KEF LS50

My Dad has them. Well made speaker. Sound is clean. Bass not overly tight.

S.

I haven’t heard them but they are a bit small for me. I like the copper colour drivers though. I habe seen a similar driver in bigger KEFs but I can’t remember which ones. So may speakers these days look too plasticky for me. I’m more of an Isobarik fan. 

Heard them a few times. A competent small speaker. That's about it. Expensive and over-rated.

HiFi sound (and spiced up 'HiFi' balance) vs. something that stirs the soul. KEF stopped doing the latter decades ago I reckon.... and some would say they rarely ever did this, although one or two 70's models could I feel.

By all means go listen to a pair Westie, but don't buy a pair on spec. Your Planets will see them off easily.

The original Q15, Q35 and Q55 were smooth, slightly safe and bland but worked well with the cheaper gear we sold then (Denon/TEAC midi systems and so on) and for the first time, the tweeters integrated properly - the then Reference models were excellent too I remember if the driving gear was up to it. The replacement cheap IQ range tarted up the visuals with attractive 'apple' finished curvy Chinese made cabinets and the milky grey poly cones went whiter. Unusually for KEF who were measurement led with 'sound' coming after, the tweeter was spiced up hugely in a very non-flat KEF way and it seems many of their speakers after this followed this almost filling-removal trend. Looking at reviews of more recent models, the sparkle remains in various states depending on how exalted the model range is...

Castle made in China now. Ruark make modern radiograms.

Some KEFs are pretty good. They have made a shedload of models over the years so there's bound to be the odd stinker.

As far as the LS50 goes I don't see why anyone would pay so much for a teeny-tiny little speaker. There's only so good a miniature speaker can get regardless of technology, design or price tag. Any room bigger than a shoebox will cope with a much larger speaker. And if you just want something dinky for the 'desktop system' you might as well just get some JBL Control One and have done with it.

NO ITS NOT FFS

You can get away with that but it is sub-optimal. IMO of course.

NO

STU.......Your A freak.

I cunningly sit on the fence by having both floorstanders and standmount speakers. Plus two full systems with both vinyl and CD front ends, two Stax headphone systems, and a partridge in a pear tree.

To be reviewed in next month's Six Moons I believe.

Oh no. No No No............... 

Not necessarily. That is often the case, but not always.

I've had my eye on these for a while: nl.aliexpress.com/item/Aucharm-speakers-rhyme-10-inches-full-frequency-loudspeaker-paper-cone-side-phase-aluminum-frame-aluminum-physical/32734357597.html

The Chinese are turning out some very interesting drive units these days. High quality too.