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New poster at this site. Just got the LX yesterday. Any experience with break in? So far I'm finding the mids and lows out do the highs and I'm hoping that the highs might open up in time. Also, I'm wondering if it might be a factor of the amp used.
Using a Cambridge Audio CXA81. I don't have room for stands so they are sitting on (with isolators) the top of an entertainment cabinet which has a TT. I have KEF LS50 Metas there and I wanted to compare.
The LS50 Metas have a wonderful and clear upper range with the integrated amp which would probably be considered warmer. I have a Rel sub as well. I'm able to get them at least 12" from the back wall.
The room is a medium small open room about 12' x 16' with no closed side walls.
I liked what I was hearing from the LX except for the missing upper range. I definitely preferred the KEFs with the sub. I've moved the LXs to a small HT with a Denon receiver and the LX acting as the main speakers so that it can get more time on it. (I still work and also other family members won't abide me playing music all of the time in the house).
How are you handling bass management with the sub? If what I am reading is correct, the Cambridge just sends everything below 2.3khz to the sub, and then you just adjust the level on sub. Correct?
The LX has MUCH more bass and mid-bass than the LS50 Meta. In your setup with the LS50 Meta with the sub, you are able to turn down the bass from the sub, so you can give more emphasis to upper range. Since you can do that with the LX (unless you use the tone controls on the Cambridge), you are bass is going to be more emphasized to your ear unless you EQ.
You might want to look into the Q-Plugs that Ascend offers for the LX.
-curtis
Oh...I know the presentation of the KEFs are different. If I recall correctly, they are also a bit elevated at 5khz (where perceived "presence" is dominant)from measurements I saw, that might pair better with your Cambridge.
The LX's are pretty neutral, so that may be the issue.
Last edited by curtis; 11-18-2022 at 04:05 PM.
-curtis
It may also be positioning. The long review by one of the posters here indicated that the LX sounds differently if you are listening above or below ear level. On the KEF system, I was below ear level whereas in the HT, I'm a bit above and it sounds better (may also be the Denon which I believe is a bit neutral or brighter than neutral). But I'm also hoping that the speakers open up a bit.
Hi jwreich,
There is no high frequency roll off with the LX. You can actually easily see the differences between the 2 speakers. Below is the estimated in-room response comparison between our LX and your LS50 meta. The difference in bass and midbass between the 2 speakers is huge, with the LX having as much as 4 and even 6 times as much low frequency energy.
ls50compare.jpg
It is extremely important to understand that the wider the bandwidth of a speaker (meaning from the lows to the highs) - the less one frequency range stands out. For example, if you have a perfectly neutral speaker (let's call this speaker A) that is rated from 200Hz to 20kHz, and you have a perfectly neutral speaker (speaker B) rated from 80Hz to 20kHz, speaker A is going to sound more detailed in the highs, even though they have the same amount of energy in this range. This is simply how we hear.
You can see in this comparison the huge difference in bass, and the mids of the LX are a bit smoother and more neutral, while the highs are practically identical between the 2.
Are you able to post a pic of the front of your room showing the speaker positioning?
Also, you might try using Q-Plug "S" with the LX, that will make the bass response of the LX very similar to the bass response of the LS50, which will then make the midrange and highs sound more prominent.
As a follow-up, a good way to think about what I mentioned above is like this. If you have one gram of salt, it is going to taste very salty. Then add a gram of pepper, and a gram of beef. Still salty, but not quite as much. Then add a gram each of a few more ingredients, some, pork, paprika, garlic, onions... You have the same amount of salt, but now you no longer taste just salt, in fact - the salt just blends into the overall deliciousness.
Ok - now I'm hungry