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KEF LS50 Meta Review (Speaker)

Eetu

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All the data is there in Erin's review:
Kef LS50 Wireless II_Compression_full.png

Yes, it's depending on SPL. I think it's fine since you get more bass output than on the passive version but when listening loud the distortion is kept in check and drivers protected.

There's also 3 bass extension settings, Erin measured the speaker with the 'Extra' setting. Desk & Wall settings also available to fine tune the bass response further.
 

HarmonicTHD

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All the data is there in Erin's review:
View attachment 236985
Yes, it's depending on SPL. I think it's fine since you get more bass output than on the passive version but when listening loud the distortion is kept in check and drivers protected.

There's also 3 bass extension settings, Erin measured the speaker with the 'Extra' setting. Desk & Wall settings also available to fine tune the bass response further.
Great. Exactly what I presumed. Thanks for looking it up and posting. Very clever of Kef. Gives nice extension at 86dB SPL and making the most of the physical capabilities of the driver. And above limiting the bass extension.

So especially when listening louder a sub might come in handy.

Whenever I saw and listened to them at Kef dealers - all of them had them set up with the KC62 or even two. Which I think is a very nice combo if one is looking for a small form factor.
 
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Vacceo

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Great. Exactly what I presumed. Thanks for looking it up and posting. Very clever of Kef. Gives nice extension at 86dB SPL and making the most of the physical capabilities of the driver. And above limiting the bass extension.

So especially when listening louder a sub might come in handy.

Whenever I saw and listened to them at Kef dealers - all of them had them set up with the KC62 or even two. Which I think is a very nice combo if one is looking for a small form factor.
It takes not much more space than a soundbar and produces an incredible sound for a small living room.

Plus, I can also listen to the radio and hook up a CD. All the cables ar hidden behind furniture. The only thing I miss is room EQ with Dirac, Aydyssey or a similar solution.

I bought the LS50 wireless II and the KC62 to substitute an ancient Aiwa all in one. Couldn't be happier with the change.
 

asorle

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Is anyone here driving these with cheaper class D amps like Aiyima A07 or something more like SMSL DA-9/AO200 or DA-6/AO100? I know these are hard to power as their sensitivity is on the low side. I would use them in a small room, about 3m/10ft of distance from the listening position, probably not pushing more than 85dB SPL as it is in an apartment with thin walls.
These SMSL amps seem like a really good deal for what they offer, but not sure about their power capabilities. DA-9 should be a bit more powerful but probably not much more than DA-6. SMSL DA-6 measured here 13Wpc into 8Ω. There are no reviews for the DA-9/AO200 but since they have 2 Infineon chips they should probably be 18-20Wpc into 8Ω.
Looking at how much power I would need, using these online calculators with 83dB sensitivity, 3m/10ft of distance, and a target of 85dB SPL at the listening position I should only need about 4W. That leaves some headroom for transients but I don't know if that is enough. Again speakers measure much different then in specs for their impedance of 8Ω, actually being much lower. I don't know how that affects things in this case as I am pretty much a beginner in this. I am afraid of doing any damage to the speakers themselves by running inadequate amps to power them. Any recommendations for this kind of a setup would be greatly appreciated.
Just got the metas and I went with the Topping PA3s which is basically SMSL DA-9/AO200 but without any features like remote, sub out, BT, etc. It uses the same 2x Infineon MA12070 chips and is half the price. Power wise, PA3s is plenty for my setup. I feed it with DX3Pro+ pre-outs, basically PA3s serves as a power amp and I set its volume pot to maximum I ever want to go, for me it's around 12 o'clock, then lower it from there with the remote on DX3Pro+

These speakers sound amazing even in my non treated and very lively room. There is some bass boominess probably because they are close to the wall, like 1ft, and I use the provided port plugs. Also having them on a TV cabinet probably doesn't help either. I tried removing the plugs and it is a massive difference, get about 6dB higher reading just from the extra bass being pumped into this small room and sounds as if I have a sub which doesn't make any sense to me because these should probably have issues with too little bass not too much. Not sure what kind of magic is happening here or is it just a combination of the cabinet resonating, them being close to the wall and room modes.
The mids and the highs are really good though, precise and crisp with very rich sounding vocals, amazing.

Thinking about getting them on some IsoAcoustics stands or a similar thing to separate them from the cabinet. Could that work or do I need some proper stands?
 
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panther

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I bought a set of these and I’m not sure what to think. My room is small 13x13 feet and so they are somewhat close to the wall and on my desk On iso acoustic aperta stands. Imaging is great as it was when I did a store demo and my quad Vena amp has no problems getting volume to these. I hate using some vague terms but “thin” and lifeless are the two things that I wrote down after a few hours of listening. Not really sure what my next steps are. also I have probably what’s considered poor recordings, it’s mostly Apple loss less imports from my cds and then purchased on iTunes music over the years.
 

Vacceo

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I bought a set of these and I’m not sure what to think. My room is small 13x13 feet and so they are somewhat close to the wall and on my desk On iso acoustic aperta stands. Imaging is great as it was when I did a store demo and my quad Vena amp has no problems getting volume to these. I hate using some vague terms but “thin” and lifeless are the two things that I wrote down after a few hours of listening. Not really sure what my next steps are. also I have probably what’s considered poor recordings, it’s mostly Apple loss less imports from my cds and then purchased on iTunes music over the years.
Perhaps you like thick bass. EQ to taste on that region and add a subwoofer.
 

panther

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I put them in my large room with a NAD c399 and Martin Logan sub. Definitely was improved over being in nearfield. I still preferred my ELac Carina speakers though. When I put them back on my desk i still felt thin and a funnel of sound coming at me. i Know this is just subjective opinions compared to the Dali speakers I also have in the same room.
 

truwarrior22

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So when are the black ones coming out? Is there some engineering reason or just marketing? Maybe it’s just me, but the cone color kinda sticks out and there’s no cover. For something that should “disappear” they seem to stick out. Maybe putting them between a center channel speaker will be enough to convince me the sound is coming from there and not the bright cones.
 

Head_Unit

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I did all the testing and all my listening with the port plugs in place. The LS50 roll off at around 75Hz with this setup
I think this is a missed thing sometimes. Many small speakers have a port to get some not-really-low bass which may not be so needful/useful with a subwoofer. And while I'm the pushiest "HIGHPASS!!" guy I also have to agree it depends if the satellite speakers are suffering or not.
 

phoenixdogfan

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I have measured my setup (LS50M + SVS SB-1000 Pro driven by Denon X2500H) using REW and UMIK-1. The AVR's Audyssey is ON FLAT and calibrated using the UMIK-1 and the iOS app with the mid-frequency hole removed. MLP is approximately 2.7m from the speakers.

My methodology is probably questionable, but for the record I simply measured, separately, both speakers from Audyssey Reference Level (REF) -10db to +2db in 2db increments. I am not sure what it is but suspect it is 90db SPL at MLP. I could not and did not eliminate the distortions caused by the room, merely observed the point where distortions rise objectively speaking.

It seems distortion kicks in around REF-2db (around 88db SPL) and becomes objectionable around REF level. REF+2db distortion is objectively and subjectively too much.

For stereo listening, this translates to:

- 94db (88+6) SPL at my MLP position at 2.7m;
- 102db (88+6+8) SPL roughly if MLP were 1m from both speakers.

Since I normally listen to music at no louder than 80db that gives me 10-15db spare before serious distortion kicks in.

EDIT: Note, my 88-90db SPL distortion breakup at MLP is comparable SPL to the 96db/1m that Amir used in his review. The distortions I see are higher, probably because of the different measurement method. :)
What's your crossover frequency, and is it just a single SB-1000?
 

Ata

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One sub and 100Hz xover, I have not tried above that.
 

Scielienta

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Hello fellas, I assume this question has been asked many times on this thread an site but couldn’t find the decent amp recommendation for the LS50 Meta. What is the best amp for the Meta up to 1000$?
 

muad

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Hello fellas, I assume this question has been asked many times on this thread an site but couldn’t find the decent amp recommendation for the LS50 Meta. What is the best amp for the Meta up to 1000$?
Anything Hypex nc252mp or nc500mp. Best bang for the buck, assuming you already have a preamp etc.
 

Scielienta

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Anything Hypex nc252mp or nc500mp. Best bang for the buck, assuming you already have a preamp etc.
Yes I have preamps and dacs. Let me take a look those.

I could get uaed Hegel H80 or brand new Audiolab 6000A but haven’t read any review or impressions about how their performance with LS50 Meta.
 

Doodski

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Yes I have preamps and dacs. Let me take a look those.

I could get uaed Hegel H80 or brand new Audiolab 6000A but haven’t read any review or impressions about how their performance with LS50 Meta.
They will perform like any other decent amp. The same sound with each and maybe one goes a little louder. :D
 

Scielienta

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They will perform like any other decent amp. The same sound with each and maybe one goes a little louder. :D
Very well written :)

I’ve read somewhere that the 6000A does’t have sufficient amount of power to drive Meta properly. That’s all I know about the differences.
 

Doodski

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Very well written :)

I’ve read somewhere that the 6000A does’t have sufficient amount of power to drive Meta properly. That’s all I know about the differences.
Going from experience I noticed the difference when going from ~50W/ch to ~80W/ch. It's better, can feel more power and goes a bit louder.
 

Scielienta

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Going from experience I noticed the difference when going from ~50W/ch to ~80W/ch. It's better, can feel more power and goes a bit louder.
I believe minimum power requirements per channel must be around 75w for Meta.
 
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