# KEF LS50 Bookshelf Loudspeaker Review



## dizzyorange

Now that my KEF LS50s have about 50 hours of burn-in, I wanted to give some brief impressions.  
  
 First a very short bit of introduction: The LS50s were created by KEF to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They were Stereophile's Product of the Year in the 2013.  They are listed at $1500.
  

  
*Setup:*
 foobar2000 WASAPI
 NAD D 1050
 NAD D 3020
 Blue Jeans cables
  
*Music:*
 Quartetto Italiano
 Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
 The Smashing Pumpkins
 X-Japan
 Above & Beyond
 Supercell / Egoist
 2NE1
 Trace Bundy
  

  
  
*Impression:*
 What initially intrigued me about the KEFs were the concentric drivers.  I wanted a pair of nearfield monitors with a cohesive sound.  I tend to be sensitive to crossovers and the tweeter-on-top-of-the-woofer alignment.  I was also willing to trade ultimate treble and bass extension for a tasty midrange.
  
 As there are reports of the LS50s sounding thin in certain circumstances, I picked the warmest DAC/amp/cable combo that I could find.  Both NAD components have that typical NAD sound: warm, dark, velvety with the midrange in the spotlight at the expensive of neutrality and ultimate speed.  I've found the Blue Jeans LC-1 cable to emphasize the lower frequencies with a bit of treble roll-off.  I've never been able to hear differences in USB cables, so I just used the one from my printer.
  
 My first impression of the LS50s was that there was a TON of bass.  Totally not what I was expecting.  It was almost too much for me.  This is coming from someone who had planned on activating the D 3020's bass boost button.  (It was unnecessary.)  At first, I switched the D 1050 for an Arcam irDAC to reduce the bass a bit.  The irDAC has beautiful, rich tone in the upper mids/treble and a great sense of energy.  While classical and acoustic music sounded great through this combo, I found that it was a little bright and fatiguing after a while.  Siamese Dream, one of my favorite records, sounded a bit shiny.  I decided to go back to the D 1050.
  
 Of note, I am using the original firmware on the D 1050.  The updated firmware has more sparkle, but the old firmware has this wonderful heft in the lower midrange that adds a sense of gravity and weight to vocals. Some may not like this type of sound but it's right up my alley.
  

  
 At 50 hours, the LS50s are significantly less bright than they were out of the box.  The mids are thicker and warmer, and the bass is awesome like it was from the beginning.  Vocals, especially female, are just sublime through this speaker.  There is something in that midrange that is magical when you are on-axis.  The horizontal dispersion is forgiving, you can move left or right and the sound doesn't change too much.  But much of the midrange warmth disappears if you are off-axis vertically  As I tend to move around the room quite a bit while listening, I jacked the LS50s up on two yoga foam blocks to better hit that vertical sweet spot.  The bass is of the disappearing variety—in a good way.  When it's not in the recording, the bass politely gets out of the way.  When it's needed, it jumps back in with surprising power and quantity.  It's not the most impactful or the tightest bass I have heard (and certainly that is due to my component selection as well), but it has just the right amount of natural decay.  There's a noticable sense of pitch in the bass too, bass guitar lines are tuneful and fruity.  
  
 As for the upper register, there is some edginess in the lower treble.  I've seen some reviewers describe this as "metallic".  If there is a weakness to the LS50, this is it.  In some recordings, the tweeter has a tendency to sound slightly hard and unnatural.  Whether this is a revealing speaker pulling the curtain on a poor recording, a revealing speaker pulling the curtain on mid-fi components, or simply a fault of the tweeter is up for debate.  In my opinion, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.  I won't comment on the treble extension because I have purposely selected my setup to have some treble roll-off. 
  
 The LS50s create a wide and three-dimensional soundstage.  This is despite the fact that I have placed them on a desk and only 1 foot from the back wall (actually a window with blinds).  I did try them on stands out in the open—I thought they sounded a bit shallow in this setting.  Of note, I have a medium-bordering-on-large listening room, so there wasn't a whole lot of natural bass or lower-mid enhancement.  I think in a small room, the LS50 might sound balanced out away from walls.  The sense of rhythm is solid—it's not the absolute best PRaT I've heard, but again that may have a lot to do with my component selection.
  
 Focus is spot on.  Instruments and vocals are clearly defined without being etched.  I find that, sometimes, highly resolving speakers can oversharpen an image unnaturally.  It's like when you apply a sharpening filter in Photoshop—apply too much and you get aliasing around edges. The LS50 stops short of this, instead offering a superb combination of definition and body.
  
 Overall, I would rate the LS50 speakers highly.  I'd give them a 9 out of 10.  I don't think they are perfect. The lower treble could be more organic.  But the lasting impression is that of a cohesive sound from top to bottom.  It doesn't sound like voices are coming from multiple drivers—but instead from a point source.  I don't think the crossover is entirely inaudible (like some are saying), but it is very close.  The lasting impression is that of a lusty magical midrange that makes vocals and guitars and violins sound like they are in the room 10 feet away.  Really good stuff 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





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## chadbang

First of all absolutely beautiful speakers. I would be very proud to say I own a pair. I'm sure these will be considered classics in the future. Your major complaint seems to be a brittleness to the lower treble. I'm wondering if an upgrade in amplification my take care of this. The NAD looks like a great unit, but I almost feel like the KEFs are worthy of something better. Great review, thanks!


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## dizzyorange

chadbang said:


> First of all absolutely beautiful speakers. I would be very proud to say I own a pair. I'm sure these will be considered classics in the future. Your major complaint seems to be a brittleness to the lower treble. I'm wondering if an upgrade in amplification my take care of this. The NAD looks like a great unit, but I almost feel like the KEFs are worthy of something better. Great review, thanks!


 
  
 Yeah I'd agree that a better amp would make it sound better.  I have two requirements that make rule out a lot of amplifiers though: 1) small form factor and 2) lower-midrange centered sound with smooth, relaxed treble.  Any suggestions?  I was thinking of the Rega Brio R but not sure it would be that much of an improvement on the NAD.


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