Images of items I have purchased.

[crinkleshoes]

What sized room (m x m) would be the limit for the B&W 685 S2 or KEF LS50s would you say?

Currently looking for some super detailed (clarity, separation and definition) speakers, not sure whether to look at standmount or more floor standers. Read good things about both the KEF and B&W.

Maximum or minimum?

I don't really go for the minimum thing... I'd rather have a huge pair of epic speakers in a 2x2m room than a pair of teeny speakers in a 20x20m room... hehe

These LS50s have quite a bit of range on them, but due to the smaller size of the woofers... they won't compete with the likes of Q900s/R900s for high volumes in a large room.

If you're in a smallish home office or similar smaller room... go for the smaller bookshelfs... there will be less resonance.

Bigger room... bigger speakers... generally.

The bits you quote are what I love about Kefs... clarity, separation and definition.

Part of the reason for this is simply the Uni-Q driver (the tweeter inside the woofer)... the highs carry with the lows, rather than extra competition between the frequencies seemingly created by other speakers.

Some people (like Tephnos above) can find this to be a bit too peaky/harsh on the ears... only your ears can tell you if they like this combo or not. It's almost like the highs are at the forefront of the sonic image... rather than muddled in the middle or following behind... if that makes any sense :S

The B&Ws are a bit more muffled than the Kefs, imo... they're great speakers, but in a different way.

As anyone else will say... demo then for yourself if you can.

 

[crinkleshoes]

Got another little update from today:

_H5A3767 by CosmicLogos, on Flickr

_H5A3774 by CosmicLogos, on Flickr

 

[Raymond Lin]

Am I the only one who uses built in speakers from my computer ? (iMac) lol

 

[Tephnos]

Personal music preference is a bit out there. I listen to everything that isn't heavy scream death metal or skrillex ear ruining dubstep.

It's not that I'm not fond of the KEF sound, it's just seeing if anything else works too.

I did try the S2s though and have found:

- Better bass for sure
- Less sweet spot, doesn't come from 'everywhere' like the Q300s do
- Whilst it has less soundstage, the direction/precision is better
- Fills the room way more
- More of an 'impact', more meaty flavour

KEF is more airy, open, and quite bright in comparison but it sounds 'flat' which is a bit of an oversimplification I realise, but meh.

Those are just initial impressions however.

 

[crinkleshoes]

Am I the only one who uses built in speakers from my computer ? (iMac) lol

But... you have all that awesome guitar audio bits and bobs... how can you do that to yourself?

iMac speakers aren't the worst you can find... but they're pretty dang terrible... compared to even a £50 pair of bookshelves.

Personal music preference is a bit out there. I listen to everything that isn't heavy scream death metal or skrillex ear ruining dubstep.

It's not that I'm not fond of the KEF sound, it's just seeing if anything else works too.

I did try the S2s though and have found:

[28/11/2015 22:05:37] Tephnos: - Better bass for sure
- Less sweet spot, doesn't come from 'everywhere' like the Q300s do
- Whilst it has less soundstage, the direction is better
- Fills the room way more
- More of an 'impact', more meaty flavour
KEF is more airy, open, and quite bright in comparison but it sounds 'flat' which is a bit of an oversimplification I realise, but meh.

Those are just initial impressions however.

Sounds very similar to my impression... I'd agree with most of that other than to say I'd maybe interpret what you say as flat to be linear...

What you've quoted also explains a good bit of my preference for Kef...

 

[Raymond Lin]

But... you have all that awesome guitar audio bits and bobs... how can you do that to yourself?

iMac speakers aren't the worst you can find... but they're pretty dang terrible... compared to even a £50 pair of bookshelves.

If I want to...I can optical lead into my AV (B+W) which is in the same room, but I don't. Or airplay into the Receiver for music.

As for the guitar, I don't record so don't bother me.

 

[George Hincapie]

Maximum or minimum?

I don't really go for the minimum thing... I'd rather have a huge pair of epic speakers in a 2x2m room than a pair of teeny speakers in a 20x20m room... hehe

These LS50s have quite a bit of range on them, but due to the smaller size of the woofers... they won't compete with the likes of Q900s/R900s for high volumes in a large room.

If you're in a smallish home office or similar smaller room... go for the smaller bookshelfs... there will be less resonance.

Bigger room... bigger speakers... generally.

The bits you quote are what I love about Kefs... clarity, separation and definition.

Part of the reason for this is simply the Uni-Q driver (the tweeter inside the woofer)... the highs carry with the lows, rather than extra competition between the frequencies seemingly created by other speakers.

Some people (like Tephnos above) can find this to be a bit too peaky/harsh on the ears... only your ears can tell you if they like this combo or not. It's almost like the highs are at the forefront of the sonic image... rather than muddled in the middle or following behind... if that makes any sense :S

The B&Ws are a bit more muffled than the Kefs, imo... they're great speakers, but in a different way.

As anyone else will say... demo then for yourself if you can.

Maximum.

My old Marantz amp died a few weeks ago, so I've replaced it with an AudioLab 8000A, two 8000Ms (so I'm bi-amping) and an M-DAC. Driving my Monitor Audio Silver 5i floorstanders.

Listening room is around 5m x 8m.

I am trying to recreate the clarity, detail and separation that I experience with quality headphones. My separates are there, but I need new speakers and am just not sure where to start

 

[Tephnos]

So you prefer:

Lesser bass, lesser direction/precision, less room filling, less impact

for:

more soundstage, open and airy, bright sound signature with flat/linear response curve.

?

 

[crinkleshoes]

If I want to...I can optical lead into my AV (B+W) which is in the same room, but I don't. Or airplay into the Receiver for music.

As for the guitar, I don't record so don't bother me.

Only referenced the guitar bits to say that you know what good audio sounds like... so surprised you use the built-in speakers.

Maximum.

My old Marantz amp died a few weeks ago, so I've replaced it with an AudioLab 8000A, two 8000Ms (so I'm bi-amping) and an M-DAC. Driving my Monitor Audio Silver 5i floorstanders.

Listening room is around 5m x 8m.

I am trying to recreate the clarity, detail and separation that I experience with quality headphones. My separates are there, but I need new speakers and am just not sure where to start

If you're looking for that kind of sound... yes, i'd highly recommend Kef... the Monitor Audios are closer in sound to the B&Ws IMO... the Kefs would more more in the direction it sounds like you're looking for... but sample to be sure... Kef & B&W, at least...

So you prefer:

Lesser bass, lesser direction/precision, less room filling, less impact

for:

more soundstage, open and airy, bright sound signature with flat/linear response curve.

?

To an extent, yes.

Although... lesser bass is generally in comparison to what I consider to be overpowering bass by other speakers... a bass that muffles and muddles the other frequencies... at least to my ears. Kef speakers don't do that... their bass just adds feel (and compared to the Q300s... you really have to try the Q900s... they're the head of the range and I've heard others complaining about the Q500s/Q700s to be lacking in bass).

I'd argue about precision... I consider Kefs to be more accurate (to real world instruments) than most other speakers.

Room filling isn't much of a contender for me... as you've seen with my speaker placement... although the wife does complain from time to time that she'd like to be more enveloped in the sound

By impact, I suppose you mean the physical punch from the sound pressure? I like that, but I'd rather have the clarity than have it muffled by the lower frequency thump. Most rental cars I get have the bass setting the EQ turned up quite high... I end up turning it back to default and maybe a little up on the mids/highs... so I know I have different preferences from quite a few others in this department... but I enjoy using my brain to pick apart the music at the same time as having my body feel it... I think others tend to focus more closely on the feel.

Otherwise for the fors... yeah... at least, linear with respect to natural resonances - which these are.

I quite enjoy a broad sound-stage... closer to what you'd get listening to an orchestra... I like playing with an imaginary/cartoon orchestra in my head.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Only referenced the guitar bits to say that you know what good audio sounds like... so surprised you use the built-in speakers.

I do, I have a Musical Fidelity stereo in my bedroom. I have a valve tube amp. I have Sennheisier HD600/580/Momentums + a bunch other "audiophile" headphones. B+W speakers, BK XLX400 sub. I may upgrade to PMC speakers in the next year.

But I don't need anything like that surfing online, I don't watch movies on my Mac, perhaps the odd YouTube video.

So I see no reason to clutter up the desk with audio stuff when it's never used, the sound that comes out of the Mac most days is a new Email/iMessage ping and the paper crumple noise when I empty the bin.

 

[Tephnos]

To an extent, yes.

Although... lesser bass is generally in comparison to what I consider to be overpowering bass by other speakers... a bass that muffles and muddles the other frequencies... at least to my ears. Kef speakers don't do that... their bass just adds feel (and compared to the Q300s... you really have to try the Q900s... they're the head of the range and I've heard others complaining about the Q500s/Q700s to be lacking in bass).

I'd argue about precision... I consider Kefs to be more accurate (to real world instruments) than most other speakers.

Room filling isn't much of a contender for me... as you've seen with my speaker placement... although the wife does complain from time to time that she'd like to be more enveloped in the sound

By impact, I suppose you mean the physical punch from the sound pressure? I like that, but I'd rather have the clarity than have it muffled by the lower frequency thump. Most rental cars I get have the bass setting the EQ turned up quite high... I end up turning it back to default and maybe a little up on the mids/highs... so I know I have different preferences from quite a few others in this department... but I enjoy using my brain to pick apart the music at the same time as having my body feel it... I think others tend to focus more closely on the feel.

Otherwise for the fors... yeah... at least, linear with respect to natural resonances - which these are.

I quite enjoy a broad sound-stage... closer to what you'd get listening to an orchestra... I like playing with an imaginary/cartoon orchestra in my head.

Hrm,

I wouldn't call the bass on the S2 overpowering at all. There's just 'more' of it. which isn't a bad thing when done right. The Q300 you can argue barely has any bass (in my experience).

For precision, eh. Definitely hand it to the S2s here. The Q300s have a wider soundstage, but that doesn't have to mean it is better at separating the instruments in the music within that range. The S2 just seems to do it better within a smaller stage, which is impressive, really.

I tried it with both music and games and found similar results. Hell, with the Q300 on games I sometimes got confused as to where things actually were sometimes! (Someone berated me for using the Q300s nearfield, so perhaps that might have been a reason...)

Haha, fair point on the room filling there then.

By impact, I just mean the whole package. The S2 feels more 'alive' and 'breathing' against the very clinical and analytical Q300. Definitely no thumping that muffles anything else in my listening experience (such as right now). You're right on the feel though. Most people definitely prefer the feel of the sound over actually hearing it!

However, you don't seem to have used the Q300s so the Q900s could be better in the lesser points I mentioned. No idea how the LS50 would sound. Maybe I'd love it! However, I don't know if my D3020 would be able to power it fully.

 

[Housey]

Added another 3 books to my naval history collection, now (if Kindle is counted) close to 200 books

Love Sunday deliveries

 

[Repta]

Added another 3 books to my naval history collection, now (if Kindle is counted) close to 200 books

Love Sunday deliveries

Very nice, think ill have to add that one to my collection!

 

[DXP55]

I have everything I need now

 

[HungryHippos]

Added another 3 books to my naval history collection, now (if Kindle is counted) close to 200 books

snip!

Love Sunday deliveries

Nice! Do like some naval history myself.

I'd encourage anyone who's interested in this to visit the Dockyards at Portsmouth and take a tour around the Victory.

They do guided tours only during wintertime (though you can still go about yourself at other times of the year).

 

[Housey]

Very nice, think ill have to add that one to my collection!

I've only managed a quick page turner, but the content is really good and I am looking forward to having a proper read but it will have to wait as I have many books ahead of it.

 

[Repta]

I've only managed a quick page turner, but the content is really good and I am looking forward to having a proper read but it will have to wait as I have many books ahead of it.

I'm trying to branch out now. Everything I have is WW1 German High Seas Fleet. Spending a year diving what's left of them in Scapa Flow started me!

 

[Housey]

Nice! Do like some naval history myself.

I'd encourage anyone who's interested in this to visit the Dockyards at Portsmouth and take a tour around the Victory.

They do guided tours only during wintertime (though you can still go about yourself at other times of the year).

Agreed and a great day out.

I bought this last week, just come out to add to the one below it

 

[Housey]

I'm trying to branch out now. Everything I have is WW1 German High Seas Fleet. Spending a year diving what's left of them in Scapa Flow started me!

I would love to dive them, but it's not something I have ever done or want to do, not my idea of fun but I too am fascinated by WW1 naval history.

I have 130 Kindle books too and a load more printed

 

[Repta]

I would love to dive them, but it's not something I have ever done or want to do, not my idea of fun but I too am fascinated by WW1 naval history.

I have 130 Kindle books too and a load more printed

Fantastic! Considerably more than I have!