Speakers Around $1500 / Alternatives to the KEF LS50

racingkaherv said:
Yes, Art. You hit it on the head perfectly.

For what it's worth, I was trying to be careful not to use the words "metallic" or "bright" when describing the LS50s, as I can't say definitely those adjectives are necessarily quite right when describing the overall character of the speaker. I don't think they are "bright", necessarily, as the treble region is actually quite soft. It's something right in the 5k-7k Hz range- a certain tonal quality that gives everything great clarity, but also sounds maybe a bit inorganic/limited in my system to my ears. Could very well be the limitations of my components and/or cables.
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It`s not your system your just hearing what is there which others choose to ignore or cannot hear or reference. You are not alone with what your hearing with the LS50 i can hear it along with every audiophile that i know. It`s a blessing and a curse, it would be so simple if one were immune to certain flaws, but then certain joys would be missed also. Good Luck.
 
You should check out speaker from Ascend Acoustics. They are a small company in California. The speakers are designed and built in their facility. You have a 30 day home trial to see if their worthy. If not, you return them.
 
RH67 said:
It`s not your system your just hearing what is there which others choose to ignore or cannot hear or reference. You are not alone with what your hearing with the LS50 i can hear it along with every audiophile that i know. It`s a blessing and a curse, it would be so simple if one were immune to certain flaws, but then certain joys would be missed also. Good Luck.
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There are flaws in every design. It's a matter of choice which ones you can live with and which ones you can't. The bigger blessing or curse is recognizing that. No such thing as a perfect speaker.
 
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Art K. said:
There are flaws in every design. It's a matter of choice which ones you can live with and which ones you can't. The bigger blessing or curse is recognizing that. No such thing as a prefect speaker.
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Well... that`s a given. I`m just letting the OP know that he is not alone in what he has experienced, i have heard the LS50`s in 200k down to 5k systems and the flaws did not magically disappear working up the ladder in cost and quality of components.
 
Art K. said:
There are flaws in every design. It's a matter of choice which ones you can live with and which ones you can't. The bigger blessing or curse is recognizing that. No such thing as a prefect speaker.
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Amen to that. Very true and something I think I forget sometimes.
 
RH67 said:
I feel the same as you about the LS50, they have that zing added to them that makes them sound metallic and artificial to a degree.

Try GoldenEars Tower 7`s, in your price range with a nice natural sound.
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Thanks for all of your input, RH67. Really appreciate it. Are you referring to the Triton Seven Towers?
 
4Play said:
You should check out speaker from Ascend Acoustics. They are a small company in California. The speakers are designed and built in their facility. You have a 30 day home trial to see if their worthy. If not, you return them.
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Thanks, 4Play. I saw some people really dig the Sierra-2. Sounds like maybe I should look into them. Do you own anything by Ascend?
 
Some very good suggestions here.
I'll echo the thought of the KEF R300. I did a fair amount of listening to both the LS 50 and R series and, while they share some similarities, the R series is more polite sounding with a little more bottom end weight.
Good luck, it's a fun price bracket to play in!
 
It's basically become my standard alternate to the KEF and sandard $1500 and under speaker - the Audio Note AX Two - which is the hardest to find but arguably the best sounding speaker I've heard. Prefer them to Epos, Dynaudio, KEF, and any version of the LS-3/5a. AX Two Designed by the LS-3/5a designer himself Andy Whittle (Formerly of Rogers and Celestion).

I think it's the easiest to live with in terms of sound and power requirements or system matching - fine with SS Rotel or Roksan, $200 Class T amplifiers, and raises the game with high level equipment. 7 watts is more than enough to power them and they are hand built in Denmark using Danish drivers. And at $1,000US list saves you money. But they don't look particularly great. Compromise aesthetics for sound quality. I compared them several years back to EPOS and that wasn't much of a comparison - Dynaudio didn't fare much better although they latter had more bass "slam" with amplified music.

The AX Two prefers to be placed up against the wall or in corners for best results but normal positioning is still fine. As you can see though they don't look anything special and for many looks count.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzF-S8rhTgw

Another one for $1600 is the Legacy Studio HD standmount which I liked at an Audio Show. Can't comment too much on them but if you like the ribbon tweeter sound these ones were quite good. I like the bigger 8 inch woofer pairing which gives them more gusto and bigger stage than many standmounts. Should be more available than the AX Two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZZuGrwdYMw
 
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RGA said:
It's basically become my standard alternate to the KEF and sandard $1500 and under speaker - the Audio Note AX Two - which is the hardest to find but arguably the best sounding speaker I've heard. Prefer them to Epos, Dynaudio, KEF, and any version of the LS-3/5a. AX Two Designed by the LS-3/5a designer himself Andy Whittle (Formerly of Rogers and Celestion).

I think it's the easiest to live with in terms of sound and power requirements or system matching - fine with SS Rotel or Roksan, $200 Class T amplifiers, and raises the game with high level equipment. 7 watts is more than enough to power them and they are hand built in Denmark using Danish drivers. And at $1,000US list saves you money. But they don't look particularly great. Compromise aesthetics for sound quality. I compared them several years back to EPOS and that wasn't much of a comparison - Dynaudio didn't fare much better although they latter had more bass "slam" with amplified music.

The AX Two prefers to be placed up against the wall or in corners for best results but normal positioning is still fine. As you can see though they don't look anything special and for many looks count.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzF-S8rhTgw
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Find me a pair at reasonable cost (AN) and I will buy them. Not being sarcastic either...I'm ready to try them...bring it on Richard.:yes:
 
Yes finding an Audio Note dealer is A) difficult and B) when you do find one finding one with stock is difficult and C ) even if they have stock they may not be carrying the Zero series. Dealers have told me they are frustrated with them because they simply sell far too many products for such a small outfit. So it has become an "audition and place an order" set-up. He did open a separate dedicated plant for the zero series so hopefully that will get them out. I saw the zero speakers in HK at a much busier location and hat dealer is only allowed to sell Zero level gear. Their little zero series is pretty kick ass all put together for under $5k.

They have around 75 dealers around the world and from their web site these are the US dealers

Almost Live Audio
by appointment
Novi, MI
David Anselm david@almostliveaudio.com
248.697.7776

Amherst Audio
by appointment
Amherst, MA
Bob Neill amherstaudio@comcast.net
413.549.6171

Audio Compositions
by appointment
Lincoln University, PA
Deryl Benson audiocomp1@verizon.net
610.869.7346

Audio Federation
by appointment
Boulder, CO
Mike & Neli Davis mike&neli@audiofederation.com
303.546.6503

Audiofeil International
by appointment
Clarence Center, NY
Bill Feil audiofeil@verizon.net
716.400.6177

Deetes Sound Room
5825 Manzanita Avenue #4
Carmichael, CA
Deetes Andersen deetessound@hotmail.com
916.334.7000

Déjà Vu Audio
1401 Chain Bridge Rd, Suite 203
McLean, VA
Vu Hoang vu@dejavuaudio.com
703.734.9391

HiFi AV Supplies
81 Avenue O
New York, NY
Mr. Kwok Luk frontoffice@hifiavsupplies.com
212.219.3352

High End Audio Repair
(authorized Audio Note service center)
Brooklyn, NY
Ben Jacoby benchtech@highendaudiorepair.com
718.377.8010

Leisure Time A/V
1102 Hostetler Dr.
Manhattan, KS
Robert Dieringer red@kansas.net
785.341.2031

Response Audio
by appointment
Endicott, NY
Bill Baker RESPONSE34@aol.com

Robert Lighton Audio
37 West 20th St., Suite 1206
New York, NY
Robert Lighton info@robertlighton.com

Seattle Hi-Fi
by appointment
Auburn, WA
Burt Goodman info@seattlehifi.com
253.737.7407

Sound Consultant
by appointment
La Crosse, WI
Harold Cooper soundconsultant@yahoo.com

True Sound
(dealer, and authorized Audio Note service center)
136 Kennedy Avenue
Campbell, CA
Nick Gowan gowan@tsound.com
408.370.7578

SMAudio
501 Catalina Rd
Fullerton, CA 92835
USA
Warren Jarrett SMAudioCorp@aol.com
tel: 562-897-2227

Wellington Audio
by appointment
West Palm Beach, FL
John Geisen jgeisen@mac.com
561.798.1059

Some Canadian dealers near the US border
http://www.audionote.co.uk/distributor/dist_home_01.shtml

Soundhounds in Victoria BC Canada is here I usually go. You can compare the AX Two directly against the Dynaudios and Harbeth P3ESR among others.
 
racingkaherv said:
I have been auditioning the Kef LS50s in my home for the past month. Despite flipping interconnects and speaker wire, I don't seem to love them quite yet. I love the soundstage and instrument separation, and I totally get why everyone loves them, but in my system, they sound a touch forward in the high mids and a bit inorganic. Tonality is really the most important thing for me and it's a bit of a bummer as I was REALLY hoping to love them.
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BTW, where in NYC did you get the LS50's for the home audition? Did you buy them or did a dealer loan them out to you?

I'd be curious to audition them myself at home and include them in my comparison versus the CM5's and LSiM703's.
 
I know there are a lot of dealers, sort of. Just not a lot of the AX Two's. Hey Dave, I know how you feel about them. I'm interested in hearing from Dan (Fusion) about them. Pretty sure he owns a pair.
 
The Audio Note speakers are decent.
But hardly outstanding units. Despite fanboy views.
IF interested in some odd seeming but decidedly serious technology :
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/
Even Nelson Pass found these as amazing performers.
 
RGA said:
It's basically become my standard alternate to the KEF and sandard $1500 and under speaker - the Audio Note AX Two - which is the hardest to find but arguably the best sounding speaker I've heard. Prefer them to Epos, Dynaudio, KEF, and any version of the LS-3/5a. AX Two Designed by the LS-3/5a designer himself Andy Whittle (Formerly of Rogers and Celestion).
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Thanks, RGA. I'm gonna see if I can check the AX Two somewhere here in New York. (The design looks kinda similar to some Guru speakers I saw online.)
 
In the meantime, I've decided to order the Ascend Sierra 2s online for an in-home audition. They seem to be well liked and I appreciate that the company has an entire thread about the history of the speaker's development. I am also curious about the ribbon tweeter (I've never owned anything with ribbon tweeters) and I figure I only have shipping costs to lose if I don't dig them.

Does anyone have any direct experience with these speakers?

I will definitely keep you guys updated. Thanks again for all of the feedback.
 
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