KEF LS50 Bookshelf Speakers - Stereophile Class A Rated

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General:

Highly reviewed and popular speaker from KEF, likely their best seller ever. 

Stereophile Class A rated! 

Gorgeous gloss black finish with copper-colored drivers. 

Tested perfectly but showing a few signs of light use as do most speakers with a high gloss black finish.

Brand Background:

Since 1961, from our UK home, we have created remarkable award-winning speakers.

From our ground-breaking Uni-Q technology to our bar-setting LS60 Wireless, KEF exists to fill rooms with music as it was made to be heard, to move souls with truly authentic soundscapes.

Now, we're bringing more people with us on our journey to discover the power of great sound.

Ownership:

Single Owner

Amplifier Recommendation:

50-100W

General Sound:

Accurate to the recording

Cosmetic Condition:

7 - Some Wear and Light Scratches

https://skyfiaudio.com/pages/our-rating-scale

Working Condition:

Working perfectly and tested in our lab.

Included:

As pictured

Packing:

Will be packed using our highly developed in-house process and custom packing materials.Original MSRP:

$1,500.00 / Pair

Dimensions:

302 x 200 x 278 mm (11.9 x 7.9 x 10.9 in.) Each Speaker

Weight:

30lb / Pair

Approximate Age:

2015

Reviews:

From a Sound Vision Review:

https://www.soundvisionreview.com/hi-fi-home-theater/speakers/kef-ls50-review/

KEF’s mini-monitor is a compact bookshelf speaker in high-gloss black or white piano lacquer, which is equipped with a newly developed 5.25 inch Uni-Q array with a ‘rose gold’ magnesium-aluminum cone for the black version or ‘Electric Blue’ for the white.

In the center of the driver sits a 1 inch aluminum dome tweeter with a ‘Tangerine Waveguide’. The latter contributes to the excellent, wide sound dispersion of the Uni-Q driver array.

A large proportion of the phenomenal omnidirectionality of the KEF LS50 is due to the specially shaped midrange driver. The very flat membrane ensures that the sound waves of the tweeter isn´t negatively affected. In addition, the curved baffle provides optimized sound management and minimizes edge diffraction. Resonances are subdued by very effective bracing and stiffening of the cabinet. Eventual occurring residual resonances is kept inside the cabinet as the internal structure is separated from the outer structure by using insulation on critical parts of the cabinet. Perfect conditions to minimize discoloration in the midrange and allow the Uni-Q driver to play freely and openly at all frequencies.

The elliptically shaped bass reflex tube is flared generously at both ends, which handles and controls the flow behavior of the air exiting, thus avoiding flow noise and 'chuffing'. Another special feature distinguishing the bass reflex tube from being ordinary; in the middle of the tube sits a flexible section allowing the tube to expand, like a balloon or bicycle tube. The flexible port helps to eliminate long-stroke resonances that would otherwise cause discoloration in the midrange.

High and mid frequencies are filtered at about 2,200 hertz, and the minimum impedance is, according to KEF, at 3.2 Ohms. Our impedance measurements showed that the impedance dropped to a minimum of 3.8 Ohms in the lowest bass frequencies, which is why we would identify the LS50 as a 6-ohm speakers. The impedance curve indicates that it won´t cause any trouble, so even lower powered amplifiers should have no problem driving a pair of KEF LS50's. Amplifiers are connected to the anniversary speaker using the well dimensioned single-wiring terminals to which, depending on personal preference, banana plugs or stripped cable ends can be connected.

Build Quality & Finish

The KEF LS50 monitors are a perfect example of excellent workmanship and are technically absolutely up-to-date. The internal stiffening and the curved baffle make for a very stable and sturdy cabinet, which is insensitive to resonances. Weighing in at 15.8lbs each and finished with a high-gloss lacquer in either black or white it oozes quality, and the finish is flawless. Add to that no visible screws in the curved baffle as icing on the cake.

Sound Quality

The KEF LS50 should definitely be treated to a generous break-in period – at least 24 hours – so that they can perform at their best. What these compact monitors can do is startling to say the least. Like very few other speakers, the LS50 will be able to exactly and unequivocally make clear whether the sound engineer has done a good job in the studio or not. If the singer is slightly off center, it is the work of the sound engineer – the compact KEF LS50 hides no details. Toed-in and aligned straight at the listener, it gave us an extremely clean and focused center stage in our listening room. In your own home you should experiment with the distance and toe-in a bit, until the sound ‘clicks’ – which is done very quickly thanks to the wide dispersion and homogeneity of the Uni-Q drivers.

The resolution of depth and width is extraordinary, voices sound natural and have exactly the right size and volume. Despite its small dimensions, the LS50 fills the listening room very convincingly with music. KEF's monitor speaker have an amazing stability to the sound and certainly has floorstander qualities - for a compact speaker with a 5.25 inch driver, this is more than remarkable. It can obviously not play really low bass, but down to 60-70 Hertz the LS50 sounds crisp and precise, without artificially adding anything. It sounds even larger when positioned near a wall while still looking great.

KEF monitors inspire with their plasticity, spatial acuity and their firm and clean sound image with excellent detail resolution. A real loudspeaker super star which time after time can give you spine-tingling experiences, particularly with vocal performances. KEF LS50 pairs accuracy with enthusiasm - they are the ideal speakers to make any type of music into an event.

Measurements

The KEF LS50 gave their best in our 'Measurement Lab'. Although the frequency response is generally slightly uneven, overall everything was very well balanced and without any disturbing dips or peaks. The fairly compact monitor reached quite deep down into the bass frequencies, and easily reached our upper measurement limit at about 25,000 hertz. The 0-, 15- and 30-degree measurement showed a more or less straight line, which impressively demonstrate its phenomenal omnidirectional characteristics. The waterfall diagram shows the excellent decay and the THD chart confirmed the good-natured distortion behavior of the speaker.

Link to Manual:

https://www.auditorium.de/attachment/KEF_LS50_Manual.pdf

Recommended Cables:

Kimber Kable - Speaker Cables - Good

Kimber Kable - Speaker Cables - Better

Kimber Kable - Bi-Wire Speaker Cables - Best

Testing Process:

The SkyFi Testing Process for Speakers:

Our speaker evaluation process starts with a visual inspection of all drivers. We are looking for damaged or deteriorating woofer surrounds, dented tweeter domes, and cone damage. We also inspect the speaker connection points for loose or broken connectors.

After the initial visual inspection we connect the speakers to a reference amplifier with our preferred test tracks. With the speakers placed with proper distance we listen to each driver to make sure that they are producing the intended frequencies with no signs of distortion or rattle. During listening tests with test tracks we check for proper stereo imaging and bass response at various listening levels. If there are any audible signs of issues, the speakers are taken to the bench where we perform a frequency sweep to isolate the issue so that it can be resolved by component repair or replacement.

Specs:

Please see our last photo or the linked manual above.