KEF LS50 +KC62 versus LS60

[pixelmixture]

My considered opinion ( take it with a pinch of salt) is that on balance I would go for the LS60s if the extra expenditure isn’t going to push you into the red.
But the two combinations aren’t that dis-similar so the ideal as always is to try and hear both side by side ideally in your home.
Keith

in term of midrange capability do you find the LS50 better than the LS60 ? ( LS 60 smaller midrange speaker )

 

[Purité Audio]

In terms of tonality and timbre I find no difference, in terms of overall FR the 60s are just tighter better controlled particularly in the lower frequencies.
Keith

 

[pixelmixture]

just came back from a nearby reseller who had the right setup to test LS60 vs LS50w2+kc62 ... and the LS60 sound more effortless ...

now i'm hesitating between LS60 and buchardt A700 ... i have to admit a prefer the hub approach of buchardt or dali ... i fear about the reduce lifespan of the all integrated but 100% mobile application dependant LS60 ...

 

[HarmonicTHD]

just came back from a nearby reseller who had the right setup to test LS60 vs LS50w2+kc62 ... and the LS60 sound more effortless ...

now i'm hesitating between LS60 and buchardt A700 ... i have to admit a prefer the hub approach of buchardt or dali ... i fear about the reduce lifespan of the all integrated but 100% mobile application dependant LS60 ...

I would never compare the tiny KC62 with the LS60‘s woofers. The LS60 always wins. If you somewhat want to compare equals, than compare the LS60 with the LS50 and at least one KF92.

 

[Purité Audio]

Just a reminder that we ( Purité Audio London) have the complete KEF ‘wireless’ range LSX LS50II and the LS60s with or without dual KC 62 subwoofers, I m extremely impressed with the KEF range, for a ‘European’ sized room ie smallish then a pair of 50’s and a sub is almost all you need.
Keith

 

[Purité Audio]

As house renovations are finished ( hooray ) I thought I might set up the KEFs LS50 wireless IIs and LS60’s up in our rear room now that it is back in commission .
The new room is a bit smaller around 7x5 metres 2.40m ceiling height and I have started with a more or less equilateral triangle sitting around three metres sway. The ’Cooper’ shuffler allows me to replace one speaker with another, level matched in about an hour and a half!

 

[Purité Audio]

So bought in the first KEF KC62 , using the KEF wireless receiver transmitter , which is quite cool no cables from main speakers to subs.
Sub unsurprisingly is an improvement.

 

[Blade1001]

So bought in the first KEF KC62 , using the KEF wireless receiver transmitter , which is quite cool no cables from main speakers to subs.
Sub unsurprisingly is an improvement.
View attachment 345402View attachment 345403

Keith, have you tested the LS60's in combination with the KC62's yet (with suitable cross-over applied)?

I've recently acquired the LS60's, and currently testing along side my existing Kii Three's. Whilst the two have far more in common than they have differences, I find the Kef's lag very slightly behind the Kii's in two main areas (though they also push ahead in a couple of other areas), one of which is the impact in the upper bass region.

Kick drums and the like on the Kii's have real definition and chest impact that the Kef's don't seem able to achieve so far.

I just wondered if you'd noticed the same. It could be placement in my room for the comparison currently - I do plan to switch their positions to check this, or it could be that I need to EQ the LS60's (they will eventually run through my Trinnov Amethyst).

However I also wondered if off-loading some of the lower bass responsibility <80Hz or so from the LS60's bass drivers to a sub (or two) might improve that upper bass impact? So I'm interested to read any insights you've had, and if your comparison to the Kii's matches mine?

 

[Purité Audio]

I have I actually put both of my KC62s on the LS60’s , I can report there was definitely more bass, I liked it, made the LS60s more like the Mantas.
Sadly I don’t have any Kiis here at the moment to compare, but if I do get some more…
Let me know how you get on, if you are near enough you would be welcome to borrow a KC62 I have a black one and a grey one both in the classifieds.
Keith

 

[Svet Angelov]

What about replacing the LS50 Metas with the R3 Metas for the comparison?

 

[Purité Audio]

What about replacing the LS50 Metas with the R3 Metas for the comparison?

That is a good idea, you propose the R3 Meta as being the most appropriate?
The R3 Meta is around £1900 frequency response is similar about 38Hz at -6dB.
Keith

 

[terryforsythe]

I have I actually put both of my KC62s on the LS60’s , I can report there was definitely more bass, I liked it, made the LS60s more like the Mantas.

That is interesting.

The four 5.25" (135mm) woofers in each LS60, together, have a greater surface area than the two 6.5" woofers in each KC62, roughly 20% by my calculation. (The cones of the 5.25" woofers have 103mm diameter. I assumed the cones of the 6.5" woofers to be 133mm for the purposes of the calculation).

The 6.5" woofers in the KC62s probably have a significantly longer throw (Xmax) than the 5.25" woofers in the LS60s. That would explain a KC62, with less radiating surface area, putting out more bass than a LS60.

I looked at the KEF website, but could not find Xmax specifications for the 5.25" and 6.5" woofers.

 

[Purité Audio]

On the KEF app if you choose the KC62 as sub, sub out high pass is 65Hz , sub out low pass is 47.5 Hz , you can adjust to your taste of course.
Keith

 

[Blade1001]

I have I actually put both of my KC62s on the LS60’s , I can report there was definitely more bass, I liked it

Beyond having more bass output overall, did the impact/definition of the upper bass change in any way with the high pass filter active?

I do plan to set the high pass on my LS60’s with the sub to see if anything changes.

Let me know how you get on, if you are near enough you would be welcome to borrow a KC62 I have a black one and a grey one both in the classifieds.

Thanks for the offer - I’m in Nottingham, so not local to you, but if I go ahead and opt for the KC62’s I’ll definitely give you a shout. That said I am hoping to reduce box count so could do with managing without subs.

I wish KEF would implement some PEQ or Dirac upload features too, then I could do away with the Amethyst also!

 

[Purité Audio]

Do you use Roon, you could set everything in there.
Keith

 

[Blade1001]

Do you use Roon, you could set everything in there.
Keith

I do use Roon, but the speakers have to pull triple duty for gaming and movies too.

 

[Svet Angelov]

That is a good idea, you propose the R3 Meta as being the most appropriate?
The R3 Meta is around £1900 frequency response is similar about 38Hz at -6dB.
Keith

If I could pick between the two, I'm going for the lower bass extension/overall distortion of the R3s. Even if they are double the price. A shame since the LS50's are 100 times more beautiful to my eyes..

 

[Purité Audio]

I do use Roon, but the speakers have pull triple duty for gaming and movies too.

Music will be Roon but TV optical, gaming …
Keith

 

[Blade1001]

Music will be Roon but TV optical, gaming …
Keith

Well, using HDMI eARC currently, and seems to work well.

Incidentally I played around with some positioning last night, and swapped the Kii's and LS60's around, and that did change that upper-bass impact I mentioned above. The Kii's seem to benefit a lot from closer rear wall placement which reinforces the impact of that upper-bass. The LS60's benefitted from it too, but it also added a bit of bass bloat, and lost of a chunk of their exceptional sound staging. I guess they lack the cardiod design of the Kii's and need a bit more room to breathe.

A bit of tweaking, putting the LS60 about 1 foot from the wall, has produced the best of both worlds. I think a bit of EQ over the top, and they'll be one of the best systems I've had in my room (and I've had a few!).

The Kii's certainly have the edge in terms of clarify/detail retrieval, but its only really noticeable on a direct A/B switching - and the difference is minimal considering the Kii's are three and a half times the price.

 

[Vacceo]

On the KEF app if you choose the KC62 as sub, sub out high pass is 65Hz , sub out low pass is 47.5 Hz , you can adjust to your taste of course.
Keith

For the LS50 WII, the default setting for the KC62 is 70hz high pass and 45hz low pass. It's interesting to see the very slight change, yet the configuration is almost the same.