Fridolin Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I would never replace my LS50s - except for a KEF Blade 2 or a KEF Blade (if my room was big enough). I have learned to love the precision and the great staging of the LS50s. For bass improvement i use a DIY subwoofer that matches the speakers. The amp is an old REVOX B250 which works great with the LS50s. Link to comment
rchunter Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 The ls50's are nice speakers. I'm running them on my bedroom system. Kef R900, R600c, R300 in the living room... Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk Link to comment
dmormerod Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 Based on everyone's feedback I've decided first to try more power, so I'm swapping out my DPA-1 for a pair of DPA-1M's which offer 325w into 8ohms each! Let's see what that does Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [br]QNAP+ -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> RequisiteAudio D3rs -> McIntosh C52 -> McIntosh MC-275 MK VI -> Harbeth 30.1's via Roon Link to comment
hornytoad Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Based on everyone's feedback I've decided first to try more power, so I'm swapping out my DPA-1 for a pair of DPA-1M's which offer 325w into 8ohms each! Let's see what that does Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I think you will be pleasantly surprised . Link to comment
dmormerod Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 I think you will be pleasantly surprised . I hope so! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [br]QNAP+ -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> RequisiteAudio D3rs -> McIntosh C52 -> McIntosh MC-275 MK VI -> Harbeth 30.1's via Roon Link to comment
hegelkef Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Kef ls50 wireless version released in december. If you're looking for an amp that works excellent with the passive ls50's check Hegel H360 or Hegel Röst. But if I were you I'd wait for the first LS50 wireless reviews... much cheaper! It will be a game changer in the hifi-world! Personally I own Hegel H360 & Kef R700. Perfect synergy ... and very powerful but in a good way. You can even use them in smaller rooms without getting boomy sound ☺ Link to comment
hornytoad Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Kef ls50 wireless version released in december. If you're looking for an amp that works excellent with the passive ls50's check Hegel H360 or Hegel Röst. But if I were you I'd wait for the first LS50 wireless reviews... much cheaper! It will be a game changer in the hifi-world! Personally I own Hegel H360 & Kef R700. Perfect synergy ... and very powerful but in a good way. You can even use them in smaller rooms without getting boomy sound ☺ Wish it had an auxiliary xlr input on each speaker . Link to comment
Ajax Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 based on everyone's feedback i've decided first to try more power, so i'm swapping out my dpa-1 for a pair of dpa-1m's which offer 325w into 8ohms each! Let's see what that does and? LOUNGE: Mac Mini - Audirvana - Devialet 200 - ATOHM GT1 Speakers OFFICE : Mac Mini - Audirvana - Benchmark DAC1HDR - ADAM A7 Active Monitors TRAVEL : MacBook Air - Dragonfly V1.2 DAC - Sennheiser HD 650 BEACH : iPhone 6 - HRT iStreamer DAC - Akimate Micro + powered speakers Link to comment
dmormerod Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 and? ..lol...Too early to tell. I literally unpacked the amps last night, but unfortunately one looks like it has a problem with the balanced output. [br]QNAP+ -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> RequisiteAudio D3rs -> McIntosh C52 -> McIntosh MC-275 MK VI -> Harbeth 30.1's via Roon Link to comment
michaelD Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 I just got back from a local show and one of the best combinations I have heard with the LS50's is a sub in this case it was a Martin Logan 210 with ARC and Parasound integrated. The nice thing about the Parasound besides its a great amp for the price is the DAC it has which is actually quite good. 2 Channel: Bricasti M20, 21 & M28 SE /Aurender N30SA and MC10 Master clock Treatments: Acoustical panels(F, S & R walls) Misc.: SR Master Fuses Speakers: Martin Logan CLX ART (Dark Cherry) w/30# weights / 2-ML 212's Grounding: QKore 1&6 / Networking: SOtM switch, clock and Pwr Supply / AQ Diamond /SR Router Power: Furutech GTX-DNCF / Oyaide inwall wire Nordost: 2-QB8 III, QV2's, QK1's, QSine, QWave, QX4, TC Kones, Sort Fut & LIft / Full OG Loom / 3-QSource & 12-QPoints, QNet, V2 Network Misc.: iPad 6 /Custom Rack Media Rm: ML: 13A's, 2-Descent i's, 6- Vanquish, Focus / 3-Parasound A23 / Legacy iV-3 Ultra / 77" LG 4k OLED / Anthem AVM90 / Pioneer Elite DVD Nordost: Odin/T2/H2, BC Kones, H2 Network, V2 HDMI Link to comment
dmormerod Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 Ok. Fixed the amp issue, a connection had come loose during shipping (Thanks Peter!). On initial listening it's obvious the KEFs certainly benefit from more power! Now time to do some more serious listening.. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk [br]QNAP+ -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> RequisiteAudio D3rs -> McIntosh C52 -> McIntosh MC-275 MK VI -> Harbeth 30.1's via Roon Link to comment
jvs Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 I'd be interested to hear your latest findings dmormerod! Main system: Jriver (OSX) --> ethernet --> Volumio (Raspberry Pi 2) --> Chord 2Qute (USB in) --> Cyrus 2 + PSX --> Rogers LS3/5a Second system: Jriver (OSX) --> ethernet --> Volumio (Raspberry Pi 2) --> AR-T Legato --> Cambridge Audio DacMagic 2 --> Cyrus 8 vs2 --> Harbeth LS3/5a Link to comment
dmormerod Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 I'd be interested to hear your latest findings dmormerod! It's been a long journey!! For Christmas my wife arranged an in-home consultation with our local dealer, Fidelis in Nashua, NH. They came out the week between Christmas & New Year and spent a few hours measuring my room with an SPL, and moving the speakers & furniture around. Their tweaks made a definite improvement but they suggested more could be done....they advised me against floor standing speakers for my room....so.... Firstly they brought a pair of Harbeth C7ES-2's along with a couple acoustic panels and some power cables to play with! The panels, positioned to the sides of the speakers at the first reflection point made a big difference with the KEF's. (I have a glass panel interior door to the right of the right speaker) Next the Harbeths and wow, very nice speaker, certainly more base control than the KEF's but they gave up some of the speed given the KEF's has with it's metal cone. But certainly a step in the right direction. Next we swapped the C7's for a pair of Penaudio Cenya's. I must admit Penaudio was a new brand to me. They brought back some of the speed of the KEF's but I felt like something was missing compared to the Harbeth's and to my ears didn't sound a huge amount better than the KEF's, especially given the price difference. Finally, for the last couple of weeks I've been listening to a pair of Harbeth 30.1's on Skylan stands. These to me finally give me what I was looking for....the speed of the KEF's, great controlled bass (no boom) and a level of clarity that means I'm hearing new things in recording's I've listened too for over 30 years! All I need to do now is convince my wife they make an excellent birthday present The glass panel door now has a curtain and I've filled a book shelf on the left so I no longer use the acoustic panels. But Fidelis suggest putting some cushion type traps in the ceiling corners with I will try. One additional point was cables. I currently use Morrow SP-5 speaker cable and MA-4 XLR interconnects which I feel are amazing value for money. Not too expensive, but not cheap either, for my budget a good balance. And while I'm a believer in cables making a difference as I've heard it with my own ears, I was always skeptical of power cables. The Fidelis guys left a Tellerium Ultra-Blue power cable which I swapped with the generic supplied cable for my AudioAlchemy PS-5 PSU (which powers my AA Pre-DAC & Streamer). Wow, the difference wasn't subtle! Ok, it's a $400 cable, but, I was shocked. I've ordered some Pangea 9SE MKII's to try with my mono-blocks to see what difference they make. Not quite as pricey as the Tellerium cables! Sorry for the long post but that's my current situation.... [br]QNAP+ -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> RequisiteAudio D3rs -> McIntosh C52 -> McIntosh MC-275 MK VI -> Harbeth 30.1's via Roon Link to comment
jvs Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 That's interesting because a few months ago I bought a secondhand set of Harbeth P3ESR's for the very favourable reviews I found online. And because it is considered a more modern and improved LS3/5A. The P3ESR's are magnificent speakers and have a far cleaner and deeper bottom end than the LS3/5A's of which I own a Rogers and a Harbeth pair. However, I did miss that last bit of presence and reality of voices that the LS3/5A's offer in the P3ESR. I must add that I have yet to hear an affordable speaker that matches the ancient LS3/5A's for voices, including the Kef LS50 passives. The LS3/5A really makes you think the singer is with you in the room, no other speaker has done that for me yet. The Harbeth P3ESR however was the best modern speaker I heard, only - for me - to be bettered by the old LS3/5A. I resold the P3ESR to someone who immediate sat down in front of them for half a night to rediscover most of his record collection :-) but I still listen through the LS3/5A's myself... Main system: Jriver (OSX) --> ethernet --> Volumio (Raspberry Pi 2) --> Chord 2Qute (USB in) --> Cyrus 2 + PSX --> Rogers LS3/5a Second system: Jriver (OSX) --> ethernet --> Volumio (Raspberry Pi 2) --> AR-T Legato --> Cambridge Audio DacMagic 2 --> Cyrus 8 vs2 --> Harbeth LS3/5a Link to comment
dmormerod Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 That's interesting because a few months ago I bought a secondhand set of Harbeth P3ESR's for the very favourable reviews I found online. And because it is considered a more modern and improved LS3/5A. The P3ESR's are magnificent speakers and have a far cleaner and deeper bottom end than the LS3/5A's of which I own a Rogers and a Harbeth pair. However, I did miss that last bit of presence and reality of voices that the LS3/5A's offer in the P3ESR. I must add that I have yet to hear an affordable speaker that matches the ancient LS3/5A's for voices, including the Kef LS50 passives. The LS3/5A really makes you think the singer is with you in the room, no other speaker has done that for me yet. The Harbeth P3ESR however was the best modern speaker I heard, only - for me - to be bettered by the old LS3/5A. I resold the P3ESR to someone who immediate sat down in front of them for half a night to rediscover most of his record collection :-) but I still listen through the LS3/5A's myself... It makes me wonder what the 40.2's would sound like, but they certainly would be wallet busting!! [br]QNAP+ -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> RequisiteAudio D3rs -> McIntosh C52 -> McIntosh MC-275 MK VI -> Harbeth 30.1's via Roon Link to comment
jvs Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 I don't know... these larger Harbeths will probably just go lower with the risk of overwhelming the midband on lesser recordings. I must say I can live happily without any deep bass as long as the midband and treble is as good as the Harbeth P3ESR or the LS3/5a has to offer. Main system: Jriver (OSX) --> ethernet --> Volumio (Raspberry Pi 2) --> Chord 2Qute (USB in) --> Cyrus 2 + PSX --> Rogers LS3/5a Second system: Jriver (OSX) --> ethernet --> Volumio (Raspberry Pi 2) --> AR-T Legato --> Cambridge Audio DacMagic 2 --> Cyrus 8 vs2 --> Harbeth LS3/5a Link to comment
Sam Lord Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I would be shocked if any vintage LS3/5 sounded as good in any part of the range as a new (but broken-in) pair of ATCs, like these at $1790: ATC SCM12 Pro Mac Mini 2012 with 2.3 GHz i5 CPU and 16GB RAM running newest OS10.9x and Signalyst HQ Player software (occasionally JRMC), ethernet to Cisco SG100-08 GigE switch, ethernet to SOtM SMS100 Miniserver in audio room, sending via short 1/2 meter AQ Cinnamon USB to Oppo 105D, feeding balanced outputs to 2x Bel Canto S300 amps which vertically biamp ATC SCM20SL speakers, 2x Velodyne DD12+ subs. Each side is mounted vertically on 3-tiered Sound Anchor ADJ2 stands: ATC (top), amp (middle), sub (bottom), Mogami, Koala, Nordost, Mosaic cables, split at the preamp outputs with splitters. All transducers are thoroughly and lovingly time aligned for the listening position. Link to comment
jvs Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 I listen a lot at low volume. From what I've read this is not what the ATC's excel at. Main system: Jriver (OSX) --> ethernet --> Volumio (Raspberry Pi 2) --> Chord 2Qute (USB in) --> Cyrus 2 + PSX --> Rogers LS3/5a Second system: Jriver (OSX) --> ethernet --> Volumio (Raspberry Pi 2) --> AR-T Legato --> Cambridge Audio DacMagic 2 --> Cyrus 8 vs2 --> Harbeth LS3/5a Link to comment
Bryan Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I don't know... these larger Harbeths will probably just go lower with the risk of overwhelming the midband on lesser recordings. I must say I can live happily without any deep bass as long as the midband and treble is as good as the Harbeth P3ESR or the LS3/5a has to offer. Once owned Compact 7's (ES3) and P3ESR's. Powered the Compact 7's with an LFD NCSE. Had nice LFD speaker cables. Source was an Esoteric disc player. Moved on to ripping my CD library and exclusive use of digital file player and Devialet integrated with some expensive KEF speakers. After the change and even today think back to the glorious sound quality of Harbeth's with LFD integrated and play of actual discs in quality disc player. God I miss that sound. “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” Steve Bannon Chief Strategist for President Trump and attendee on United States National Security Council. Link to comment
ctsooner Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Walter is a really good guy. Been around audio for along time. I like to stop by there when I head up to see my daughter at UNH. He distributes the Harbeth's as well as many other lines. I don't always love his set ups as some of them are way too hot for my tastes, but he does have some really nice gear. When I went looking for new speakers a few years ago, I set out for the newest Proacs as I had there pair and loved them for many many years. I ended up with Vandersteen Treo's, which I sold to a great guy in NYC a month or so ago and he's now loving them. I am waiting on a pair of Quatro's that I ordered. Before I ordered them, I went out and auditioned again to make sure I was going the right thing as 15k for a speaker is a lot of money to me. I again went to many stores and auditioned everything under the sun. I also was invited to folks houses to hear their beloved speakers. I got to hear well over 30 different brands over the last 6 months or so. That's a lot of speakers folks, lol. I took notes to keep things straight. Nothing beats listening in your own room in your own system, but I took my Ayre AX5/20 as much as I could to listen. It warms up quickly. There were a lot of nice speakers, but many of the big named speakers that folks rave about didn't do it for me. Most were really hot on the upper registers. They weren't natural. Some of the companies tip up the treble a db or more to sound more open, when in fact they are not if you listen carefully. System matching is so important. We say that all the time, but it really is. Even some stores don't fully get that. Some of the demo's were embarrassing. A few of the NYC stores were just aholes to me, which made me question how they can stay in business as I was a real customer about to drop 15k on a pair of speakers and we all know that also means new cables and possibly new gear (who doesn't fall in love with a speaker and then sell their electronics and start from scratch, lol). I guess I didn't who the pedigree they look for. One even raN down my choice of Ayre as they used to be an Ayre dealer and lost the line. Just a jerk I guess. That's why it's nice that you got a guy like Walt to help you out. We all hear differently, so it's nice when dealers get dissimilar products for us to hear differences and see what WE like and not what the demo guy likes, lol. Glad you are happy...or getting there, lol. Link to comment
dmormerod Posted February 23, 2017 Author Share Posted February 23, 2017 Yes I can't say enough good things about Walter and the service they've given me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [br]QNAP+ -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> RequisiteAudio D3rs -> McIntosh C52 -> McIntosh MC-275 MK VI -> Harbeth 30.1's via Roon Link to comment
realhifi Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Once owned Compact 7's (ES3) and P3ESR's. Powered the Compact 7's with an LFD NCSE. Had nice LFD speaker cables. Source was an Esoteric disc player. Moved on to ripping my CD library and exclusive use of digital file player and Devialet integrated with some expensive KEF speakers. After the change and even today think back to the glorious sound quality of Harbeth's with LFD integrated and play of actual discs in quality disc player. God I miss that sound. Not sure why you wouldn't just get them back if you miss them. A pair of 7's and an LFD amp should be easy to find today. Just take all you've learned about digital and run it into that setup and you'd be even happier than you were back then with cds. David Link to comment
dmormerod Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 So I pulled the trigger on the 30.1's. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [br]QNAP+ -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> RequisiteAudio D3rs -> McIntosh C52 -> McIntosh MC-275 MK VI -> Harbeth 30.1's via Roon Link to comment
jcn3 Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 So I pulled the trigger on the 30.1's. [ATTACH]33644[/ATTACH] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Sweet! (1) holo audio red (hqp naa) > chord dave > luxman cl-38uc/mq-88uc > kef reference 1 (2) simaudio moon mind 2 > chord qutest > luxman sq-n150 > monitor audio gold gx100 Link to comment
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