material. So I got these KEF LS50, and right out of the box... they blew my mind. First of all they look and feel awesome, I don't think i have ever seen bookshelf speakers as solidly built. they don't look like a two-way speakers, but they are, and the look of the UniQ driver is something i like (even though the rose gold may put others off). bi-wiring is *not* supported, which may eliminate yet another group of audio aficionados. As to the sound - I could not believe the sheer playful agility, the dynamic and tonal accuracy, and the geometric stage resolution of these things. I nearly spilled my glass of Barolo as my jaw dropped. Right away I knew I had found a life-long partner for my audiophile needs - at a fraction of what I expected to pay for it, really. This little virtuoso lifts every veil, reveals everything, without ever getting tiring (which hyper-linear monitors tend to do). The KEF LS50 is a fun exhibitionist, always musical and playful while staying *exact* - tonally and staging-wise. It reveals everything in the entire chain - from recording studio to your delivery line up. Which of course also means that the weakest links will be exposed. You will hear what the recording engineer heard - with some additional musicality, somehow, because these are speakers, not studio monitors. What a feat by KEF. You will also hear your audio chains' components personalities and perhaps limitations. If you like mellifluous, drippy and warm tubes and bought such an amplifier, hey, the KEF will drip with sweetness and warmth. If you got a sharp, mathematically exact solid state amplifier, the KEF will present you everything with the katana-like sharpness you expect. My current line-up is: I stream uncompressed (and often 96kHz 24bit) FLAC audio files into a Benchmark DAC-2 HGC, which then feeds to an Accuphase E-306v integrated amp via balanced inputs (update 2018 - NAD M22 power amp, a highly recommended match), and then off you go to the KEF LS50s. Cabling is good but never esoteric (I don't want cables to introduce any "personality" into my chain, just be transparent, and find cables in the $100-$600 range do a perfect job, depending on the task). I also drive a sub (Velodyne miniVee) but keep it unobtrusively turned down, which should tell you what I think about the KEFs bass delivery. It absolutely suffices most of the time, I find, the MiniVee just barely kicks in when absolutely needed. Which is mostly for movie FX, music rarely requires additional bass extension unless you want to hear a giant kodo drum at life-like volume levels (which your neighbors are bound to report to the police unless you live in a medieval castle). My priority is music - I just happen to also use the system for the entertainment system, but it is music I optimize for. [Note: Music comes through one digital interface into the DAC, the TV audio out put through another - but the latter just has to live with what's best for music, which is typically enough to get phenomenal movie sound as well). Music: I listen to jazz and classical (the only music types I store as FLACs); and also R&B and popular (and for that 250-320k MP3 is fine by me). There are certain recordings I have used as a reference for many years - and the KEF have upped the ante. A great compliment I have to pay to the KEF is that I didn't have to adjust to the new sound - it is pure, clear, approachable and immediately musical. John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman never sounded better, sorry, I have to go listen to "My one and only love" again... because they shine in every respect, but their presentation of voices and wind instruments is staggeringly stellar. as is the staging. i truly feel johnny hartman is singing straight between my speakers, sharp middle, Coltrane in breathing left and to the back, the drum is on the right further back... wow... i have heard it before, but never with *this* much resolution. which would be tiring... all that accuracy can become distracting, because then one starts listening to irrelevant details rather than the overall performance. I think the KEF LS50 avoid this trap because the middle, while accurate, is also instilled with a magic sense of warmth that helps overcome that and reels you back into the music. While the surgical detail is there, and while you *can* get lost in detail of you chose to, it is easy to snap out of it because the musical middles seduce you to listen in. again - what an engineering feat.... While the Accuphase E-306v does pack a punch (albeit very musically and accurately), I would like to counter rumors on the Internet that claim these speakers are inefficient and hard to drive. I don't believe so. A friend of mine is sick right now, but truly wanted to hear them, so I took the KEF to his house and connected them to his Qinpu A-6000 (an incredible piece of gear at the price, by the way... incredible at 10x the price too), And the KEF sounded amazing. I haven't checked, but the Qinpu only puts out like 10-20W (albeit of great quality). And we were able to listen to amazing music at levels that would drown out the conversation at his place, and I brought some of my own tracks over, and I cringed a little when I thought I liked an old Coltrane-Hartmann tune a bit better through his setup than mine. Maybe it was the company and glass of Syrah. :-) Which is just to say - I don't think the KEF thirst for a lot of power unless you really want to drive them very-very loudly, in which case you prolly ought to worry about distortion and might as well get yourself a big honking set of tower speakers. Since these speakers are so accurate, make sure you spend the time finding the right location and toe-in to suit your typical audio seating position - please. It is always important and often neglected, but with these speakers you will do yourself a severe disservice if you don't experiment with the distance and the toe-in. For my room and seating position, preliminary results are angling them so the front of the speakers points *straight* at my listening position, I sit about 7 feet from them and they are about 6ft apart, and they're about 1.5 ft from the wall. I have acoustic panels right behind them. The resulting stage is twice as wide (depending on recording). Yes, I have them on very solid stands so they are at ear level. The KEF look great too, and if you hold them and knock on them it feels like you're holding the proverbial granite brick. They only come in black - I traditionally like my speakers in white but given their merits I grant the KEFs the exception, and they are small enough to not look clumsy and overpowering. It's all about personal taste, but they appeal to me esthetically, and please my sense of tactile quality. At first I was a bit skeptical about the raving accolades... of course the audio industry is always trying to sell us aficionados the latest disruptive technology, but really - these speakers are amazing. I am not going to put down other high end speakers, because again, we need the power of choice and everybody has different preferences. But the KEF LS50 measure splendidly in the lab according to reviewers, they sound absolutely sublime -providing that elusive combo of playful musicality and utter accuracy- at a price that... well, $1.5k isn't cheap by any means... but given the audio purity of this speaker it actually must rank up there as one of the audiophile deals of several decades. All I can say is... wow. I have to admit it - these are *better* speakers than the $12k tower speakers I have in storage. I hear more of everything. I will try to sell those now, despite the emotional attachment -and they should be quite sell-able- to someone that thinks size automatically correlates with bigger sound. The KEF prove that is not the case, they are clearer, and instill the music with life while staying surgically accurate. I regard the LS50 as a mind-blowing bargain, price-value wise. Those who give these low reviews either haven't bothered to position them properly (and if you don't bother with setup, you're wasting money on any loudspeaker you buy), or they have ill-matching equipment. I'd get it if these are too analytical for some people, but there's no way anyone should give them less than 4 stars, ever. And now I will go listen to some more music :-D Addendum: The Bad! In the comments I have been accused of fanboydom. Well, accuse me and every other professional reviewer. I haven't seen a single professional review of these that did NOT shower the highest possible praise on them. And I did mention some caveats above if you read between the lines. I'll sum the caveats up here. First of all, if you're a basshead, don't get these - that should be obvious. Second, these demand good amplifying gear - I think high damping factors are mandatory, because even though they measure amazingly in the Stereophile review, they are a tad bit of an inconsistent load (I think they sound amazing with the NAD M22, but the sound may be too clinical for some). Finally - possible the biggest caveat - these are finnicky when it comes to setup... they need to be positioned accurately, they need to be away from walls, they ask for solid stands, and they are quite directional to sound their best: if you have positioned them perfectly for your listening position, you'll hear distinct differences if you move only a foot either side. Don't get me wrong - they'll sound great, but to hear their amazing resolution of space the "perfect spot" is narrow. So there is a summary of the "bad". But note my list of "the bad" would be longer in another pair of $6k bookshelf speakers, as well as $14k towers I used to own. PS: As of their December issue, Stereophile has showered praise on the LS50 yet again: Component of the Year, some more stuff, and runner up in several categories. It is a pretty disruptive piece of gear. PS2: Mine now sound even more musical after a lot of listening, the usual break-in thing which prolly has just as much to do with our hearing adjusting as the moving elements in the speaker coming into their own. No doubt about this - set up correctly, these are reference speakers that measure up against the very most esoteric designs irrespective of cost. Sure you will not fill an amphitheater with sound, but I'd venture to say most listening rooms are of a size the KEF easily fill out with a sound that drips musicality and quality. Anywhere in the room, by the way. Sure you have to sit in the coveted magic middle position in the middle to pick out all the nuances and details these things shower your way, but the music sounds great all over my place. PS3: i had a little windfall, so i also bought some bookshelf speakers that are 5 times the price of the KEF LS50. i really wanted to love them, because the design was beautiful and they fit my preference for white speakers... alas, i didn't like their sound as much as the LS50. they sounded always a little bit murkier. i will not reveal the brand because i am sure they are great speakers and fit others' preferences, and i don't want to start a brand war. but this confirms my conviction the LS50 represent an amazing bargain. i am NOT saying there are no better speakers out there. if you have a very large room etc, or if you have some other preferences... but you certainly will have to spend a LOT more. or buy a bigger house with a cavernous listening room. :-D PS4: It's now mid-2018, and I went back to the LS50 and sold my more expensive (but all around less accurate speakers). I got the LS50 in red. Sonic bliss. Perfect balance of everything. It'll take something much more expensive to -maybe- top this.So yes, I "downgraded" from a $6.5k speaker back to the LS50. That's how good these guys are. They are fussier with setup (placement, toe-in) than others, but also very rewarding.The NAD M22 is an amazing match with these (with the Benchmark DAC2 HGC up front).