avanti1960
Well-Known Member
please report back with your impressions of the ref1s.
Kef LS50 vs Harbeth Monitor 30.1
- Thread starter murphythecat
- Start date
seminole54
AK Member
Sam
Just a heads up, whatever amp you are using with the LS-50 or the Harbeth is not likely to work with the REF-1. They were measured at 82 db at the CRC and almost the entire bass region was under 4 ohms. The guy I know that has them is thinking about selling because of the amp requirements of being 2 ohm stable with massive amounts of current reserves.
Just a heads up, whatever amp you are using with the LS-50 or the Harbeth is not likely to work with the REF-1. They were measured at 82 db at the CRC and almost the entire bass region was under 4 ohms. The guy I know that has them is thinking about selling because of the amp requirements of being 2 ohm stable with massive amounts of current reserves.
I'll chime in here about the LS50's. I have had the opportunity to compare them to a few other monitors but not the Harbeth monitors. I also noticed a harshness in the LS50 tweeter. According to measured specs the LS50 monitors do have a small peak at 5khz and I believe that this is the source of the problem. I noticed that as I tried different amps with them, that the speakers took on the character of the amplifiers. So far I have tried them with Eico HF--86 (warm underpowered), Hafler 220 (okay, not the best), Harmon Kardan A320 (underpowered, but very clear and musical), Arte Forma 845 monolocks (luscious), McIntosh 225 (exceptional transparency and clarity without harsh high frequencies), and best of all Kinergetics KBA-75 75 watts class A solid state (the best, warm, lush, fullsome and also almost as open as the Mac 225). I am now pairing the LS50s with a nice servo controlled subwoofer and sound staging is quite large.
The point of this information is to inform, but also I am very impressed that these speakers are so neutral and transparent as to show significant differences in a variety of amplifier design topologies. And despite the 5khz problem, I am hearing an incredible amount of information coming from that tweeter. But I have to admit that I have other, prettier sounding speakers.
The point of this information is to inform, but also I am very impressed that these speakers are so neutral and transparent as to show significant differences in a variety of amplifier design topologies. And despite the 5khz problem, I am hearing an incredible amount of information coming from that tweeter. But I have to admit that I have other, prettier sounding speakers.