KEF LS50 Meta Review (Speaker)

[Deleted member 51584]

40Hz wow just wow!
A purpose built room is ideal, do you have measurements of your Wilson’s ( traditional passive design) in your room?
Keith

No, did measurements a few years ago, nothing terribly wrong so it appeared. Anyway, Wilson dealers come round and do a set-up procedure that they are trained to do in Utah. It's not rocket science, but it works. The speakers haven't moved since. The dealer was very happy because the room presented no problems at all and they were dialled in inside an hour. I listen mostly to classical and jazz and I don't like going loud, I've heard some very etched and overwhelming speakers and its remarkable that so many speakers that apparently measure well sound so different - good and bad - and don't perform well when played quietly. I'd heard the Wilson Sasha DAW and it was the most enjoyable thing I'd heard, and I listened to them minutes after a recital at Wigmore Hall and I hate listening to stereo soon after a live event. The wife didn't like the Sasha DAW, but did like the next model down.

I'd briefly considered KEF, probable is they're considered ugly here.

 

[Purité Audio]

Did the set up include any acoustical measurements?
Keith

 

[meracus]

What’s left, really full range loudspeakers which are adaptable to the room?

The LS50 at 40Hz? I think the LS50 is a phenomenal speaker, but no way is their strength the delivery of a distortion free 40Hz at SPLs over -say- 80dB. They are much better if paired with a sub that offloads some of the sub-80Hz off them. It's the way I continue to use mine, and I am not in any way someone who enjoys very loud music - but while the LS50 sound imo awesome out of the box, they get even better when you pair them with a sub (some say 2).

As to Darko, to me at least he doesn't come across as one of the most credible "audio experts" anyhow.

Hence why I wanted to see if the ls50 could go down to the claimed 28hz on Sam
At mine , if nearfield .. and low volume ( plenty volume by the way )
I can hear no need for a sub , plenty deep and clean .. as in can’t hear anything distorting like a apogee stage for instance
Definitely better than an ls not Sam’ed … with no drawbacks
It might be that the ls is distorting more then without this boost , but I cannot hear it

 

[Left]

Question. Why does the LS50 Meta have high distortion in the upper bass? Is it the coaxial tweeter? For comparison look at the Polk Audio Signature S15 reviewed by Amir. What tradeoff did KEF make?

 

[trevor_bartram]

Question. Why does the LS50 Meta have high distortion in the upper bass? Is it the coaxial tweeter? For comparison look at the Polk Audio Signature S15 reviewed by Amir. What tradeoff did KEF make?

The Polk driver has greater surface area & is therefore capable of more bass. I'm unsure why KEF didn't give their bigger Uni-Q driver the Meta treatment, probably because the regular LS50 set a precedent. I bet the KEF was subject to a focus group & the group did not object to bass distortion! The KEF R3 Meta is a more ideal speaker!!

 

[Dennis_FL]

Amir said “Suggest pairing it with a subwoofer if you want to play loud bass though.”

I got the Kc 62 sub for 20-80hz and the combo works great

 

[ehabheikal]

Using the ls50 metas with a subwoofer will reduce thd in bass region as well as extend the bass.

 

[Tom Schneider]

When I was running my LS50 Metas full range I did notice distortion but adding a KC62 crossed over at 90hz it ended up much cleaner. Having a high power amp also helped to make the sound more relaxed without distortion.

 

[tw 2022]

Question. Why does the LS50 Meta have high distortion in the upper bass? Is it the coaxial tweeter? For comparison look at the Polk Audio Signature S15 reviewed by Amir. What tradeoff did KEF make?

pretty much the entire idea of the ls50 meta is either to use them near field to eliminate the need for high volume, or use a sub with a rather high crossover point to eliminate some of the need to reproduce bass through a 5" midwoofer... the point might be that the trade-offs are at the consumer level....

 

[RiseFall]

Why does the LS50 Meta have high distortion in the upper bass?

I had the same issue, added two KC62, better but never solved the problem totally in my specific case.

 

[Ciobi69]

What do you guys expect from a 5inch midwoofer honestly? There is no replace for displacement, you need a big sub crossed high imo

 

[sychan]

What do you guys expect from a 5inch midwoofer honestly? There is no replace for displacement, you need a big sub crossed high imo

Its not just a 5" midwoofer, its a 5" midwoofer with a big hole in the middle of the cone for a concentric tweeter. If this was easy to do, we'd see them everywhere and for cheap.

 

[pablolie]

What do you guys expect from a 5inch midwoofer honestly? There is no replace for displacement, you need a big sub crossed high imo

Depends on your setup and the volume you like to listen at. I am super happy with a single, carefully positioned sub x-overed at 80Hz. But I do agree that unless you use them as near field monitors, you do them a disservice by not using a good sub.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

BTW, I don't know if everyone here knows this, but the LS 50 Metas carry a 5 year unconditional guarantee. That means if you do something incredibly stupid like stick a thumb through the driver, Kef will replace it for free. Just call them, give them the serial number of your speaker, tell them what color you want, and they will ship it, no questions asked. I swear it's true. A friend had to have one of his Meta driver's replaced, and this was his experience.

Also, the drivers are so closely matched, they guarantee the driver they ship will match the one in your other speaker. Apparently, they more than exceed their own specifications on them.

 

[jackocleebrown]

BTW, I don't know if everyone here knows this, but the LS 50 Metas carry a 5 year unconditional guarantee. That means if you do something incredibly stupid like stick a thumb through the driver, Kef will replace it for free. Just call them, give them the serial number of your speaker, tell them what color you want, and they will ship it, no questions asked. I swear it's true. A friend had to have one of his Meta driver's replaced, and this was his experience.

Also, the drivers are so closely matched, they guarantee the driver they ship will match the one in your other speaker. Apparently, they more than exceed their own specifications on them.

Hi Everyone,
Just jumping in here to clarify on this point. The LS50 META carry a 5 year warranty that covers a wide range of problems (more info on our website) but it isn't unconditional and doesn't cover accidental damage from mishandling. However, if you do have a problem our service teams will always do their best to get you out of a tricky spot. The drivers are extremely closely matched so there isn't an issue if you have to place one driver in a stereo pair.

 

[Dennis_FL]

Hi Everyone,
Just jumping in here to clarify on this point. The LS50 META carry a 5 year warranty that covers a wide range of problems (more info on our website) but it isn't unconditional and doesn't cover accidental damage from mishandling. However, if you do have a problem our service teams will always do their best to get you out of a tricky spot. The drivers are extremely closely matched so there isn't an issue if you have to place one driver in a stereo pair.

5 years on the driver only......2 yrs on the rest.

 

[thewas]

5 years on the driver only......2 yrs on the rest.

Not much other than can fail on normal use on a passive loudspeaker though, especially in that time period (after 20+ years some electrolytic caps can deviate in their values).

 

[Dennis_FL]

Not much other than can fail on normal use on a passive loudspeaker though, especially in that time period (after 20+ years some electrolytic caps can deviate in their values).

Agreed. But I've had my KEF sub back for repairs to the electronics twice now.

 

[tw 2022]

BTW, I don't know if everyone here knows this, but the LS 50 Metas carry a 5 year unconditional guarantee. That means if you do something incredibly stupid like stick a thumb through the driver, Kef will replace it for free. Just call them, give them the serial number of your speaker, tell them what color you want, and they will ship it, no questions asked. I swear it's true. A friend had to have one of his Meta driver's replaced, and this was his experience.

Also, the drivers are so closely matched, they guarantee the driver they ship will match the one in your other speaker. Apparently, they more than exceed their own specifications on them.

this is a good business model when you're selling a mini monitor for $1600...

 

[MattHooper]

I've only heard the KEF LS50 meta, and LS60 briefly at a store.

But when a non-audiophile pal of mine was looking for a good sounding speaker I recommended a second-hand pair of the original LS50s that I saw for sale at a great price.

My friend has been super happy with these speakers. He's found them revelatory in terms of the type of sound he now enjoys at home.

Whenever I'm over, as I was last night, I listen to music on his LS50s and I have to say I really, really like the modern KEF sound! I grew up with KEF 105.2 speakers which were incredible. But something really grabs me about the latest KEF speakers. I don't have measurements to supply but everyone has seen them anyway, so just subjective impressions: I love the really clean, clear, open and airy quality of the KEF speakers, which also have some nice richness in the bass. But more than that, there is a particular timbre/tonal quality that I enjoy...they are timbrally "colourful" in the way they produce such smooth harmonic qualities in instruments and voices. I love listening to different gear, but I'm damned picky and there's few speakers I'd actually care to live with, and when I hear the KEF speakers I want to keep listening, so they are one of them.

BTW, I wonder if anyone else hears something: One trait that seems to always stick out a bit, if I had to pick nits, is a slight "metallic glaze" to the sound. Anything, vocals, a violin, piccalo, all have a very slight metallic tinge. Like a slight glazy shine is imparted to everything. Anyone else note the same? I actually don't mind it much, but it's never not there when I listen.