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Kef LS50 v vintage LS3/5A

Mick P said:
I was a bit surprised when I returned to the UK and listened to my Naim 32.5/Hicap/250 set up with a pair of SBLs on the end in the dining room. The sound totally trashed the Sonos streamer / Dali Oberon1 set up I got in Spain and to keep it fair I was listening to Radio stations which is the most level playing field I could muster. I was about 2.5 meters away from both systems when listening.

I am now a bit unsettled. Should I replace the Sonos and Dali with a good quality Naim Streamer with something like a KEF LS50 meta on the end. I have to use bookshelf speakers in Spain.
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Don't forget the room influence as well. If your UK property has more soft furnishings etc and thus less echo/reverberation than your Spanish residence then, even though you're listening from the same distance in both properties, you'll be hearing more direct sound from your UK system and more diffuse/reflected sound from your Spanish system. If that's the case then even if you install the exact same system in both properties they will sound very different and I'd bet you'd still rank your UK system above your Spanish one.
 
Also Dali speakers put out more treble than typical boxes due to their strange directivity characteristics, thus requiring wide rooms and/or some upper-mid and high frequency absorption.
 
ToTo Man said:
Don't forget the room influence as well. If your UK property has more soft furnishings etc and thus less echo/reverberation than your Spanish residence then, even though you're listening from the same distance in both properties, you'll be hearing more direct sound from your UK system and more diffuse/reflected sound from your Spanish system. If that's the case then even if you install the exact same system in both properties they will sound very different and I'd bet you'd still rank your UK system above your Spanish one.
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The Spanish system of a Sonos Amp for streaming and a pair of Dalis was a package from Richer Sounds for £999.00 so I was not expecting the earth. I was originally happy with it because you tend to spend very little time indoors when in Spain, so an OK system is OK. What happened was that I actually started listening more than what I expected due to the streaming facility.

My two systems in the UK are both Naim based and are bound to sound better and yes the UK is wall to wall carpeting etc.

The Spanish place has floor tiles in the listening area with a couple of leather sofas. However the area is partially covered with a rug from the Rug Doc which will help a bit.

It's dead easy to get dems in the UK but in Spain it's not possible. In Spain you buy the product and there is no try it and see facility.

We are out again in January for a mini break and the wife will have a good listen and we will then come up with a plan
 
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Just to add to the discussion.
At the Bristol show, perhaps the year before covid, I came away from the dem room hosted by Q Acoustics.They had a system comprising of sub/amplifier and stand mount speakers being interchanged with small pod speakers. The stands mounts did sound fractionally better than the pods, I was so impressed with both, I returned to the room several times.
Although I'm happy with my existing setup I really need to get a reminder of what so impressed me that day.
It was similar to this although they were only demostrating a stereo setup that day, they did say it was available in surround sound.
https://www.weybridge-audio.co.uk/q-acoustics-7000i-slim-5.1-speaker-package.html
Perhaps Mrs Mick P would accommodate the pods.
 
Mick P said:
The Spanish system of a Sonos Amp for streaming and a pair of Dalis was a package from Richer Sounds for £999.00 so I was not expecting the earth. I was originally happy with it because you tend to spend very little time indoors when in Spain, so an OK system is OK. What happened was that I actually started listening more than what I expected due to the streaming facility.

My two systems in the UK are both Naim based and are bound to sound better and yes the UK is wall to wall carpeting etc.

The Spanish place has floor tiles in the listening area with a couple of leather sofas. However the area is partially covered with a rug from the Rug Doc which will help a bit.

It's dead easy to get dems in the UK but in Spain it's not possible. In Spain you buy the product and there is no try it and see facility.

We are out again in January for a mini break and the wife will have a good listen and we will then come up with a plan
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When we spent time in Spain I took my HD600 headphones and a decent DAC/headphone amp for both TV and music. The acoustics of the villas we rented were always attrocious; large, open-planned living room with high ceiling, bare walls, leather sofas, tiled floors with usually just with a small shagpile rug that we invariably rolled up and stored away due to it becoming a dust and fluff magnet. Even plugging a decent portable speaker into the TV didn't make speech intelligible enough to turn the subtitles off. I dread to think what the RT60 was, probably close to 2 seconds!
 
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ToTo Man said:
When we spent time in Spain I took my HD600 headphones and a decent DAC/headphone amp for both TV and music. The acoustics of the villas we rented were always attrocious; large, open-planned living room with high ceiling, bare walls, leather sofas, tiled floors with usually just with a small shagpile rug that we invariably rolled up and stored away due to it becoming a dust and fluff magnet. Even plugging in a decent portable speaker into the TV didn't make speech intelligible enough to turn the subtitles off. I dread to think what the RT60 was, probably close to 2 seconds!
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Yes you are entirely correct but you forgot the large sliding glass patio doors. Add it all up and it's an acoustics nightmare.
 
I've got Dali Pico's which are a litter smaller the the ones you have Mick, i was driving them with a old Sony ES amp 100W, setup of the Pico's was really important in a larger room, i had them super close to the sidewalls with lots of toe in, the sound they produced, while dynamically limited, was totally remarkable (I had 1400 JBL Arrays at had at the same time), i thought they were better than the LS50s- non Meta versions and sounded more natural.
 
Do Kef supply grilles for the LS50 yet? They'll blend into more households if they do, the lack of grilles is what has so far stopped me from buying some, both on general aesthetics and as my house generates dust at a ridiculous rate.
 
calorgas said:
Do Kef supply grilles for the LS50 yet? They'll blend into more households if they do, the lack of grilles is what has so far stopped me from buying some, both on general aesthetics and as my house generates dust at a ridiculous rate.
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That’s why I went for the black edition as they look a bit more normal..
 
SteveH said:
You'd prefer some Old Skool wooden box designed in 1975?
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I want a mid-century-modern LS50. I’ve always felt it would look stunning if the front was done in formed plywood with stripy edges like an Eames recliner. It would cost a fortune, but its a really good speaker and would look way better than the naff gloss painted MDF!

PS I really don’t like shiny MDF speakers, always look cheap to me even if they are huge Wilsons or Focals.
 
I have been over here in Spain for 5 days with my wife and son and we have all had a good listen to the Sonos amp with the Dalia Oberon1 speakers and we all agree that it sounds good enough and messing about with a Naim streamer and Kef LS50 Meta speakers just ain't worth the hassle.

So here sits I, happy and content with no urge to upgrade. Contentment is a wonderful thing.
 
SteveH said:
You'd prefer some Old Skool wooden box designed in 1975?
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It’s not that.
Fashion is more relevant with modern products.
To me, the simple and functional shape of the original Mini is
much more acceptable than the modern BMW MINI.
There are too any badges, LED lights, etc. on the little BMW.
 
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