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In Reply to: RE: I will try the KEF ls50 vs. Ref 3A deCapo posted by Rick58 on September 13, 2014 at 19:51:50
hi, sadly the decapo are long gone, but besides them, they (kef ls50) will be in the same position, in the same room with the same equipment.
I have good memory of the overall feeling and presentation.
Follow Ups:
hey cool, I'd be interested in your thoughts for sure.
hi
are you selling the shl5 or the kefs?
okay, ive demoed the kef ls50 today.
the dealer told me they had around 300 hours of brak in.the bass is weak imo and a bit boomy. Soundstage is definitely good. I have read many users saying how natural sounding the kef are, well that was not my opinion.
I played some dinosaur jr, and my girlfriend asked in a joking fashion: who is singing. Meaning that it was even hard to understand the tone of the singer.
On jazz, they sounded good, but I dont know, miles didnt sound like miles. The sound was a bit bright and there was a real lack of naturality. But when I put aphex twin fingerbib, it was just terrible sounding. The bass especially sounded so thin, no body whatsoever. That was surprising for me as the continuum salk I have, which rolls of also at around 70hz sounds much more fuller. I listen to a lot of jazz and electronica and some rock, so no way I can live with a speaker with such poor bass performance.I can honestly say that the continuum salk, which is a really similar speaker in that its a small box and a 5 inch woofer and a metal tweeter, is much better. Of course, the kefs were listened in a room I'm not used to, with other equipment, but the amp and the dac was of much better quality then my own system so I doubt its that.
My girlfriend said right away she didnt like the sound.Now, maybe its the break in period that was not really respected. Maybe the dealer told me that they were break in but they were not. Maybe its the amp or the dac used in the demo that wasnt break in, but something was of.
Coltrane definitely lacked body in one of my most listened solo of his in flamenco sketches.Overall, that was it. I wish I could have demoed the kefs in my room, but from what I heard, the decapo are in other stratosphere of quality.
I think Ive realized I really want a bigger woofer, at least 6 1/2 and ideally 8 inch.
Oh well!
Next tryout will be the proac d2, audio note AN J.
Edits: 09/17/14 09/17/14
I had some KEF coax monitors in the past (XQ something or other...not memorable at all).
I have Master Control MMCs with Be tweeter upgrade and they are one of the best monitors I have ever heard.
However, if you want a very nice monitor that isn't Ref 3a (since you sold yours I guess you won't be going back) then I suggest you try the Odeon Orfeo. This little monitor is a firecracker! It is very natural sounding and I owned it before I got the Ref 3as. Well, it isn't the same level of resolution but the involvement factor is just as high.
In fact I am selling off one pair of Ref 3as (the L'integrale floor standers) and getting another pair of Odeons (but much bigger floor standers that are fully horn loaded). I am keeping the Master Controls though...they are just too good to get rid of.
Another option from Odeon would be their model Rigoletto. It is a very slim floor stander, so it has the same footprint of a monitor + stands but it is fully horn loaded (both tweeter and mid/bass driver). The Mid/bass is in a folded back horn and the total sensitivity is 94db/watt, so perfect for SETs.
Think about it and you might even forget about the AN-Es. Of course you could also buy the L'integrales from me...darn good speaker...
.., of the LS50 seem to be so radically different from the impressions of others who've tried them that I suspect that the setup is largely to blame. It might be true that we all hear things differently, but hey...The LS50s are known to be picky about placement and room size, so I'd be careful about drawing too many conclusions in a sub-optimal listening setup.
Edits: 09/17/14
To me they were dreadful at the California Audio Show a few years ago and I walked out within a minute because my ears were being assaulted. The KEF Blade however was probably a top ten room despite the awful room they were in and I preferred it to the Giya, Legacy, Tannoy Westminster rooms that were also in equally bad rooms. Considering that normally I would choose all three of those over KEF - the Blade impressed me. So the LS-50 was puzzling since it's basically the midrange unit.
I heard them again in Thailand in a department store so the room may as well have been a gymnasium. In the near field on a big Marantz receiver the sound was better and somewhat single driver like. Considering the equipment and the room here it was quite respectable.
Heard them in Hong Kong at a dealer that tried to push the B&W line on me saying that the KEF comes back for being bright. Eesh I thought - if B&W is the warm and musical line of products something is wrong.
Internet and reviews convinced me enough to buy em and take em home. It's a low risk gamble given the hype and the easy to resell factor. Putting them on my massive power SET amp and tube CD player in a room that suits the size of them and the results are a lot more KEF Blade experience than what I experience before. I think they have the driver more right than previous iterations.
I'd like to see a higher end version of preferably with an 8 inch woofer and possibly a silk dome or beryllium tweeter. Although beryllium sticks out too much to me. I always walk away very impressed by the treble but then I also always notice the treble. But the price would probably skyrocket so all this is a bit moot.
It depends what you're after. I think the AX Two is more agreeable across more systems, more rooms, and more budgets. It has less hi-fi acumen and slam and force. And it's less good looking and less impressively engineered. You have to do more work IMO to get the KEF to sound its best. It may be far too fussy for some.
Doesn't surprise me a bit. I had an older version of KEF with one coax and never liked the sound.
The best monitors I have heard so far are from Ref 3a, Odeon and Magico. The Odeons really surprised me given how cheap they are, really alive sounding and image great. I kind of regret selling them.
indeed, I really dont know what happened, but the sound was terrible. Just small, thin and lacking body, bit bright and definitely didnt like the bass.
It made me confirm that I want bigger woofers then 5 1/2. Ive lived with 12 inch for a year.
Hey, if your ear/brain system is used to a certain type of sound it might be better to just keep going with the flow. Audio Note's baseline models would seem to fit the bill.
Te KEF needs a small room and good power supplies from the amplifier.
Your result isn't much different than mine at shows or in stores.
Still, I would take the De Capo over the KEFs. I'd take a second hand AN-K over both of them.
hi rga, have you received my couple of mesages?
Id like to talk to you about buying audio note in second hand condition.
please write to me?
thanks
You can reach me at rausten@dagogo.com - I often don't get e-mails from form forums.
For second hand I can't much help - you'd have to check with various dealers to see if they have anything in stock.
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