Ls 50 meta Amps

[Sudecki]

Hi,
I see a good offer of Kef ls 50 meta + cambridge audio evo 75 in pack. Less than 3000$

What do you think? For me, 75 W is to poor for this speaker.

If not, a seller say me to buy a cxa81, and I have tested it, it was fabulous but when I see the thread on it in this forum, I was surprised by the no quality of electronic.

What do you propose me as amps? My budget near 2000 $ with an hdmi port is will be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ajcarr]

75 wpc/channel into 8 ohms is fine, so long as the amp can cope with low impedance and high phase angle (see the measurements at <https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef-ls50-meta-loudspeaker-measurements>). The LS50 Meta is not a speaker that goes loud, and it will distort horribly some volume below clipping, but it does require an amplifier that can drive a sometimes-awkward load. Personally, I largely listen to classical music and the LS50 Meta goes plenty loud enough, driven by my Naim NAC 112/Flatcap/NAP 150 (about 50 wpc into 8 ohms).

After years of having to deal with the nightmarish loads of early Linn loudspeakers, Naim developed amps that, while less than perfect when continuously driving low impedances, performed superbly with musical signals into such loads. Few amps could cope with these continuous conditions, and the musical signal could provoke problems with many of them (low impedance and high phase angle), and few of them had output transistors with a high enough slew rate to properly deal with musical transients.

I'm sure that the Cambridge Audio is a wonderful amp into a 6-8 ohm load with a low phase angle, which a number of speakers provide. Whether they sound any good is another matter. I know that the KEF LS50 Meta speakers sound superb at reasonable listening levels in my rig, but if they don't sound good enough to you, your problem is either that you're trying to play at excessively-high levels and/or you're not using a suitable amp.

 

[Mowz]

Everyone is right that is not the amp for those but it does look pretty neat.

as to what amp to use It depends how loud you want to listen. I have used schiit aegir and vidar and topping pa5 on mine. They all work fine. It's 83 sens so even the aegir does fine with the 17 watts amir allowed for its Snr for near field listening if you want 85db avg with tens of headroom. For 3-5 meters any of the new class d w/hypex purifi or take a chance on topping.
*edit for clarity and to point out the above do not have earc. Some hypex or purifi may but it depends on the manufacturer.

 

[Vini darko]

The nad c389 looks like a possibly good match. Has many features including earc.

 

[ajcarr]

Everyone is right that is not the amp for those but it does look pretty neat.

as to what amp to use It depends how loud you want to listen. I have used schiit aegir and vidar and topping pa5 on mine. They all work fine. It's 83 sens so even the aegir does fine with the 17 watts amir allowed for its Snr for near field listening if you want 85db avg with tens of headroom. For 3-5 meters any of the new class d w/hypex purifi or take a chance on topping.
*edit for clarity and to point out the above do not have earc. Some hypex or purifi may but it depends on the manufacturer.

Do you want a music system to listen to and appreciate music or do you want hi-fi that "does look pretty neat"? If it's the latter, then you can get a glitzy-looking amp and floor-standing speakers with maybe five drivers. If it's the former, get the LS50 Metas with the matching KEF stands, and have a look on ebay for a secondhand chrome-bumper Naim NAC 62/NAP110 (or 140) combo, even better if it comes with a Hicap PSU for the '62. You might need to get them serviced to Naim standards (something Naims need periodically, which might involve capacitor replacement). Don't use fancy, expensive, speaker cables, as they may destabilise the output stage of the power amp: Linn K10 or K20 will do, or if you can put up with a really stiff cable, Naim NACA 5 is optimal; Witch Hat Audio R2 is as good, or better. And don't skimp on RCA-to-DIN cables for connecting your sources. You won't regret it.

Lest I seem biased, I have owned amps made by Technics, Sugden, Cambridge Audio, Linn, Arcam, and Naim, and in my experience only Naim (starting with a secondhand NAC 62/NAP 110 combo) provides a direct connection to the music: the rest just provide modulated sound.

 

[Mowz]

I'm sure ajcarr is right about how that stuff makes him feel, I'd just point out that you don't need the kef stands for those speakers to sound primo.

 

[ajcarr]

I'm sure ajcarr is right about how that stuff makes him feel, I'd just point out that you don't need the kef stands for those speakers to sound primo.

The admittedly rather expensive KEF stands provide tight coupling between the speaker and stand: the speaker is fastened on with pretty hefty bolts (LS50's have threaded inserts in the base of the speaker and the holes in the top-plate of the stand has holes that exactly match them, through which you feed the bolts), so I suppose you could consider the whole assembly as a floorstander. Just plonking the speakers on top of, say, Atacama stands (with or without Blu-Tack) is never going to provide the same degree of coupling. Not that the KEF stands are perfect: I wish that you could adjust the spikes from above (my old knees don't take kindly to crouching down at floor level while turning a custom spanner, then using an itty-bitty Allen key to lock the spikes in place), and the duct at the back for the speaker cable is nice, until you try to feed NACA 5 through it, but that's more Naim's fault than KEF's; anyhow, I'm switching to Witch Hat R[sup]2[/sup] cable which is as supple as an Olympic athlete compared to NACA 5.

 

[ajcarr]

Cables are cables.

power cables:

GR Research B24 AC Cable Review: Does it Make an Audible Difference?

Follow up video to my text review of GR Research B24 AC power cord review. I play the clips at hand and show the difference (or lack thereof) with this cable vs generic cheap AC cable: Kind credit to band Radical Face Missing Film album for free license for non-commercial use. Please see...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Power cables with good review.

Is there a Power cables with good review ? Meaning , Power cable that justify its price and reputation ... Thanks

www.audiosciencereview.com

USB cables:

Audioquest Pearl USB Cable Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the AudioQuest 1.5 meter micro USB cable. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $41 on Amazon. Marking on the cable says that it is "low jitter." The cable is a bit thinner than the generic USB cable I compared it to. The cable feel is a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Nordost Tyr 2 Review (USB Cable)

...if they do it is because someone is buying it. Certainly. But then, better if the "silly money" is wasted for something as harmless as a cable.

www.audiosciencereview.com

speaker cables:

Audioquest GO-4 Speaker Cable Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the AudioQuest GO-4 speaker cable. It is on kind loan from a member and costs about US $599. The attached dongle is a 72 volt battery supply that feeds an unterminated wire the length of the cable. Different terminations can be ordered. Here are...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Western Electric WE16GA versus Ordinary Cable (Any cable for that matter)

I'll be up front and totally honest here,I am a cable denier.Just so you know where my vote is going. Does it matter if I use zip cord for speaker cables?

www.audiosciencereview.com

Which speaker power cable.

Good morning. I'm looking for a speaker cable for my system (neutral / warm sounding). At the moment Furutech Alpha S14 cable is too bright. Dali Opticon6 MKII loudspeakers Nad 399 amplifier I got lost in the huge amount of models! From what I have read on the net silver plated cables are to...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Best speaker cable specs

So we like to measure and rank DAC's with regards to their SINAD, regardless of whether the differences can be heard. But what about speaker cables, they also have specs, also regardless of whether the differences ca be heard :-) If you want the audio components with the best specs, then you...

www.audiosciencereview.com

If you read the threads, you will notice that there is a remarkable continuity: any decent, cheap cable is just fine. The rest is snake oil, hokum, scam artistry and expectation bias.

As for power ...... @gsp1971 offers this 1 meter comparison:

"@amirm measured sensitivity at around 83dB. With that in mind, if you are sitting no more than 1 meter away, then :

• 1W @ 8Ω will produce SPL of 83dB
• 2W @ 8Ω will produce SPL of 86dB (double power needed for every +3dB of loudness)
• 4W @ 8Ω will produce SPL of 89dB
• 8W @ 8Ω will produce SPL of 92dB
• 16W @ 8Ω will produce SPL of 95dB
• 32W @ 8Ω will produce SPL of 98dB
• 64W @ 8Ω will produce SPL of 101dB
• 128W @ 8Ω will produce SPL of 104dB and so on ... "

So yes, you need some "oomph" in your amp. I would say that any good Class D amplifier of 250W at 4 ohms is adequate. What's important is that you purchase from a known good manufacturer, and that they have a good guarantee or warranty. Warranties are like parachutes; you hope you never need one, but if you do, you need one that works.

Please use the "search" function at the top right-hand corner of the page, and you might also want to investigate the subforum "AUDIO Reference Library", here:

Audio Reference Library

Formal educational posts and articles on science and engineering of digital audio. Only site admin can create new threads. But anyone can comment.

www.audiosciencereview.com

The original LS50 Meta test is here:

KEF LS50 Meta Review (Speaker)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the KEF LS50 Meta bookshelf coaxial speaker. It was kindly purchased new by a member and drop shipped to me and costs US $1,500 for a pair. The LS50 Meta comes in different colors and I must say, it looks stunning in white: You could sell it as...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Good luck! Jim

Generally speaking, so long as a speaker cable has a nice low resistance, that's all that's required (when I was a student and QED 79-strand cable had first appeared, a local electronic components shop started selling a generic 79-strand cable at a fraction of the price, and it worked just fine. However, when it comes to Naim power amps, the speaker cable is incorporated into the design of the amp: you can't separate the two: if the cable has too low an inductance or too high a capacitance then the output stage of the amp becomes unstable (and Naim power amps have no output protection), as reported here https://www.stereophile.com/content/naim-nac-62-preamplifier-nap-140-power-amplifier, "Finally, I discovered that 10' runs of bi-wired AudioQuest Green caused the 140 power amplifier to oscillate, necessitating my use of single-wired Naim speaker cable". You can argue that this is stupid design on the part of the late Julian Vereker and his successors, but it is what it is, and Naim amps, paired with suitable speaker cable, sound remarkably good. The upside is that unsuitable cables tend to be very expensive, and Linn K10 and K20 (which are suitable) are very reasonably priced, Witch Hat R2 a bit more expensive, and then Naim NACA 5. Cable from the likes of Chord is (i) eye-wateringly expensive and (ii) completely unsuitable. I would like to try the Van Damme UP-LCOFC cable with either 4 mm2 or 6 mm2 conductors. The price seems very reasonable, and it isn't doing anything fancy that might cause amp instability.

 

[gsp1971]

The LS50 Meta needs an amp with decent power at 4Ω. I'd look for an amp that outputs around 150-200W @ 4Ω.

And make sure your amp has a sub-out in case you want to add a subwoofer.

gsp

 

[HARMAN]

i have ls50 meta connected to denon pma 900 hne (50*2) and the power is more than necessary
hi current is all about this speaker not watts

​

 

[this is me]

Try them out! Don’t underestimate the ls50m with the right amp. My room is 24’x28’ with vaulted ceiling that goes up 16’ and the side is opened to many other rooms. While waiting for the Blade One Meta, I demoed a pair of LS50 Meta and a KC62 hooked up to my Luxman 595ASE. I also demo the new Reference 3 meta in the same room. After 3 weeks of ls50m+kc62 and 3 weeks of the ref3m, I bought the ls50m+kc62. Not that I don’t prefer the ref3m but for the money and the fact that I have the Blade coming, the ls50m+kc62 paired with the right amp can go toe to toe with a lot of floorstanders.
My Luxman 595ASE is 30W/8ohms and 60W/4ohms. The speakers are 4’ from the wall and I’m about 15-16’ from them. My listening level is usually in the high 70s to mid 80dB. I never feel I’m at the limit of ls50m. My eardrums will blow before hitting that limit.

My current set up with the ls50m+KC62 and Luxman 595ASE and Lumin T2. For reference, that’s an 85” TV.

 

[bevok]

Personally I wouldn’t worry about guessing which amp and cables to get and just buy the Kef LS50 Wireless II, you know its all going to work well together (subject to auditioning them to make sure the sound suits you). All you could add is speaker stands and a sub if you really want to dig down in the frequencies.

 

[this is me]

Hi,
I see a good offer of Kef ls 50 meta + cambridge audio evo 75 in pack. Less than 3000$

What do you think? For me, 75 W is to poor for this speaker.

If not, a seller say me to buy a cxa81, and I have tested it, it was fabulous but when I see the thread on it in this forum, I was surprised by the no quality of electronic.

What do you propose me as amps? My budget near 2000 $ with an hdmi port is will be appreciated.

Thanks

I would try a LS50 wireless II and a KC62 sub. Has HDMI eARC for your TV. A real nice set up IMO.

 

[Marc v E]

Hi,
I see a good offer of Kef ls 50 meta + cambridge audio evo 75 in pack. Less than 3000$

What do you think? For me, 75 W is to poor for this speaker.

If not, a seller say me to buy a cxa81, and I have tested it, it was fabulous but when I see the thread on it in this forum, I was surprised by the no quality of electronic.

What do you propose me as amps? My budget near 2000 $ with an hdmi port is will be appreciated.

Thanks

Minidsp flex (500) + minidsp measurement microphone (100) + amazon basics hdmi converter (25) + hypex based amp (800) =
1425 total.

I would advice to get the balanced version of the flex and get Dirac live.(+200). The flex gives the possibility to apply room correction (very important) and add a sub at a later date.

(audiophonics has some good amps if you're in Europe. Probably best get something rated at 200 watt: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/powe...s-d-amplifier-ncore-2x250w-4-ohm-p-13545.html)

Edit: considering the wireless version has everything you want and more, what's not to like? This is probably by far your best option.

 

[MAB]

Looking through this thread, I see an opportunity for some to talk about their obscenely-expensive faux-retro gear, or their unstable antique-era amplifiers, and present these as recommendations. Sadly, these recommendations are the antithesis of what ASR is about. Plenty of massively stable amps with a ton of power to drive these speakers are available.
For comparison, a Yamaha AS-301 will outperform the Luxman, for over 20x lower cost. And, the Yamaha has a proper headphone amp, the Luxman uses a resistor. Or, if you wanted to crush the Luxman, get an old Yamaha CA-2010 or other real vintage amp. The old Yamaha even has a Class A mode, if that is your thing. The Luxman is a sad imposter. I have vintage Lux and Yamaha gear, at least Yamaha has carried a tradition of excellence. Luxman is a farce these days.
Don't even get me started on the metastable NAIM stuff.
These are just rotten recommendations.

As some have correctly stated, 100W is going to give better results, and 200W is more like it given the low sensitivity of these speakers. They just need power, which is a price to pay for the compact size. And I love the wireless version which takes the amplifier nonsense out of the discussion, and we won't have to see any pictures of someone's obscenely expensive tube amps perhaps!

Lastly, if you like loud, this excellent speaker may not be for you.

 

[Puddingbuks]

Get the active version, the wireless II.

 

[this is me]

Looking through this thread, I see an opportunity for some to talk about their obscenely-expensive faux-retro gear, or their unstable antique-era amplifiers, and present these as recommendations. Sadly, these recommendations are the antithesis of what ASR is about. Plenty of massively stable amps with a ton of power to drive these speakers are available.
For comparison, a Yamaha AS-301 will outperform the Luxman, for over 20x lower cost. And, the Yamaha has a proper headphone amp, the Luxman uses a resistor. Or, if you wanted to crush the Luxman, get an old Yamaha CA-2010 or other real vintage amp. The old Yamaha even has a Class A mode, if that is your thing. The Luxman is a sad imposter. I have vintage Lux and Yamaha gear, at least Yamaha has carried a tradition of excellence. Luxman is a farce these days.
Don't even get me started on the metastable NAIM stuff.
These are just rotten recommendations.

As some have correctly stated, 100W is going to give better results, and 200W is more like it given the low sensitivity of these speakers. They just need power, which is a price to pay for the compact size. And I love the wireless version which takes the amplifier nonsense out of the discussion, and we won't have to see any pictures of someone's obscenely expensive tube amps perhaps!

Lastly, if you like loud, this excellent speaker may not be for you.

Lol. Believe what you want and buy what you want. Didn’t think someone would be so offended by showing a Luxman lol. I didn’t know ASR is about certain belief or certain kind of gear.
I never recommend the Luxman for the OP. Just pointed out with a good amp, the LS50m are great speakers even for bigger room if the listening level is not unhumanly high.

 

[MAB]

Lol. Believe what you want and buy what you want. Didn’t think someone would be so offended by showing a Luxman lol. I didn’t know ASR is about certain belief or certain kind of gear.
I never recommend the Luxman for the OP. Just pointed out with a good amp, the LS50m are great speakers even for bigger room if the listening level is not unhumanly high.

OK, good, cause I thought you were telling OP to get an underpowered amp for a pair of LS50 Metas, and using pics of yours as a way of recommending.

 

[this is me]

OK, good, cause I thought you were telling OP to get an underpowered amp for a pair of LS50 Metas, and using pics of yours as a way of recommending.

Lol. Luxman 595 is underpowered amp.
I guess Luxman has been a “sad imposter” for almost 100 years. You can believe whatever you want. Not going to argue with that. After all, it’s just how much money you want to sink in this hobby and ignorance is bliss.
FWIW, I have a 150W per channel NAD in the back that can be bridged to over 600W. According to you, the ls50m would match better with that?:laugh:
Watt is not everything.

 

[randomer]

The admittedly rather expensive KEF stands provide tight coupling between the speaker and stand: the speaker is fastened on with pretty hefty bolts (LS50's have threaded inserts in the base of the speaker and the holes in the top-plate of the stand has holes that exactly match them, through which you feed the bolts), so I suppose you could consider the whole assembly as a floorstander. Just plonking the speakers on top of, say, Atacama stands (with or without Blu-Tack) is never going to provide the same degree of coupling. Not that the KEF stands are perfect: I wish that you could adjust the spikes from above (my old knees don't take kindly to crouching down at floor level while turning a custom spanner, then using an itty-bitty Allen key to lock the spikes in place), and the duct at the back for the speaker cable is nice, until you try to feed NACA 5 through it, but that's more Naim's fault than KEF's; anyhow, I'm switching to Witch Hat R[sup]2[/sup] cable which is as supple as an Olympic athlete compared to NACA 5.

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not.