KEF Q50 Floorstanding Speakers

KEF Q50 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Speakers Uni-Q design.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 22  
[Feb 18, 2025]
specid


Strength:

After 25 years, the only good piece left alive in my old stereo system was my NAD 3020 integrated amp, a legendary giant-killer in the budget audiophile category for many years. So when I received a settlement for my motorcycle accident recently, I went and bought both a HT setup, and a whole new (& used) 2-channel-only system. The Hafler is the stereo power amp I'm keeping. I am quite happy with it. Worcester Mobile Mechanic

Weakness:

None . .

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Jun 22, 2023]
chaples19


Strength:

Many years ago,when NAD was still Brittish,their gear was good...sometimes better than good.But this amp is very very bad.Flat,little definition,noisy as hell. There is,granted,terrific separation,but after that the amp fails on almost every front.Imaging is smeared(due mainly to unacceptable noise) Greenfield Towing Professionals

Weakness:

None . .

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Apr 17, 2020]
Midizoo


Strength:

Owned these from new, and even have the original shipping boxes upstairs. Ran with a lot of amplifiers over the years, from NAD, LINN, Nakamichi, Denon, and every one has shone due to the quality of these speakers. Great balanced sound... with the right amp! A Rotel sounded a bit dull and a higher end Marantz sounded way too bright. Thats ans amp issue, not the speaker. As reliable as bricks, and a pleasure to listen too. One of my, if not my best, hi-fi purchase. Superb.

Weakness:

The bottom end lacks a certain 'thunk' for club mixes, but nothing a decent Velodyne sub can't cure.

Price Paid:
500ukp
Purchased:
New  
Model Year:
1995
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Feb 20, 2017]
Mike in NZ
Audio Enthusiast

I bought these Kef Q50s in 1995 when a friend closed down his audio retail business, so have had them now for 22 years. Never regretted the purchase. I love the clean sound, especially with vocals - someone like Leonard Cohen with his textured voice sounds great. Beautifully balanced sound and a great sound stage as other reviewers have noted, with clear treble and satisfying bass. Worked well as stereo pair for most of the years with a relatively basic Denon DRA365 stereo amp but a couple of years or so back upgraded to a Denon X3000 7.2 receiver. Added a Kef C6LCR centre, two in-wall Q Acoustics speakers for side/rear sound, and a Velodyne CHT10 sub to get 5.1 surround sound. They all work well together - I understand Q Acoustics, although a recent company, was established by Kef engineers who left that company, so the heritage is still there. I'm very happy with the Q50s as an integral part of my home theatre now and can simply switch to them for stereo sound when I want that. Have seen second-hand Q50s available at great prices and they would be bargain purchases now.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 04, 2013]
Flo
Audio Enthusiast

Is build for classic and jazz music.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 19, 2012]
Conrad Dias
Audio Enthusiast

I was looking around for a good set of speakers, and finally settled down for the KEF Q Series.
The Q5O. But I am totally disappointed with the UNI- Q tweeters. I have replaced the Tweeters
at least 7 times, where by I could have purchased another set of speakers. The Uni Q tweeter is a complete failure and would never recommend anyone to purchase the KEF brand. especially the Q Series.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
2
[Apr 06, 2012]
Rudy
Audio Enthusiast

The KEF Q-50 has been my stable companion as my main source of HI FI pleasure .. I just powered them with a vintage 1979 Kenwood KR 6050 and the became even better ,.. crisp highs delicate under passages and robust not mushy base find a pair before there gone,.. these have been working since 1993 when I got them new

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 18, 2011]
mjtab
AudioPhile

I have always wanted to try a modern KEF Uni-Q speaker, and had a chance to pick up a used pair of Q50s in near mint condition, and am I glad I made the purchase.

These floorstanders consist of a 6-1/2" Uni-Q driver (mid/bass w/ tweeter in the center of it in) the upper section, which is sealed off from the 6-1/2" bass driver that is in the lower section of the speaker. The top section is ported in the front while the bass section is ported in the rear.

These speakers reproduce sound better than their price dictates. They have a very neutral sound, not warm or cool, not forward or laid back. They have the sound of a quality stand-mounted monitor speaker with better bass, and have one of the most musical highs and clearest midrange I have personally heard in a speaker, while the bass is tight and not soft or sloppy. Dialogue is very easy to articulate, while cymbals, bells, vibes and other instruments producing highs sound just so sweet. Sax and horns have no harshness and plenty of transients. There is no one-note bass from this speaker, but easy to discern bass runs. They produce a nice dynamic sound with 3D imaging with instruments positioned in a nice big airy soundstage. Finally, overall balance is easy to adjust by moving the speaker out from the rear wall or closer to strike a nice balance in bass reproduction. Some speakers take endless tweaking to find the balance, but not with this speaker.

What can I say, but I love these speakers - for music first and definitely movies as well with its clear articulate presentation. No wonder people hang on to these speakers for a long time before upgrading. The purchase of these floorstanding speakers is a keeper for sure, pushing other speakers I own into storage.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 02, 2009]
andrew671
Casual Listener

I had these speakers for a little over a year now.. I am fairly new to this whole Hi Fi scene, but I learn fast.. I was in the market for my very first loudspeakers.. At the time I was still in college so I had a limited budget.. I found these speakers on eBay and got them for $220.. I had already owned the KEF KHT3005 HT speakers, so I wanted to stick with the kef theme.. Once it arrived I hooked it up to my Onkyo TX-sr606 and I was amazed by the sounds of these speakers.. very nice highs and mids, however the bass was almost non-existence.. The bass didn't matter because I was only using them for my HT (home theater) set up which already had a sub, two actually.. The cabinet and the finish were very nice, I had the black ash Q50.. Nice and stable, looks great with or without grills, mids and highs were nice and bright but not too bright were it was uncomfortable.. Overall I think the Q50 are pretty good but not great as well.. I am thinking of just replacing the bass woofer with a different brand and see how that works.. Listening room dimension 21ftW x 16ftL x 10ftH ceiling.. Well hope this helps anyone..

Home Theater
Kef KHT3005 HT speakers 5.1
Kef Q50 tower speakers
Kef HTB2BK subwoofer
Onkyo TX-sr606
Sony PlayStation 3 (love movies)


2 Channel Stereo
Krix Lyrix loudspeakers
Nad 3020 intergraded amplifier
Sony CD player PS1 SCPH-1001 (just wanted to try it)

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 11, 2007]
Meshach ( UK )
AudioPhile

Strength:

I got a kickin system !!!

I got alot of love for Cyrus

And alot alot of love for KEF !!!

When it comes to sound,

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! British is best !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weakness:

The police cmplaine too much !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'v had Q50's for the last 10 years, acompanied by a Cyrus amp and a Lynx one sound card.

As a bedroom system, christ alive i cant think of much better for the money !!!

You could pick my system up for £500 and the sound you will have, !!!! WILL compete with the likes of quad, naim, and verious others !!!

Customer Service

Never had anything go wrong !!!!

Similar Products Used:

Trio
Naim
Meridian
Quad
Alchamey
Roksan
Nad
Mission
B&W
Wilson Bensech

Nice sounds !!!!

TRUST !!!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 22  

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