Hi All,
I'm new to this forum since I just purchased a pair of LS50's from Halsten Entertainment in the Twin Cities. I'm a long time Klipsch Heritage fan, and I love lower powered tube amps and Texas Instruments TPA-3xxx Class D amps driving my upgraded Klipsch Forte II's. I never thought my amplification which also includes an Audio Research LS7 tube line stage and PH5 tube phono stage could ever work with 85dB KEF bookshelf speakers.
Moving to Minnesota a few months ago, my wife and I decided we would rent a townhome apartment for 12 months until we get acquainted with the various neighborhoods for home buying. Moving into an apartment meant giving up my 400 sq. ft. man cave and putting my Klipsch Forte II's in storage.
I started researching studio monitors including nice active monitors from Dynaudio, Genelec and Tannoy as I believed the only way to get decent bass response from a small cabinet was through carefully matched amplifiers. I also looked at efficient bookshelf speakers like Reference 3A MM de Capo's, Omega Compact Hemps, etc. Thank God, I came across a pair of KEF LS50's to audition at Audio Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts while I was on vacation a few weeks ago.
As soon as I could, I visited Halsten Entertainment to audition both the KEF LS50 Wireless and the original passive versions. I explained to Eric and Mike there that I have a rebuilt Dynaco Stereo 35 and rebuilt McIntosh MC240 tube amp. They recommended that I try the passive version. I have to say I didn't care for the wireless version. I think the DAC and DSP take away something from the music. The passive LS50's are the stuff.
Well, I have to say that these KEF LS50's rock in my system. I love the coherent and accurate presentation like really good studio monitors that allow me to hear the mix with ease. The bass response is not earth-shaking, but it far exceeds what i expected, especially from my 12-14 watt Class D amp and 17 watt Stereo 35. I have to make some measurements, but I swear I'm getting lower than 50Hz. The dispersion, imaging and large soundstage allows me flexibility in where I sit to listen to music. The tube warmth and holographic imaging come through so nicely, even with my less-than-ideal setup. I think KEF hit one out of the park with these speakers.