What is the opinion of Reddit about the
KEF LS50 Mini Monitor – High Gloss Piano Black (Pair), Speaker only?

A total of 22 reviews of this product on Reddit.

12 points

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28th Jul 2019

I learned the same thing about hobbies when I got into speakers. When I was first looking at speakers, the KEF LS50 ($1500 a pair normally, they’re in sale right now it looks like haha) came up quite a bit, and I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that anyone would ever spend that much money on a pair of speakers!

Well, I’ve been into speakers for quite a while, and those speakers barely scratch the surface. They’re phenomenal speakers, but plenty of people have speakers that are $10k+ and I don’t think it’s ridiculous now.

I was looking to get an electric bike recently, and at first I was like “why aren’t there many options at around $1000 or less?” But then I remembered what happened with speakers, and it makes sense. I just wasn’t aware that it was all out there, and that’s a big hobby for a lot of people and it can get pretty expensive.

Now I look at pretty much everything like that. Unfortunately, my brother doesn’t get it still. I was “into” watches for a bit (I’ve only got a few, and none of them are very expensive at all). He asked me to find him a watch that looks like x (he described it for me, I don’t remember). I found him a Seiko that was $300 or so, because, knowing a lot about watches, I thought “this one is a great value for him”. He saw the price tag and said “I was thinking under $100”. Sorry bud, that probably won’t happen for what you want.

Anyways, this is all to say, don’t judge the amount of money someone’s hobby costs until you really know what it’s about.

278 points

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20th Mar 2018
2 points

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11th Jul 2017

The amazon listing is showing $1199.00 for me right now. For gloss black only.

2 points

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15th Jul 2019

I’m glad you decided to do this today. The KEF LS50 is on sale for $1000 on amazon. Look up any review of them and you’ll see that they’re fantastic.

The LS50s are extremely detailed and revealing. They might be a bit bright for some people. If you want something a bit more neutral, I would go with the Quad S-2. They have a ribbon tweeter that delivers all the detail that the LS50s, do, but without the fatigue. The bass is also a bit cleaner and deeper. I would pick the Quads between the two. You can get them at Tenacious Sound for $1000.

That leaves us with $2000 for everything else. Subwoofer, turntable, amp, and phono preamp are what you need.

I have a Rega Planar 6 turntable and I absolutely love it. I wouldn’t hesitate to get another.

I use a Marantz amplifier as well that I really like. This one will do the trick for you. It has a phono already, so you don’t need an external one.

Finally, a subwoofer. If you’re using it only for music, I would probably go with REL. Check their sub-finder to see what matches your LS50s. Probably a T/7i would do it.

2 points

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29th Mar 2019

> Budget isn’t much of a concern, I’d like to not buy $2,000 speakers, however.

Hmm. Okay.

Let’s talk speakers first.

Quad S-2 have a very warm and open presentation. The tweeter on them is very good, and gives plenty of detail without any fatigue. They’re all all around great speaker.

KEF LS50 is an absolutely fantastic speaker. Everyone has reviewed them, and everyone likes them. Look up reviews and see how absolutely in love with them people are. And when people say that they’re good for the price, they were $1500 when they come out, so they’re even better for the price now, if that makes sense. Anyways, these are a brighter speaker. You hear tons of detail, vocals are fantastic, and imaging is superb (the tweeter being inside the woofer probably is the cause of this). Really great speaker. Some people find them a bit fatiguing though. I personally don’t, so I really like them a lot.

Really anything from Ascend Acoustics is a winner. I’ve heard those and they’re awesome. Great bass output for a speaker that size, and a very warm and relaxed sound. Fun to listen to. I haven’t heard the Luna or the Sierra 2 that they make, but they get stellar reviews. I imagine the top end is a bit more detailed because of the ribbon tweeter. (Okay wait it occurs to me that you probably don’t know. A ribbon tweeter has a bunch of little folds in a ribbon. It is squeezed in and out from the sides to make noise. This tweeter generally sounds very open and airy compared to a dome tweeter. Soft dome tweeters, like the Sierra 1, tend to be a bit smoother sounding. Metal dome tweeters, like the KEFs, tend to be a bit more detailed and bright. This is the general rule though, and it isn’t always the case.)

Bowers and Wilkins 707 S2 are a really fun speaker in my opinion. The voicing on them is pretty interesting. They have a metal tweeter, so they have tons of detail, but the voicing on them makes them sound like more of a warm speaker. Also, skip the 600 series if you look more into B&W.

Okay those are some good starting points. Anything there will make you happy.

You mentioned needing a DAC. Yes, you will probably benefit from a DAC. Since this is on a desk, I think an amp with a DAC built in would be a good way to go.

I have a NAD D3020 and I like it a lot. Great sound, plenty of options, etc.

However, If I were buying something right now and “budget isn’t much of a concern” I would probably spend a bit more and get a PS Audio Sprout. I haven’t heard one, but they get amazing reviews. People really seem to like them, and that’s a great company, so I imagine it’s good.

If you want a subwoofer, I’d take a look at REL. The T/5i would be good, as would the Tzero for a desk setup.

You’ll want speaker cable as well.

How does this look?

1 point

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15th Aug 2021

Just to make sure we are talking about the same speakers – https://www.amazon.com/KEF-LS50-Mini-Monitor-Gloss/dp/B00EPDMDZ8?

We are going to look at used speakers first so, there might be a chance.

1 point

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16th Jan 2019

Oof. Back out of that Sonos plunge right away if you want good sound quality.

Also, don’t line at soundbars if you want good sound quality.

Now, with that out of the way, it sounds like you’re trying to get a TV setup for now that you can change to a different setup later?

I’m glad you said you could spend a bit over $1000.

Kef ls50 is the speaker to go with. It is absolutely an outstanding speaker. On sale for $999 from $1500, you cannot beat it. If you’ve been doing your research, you’ve definitely heard of them. They’re one of the most highly regarded and recommend speakers out there.

Cool, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s continue. This receiver will be a good pick. It has plenty of features, including 5 speaker outs and 2 subwoofer outs, in case you decide to expand to a surround system in the future.

Now, to make this a “whole home audio” sorta thing, you’ll probably want to go with Amazon echos. (Google discontinued their chromecast audio last week). This little guy would be good. You can set up multiple of them and have them play music at the same time. You can stream from Spotify, Bluetooth, whatever.

Hope this helps!

1 point

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7th Dec 2019

Amazon has free returns on the LS50, which means free shipping: https://www.amazon.com/KEF-LS50-Mini-Monitor-Gloss/dp/B00EPDMDZ8/. Might as well stop debating and researching. Get the LS50 in your home and try them 🙂

>However, listening to bookshelves with subwoofer vs towers with subwoofers, they sounded very similar to me. (Maybe there are missing frequency between bookshelf and tower with crossover? I was told by the salesman that there is not missing frequency because the bookshelf can go down to where the subwoofer will take over).

Yes. If you can implement a full crossover with your setup, or if the speakers’ natural roll off can blend well with the sub’s built-in low pass filter, the bass overlaps to create a fairly smooth transition.

Be sure to get a good subwoofer, though. Many people cheap out on that. I’d recommend looking at Rythmik Audio subs to go with your speakers.

1 point

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29th Dec 2019

Best way to demo them is at home. Amazon has free return shipping on the LS50. If you are OK with their price and seriously interested, go for it: https://www.amazon.com/KEF-LS50-Mini-Monitor-Gloss/dp/B00EPDMDZ8/

1 point

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23rd May 2019

Hmm. The only speakers I know of that are meant to be horizontal are centers. You could just get two center channels. Like these.

Another option, but out of your price range by a bit, would just be a pair of KEF LS50

Edit: or KEF Q150

1 point

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1st Feb 2019

Up to $1000? I’m sure you’ve heard of kef ls50s. Those are phenomenal speakers. They’re basically famous.

1 point

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22nd Feb 2019

Do you need an amp in that price range? If you don’t need an amp and you’ve done any amount of research, you probably know about KEF LS50. Best speakers you can get for that price. The uni-q array makes for spectacular imaging. They have absolutely fantastic detail. They’re not 100% neutral, but they’re tipped up just a tad. Not much though. They’re even called ‘mini monitors’. If you haven’t done any research and you decide to look around at those now, you’ll find that every review out there says that they can’t be beat for the price. Those reviews were written when they were $1500 for the pair.

If you need an amp, there’s a ton of options for that price range.

You could do the KEF LSX. Basically the little brother of the LS50. Powered, bluetooth, the whole 9.

This is the amp I would get. You don’t need it with the LSX but you will with the rest of these.

Ascend Acoustics Sierra. They have a very smooth presentation. Still good clarity and imaging. A bit warmer.

Philharmonic Mini Monitor. The RAAL ribbon tweeter they use is very neutral and open sounding. They’ll be the most neutral speakers.

Monitor Audio. These will sound very warm and soothing.

Quad S2 bookshelves. These have a ribbon tweeter. They’ll have tons of detail and clarity, and also be neutral. They go a bit lower than the Philharminitor in case you don’t ever get a sub.

B&W 606. They’re pretty neutral, with good clarity and imaging.


If I had to pick between any of these, I would try to get the KEF LS50 if you can. If not, the Sierras would be my next choice.

1 point

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25th Jan 2019

Tube amps are cool, but to get a good one, you’d spend a decent amount of your budget. Maybe it would be more helpful to look at getting a solid state amp with a tube pre amp?

Let’s see what we can do.

Power amplifier

Tube pre amp

If you’ve been doing your research, then there’s a good chance you’ve come across the kef ls50. Get it now while it’s on sale.

Finally, you should get a sub to fill the low end a bit. If it’s just you listening, one sub should be enough. This one if you only need one sub. If you need the space to work for more than one person, sometimes it helps to have two subs. You’ll want two of these. That’s the “dual drive” option by the way.

How does this all look to you?

1 point

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24th Jan 2019

Sorry, it’s a $500 speaker. I thought it was $1500 a pair.

1 point

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2nd Jan 2018

Currently running a pair of Kef Q100’s on an SMSL SA-60 at my computer desk.

I just pulled the trigger on a pair of Kef LS50‘s and I’m looking to upgrade my amp because it doesn’t feel right running $1300 speakers on a $70 amp.

I’ve been looking at everything from the Emotiva A-100 to the Schiit Vidar and I’m just completely lost. The Schitt Vidar seems like something for powering floorstanding speakers in a ballroom – feels like absolute overkill for near-field computer speakers.

I would really appreciate recommendations/advice. I don’t think I’m enough of an audiophile to tell the difference between a $250 amp and a $2,000 amp in a near-field environment. I would like to stay in good bang-for-buck range, not the diminishing returns range.

1 point

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18th Mar 2017

So these are going into a larger room? Regardless, I’d look into demoing speakers if possible, I wouldn’t drop that much cash without being able to listen first.

Here’s some speakers you can look into:

These are the ones I can think of immediately. Depending on your area you might be able to demo some, I’d google to see what you have near you.

1 point

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22nd May 2015
0 points

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15th Dec 2019

Rega Planar 1 or 2 would be a decent turntable. I’ve got the Rega Planar 2 and it works great.

For speakers, you’ve got tons of options. I really like Quad speakers. The Quad Z-1 would be a really good option in my opinion.

Of course the KEF LS50 would be a great option. They’re extremely popular and have basically been the ‘go-to’ speaker at around $1500 for years. They’re actually on sale right now, so this is a great time to pick them up.

The Wharfedale Linton Heritage are absolutely fantastic speakers for the price. They have an extremely warm and inviting sound, that can just fill a room with ease. They’re pretty new so I’m not sure if you’ll find a ton of info about them out there, but they’re great.

Bowers and Wilkins 707 could be good if they don’t have a large space to fill. Unfortunately these speakers are pretty small and might not be the best for a larger area. Step down a line and you can get something bigger.

The Sierra 2 that u/ANeedForUsername mentioned would be good. I’ve only heard the originals, but I’ve heard speakers with RAAL tweeters (what the Sierras have) and they’re great, so I imagine it’s a good combination.

SongBird from Salk could be a good option as well.

I’ve got another cool idea, but I’m not sure how cool you’ll think it is. This is for your parents, and you want it to be special. Build a pair of speakers for them. Unfortunately I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing those, but I imagine they’re better than everything I listed here. DIY has great price to performance.

Okay so that’s enough to keep you busy with research. I’ll throw in my two cents, just for fun. I think the Wharfedales would be the best option here. They are a smooth speaker from top to bottom and won’t offend anyone. Some other speakers might be too bright for people or too shouty or whatever. I think these are a safe bet.

0 points

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29th Aug 2016

I’ll add just for fun this is what you’d want if a budget didn’t exist 😀