How do Markaudio fare against KEF LS50

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#27
I've never heard any of the MA stuff that I can recall anyway.

I have heard the LS50 with a mosfet/tube hybrid amp and a subwoofer that crossed in around 100Hz. This set up played in the living room at my house during a recent audiofest. Probably the best sound I've heard in that room from systems schlepped in for the gathering. It was coherent, fast and imaged well. I would not trade it for the basement system.. 😀

Doing the whole thing DIY has merit, learn something new and have fun doing it, maybe save a little money.
 
#29
I'm running a stereo system with a pair of large 3 way horn/Onken based speakers with six channels of amplification, electronic crossovers, DSP, lots of tubes, transformers, mosfets, and dsp. I have no room for another system in the house. (the wife would kill me.. lol)
 
#31
Yeah, the LS50 will be leagues ahead of the MA line. I had the Q100 drivers (the LS50 drivers are similar, but probably a step up) and they are very good.
DIY with KEF Q100 drivers

A proper tweeter that is coaxially mounted with care taken to eliminate sharp transitions between the tweeter and the cone. This is THE best example of coaxial technology out there. While it's frequency response is far from ideal, it is much better than the MA series, producing the kind of neutral, natural sound that Kevin is talking about. The Q100 bookshelf is still available, definitely higher cost than the typical full range driver, but you get a real tweeter, top-of-the-line coaxial technology, and with enough care in the crossover, a top-end DIY bookshelf design.
 
#32
ra7,
where did you buy the Q-100 drivers to build with? I heard KEF stopped selling "replacement" drivers unless one could produce a valid S/N....

Btw, the closest fullrange driver (not coaxial) to the LS-50, might be the W5-2143. It is smooth, and has good reach in the highs and surprisingly powerful bass.
 
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#33
I think I bought them before KEF stopped selling the drivers separately. But you can buy the Q100 bookshelves and just redo the crossover. The cab itself is fine. About $300-$400 a pair. Remember that you are getting 4 drivers plus finished cabs for that price. They are not going to bring the house down with volume, but at normal levels, a very good option.
 
#34
Did someone mention my loved KEF Q100? 🙂

KEF LS50

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KEF Q100

With some tweaks and mods the sound is much better than the original. The furniture needs more mass.

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The front bass-reflex needs a tweak to lower the peak of 1.2-1.3 kHz.

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An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
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#36
Thanks Maty! Hadn't seen the measurements posted in this manner before. The Q100 more than holds up to the LS50, with both within a 2-3 db window, with most of the variation in the very high frequencies. This is very good performance. There is also no bump in the power response around 2-4 kHz, where a normal woofer-tweeter combination will show an increase in directivity as the woofer becomes directional, and then a sudden decrease as it hands off to the tweeter, which is, at the crossover frequency, radiating omnidirectionally. The waveguide of the woofer on the KEF drivers ensures a smooth power transition through the crossover.

I sold a bunch of drivers I had collected over the years, and the only pair I held on to was this one and the Bagby Continuums.
 
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#37
Those KEF drivers certainly behave well.

There's very little information available on the Mark Audio drivers. Their on axis FR is not as smooth nor extended as I'd want. (>+/-5dB 100Hz to 10KHz, some barely achieving +/-10dB over the same range) I've not been able to find off axis polars or distortion measurements.

I appreciate that some of the supporters of these drivers are very sensitive to the crossover phase shifts present in some poorly designed loudspeakers. Any competent crossover designer will have no problems significantly improving on the frequency and phase performance of the MA drivers. A well designed coaxial provides consistent polars in all forward angles.
 
#38
It would be nice to have easier access to Kef's coax drivers. Oh well... In the meantime, my hopes are on the w6-2313. But trying to kind of emulate a powered ls50 doesn't come cheap : 350€ for drivers, 500€ for hypex plate amps (end of life as2.100d promo)... you're at an easy 1000€ all said and done.
 
#39
@ra7

If I remember correctly, during my long research on what speakers to buy for my second team -in which I had planned to investigate how to solve my serious problems with the electrical grid- we exchanged some emails.

When I saw the last two graphics on a Russian website, I had it clear. € 398 at home, June 2013.

[Russian] Акустика KEF Q100 | журнал SalonAV

-> Полочные акустические системы. Измерения | журнал SalonAV

For passive speakers, the coaxial KEF 5.25" coaxial are an excellent starting point.
 
#40
Talking about KEF 5.25" coaxials, sure than LS50 and R100 has better THD+N graphs than Q100.

NRC Measurements: KEF LS50 Loudspeakers

SoundStageNetwork.com | SoundStage.com - NRC Measurements: KEF LS50 Loudspeakers

thd_90db.gif


NRC Measurements: KEF R100 Loudspeakers

SoundStageNetwork.com | SoundStage.com - NRC Measurements: KEF R100 Loudspeakers

thd_90db.gif



But I listen to very good recordings with high/very high DR and I am very satisfied.

The only drawback they have is that they need amplifiers with many watts at 4 Ohms.


KEF LS50 vs Q100/Q150, MAX power requirements:

KEF Q150 for $300 - Kefdirect.com, Amazon.com and Crutchfield.com


What made me desist from building a class A amplifier designed by xrk971 + Hugh Dean (AKSA).


PS: a post above, KEF Q150 T/S parameters by mauroa

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
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