KEF LS50

Yes Taters that would be what I would say, at least based on my experience with the Harbeth sound which I love and have quite a bit of experience with.

As for the desktop, I have no doubt they would be great as nearfield monitors, I think they were designed with that in mind, they just might look odd on a normal sized desk, they are pretty good size.

Kef supplies some nice two piece foam plugs for the rear port which really worked well in my set up, many ported designs don't hold up well when you start messing with the port. Point being you could put them on a desk and back them to a wall and still get good sound from them I would guess. Not ideal, but still likely quite good.

If I had to give their best attribute it would be that hard to find combination of a touch of tone density (warmth) with high resolution. They image like devils too.

How are they at low volumes?

>>"Yes Taters that would be what I would say"<<

But of course, Petland, you don't seem to share Taters' well-known antipathy toward Harbeth speakers and their owners! :-)

-Bob

Sorry Bob, did not realize I was fraternizing with the enemy:)!!

So this clear (and not to turn this into a Harbeth thread) but IMO they make the most musical speakers I have owned. The 40.1 is a marvel and worth full retail. I could go on and on about all the things they do that other speakers seem to have to trouble with.

One of those things Roscoelli hit on and that is how do speakers sound at low volumes. The holy grail of all high end audio to me is to have it all there at low volumes, no need to search for what is missing by turning the volume up. Novices miss this key point all the time. No speaker does this better than Harbeth and none better than the 40.1. Once you have you understand and it is one of the few elements that is much more dependent on the speaker than anything other part of the chain, electronics can't get you all the way there.

The LS50 is not bad in this respect but not the same league as Harbeth. My LS50 have less than 100 hrs on them, but they do seem to fill out some with a little more volume. Way better than most monitors which can often sound thin and anemic and unbalanced at low volumes.

I took a chance on the LS50 mostly out of curiosity and the reviews and knowing that lineage of Kef and Harbeth share much common ground and that I imagine Kef gunning for a sound similar to Harbeth (without admitting it)

I think the LS50 gets you 90% there at a fraction of the cost and also does some things possibly better including the illusion of a point source with wonderful imaging. Mine are placed near ear level seated and they sound really good at that height. They are much closer to the sound I am used to with Harbeth for considerably less cost hence my desire to share in the post.

The LS50 is a good speaker. Had it not been clad in an industrial all-black form, I would have considered it. It's certainly a great sounding monitor at its price range. I've been looking for some small monitors to complement the Harbeth SHL5 that I own and the LS50s did fall under the radar. However, I went with some Dali Mentor Menuets instead as they looked much more acceptable in the WAF department.

If one is able to accept the looks of the LS50 and has the right amplification and matching gear to go with it, these speakers are certainly worthy of consideration.