I feel duty-bound to mention that KEF LS50s are still on sale @ MD

Prime Minister said:
powered by a small British integrated amp.
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They very much transform with gobs of power behind them. The question is...what really is the point of a small, relatively budget, speaker that needs extremely high quality, high power, amps? And thus...why I run Royd Minstrels where I used to have the Kefs.
 
JohnVF said:
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They very much transform with gobs of power behind them. The question is...what really is the point of a small, relatively budget, speaker that needs extremely high quality, high power, amps? And thus...why I run Royd Minstrels where I used to have the Kefs.
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Same issue I am pondering with the B&W CDM1 - a $1,000 speaker that needs $10,000 in amps to sound its best. ;)
 
Mine (black, like new) are sitting here in their box. I've been looking at the box for a few months trying to figure out what I'm going to do with them. I like them, a lot. They are as "revealing" as everybody says they are. But I thought the Sonus Faber Veneres were nearly as revealing but more musical. And the Harbeths dethroned both and I'm not so in to multiple systems.

Funny, I chose to sell the Sonus Fabers first, which I probably would have kept if given a choice between just those two, and the Kefs are still here. Just haven't brought myself to make a decision, yet.

I have toyed with the idea of putting them in the family room/bar. The GR Research N2X+ are going in there are soon as the reno is finished (carpenter says this Friday is his last day!) but they would be hooked to a 1990s Yamaha receiver I've had since college (in the late 1990s), mostly for TV and social/friends record spinning (on an audio technical PL-120 of all ghastly things). So yea, overkill?

And the sale price is a real good price...
 
I'd love to try a pair so I can form my own opinion, but somehow spending that much just to satisfy curiosity seems a bit much. I can't imagine what I have that I would pair them with.
 
TubeHiFiNut said:
Same issue I am pondering with the B&W CDM1 - a $1,000 speaker that needs $10,000 in amps to sound its best. ;)
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The thing is that they were done originally as a special edition for that 50th anniversary of Kef... they were originally done as a downsized and and distilled homage to an LS3/5A type speaker, but are tech derived from The Blades. So if you think of them in that sense, the need for much better amplification than their price point would suggest kinda makes sense. To me anyway.

- Woody
 
They sound quite a bit like the Blades, considering the price difference. That's both a plus for them and maybe not so much of a plus for the Blades (which I didn't really care for).
 
ICTWoody said:
The thing is that they were done originally as a special edition for that 50th anniversary of Kef... they were originally done as a downsized and and distilled homage to an LS3/5A type speaker, but are tech derived from The Blades. So if you think of them in that sense, the need for much better amplification than their price point would suggest kinda makes sense. To me anyway.

- Woody
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Completely understand. The LS50 is an excellent speaker, as is the B&W CDM1. From my experience with both speakers, they both like a "ballsy" amp to get the best results.

This is a hobby driven by passions and preferences. The speakers and amps that I prefer, and have kept coming back to since the early 1970s, are big high efficiency horns driven by medium powered PP tube amps or (#1 preference) SE amps (SET and/or SEP).

But I keep looking because 1) smaller stand mount speakers sure fit into the home more readily than big monster horns and 2) my Bride would like to get the downstairs back someday. ;)
 
JohnVF said:
They sound quite a bit like the Blades, considering the price difference. That's both a plus for them and maybe not so much of a plus for the Blades (which I didn't really care for).
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I heard the Blades a couple of times. Once, they were driven by over $20k worth of LFD separates, and they sounded lovely. Warm, rich and delightfully and excitingly dynamic. The source was a scary expensive Mark Levinson cd player. I could have taken that system home.
 
Prime Minister said:
I heard the Blades a couple of times. Once, they were driven by over $20k worth of LFD separates, and they sounded lovely. Warm, rich and delightfully and excitingly dynamic. The source was a scary expensive Mark Levinson cd player. I could have taken that system home.
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I heard them once in store, where it was later discovered that something was wrong with them and they went back to Kef. So that explains why I didn't like them there. The other time was at a show, so maybe the room was to blame. I recall thinking how they sounded like giant LS-50s.
 
I heard the Blades at a show (first Chicago AXPONA, I think?) soon after the LS50s were released. They were playing so loud every time I went in the room(s) that I never had an opportunity to form an opinion, other than that they are loud. And I never made an effort(s) to hear them at shows after that. I'd love an opportunity to actually listen to them again, maybe with some nice Boulder amps.
 
I've pretty well convinced myself to buy another pair but I have to get rid of a whole bunch of things first. Hopefully the sale lasts but if not there's PLENTY of used ones around. There's 2 or 3 pairs on Craigslist here and there usually isn't jack sh#t on Craigslist here.
 
JohnVF said:
What? Nobody told me there was a goth pair.

View attachment 9087
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Those flat black models do look mighty nice! It would be the set I would buy for sure. (You know Batman would have a set in his Bat cave):cool:. I do see that there is not much of a surround on the woofer there, does that mean minimal excursion and/or bass?
 
Audionut said:
Those flat black models do look mighty nice! It would be the set I would buy for sure. (You know Batman would have a set in his Bat cave):cool:. I do see that there is not much of a surround on the woofer there, does that mean minimal excursion and/or bass?
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I recall it having a bit of excursion. Its a very compliant material (thin rubber?). But they need power to open up, have bass, and project the sound. The image is either small and closed in or huge and out in the room depending upon what feeds them. They really kind of take on the character of whatever amp is behind them, for good or (as was often the case) bad.
 
JohnVF said:
I recall it having a bit of excursion. Its a very compliant material (thin rubber?). But they need power to open up, have bass, and project the sound. The image is either small and closed in or huge and out in the room depending upon what feeds them. They really kind of take on the character of whatever amp is behind them, for good or (as was often the case) bad.
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Looks to be some material there, it’s just recessed versus protruding out in the normal half moon fashion.

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