What do LS50s sound like?

[Ron Temple]

I've got my eye on a pair on CL. Look to be in good shape. They would replace my son's R50s. However, I've never heard them, but I'm thinking it's a nice upgrade. Can someone describe the SQ? They look like a tweener line between the RTAs and the RTs. How do they compare?

[DaveMuell]

In my opinion, the LS50s are an upgrade to those R50s. They are warm and detailed. They don't dig nearly as deep as the larger towers like the 90s, but they do have a reasonably good bottom end. The cabinets only came in vinyl, so that might be a draw-back to some. The grill pegs break on nearly ever LS speaker and some have the black vinyl covering behind the grill start to peel. They should go from $100 to $225. These would be a great bedroom speaker. The LS series was the top of the line at the time.

[Ron Temple]

In my opinion, the LS50s are an upgrade to those R50s. They are warm and detailed. They don't dig nearly as deep as the larger towers like the 90s, but they do have a reasonably good bottom end. The cabinets only came in vinyl, so that might be a draw-back to some. The grill pegs break on nearly ever LS speaker and some have the black vinyl covering behind the grill start to peel. They should go from $100 to $225. These would be a great bedroom speaker. The LS series was the top of the line at the time.

Thanks Dave, the guy doesn't know what he has and I'm not going to clue him in :D. I'm not sure if he even has the grills as I've not seen them in the pic. I'll look at them tomorrow.

RT

[Ron Temple]

I picked these up for my son. The cabinets and screens are in excellent shape. A tiny corner blemish and sign of a bit of vinyl stretch, but very minor. They sound very good. Running large w/o sub, they put out decent bass, not as tight or as punchy as RTA 8s, but they aren't slouches. They are well behaved on the top end with a nice creamy midrange. They are a big upgrade over the R50s which is as it should be. My son will pick them up later today and hopefully will enjoy them more. For $80 I think they are keepers.

[Ron Temple]

One last check in...the speakers went with my younger son. These guys kept growing on me. They seem placement sensitive. I stretched them out about 7' and they improved significantly. They aren't deep, in fact the soundstage is wide, but a bit forward. Bass isn't exceptional, but it is tight and balanced. The midrange and top end detail is very good. They aren't laid back, but they are mellow. Midrange reminds me of SDAs without SDA (:D). The tweeter matches the CS400i, very nice LCR. They are too short. Stand up and get close to the speakers and you lose the treble image. I'd think the 70s and 90s would be awesome. I almost picked up a pair of 90s a month before I got the SDAs. If I had, I probably wouldn't have gone any farther. The LS50s are very nice and my kid's getting an exceptional bargain...even better if he doesn't pay me back (the little **** ;))

[soiset]

One last check in...the speakers went with my younger son. These guys kept growing on me. They seem placement sensitive. I stretched them out about 7' and they improved significantly. They aren't deep, in fact the soundstage is wide, but a bit forward. Bass isn't exceptional, but it is tight and balanced. The midrange and top end detail is very good. They aren't laid back, but they are mellow. Midrange reminds me of SDAs without SDA (:D). The tweeter matches the CS400i, very nice LCR. They are too short. Stand up and get close to the speakers and you lose the treble image. I'd think the 70s and 90s would be awesome. I almost picked up a pair of 90s a month before I got the SDAs. If I had, I probably wouldn't have gone any farther. The LS50s are very nice and my kid's getting an exceptional bargain...even better if he doesn't pay me back (the little **** ;))

The LS50's need a sub to really show off. Also, get stands for them, about 12" high, to get the tweeters up high enough. The stands should fit between the steel feet on the speakers (so the feet hang off the sides) and you should put some rubber pads on top of the stand.

And to correct a previous post: they also came in the nice rosewood finish (of which I have 4 pairs).