Can a pair of budget full range speakers replace LS50?
Hi all,
I have been listening to my KEF LS50 with my Yaqin MC-12S integrated tube amp. I love the sound coming out of them. Holographic, amazing sound stage, high resolution. In comparison to my other speakers including Polk Audio RTi4 and Klipsch RP-260, it’s night and day.
However I cannot afford to keep those expensive speakers and amp. I need to downgrade. I thought about elan UB5 or debut 6.2 but wanna see if there’s any other frugal solution.
I figure the full range speakers setup would be similar to the LS50 in the coaxial design (single point source)
Would any of these full range woofers can be comparable to the LS50 in term of holographicness,sound imaging, and resolution?
If so, which woofer would you recommend? I looked at the Mark Audio Alpair 7 and thinking to build a frugal horn MK3 for them.
Hi all,
I have been listening to my KEF LS50 with my Yaqin MC-12S integrated tube amp. I love the sound coming out of them. Holographic, amazing sound stage, high resolution. In comparison to my other speakers including Polk Audio RTi4 and Klipsch RP-260, it’s night and day.
However I cannot afford to keep those expensive speakers and amp. I need to downgrade. I thought about elan UB5 or debut 6.2 but wanna see if there’s any other frugal solution.
I figure the full range speakers setup would be similar to the LS50 in the coaxial design (single point source)
Would any of these full range woofers can be comparable to the LS50 in term of holographicness,sound imaging, and resolution?
If so, which woofer would you recommend? I looked at the Mark Audio Alpair 7 and thinking to build a frugal horn MK3 for them.
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That driver look so much like the LS 50, now I wonder if KEF is using Tang band stuff and just added their uniQ in the middle. Even the surround is the same.
But I guess the price of W6-2313 is too much for me. A pair of drivers will cost me $450cdn and building the cabinet will be around $100cdn so probably $550 total. And I can get a slightly used pair of LS 50 here in Vancouver for$700. So for saving of $150, it won't be worth it as the LS 50 probably has one of the best cabinets that definitely worth more than $150.
Thanks for the recommendation. I am also looking at the W4-1337SDF. It's a 4", so it should give better top end and better sound imaging I assume? And it looks pretty damn nice. I wonder how it compares to your recommendation?
Will these Tang band works with the FH mk3 cabinet? If not, any cabinet recommendations?
Thanks!
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I haven't had a chance to audition any mark audio drivers. I am hoping to get to know some Vancouver members on this forum and hopefully they can show me some of their MA gears.
Have you heard of the new Alpair 11 MS? No spider, I wonder how well it sounds. Also how durable it will be since it's missing the spider.
Yikes, Canadian distributor taking a mighty cut?
Well, if you want a great speaker, easy to build, keeping cost down, then there's my favorite, the TABAQ.
Pair the design with a 3" driver for more high end reach, or a 4" driver for more low end, and you got a sweet sounding set of speakers, easy to position around the room, unobtrusive but still look great and sound way better than you'd think at first sight.
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Thanks for the suggestion but those kits cost even more than a new pair of LS 50. I was hoping to find something around $200 CDN. I don't mind building the cabinet.
Probably a good idea to confirm how much floor space you have available. All three of the FH family do wonderful things with their respective weight class of drivers - and it’s no secret that I’m a particular fan of the MA drivers in general - but those designs do have larger “real estate” requirements for optimal performance than other enclosures for the same drivers.
That said, I’m not sure if I’ve actually heard the A11MS yet, and to be honest do share some concern about the long term durability of the spider-less suspension. I’ve owned quite a few MA drivers over the years - am still using three different models in my home theatre. They never approach “realistic concert” levels - i.e. mid 90 SPL Max in an approx 2600ft^3 room.
My only very brief audition of LS50 was in the local dealer a year or so ago, driven by some very nice gear whose brand name now escapes me - Classe, perhaps? To be honest, they didn’t blow me away, but perhaps my expectations were too high, and the underwhelming experience was a natural result of that?
I’d be surprised if there are enough members here who’ve had opportunity to make a controlled listening comparison between the KEFs and any DIY FR/ single driver build, so anything more than speculation and “experienced wild assed guessing” as to what could approach your own subjective experience with the LS50 would be hard to find.
Perceval; the Canadian resellers for Tang Band is Solen, and whether or not you want to assess that their margins are fatter than need be, they are somewhat hamstrung by international currency exchange rates, and the Canuck buck certainly ain’t what it used to be
That said, I’m not sure if I’ve actually heard the A11MS yet, and to be honest do share some concern about the long term durability of the spider-less suspension. I’ve owned quite a few MA drivers over the years - am still using three different models in my home theatre. They never approach “realistic concert” levels - i.e. mid 90 SPL Max in an approx 2600ft^3 room.
My only very brief audition of LS50 was in the local dealer a year or so ago, driven by some very nice gear whose brand name now escapes me - Classe, perhaps? To be honest, they didn’t blow me away, but perhaps my expectations were too high, and the underwhelming experience was a natural result of that?
I’d be surprised if there are enough members here who’ve had opportunity to make a controlled listening comparison between the KEFs and any DIY FR/ single driver build, so anything more than speculation and “experienced wild assed guessing” as to what could approach your own subjective experience with the LS50 would be hard to find.
Perceval; the Canadian resellers for Tang Band is Solen, and whether or not you want to assess that their margins are fatter than need be, they are somewhat hamstrung by international currency exchange rates, and the Canuck buck certainly ain’t what it used to be
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Isn't that what we were listening to over at your place along with the A10.3 Pensils?
jeff
check the sopranos out.... about 180$ CAD in driver parts at solen...you could maybe build a bass reflex or TL for them for lower extension, if you keep the same width. (provided you can put your hands on crossover schematic)
if you want dirt cheap, probably you could do something with SB12pfc at 12$ each at solen (plus tweeter)...
other wise, if you REALLY want ONE driver, you could try the tc9fd10 first to see if you like fullranges in TL or BR....can't do cheaper than that.... and they really sound more expensive, if you don't need to blast them at high SPL
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If you mean in the tall raw plywood MLTLs designed by Scott, then yes . Was that almost 2 years ago, already? Sheesh, time flies when you’re retired and don’t have the same temporal frame of reference.
they look...uh...delicious
Yes, those do look luscious.
Perceval, remind us again which particular 3” driver are those? I presume there’s a more than on TB in this size range from which to chose, and from my limited experience with the brand, they can range widely in sound.
pidesd; I think the crossover circuit for the Sopranos can be found here, but think the total budget before enclosures would still be over $200 CDN
http://meniscus.lightningbasehosted.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Sopranos-Write-up.pdf
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