Various Retailers have
KEF LS50 Meta Bookshelf Speakers (various colors) for
$999.99.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to community members
Nattefrost and
wildbird12 for sharing this deal.
Available from:
Features:
- LS50 Meta features KEF's breakthrough Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) reducing unwanted sound from the rear of the driver by 99%.
- Features KEF'S 12th Generation Uni-Q Driver proving a 40% increase in smoothness over the previous version.
- THD 0.07%
- Frequency range (-6dB) - 47 Hz - 45 kHz
Top Comments
I am into this kind of thing and don't mind paying $1000 vs $500 for some very minor but real gains.
I think they sound excellent and high passed and paired with sub(s) are truly high fidelity and worth the $1000. Generally without subs and some knowledge of how to get the best out of them IMHO most folks should pass on these.
There is a lot of overpriced snake oil in audio and these are not snake oil, there is great engineering here. That said since audio is a very mature product field many great products exist for a very reasonable price. Sadly also lots of HiFi is now 'luxury products'. Think Rolex watches vs your phone which tells time far more accurately and also does 10,000 other things well but doesn't have a 'pedigree' and bonkers price tag to go along. There is so much marketing fluff and even straight con going on in hifi it is 100% yucky.
So, given that KEF is not a faker and is a true engineering focused company but they also have to appeal to the money spenders and speakers often go in nice living spaces so KEF must straddle the line between performance/price and something more 'luxury'.
A huge part of the LS50meta is the engineering & some of it is marketing and a more luxurious build quality. Vs just KEF's own stuff the Q150, there is not much sound quality gain. I think most folks should buy the Q150 on sale now for $350 or if spending more the new Concerto for $1300 or the new Q150 replacement, the Q1meta for $600. Plus there are many options from competitors. Generally I'd suggest you Don't spend $1k on any small bookshelf speakers unless you are certain you're that into audio.
I have both the LS50meta and the Q150 and with PEQ adjustment to the Q150 they sound almost the same, even without PEQ(parametric EQ) I don't think most listeners would care about the differences. I would never recommend the LS50meta to a casual buyer if money is a factor at all.
It is the same way the best $20 bottle of wine is more or less just as tasty as the best $80 bottle, just maybe less rare and with a less compelling(biasing) story. Many blind tests exist where people are fooled by wine labels, stories told and price tags. That same thing happens in HiFi made worse by all the hype that often comes with new products. IMHO there are no hifi products even close to that revolutionary to hype anymore, nothing. But marketing departments and youtubers need the money just all of us do to pay for our things so watch out.
Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!
66 Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
You'll probably need a Hegel amp which cost more than these speakers to make it sound great.
So that is only $200 more than the Concerto you recommended ($500 more than this sale on the LS50). The MoFi uses real wood veneer (not a vinyl wrap like the Concerto), has a larger woofer, and better measured performance.
But if you have any of these speakers (LS50 Meta, Concerto Meta, Sourcepoint 8) chances are you would be happy with their objective performance.
So that is only $200 more than the Concerto you recommended ($500 more than this sale on the LS50). The MoFi uses real wood veneer (not a vinyl wrap like the Concerto), has a larger woofer, and better measured performance.
But if you have any of these speakers (LS50 Meta, Concerto Meta, Sourcepoint 8) chances are you would be happy with their objective performance.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
These people are of course leaving out the most critical component of any audio system, the wires. Expect to spend another $2-3000 on the power cables and interconnects necessary to get decent performance out of these absolutely mind-bending speakers.
And room treatments... don't forget the room treatments! Go ahead and book an appointment with an audio engineer so he can start pulling building permits. Once the construction is done, and you've gotten the high end cords, and amplifier, and subwoofer, then AND ONLY THEN will you be able to hear what these amazing speakers can REALLY sound like.
Trust me when I tell you these can, in the right hands, sound better than speakers costing 1/10th or 1/100th as much. You just need to do YOUR part.
A 250 watt amp is waste unless you are using bass management and high passing at 100hrz. Below 80-100hrz these can't handle anywhere near 250watts.
The port is tuned in the low 50hrz range and with the small woofer below 50hrz(below port tuning where the woofer is unloaded) or so they can't handle more than about 5 watts.
Much of the sense of dynamics and full sound comes from bass output so anyone using small speakers, especially if a living room set-up or anything mid-far field, will want sub(s).
80hrz is fine in smaller rooms, modestly loud playback levels or with content that doesn't have a ton of 50-100hrz energy.
You'll get more bang for your buck for HT with Klipsch and dual subs. These speakers are for the dedicated living room or office with an external DAC.
80hrz is fine in smaller rooms, modestly loud playback levels or with content that doesn't have a ton of 50-100hrz energy.
You'll probably need a Hegel amp which cost more than these speakers to make it sound great.
but alas, they got replaced in my music room (magnepan 1.7i - upgradeitis).
They're now in the dining room powered by a Class B Fosi Audio V3 amp / P3 tubed preamp stack.
The preamp has tone controls and with the bass turned up, I don't feel the need for a subwoofer in this room
(heavy drapes, large rug, .etc).
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank
I am into this kind of thing and don't mind paying $1000 vs $500 for some very minor but real gains.
I think they sound excellent and high passed and paired with sub(s) are truly high fidelity and worth the $1000. Generally without subs and some knowledge of how to get the best out of them IMHO most folks should pass on these.
There is a lot of overpriced snake oil in audio and these are not snake oil, there is great engineering here. That said since audio is a very mature product field many great products exist for a very reasonable price. Sadly also lots of HiFi is now 'luxury products'. Think Rolex watches vs your phone which tells time far more accurately and also does 10,000 other things well but doesn't have a 'pedigree' and bonkers price tag to go along. There is so much marketing fluff and even straight con going on in hifi it is 100% yucky.
So, given that KEF is not a faker and is a true engineering focused company but they also have to appeal to the money spenders and speakers often go in nice living spaces so KEF must straddle the line between performance/price and something more 'luxury'.
A huge part of the LS50meta is the engineering & some of it is marketing and a more luxurious build quality. Vs just KEF's own stuff the Q150, there is not much sound quality gain. I think most folks should buy the Q150 on sale now for $350 or if spending more the new Concerto for $1300 or the new Q150 replacement, the Q1meta for $600. Plus there are many options from competitors. Generally I'd suggest you Don't spend $1k on any small bookshelf speakers unless you are certain you're that into audio.
I have both the LS50meta and the Q150 and with PEQ adjustment to the Q150 they sound almost the same, even without PEQ(parametric EQ) I don't think most listeners would care about the differences. I would never recommend the LS50meta to a casual buyer if money is a factor at all.
It is the same way the best $20 bottle of wine is more or less just as tasty as the best $80 bottle, just maybe less rare and with a less compelling(biasing) story. Many blind tests exist where people are fooled by wine labels, stories told and price tags. That same thing happens in HiFi made worse by all the hype that often comes with new products. IMHO there are no hifi products even close to that revolutionary to hype anymore, nothing. But marketing departments and youtubers need the money just all of us do to pay for our things so watch out.
Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!