Great story about Olatunji. I wasn’t aware he recorded an album for Chesky, but thanks for the heads up. Now I know what I’ll be ordering today and spinning tonight. Thanks, Steve!
I had the pleasure of hanging with Baba Olatunji. Asbury Park, NJ. Drummed and danced down to the beach, he performed a blessing for the Ocean and for us, the community in Asbury. And that record - turn it up, bc drums have physical presence.
"Two and a half way" usually means that both what you call the mid driver (the coaxial cone on top) and the one driver below both reproduce the bass range. There is actually no mid-range driver. The upper driver reproduces all frequencies below the crossover to the tweeter. What the "half" means is that lower driver is rolled off at the high frequency end at a lower frequency than the upper driver, to fill in for the 6dB drop in bass response of the top driver that is called baffle diffraction. So, the system is a two-way, but with a second, lower woofer filling in where the low frequencies naturally roll-off in the top driver.
Absolutely spot-on explanation. Actually a very clever way to attain flat frequency response while not reducing the natural efficiency of the mid-bass Uni-Q driver.
Thanks for the video. But I wish there had been some comparison between Q350 and Q550, that had been more relevant in my opinion because they are in the same series.
The LS50s can sound like much bigger speakers if you hook them to very powerful high quality amps. They dip down into the low 3ohms and have 85 db sensitivity. Even a Parasound 2125 (high current) 150 watts/ch amp couldn't drive the LS50s to their true potential. I hooked up my Parasound JC1 mono blocks and was blown away by how much tight bass they could produce. I'm sure I put more than 100watts into them and they seemed to be begging for more. I also have Q100s and R900s and a friend has the Q700s. I haven't hear the Q500s (other than in the store with a "170 watts/channel mass market receiver, thus in real watts=70 if you're lucky and not even quality watts/sound). The LS50s are way better speakers than their price suggests. They keep sounding better all the way up to a $20,000 front end and I have no reason to believe that they are maxed out on the gear I have. That said, the LS50s are very finicky and everything matters to get them to sound right. They need solid sand filled stands. Placing them on anything that resonates (like a "bookshelf") will destroy their sound. The LS50s cabinets are inert, but the opposing energy pushing the divers has to go somewhere and if it isn't absorbed by sand filled stands, it WILL resonate anything the speakers are connected to. If the stands wobble, the bass will get distorted well before 100 watts. I am very susceptible to listening fatigue, so placebo effects don't really affect me. If I am (consistently) listening longer with a smile on my face, then I know I got a tweak right. I have been tweaking the LS50s for two years now and I can listen to them quite loud with nothing biting me (making me cringe and want to turn it down or off). The LS50s aren't "bright" (just detailed and airy) if they are paired with neutral amps and DACS. I am very happy with the SMSL D1 DAC and JC1 mono blocks.
Steve: Since when do you compare a mini monitor to a tower speaker? Of course, a tower will always have a much bigger sound, unless something is really wrong. It's unfair to me but ok, it's always nice to know what you're thinking. Sounds like KEF has another winner on its hands....however the vinyl finish on the Q550 is somewhat bothersome, at least from your description. The R11 (about $5,000 / pair) just won an EISA award (2019-20) for best high end speakers. I got a pair of new LS50's (white / electric blue - just gorgeous for my tastes in an all white room) in early June and love them more and more as they break in. In this application, I did not have room for tower speakers. Nonetheless, the LS50's nicely fill my 19x19 room with beautiful tunes. I'm as happy as a clam, which is all that matters at the end of the day for any audiophile / music lover. If I ever need new towers (?), I will strongly consider KEF, along with Monitor Audio and the Linn Majik 140's....being the huge vintage Linn (LK series) fan that I am. Thanks again for what you do!
I think KEF is about the only thing that makes me proud of my hometown Maidstone. I didn't realise it stood for Kent Engineering & Foundry. Very pleased you're a Kef supporter!
Sorry to say but kef are an utterly awful uk sounding loudspeaker brand. There is absolutely nothing about their designed sound quality to recommend about them, and I am a born and bred yorkshireman.
@@ianjohnhorwood2605 Thats ok Ian. I inherited my dad's old 80's KEF speakers, not amazing to be honest. Had no idea they were that rubbish. I don't buy super expensive stuff but if i did i probably wouldn't buy KEF, just nice to hear of something vaguely decent about my hometown.
@@ianjohnhorwood2605 absolute bollocks, you’ve just made an absurd statement and not backed it up with any evidence. They make excellent speakers, have you actually heard any ???
Found a vinyl copy of drums of passion in a local Charity store for 50c that I never find anything in and I was excited. Until I pulled it out of the cover and it looked like it had been dragged behind a tractor down a gravel road for a month
Don't hold back, Steve ! You first heard 'Olantunji', on" The Murray the K, radio show. I believe that was; way before WINS 1010.50 "on your radio dial" (AM) in NYC, became an All - News Station. But was back then, a beacon of young "Roll 'n Roll". "The K" most famously, dubbed himself a 5th Beatle (???), during the British Invasion ! Less on ego, and more on substance; Murray the K, did provide a lot of Great Live Acts during those years, at the old, Brooklyn Fox Theater. ,But His greatest triumph, I believe, was an Easter Weekend Concert, He organized in 1966, at Manhattan's 86th St. - RKO theater. To the best of my recollection, The acts were presented in the following order; Cream; the Rascals; the Who; Blues Project; the Atlantic Record label "house band"- King Kurtis and the All Star Band (I still wonder If Hendrix, was playing guitar with the band, during this gig ???); warmed - up the audience, for "The Wicked Mister (Wilson) Pickett". Of course, They laid down wicked renditions of Pickett's 'Midnight Hour' & 'Mustang Sally' ! But, Believe It or Not; the Headliner was none other than the Pride of Detroit (If you can believe, "Uncle Ted" Nugent ?) - 'Mitch Ryder' & "the Detroit Wheels" - singing his then Top 10 tune of the day, " Devil with the Blue Dress". That amalgam, wasn't and isn't to Everyone's taste. But to pull, All that off, in One Show ? Well, I must say … Brilliant !
Went for the Klipsch RP-600m recently, good modern bookshelves and so easy to drive but hooked back up my old Mordaunt Short MS55Ti true 3-way sealed cabinets circa 87/88, the 8" midrange was hard to let go. Thanks Steve
Speakers I've come across before that are referred to as 2.5 way have had a bass driver that went to say several hundred hertz and a bass/mid that covered those same frequencies but continued up to when it crossed over with the tweeter. It would make sense in this case since the uni q driver can produce bass. So you'd effectively have two 5.25 inch drivers handing bass, one (the uni q outer) also then handled mid-range.
Hi Steve, thanks for the great videos. You reviewed also the Klipsch RP5000F in Cnet, and I am curious how they compare to Kef's Q550. I am looking for a small Floorstander with good amount of clean extended bass. In my Country the Kef is only US$250 more expensive than the Klipsch (per pair)! They will replace a Kef R-300 bookshelf that I like but I miss Bass. I am looking also for Monitor Audio Silver 200 , but it is US$300 more expensive than the Kef (per pair)!
Great review, I’m actually going to demo these tomorrow as I think they are a real steal when they go on sale. Would love to know how these play with a first watt amp? Wonder if they drive them well enough..
I am a life long resident of Louisiana. I, as well as many others, say Louise-ee-Anna. Many locals also pronounce it as Loos-ee-anna. Both are correct as we have many regional dialects of Louisiana French from both European & Creole French and Acadian French from those exiled Acadians who first landed on the First Acadian Coast on the Right Bank of the Mississippi River River at the site of the first St. James Catholic Church at St. Jacques de Cabannoce in what would later become the Civil Parish of St. James. The original legal definition of Creole means you were born in the Colony of Territorial Louisiana before the Louisiana Purchase and you were of Spanish or French or of mixed race ancestry and spoke French. Today people have evolved a designation that a Creole is a person of African or West Indies heritage who speaks French (although many no longer do). Now it’s been commercialized to include a variety of regional influences and cultural characteristics that are much different from the traditional definition of Creole. So, there will always be some differences in the pronunciation of many place names, cuisine, and old cultural practices and preferences found here. Also, I had the pleasure to meet Dr. John (AKA Mac Rebennac) through many of my very close musician Friends and he was a most gifted artist and a truly genuine man. I’m glad to see Steve honor his legacy with his music. RIP Mac!
Aswaguespack Sorry for any confusion, but I was not discussing how to correctly pronounce the name of the state; I was discussing the correct pronunciation of the album name “Blusiana”.
Steve, in general if you was to put a system together today what would you choose? Music stream ,DAC , Preamp ,Amp ,Speakers. Solid-state or valve. Challenging question.... anyways I’m really interested in Linear tube audio so can we please have some more reviews. Love your show keep up the good work really interesting. Clint 🇬🇧
Hello Steve guttenburg, Unrelated question. Was wondering if you have had any time spent listening to the old Polk sda /sda 2/ srs series monitors from the 80s 90s. If so what is your opinion on them, either from your memory at the time or currently think. How do they compare to current offerings of similar value.
All hail Art Blakey probably the second most important jazz bandleader after Duke if were going to rate things. whose band the Jazz Messengers which he helmed was the Boot Camp for hard bop and modern jazz turning out everyone from Hank Mobley to Kenny Dorham to leaders who did same in their own right like Horace Silver.I think of him second to Duke Ellington in guys who ran the show.the folks like Drums OF Passion than they might like the Bu (Buhania - Art Blakey who wnet to Africa in 1947 an∂ always said Jazz roots were in Africa but unlike andy Westion did not emphasize that link for what happened with black music in Congo Square and America was a synthesis that incorporated everything from French influences to Scottish but I digress) The Olatunji is classic and if going by how easy it is to find at Goodwill very popular check out LP's like 1950's "Orgy In Rhythm."Holiday For Skins" or "African Beat"- some with guys like Chief Bey on drums.Another is Yuseff Lateef whose incredible "Eastern Sounds" is another example of "World Music" decades before the term was coined.Incredible LP''s.Yeah and that Dr.John is really good one and very hip that Mac Rebennack (the good Dr.) got together with Blakey and produced another synthesis LP of such good music RIP in Peace Bu/Doc/Yusesef and thank for the grooves And thank you Steve now I know what to cue up this morning
Hi,I’m in the market for a pair of floor standers.I’m currently considering a pair of KEF 550’s and a Pair of Dali Oberan 5’s.I listen to Rock,Jazz and Classical music in a medium open plan living space.Maybe you know of other options? I am flexible on price (a little).
Steve, I bought the Q550s and ended up returning them for the $599 a pair PSB Alpha T20s. I found the Q550s to be too polite in the bass which I found surprising since I "upgraded" from the Q350s, which had really good bass. The T20s, on the other hand, are a stunning value. Great bass, beautiful midrange and highs. Check them out if you can.
@@marcgallant5270 Interesting. Maybe I should have given them more time. I had about two months on them. Fortunately, I'm very happy with the Alpha T20s, although not as attractive as the Q550s.
I need new Speakers for Ciname, Movie and Musik. Wich one do you recommend ? Kef q750 (1000€) , Elac uni fi fs u5 (780€), Dali oberon 7 (1000€) or Canton sl 590 (799€) ? The Kef looks better i think, i want white ones. Please help me.
i can mention a huge list of drawbacks from bassreflex, none of them can be overcome. it just adds complexity and cost to gain some bass at the compromise of sound quality in bass and higher up.
I tried the LS50s but I found them dull and very flat compared to some monitor audio silver 2. I don’t know why but I didn’t listen what has been widely described in reviews
GSamuelGuitar same reaction from my end. I am not hearing what the fuzz is all about. To be fair sound is a matter of taste. I am just not sure that flatness is someone’s objective in sound.
I thought that at first, but then I connected them to an upgraded amplifier, and they woke up. They're amazing, provided you give them the right engine.
From personal experience I can assure you they´re not just hype. It is well known that LS50s are very, very picky in the amp lottery. It´s a hit or miss, so have to be willing to play the try and error having fun in the process. To sound at their peak, they need a costly high-end amp more expensive than the speakers. Otherwise the solution is quite simple: the LS50W are a pure joy out of the box. I got a pair of the active ones, and was blown away from the first minute. It´s almost unbelievable how they sound taking into account their size. I sit pretty close to them, though. For up to a medium room, it´s all that you need. They have more bass and grunt than the passive ones, I have dual subs and didn´t bother to connect them to the LS50W for music, not needed to my taste and my room. I wish I could afford to build my 7.2.4 HC setup using passive LS50s like the owner of this channel, but you need monster amplification to support it ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SHYlMO6Ffsc.html
Thats a fair bit more money though. But yes, you will have a more dynamic, slightly better quality sound with that, as you would expect by spending more.
I read, in the last paragraph of your CNET review, that the LS50s can be used as desktop speakers (although they are on the large size). Do you know whether or not the LS50s can safely be kept close to a flat-screen monitor. Is there an issue with speaker magnets being close to flat-screen monitors? I am interested, because both you and Audioquest can't be wrong: At the 1:43 time mark, for the link below: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EaylbwI9yjI.html My desk has much less space than the Audioquest set-up, in the above link.
Perhaps Speakers with magnets were a problem for older CRT TV monitors, not flat screen TVs. So I don’t think it’s a problem. But I’m hardly an expert when it comes to interactions between speakers and TVs You should ask Google. Thanks
I hav no experience with KEF whatsoever& I'm sure theyre gr8, but there is something about their " modern" appearance that bothers me. Especially that 550, it looks cheap like something Mattel would make. & again I'm Not putting them down, it's jus som modern speaker design is really out there 4 my taste. Any1 else think so??
I run my LS50s with the Kef R400b and it’s glorious. Do not cheap out and go cheaper down the Kef sub line, stay with the R400b and you might never need to change speaker set up again. It’s that good!
@@De132an Very cool Can you share more details? How you're powering the KEFs, high-pass/low-pass crossover info, approx room size and listening distance. I'm contemplating a similar approach in an auxiliary system. Although they're not KEF, my primary system (Seaton) utilizes coax drivers. The LS50s can be magical quasi nearfield 6'-to-7' listening distance. Soundstage dimensionality can be freaky good. But they need more LF capability, and they eat power like a damn load bank. Despite the amazing NASA like Uni-Q drive unit, it's still a 5" woofer ... with a huge hole in the middle! Yes, the LS50 bass is great for a small ported box with a sizable portion of the woofer drive surface sacrificed to the coax Gods!... but it still needs help both with impact and extension. Thanks
Walter Waes, Hi Walter, The R400b has both high & low pass options available to which the LFE worked better for me in my system which is mainly used for 2 channel audio. High pass is preferred for multi speaker HT setups where as Low pass are more preferable when used for an audio 2 channel system going to a 2.1. It’s a cleaner way then adding another crossover to the audio chain if the best sound is your goal. For HT it’s not really that sound critical in most cases with so many speakers are used at the same time. For others reading this I suggest for a better explanation. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w0hhXaZGjvs.html
@@De132an I'm well versed in how, merely curious in the amplifier you use for the LS50s, and where you high passed them, where you low passed the sub, and if you feel the system's capability is better through the critical power region, ...ie, ~70-200s. Paul's great, but he and I don't necessarily agree on the full range approach. I've got everything I need except the LS50s. I have multiple subs that I can use, as well as analog, DSP, and measurement tools for blending both in freq and time domain. Bottom line; in auditioning the LS50s I love what they do well. Obviously a sub(s) will give extension into the deep bass, but my concern is the punch/power region around the x-over up into the 200s or so. ... hence your room size, what amplifier/how much power you feed them. Thanks!
Ls50s arent enough as standalones, imo. Same money buys better speakers. But the look amazing, im being subjective but they are the best looking bookshelf speakers. Still not worth the sum.
@@De132an I beg to differ on your comment. The ls50 is frankly an awful design with absolutely nothing to recommend about it. Firstly it is ported and chuffs. Secondly the bass quality is very poor because of it's design. Thirdly its sound is shut in and compressed in sound quality, it is not an open sounding loudspeaker at all. So what is to recommend about it ? Absolutely nothing, it is just a plain awful loudspeaker, and a waste of someone's hard earned cash. No matter what source and amplifier you would put in front of a kef ls50 cannot improve a loudspeaker that is a poor design to begin with, with poor sound quality, like the ls50. It is ported and chuffs, it's sound is shut in and compressed, it does not have any bass quality. Frankly it is a total abysmal loudspeaker full stop. I should know having bought them and tried them at full retail price, with various very good equipment. The reviews and reviewers, total dishonest hyperbole crap, and nothing more than that. They wouldn't know a good sound or loudspeaker if it bit them in the ass going by their reviews. It is all about greed and making a quick buck full stop.
shinvergil OK, Just ran a quick search over at Audioholics and the first review that came up. www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/kef-ls50-pre . By Tom Andry the Associate Editor, he seemed to like it, no?
R's are one step above Q's . Way better are KEF Reference's , you will never leave your home if you get them . Then when you get blades you are almost in heaven . I said almost , cause there is Muon , those are reserved for pure Heaven . Please forget about Q's these are for a very very beginners in audio .
Every R model generation closes the gap to the Reference line. The newest generation is almost on par for thousands less out of the box and will beat the reference series with equalization and room acoustic treatment.
