What desktop speakers are you using?

[BananaDunka]

LS50s arrived this morning, filed for return this evening

My Q300s are just more full bodied. Whilst the stereo imaging of the Metas is slightly better due to the tweeter drivers having no back pressure now, the bass and overall cinematics especially in movies and games is just better on the Q300s.

Musical details across the range are equal between the two on all sources I played from local FLAC to Spotify etc.

Basically I could not hear £600+ of improved sound quality.

Q300s now can be bought used around £150-£250. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for standmount speakers that kick out serious sound well above their original £400 rrp.

 

[XeNoNF50]

I've just moved the KEF LSXs onto desk duty this morning, they do work well near-field If it doesn't cause a nuisance downstairs I'll probably pair them with an old MK sub I've got.

I wonder if theres any correlation between having a good desk audio setup and not getting much work done...

Got them last year they're great as near fields imo.

 

[Things change I've changed]

LS50s arrived this morning, filed for return this evening

My Q300s are just more full bodied. Whilst the stereo imaging of the Metas is slightly better due to the tweeter drivers having no back pressure now, the bass and overall cinematics especially in movies and games is just better on the Q300s.

Musical details across the range are equal between the two on all sources I played from local FLAC to Spotify etc.

Basically I could not hear £600+ of improved sound quality.

Q300s now can be bought used around £150-£250. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for standmount speakers that kick out serious sound well above their original £400 rrp.

You should really give them a good weeks audition first, you can still send them back, 'brain' burn-in is very important, takes a while to get used to a new sound signature and appreciate the nuances that maybe residing within it, that being said I can definitely understand why you might not feel they are worth the extra cost over what you have, I think today the original LS50's are far better value for the money, I've seen them go as low as £500 second-hand in good condition, but then if you crave 'body' in your music then they probably wouldn't suit you personally.

What other speakers have you thought about trying? I'd definitely put the Quad S2 on your list, I think they might be more to your liking.

 

[mid_gen]

I'm still using some Bose Companion 20s that I picked up in Hong Kong nearly 10 years ago now. Need a little EQ tinkering to get rid of the Bose Boom bass.

They're just good enough to make me not replace em. I keep hovering over the buy button on pairs of Quad 11Ls on eBay.....but I don't want to waste these Bose ones that are actually pretty decent, they're also quite smart looking and compact. The little volume puck with capacitive mute is nice.

I should feed em with a decent DAC tbf, still on my onboard sound...

 

[Yaayuh!]

Still loving my Dynaudios. I don't get to use them much though, as my office is right next to my son's room (the nursery).

 

[BananaDunka]

You should really give them a good weeks audition first, you can still send them back, 'brain' burn-in is very important, takes a while to get used to a new sound signature and appreciate the nuances that maybe residing within it, that being said I can definitely understand why you might not feel they are worth the extra cost over what you have, I think today the original LS50's are far better value for the money, I've seen them go as low as £500 second-hand in good condition, but then if you crave 'body' in your music then they probably wouldn't suit you personally.

What other speakers have you thought about trying? I'd definitely put the Quad S2 on your list, I think they might be more to your liking.

Full bodied sound is what I prefer and combined with the NAD sound I guess it means I'm leaning on a very specific style of sound that's open and wide for stereo imaging but at the same time cinematic and detailed low down which I find the Q300s are with this amp and configuration.

Reading further into it as comments have come in from various people, it seems the LS50 won't sound as full without a sub and that's something I do not want to do anytime soon. Physically it makes sense as they are a smaller driver, smaller cabinet and a smaller bass port that's rear firing, so there's no way they can sound as deep or full as the 6.5" Q300's driver or apple sized front firing bass port.

I like the look of the Quad S-2, the reviews put it in realms of unexpectedly deep bass given its size and the ribbon tweeter has very wide stereo imaging considering most ribbon tweeter speakers are very centrally biased here. They read like the kind of speaker I'd get on with and watching some high quality samples between the LS50 meta and Quad S2 with headphones I can tell right away the S2s are warmer and the stereo imaging is more comfortable. I don't know if the bass will rival the Q300s though even though they are audibly deeper than the LS50 Meta even through good quality youtube recordings I've seen but they are around the £600 mark so considerably cheaper.

I have to say though I really like the point source config of the KEF speakers. The uni-q tweeter setup just works really well regardless of where I'm at or how. Sometimes I lounge, sometimes I sit upright and other times I'm just to one side and the KEF tweeters image perfectly regardless of where I am because of the coaxial arrangement. The high vs low imaging gets thrown off slightly with two way speakers. I think for near field use as I am, coaxial is best for what I'm doing!

Ultimately the Q300s will be here to stay I think until I am ready to drop cash for something more higher end in the not too distant future. I think anything this side of £1500 is just going to be small differences neither here nor there with compromises to account for (lack of bass on the Meta for example).

 

[Things change I've changed]

Full bodied sound is what I prefer and combined with the NAD sound I guess it means I'm leaning on a very specific style of sound that's open and wide for stereo imaging but at the same time cinematic and detailed low down which I find the Q300s are with this amp and configuration.

Reading further into it as comments have come in from various people, it seems the LS50 won't sound as full without a sub and that's something I do not want to do anytime soon. Physically it makes sense as they are a smaller driver, smaller cabinet and a smaller bass port that's rear firing, so there's no way they can sound as deep or full as the 6.5" Q300's driver or apple sized front firing bass port.

I like the look of the Quad S-2, the reviews put it in realms of unexpectedly deep bass given its size and the ribbon tweeter has very wide stereo imaging considering most ribbon tweeter speakers are very centrally biased here. They read like the kind of speaker I'd get on with and watching some high quality samples between the LS50 meta and Quad S2 with headphones I can tell right away the S2s are warmer and the stereo imaging is more comfortable. I don't know if the bass will rival the Q300s though even though they are audibly deeper than the LS50 Meta even through good quality youtube recordings I've seen but they are around the £600 mark so considerably cheaper.

I have to say though I really like the point source config of the KEF speakers. The uni-q tweeter setup just works really well regardless of where I'm at or how. Sometimes I lounge, sometimes I sit upright and other times I'm just to one side and the KEF tweeters image perfectly regardless of where I am because of the coaxial arrangement. The high vs low imaging gets thrown off slightly with two way speakers. I think for near field use as I am, coaxial is best for what I'm doing!

Ultimately the Q300s will be here to stay I think until I am ready to drop cash for something more higher end in the not too distant future. I think anything this side of £1500 is just going to be small differences neither here nor there with compromises to account for (lack of bass on the Meta for example).

The Q300 do definitely tick the box for gaming and movies in terms of being a more a 'fun' cinematic speaker, I can see how you would miss that moving to the Meta, one thing I'd say is don't completely discount speakers under £1500, even speaker around a similar price range as yours, primarily what you enjoy about a speaker is it's sound signature and it's good to explore different ones, we often make the mistake that we need to spend double, triple etc to provide 'gains' in a speaker that we will enjoy more, but think of a pack of fruit pastels, everyone has their favourite, yet the cost is the same, speakers across any-price range will often sound radically different from one another, and interact with your room differently.

Another recommendation that I'd personally say is considerably better than than the Q300 in terms of build quality and technical performance is the Revel Concerta2 M16, it has a nice neutral sound and good bass,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154820615658?hash=item240c071dea:g:bCMAAOSw6dVh-ASh

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/revel-m16-speaker-review.11884/

If you really want to spend extra look into the Buchardt S300 MKII SE, or higher up the chain, the S400 MKII (currently on pre-order), that thing has a passive radiator built into the back of it! No lack of bass there!


Anyway good speaker hunting!

 

[BananaDunka]

Options certainly worth exploring I guess, the M16s look nice and a few reviews praise them highly for being super wide soundstage and kicking down low but it's also mentioned they are fussy and bright speakers so placement from walls, toeing etc is paramount going by various reviews.

I do understand you don't have to spend more than the value of current speakers to get a different sound, sometimes better, sometimes worse etc.

I think it's going to be very hard genuinely to find a better speaker than can be considered an upgrade in this setup than what have now for similar money. Those S2s are priced in singles, so not exactly the same price bracket as the Q300s but still, are they that much better? The reviews are promising, but so were the LS50 Metas for reference!

If there was a place where you could loan out speakers to demo in your own setting and if you like them buy a brand new pair I'd be trialling new speakers every month. As it stands DSR can only be so cost effective as the cost to return for refund within 14 days is on me. The LS50s cost me £42 to return for refund as had to send them insured at full value!

The S300 look really compelling though! This review particularly praised them for room filling bass. Others say they are transparent and laid back, an easy to listen to speaker that has refinement. That /sounds/ right up my street and they look classic too which I am perfectly fine with. Maybe I should just give them a try as it seems they offer what I like about the Q300s, but with further refinement possibly as I can't find any comparisons of them against the Q300 which would have been nice.

Z also reviewed them too as did Steve Guttenberg:

Consider me curious! although only in stock in white...

 

[Radox-0]

I've just moved the KEF LSXs onto desk duty this morning, they do work well near-field If it doesn't cause a nuisance downstairs I'll probably pair them with an old MK sub I've got.

I wonder if theres any correlation between having a good desk audio setup and not getting much work done...

Out of curiosity are you using a Sub now and how is it? Recently got a pair of LSX's wall mounted, and absolutely loving them. Did not expect them to have as much impact on lower end as they have but still suspect a Sub may help so curious if you did add a su

 

[wonko]

Out of curiosity are you using a Sub now and how is it? Recently got a pair of LSX's wall mounted, and absolutely loving them. Did not expect them to have as much impact on lower end as they have but still suspect a Sub may help so curious if you did add a su

Hi, good to hear you're liking them. I've not moved the sub upstairs, but can't say I've really missed it much. (Maybe I get a sufficient bass 'fix' in the lounge?) I have used the LSXs with a sub when I had them downstairs on stands though, and it does make quite a difference - partly from the bass extension and I think also from offloading lower frequencies from the LSXs to the sub. I never felt I'd got it 'dialled in' perfectly, however, so if you're thinking of buying one then I'd suggest trying to borrow one on demo to make sure everything works well together in your room.

 

[XeNoNF50]

It does make a difference. I've got my LSX paired with a Rel T-Zero subwoofer.

 

[Radox-0]

Hi, good to hear you're liking them. I've not moved the sub upstairs, but can't say I've really missed it much. (Maybe I get a sufficient bass 'fix' in the lounge?) I have used the LSXs with a sub when I had them downstairs on stands though, and it does make quite a difference - partly from the bass extension and I think also from offloading lower frequencies from the LSXs to the sub. I never felt I'd got it 'dialled in' perfectly, however, so if you're thinking of buying one then I'd suggest trying to borrow one on demo to make sure everything works well together in your room.

Thanks for the info. Will drag my main sub from my bigger speakers in and see how I fair., though mostly a HT sub. That was my slight concern about dialling it in on the App as really enjoy the sound, so ideally keep it as it is, but just add to the extension.

It does make a difference. I've got my LSX paired with a Rel T-Zero subwoofer.

Nice one thanks for the info. Sounds like its working working well so optimistic a sub in the room will add to mine.

 

[DataVampire]

I have been looking at the Q Acoustics 330i in white with eh stands and a marrantz pm607 combo being fed by my Asus stx 2.

 

[BananaDunka]

Just ordered the Focal Chora 806 to upgrade the Kef Q300s. Will be interesting to see how they do as near field as I've been reading they are eoicly wide for soundstsge and kick bass down low. A near field match for the coaxial Kef though?

Will find out tomorrow.

I like that they're hand made and tested by human ears too having watched the Focal factory tour video.

 

[robfosters]

I use the Razer Leviathan soundbar system. It’s not up to audiophile status by means lol, but it does me just fine for gaming and a bit of music. It’s a nice space saver as well.

 

[Tephnos]

Just ordered the Focal Chora 806 to upgrade the Kef Q300s. Will be interesting to see how they do as near field as I've been reading they are eoicly wide for soundstsge and kick bass down low. A near field match for the coaxial Kef though?

Will find out tomorrow.

I like that they're hand made and tested by human ears too having watched the Focal factory tour video.

I think you may have preferred the Aria 906. I used that one for a while at one point and while it was a bloody huge speaker, it had a great signature to its sound.

 

[Things change I've changed]

Just ordered the Focal Chora 806 to upgrade the Kef Q300s. Will be interesting to see how they do as near field as I've been reading they are eoicly wide for soundstsge and kick bass down low. A near field match for the coaxial Kef though?

Will find out tomorrow.

I like that they're hand made and tested by human ears too having watched the Focal factory tour video.

Interesting, can't wait to hear your what you think of them, I agree with Tephnos though, coming from the Q300 I'd of probably sprung for the 906's.

 

[BananaDunka]

I watched a bunch of reviews of them both compared and they both are distinctly from the same family with wide soundstages and detail - The Aria cabinet is built better and is more solid but at double the price I didn't get the feeling it reviewed like double the performance of the 806? Since reviews showed the 806 punches really low whilst still having very good detail up high and vocals are really warm/smooth. Steve Guttenburger referenced Leonard Cohen's last album for example, that guy has some truly deep vocals and on the Kefs it is sublime, Steve's review made it sound like the 806 is on that sort of depth and soundstage so if that is indeed the case then I'm all about that. Same size driver as the Kef too so I am fully expecting excellent bass unlike the LS50 Meta which didn't deliver on the bass front.

Focal state 20 hours to break-in which is reasonable, I can do that in 2 days easy, and they also have a time-aligned stand which angles the speakers up slightly - I'm not paying the premium for those (plus they are too short for desk height at only 55cm) ) so instead have acoustic speaker pads that angle by up to 10 degrees on my existing stands so will use those

I have a good feeling about these ones....

Essentially all I'm after is bass that kicks low but is still exceptional in detail like the Q300, and vocals and highs that are distinct. If the 806 delivers that, then I'm gonna be happy as quite like the design of these especially that driver cone pattern.

If it turns out to be meh, then I notice Richer Sounds have the Q300 for £125 new, so will just buy a new pair and sell the "dented" ones. At that price it's a complete no brainer really and Tephnos can stop bringing up the dents in threads

 

[Tephnos]

I watched a bunch of reviews of them both compared and they both are distinctly from the same family with wide soundstages and detail - The Aria cabinet is built better and is more solid but at double the price I didn't get the feeling it reviewed like double the performance of the 806? Since reviews showed the 806 punches really low whilst still having very good detail up high and vocals are really warm/smooth. Steve Guttenburger referenced Leonard Cohen's last album for example, that guy has some truly deep vocals and on the Kefs it is sublime, Steve's review made it sound like the 806 is on that sort of depth and soundstage so if that is indeed the case then I'm all about that. Same size driver as the Kef too so I am fully expecting excellent bass unlike the LS50 Meta which didn't deliver on the bass front.

Focal state 20 hours to break-in which is reasonable, I can do that in 2 days easy, and they also have a time-aligned stand which angles the speakers up slightly - I'm not paying the premium for those so instead have acoustic speaker pads that angle by up to 10 degrees on my existing stands so will use those

I have a good feeling about these ones....

Essentially all I'm after is bass that kicks low but is still exceptional in detail, and vocals and highs that are distinct. If the 806 delivers that, then I'm gonna be happy as quite like the design of these especially that driver cone pattern.

If it turns out to be meh, then I notice Richer Sounds have the Q300 for £125 new, so will just buy a new pair and sell the "dented" ones. At that price it's a complete no brainer really and Tephnos can stop bringing up the dents in threads

I know Audiosciencereview have measured the 906s and they were quite happy with it. I'm not sure about the 806s so I don't have an objective take on those for comparison.

Also, what? They still sell the Q300s new?

 

[Things change I've changed]

If you don't me asking how much did you pay for them?

Also it sounds like you reaaaaallly love your bass!, it might be worth considering a 2.1 setup in the future, lot of decent stereo amps have a sub out these days.