LS50 Wireless II

MoRehman

Original Poster

Nov 25, 2022

7 Posts

Joined Nov 2018

Nov 25, 2022

MoRehman

Original Poster

Nov 25, 2022

7 Posts

This is a great deal on a speaker that never goes on sale

luk350

Nov 25, 2022

3,017 Posts

Joined Jun 2006

Nov 25, 2022

luk350

Nov 25, 2022

3,017 Posts

Agreed

crrink

Nov 25, 2022

661 Posts

Joined Sep 2007

Nov 25, 2022

crrink

Nov 25, 2022

661 Posts

Thanks for the post, OP.
Possibly dumb question - these are obviously in a totally different price class than any TV sound bar, but...would these be a waste for use as TV speakers 99% of the time?
I was a music lover in my youth, when I was too poor to afford any really good audio gear, and now that I have more disposable income, I just don't listen to music very often at all.

I'd be tempted for a 2.1 setup that could both present a good sound stage and make dialogue clearer (both my wife and I are at the age where we sometimes can't hear a word or sentence clearly enough.) I'm sure this would be overkill...but HOW overkill has me curious :-)

TU and repped.

Edited to add...I bit on the Costco Sonos deal and set up their Arc soundbar. It definitely needs a sub (and I'm not bass fanatic) but so far hasn't really outshone the ~8 year old Samsung soundbar I have been using. Part of the problem may be streaming sources not providing good audio. AppleTV+ shows seem to be more surround-sound-like, but Top Gun Maverick, bought on iTunes didn't seem too different from normal stereo when I played a few minutes of it.

Last edited by crrink November 25, 2022 at 08:43 AM.

tamster121

Nov 25, 2022

139 Posts

Joined Dec 2006

Nov 25, 2022

tamster121

Nov 25, 2022

139 Posts

Quote from crrink

:

Thanks for the post, OP.
Possibly dumb question - these are obviously in a totally different price class than any TV sound bar, but...would these be a waste for use as TV speakers 99% of the time?
I was a music lover in my youth, when I was too poor to afford any really good audio gear, and now that I have more disposable income, I just don't listen to music very often at all.

I'd be tempted for a 2.1 setup that could both present a good sound stage and make dialogue clearer (both my wife and I are at the age where we sometimes can't hear a word or sentence clearly enough.) I'm sure this would be overkill...but HOW overkill has me curious :-)

TU and repped.

Edited to add...I bit on the Costco Sonos deal and set up their Arc soundbar. It definitely needs a sub (and I'm not bass fanatic) but so far hasn't really outshone the ~8 year old Samsung soundbar I have been using. Part of the problem may be streaming sources not providing good audio. AppleTV+ shows seem to be more surround-sound-like, but Top Gun Maverick, bought on iTunes didn't seem too different from normal stereo when I played a few minutes of it.

For home theater, you really need 5.1 to get good surround sound, or at least 3.1 with a good center speaker if you don't want to spend for the surrounds. A 2.1 isn't good for home theater because the dialog comes through the center speaker and a 2.1 has to "fake" it. You will also need a receiver that can process surround sound.

These KEFs are great for 2.1 music, but people don't usually use them for home theater. For home theater, I recommend looking at KEF's R series or the Q series, depending on your budget. For example, a pair of Q350 for front ($499), a pair of Q150 for surround ($299), a Q750c for center ($749, and I recommend getting the bigger center instead of the smaller Q250c because the center is really important for movies), plus a good sub (I recommend Hsu for great performance and price. Get one from the VTF series. Let's call this $1000). That will cost you a little more than these LS50's, but you'll get a good 5.1 system for home theater. You'll obviously need to add a receiver as well.

Last edited by tamster121 November 25, 2022 at 09:52 AM.

1

namlook

Nov 25, 2022

26,244 Posts

Joined May 2006

Nov 25, 2022

namlook

Nov 25, 2022

26,244 Posts

Quote from crrink

:

Thanks for the post, OP.
Possibly dumb question - these are obviously in a totally different price class than any TV sound bar, but...would these be a waste for use as TV speakers 99% of the time?

Yes, it would be a waste. Don't buy these for TV use. These are strictly for music playback. You can do much better for TV use at a lower cost. For under $2000 you can get a great home theater system that will kill these KEF for watching movies.

Last edited by namlook November 25, 2022 at 02:43 PM.

1

jmanroot

Nov 26, 2022

17 Posts

Joined Oct 2006

Nov 26, 2022

jmanroot

Nov 26, 2022

17 Posts

Quote from namlook

:

Yes, it would be a waste. Don't buy these for TV use. These are strictly for music playback. You can do much better for TV use at a lower cost. For under $2000 you can get a great home theater system that will kill these KEF for watching movies.

I'm not an A/V connoisseur, so genuinely wondering if one was looking for a compact 2.1/3.1 system for all around music / occasional movies duty, what would be a better setup?

malba2366

Nov 26, 2022

209 Posts

Joined Dec 2014

Nov 26, 2022

malba2366

Nov 26, 2022

209 Posts

Quote from namlook

:

Yes, it would be a waste. Don't buy these for TV use. These are strictly for music playback. You can do much better for TV use at a lower cost. For under $2000 you can get a great home theater system that will kill these KEF for watching movies.

You can not get a HT system that puts out this kind of sound quality for $2000. I'll take 2 high quality speakers over 5 lower quality ones with a cheap receiver every day of the week.

3

cfishy

Nov 26, 2022

795 Posts

Joined Nov 2008

Nov 26, 2022

cfishy

Nov 26, 2022

795 Posts

oh how i wish i had the room for this.

namlook

Nov 26, 2022

26,244 Posts

Joined May 2006

Nov 26, 2022

namlook

Nov 26, 2022

26,244 Posts

Quote from malba2366

:

You can not get a HT system that puts out this kind of sound quality for $2000. I'll take 2 high quality speakers over 5 lower quality ones with a cheap receiver every day of the week.

For music playback the LS50s will sound a lot better that a $2000 HT system but that's not the use case I was responding to. I responded to someone who said they want speakers to be used while watching TV and that they don't listen to music. They absolutely won't sound better for movies than a $2000 system designed for home theater. Try watching a movie with an Atmos soundtrack with the LS50s and then try with even just a soundbar system like the Samsung 11.1.4 QA990B ($1400) and the Samsung system will destroy the LS50 for that purpose. The LS50 are designed for two channel music playback.

Last edited by namlook November 26, 2022 at 01:16 AM.

1

malba2366

Nov 26, 2022

209 Posts

Joined Dec 2014

Nov 26, 2022

malba2366

Nov 26, 2022

209 Posts

Quote from namlook

:

For music playback the LS50s will sound a lot better that a $2000 HT system but that's not the use case I was responding to. I responded to someone who said they want speakers to be used while watching TV and that they don't listen to music. They absolutely won't sound better for movies than a $2000 system designed for home theater. Try watching a movie with an Atmos soundtrack with the LS50s and then try with even just a soundbar system like the Samsung 11.1.4 QA990B ($1400) and the Samsung system will destroy the LS50 for that purpose. The LS50 are designed for two channel music playback.

It sounds better than any soundbar for TV viewing. Despite what soundbar manufacturers advertise, a soundbar can not recreate surround sound or atmos unless you have a room set up perfectly to bounce the sound waves that the manufacturer intended. I have a dedicated home theater with $40K of electronics and speakers in it so I do understand surround sound/atmos etc, and that you will not get good surround sound with good room correction for anywhere near $2K.

1

malba2366

Nov 26, 2022

209 Posts

Joined Dec 2014

Nov 26, 2022

malba2366

Nov 26, 2022

209 Posts

Quote from jmanroot

:

I'm not an A/V connoisseur, so genuinely wondering if one was looking for a compact 2.1/3.1 system for all around music / occasional movies duty, what would be a better setup?

If you want 3.1 then you can not do it with these, there is no way to wire up a center channel with the powered speakers. For music and occasional movies, I would jump on these. I have a dedicated home theater, and I use these in my family room for occasional TV watching and music and have been very happy. The sound on these is very clean, and soundstage is excellent so I don't really find myself missing a dedicated center channel. I would say that a good quality subwoofer is needed to make the system shine.

sonichedgehog360

May 1, 2023

225 Posts

Joined Oct 2015

May 1, 2023

sonichedgehog360

May 1, 2023

225 Posts

Quote from namlook

:

For music playback the LS50s will sound a lot better that a $2000 HT system but that's not the use case I was responding to. I responded to someone who said they want speakers to be used while watching TV and that they don't listen to music. They absolutely won't sound better for movies than a $2000 system designed for home theater. Try watching a movie with an Atmos soundtrack with the LS50s and then try with even just a soundbar system like the Samsung 11.1.4 QA990B ($1400) and the Samsung system will destroy the LS50 for that purpose. The LS50 are designed for two channel music playback.

This is categorically false. Soundbars remain a fad based on a collection of faulty assumptions, such as using dozens of drivers to create a psychoacoustic soundscape. A set of dozens of compact drivers sound absolutely terrible compared to a properly tuned set of well-designed and fully plumped out drivers. The distortion and noise level alone from pushing all of those drivers into that compact space is off of the charts and reduces the realizable dynamic range. Even a traditional 5.1 setup at the same price point is leagues better than these soundbars ever will be.

namlook

May 3, 2023

26,244 Posts

Joined May 2006

May 3, 2023

namlook

May 3, 2023

26,244 Posts

Quote from sonichedgehog360

:

This is categorically false. Soundbars remain a fad based on a collection of faulty assumptions, such as using dozens of drivers to create a psychoacoustic soundscape. A set of dozens of compact drivers sound absolutely terrible compared to a properly tuned set of well-designed and fully plumped out drivers. The distortion and noise level alone from pushing all of those drivers into that compact space is off of the charts and reduces the realizable dynamic range. Even a traditional 5.1 setup at the same price point is leagues better than these soundbars ever will be.

Of course a traditional HT system is better than a soundbar system. They are each suited for different needs. I have a traditional HT system in the room where I usually watch movies and soundbar systems in a bedroom and an office where I want to save space and I don't want to run wires. I also have a separate two channel stereo system for listening to music, so I'm very familiar what each of these systems provide. I have also owned wireless KEF LS50s so I know what they can do. Soundbar systems have come a long way from what was produced in the past. The QA990B soundbar system is not just a bar, it also has satellite speakers and a subwoofer. If you have never used QA990B you aren't qualified to pass judgement on it. It sounds fantastic and given a choice it would be utterly ridiculous for me to watch movies using my stereo system instead of using the QA990B soundbar system. In turn I would also never use the QA990B for music listening when I have something better suited for that purpose.

Last edited by namlook May 3, 2023 at 10:28 AM.

LS50 Wireless II - $2299

$2,299

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