The main issue in low volume listening is not the speakers but the human ear.

As Fletcher and Munson discovered over 100 years ago at Bell Laboratories, the human ear has a very different frequency response at low versus higher sound levels.

If you were to get speakers that compensated for the response of the ear at low volumes, they would be useless and sound terrible at higher volumes. There is simply no way to get around this by buying a certain speaker.

One partial solution that many amps and receivers used in the 1960s and 1970s was a "CONTOUR" button that switched in a filter to modify the frequency response in a way that made low level listening somewhat better. It boosted the bass and upper treble for low-level improvement.

You might want to just get a used Kenwood or similar receiver from the 1970s or 1980s that has a "contour" switch and some modest small bookshelf speakers for a "background' system.

The LS50 is intended to be a main speaker; NOT a desktop speaker. You should read the Stereophile review of them, here on this website under equipment reviews.

DrBob wrote:

One thing that speaker reviews never seem to address is whether speakers sound good at low volume listening. I often want to have music on as background while I'm doing something else, and I want it to be quiet enough to talk, for instance, but still sound pretty good. Obviously I'm not going to get all the detail that I would at regular listening volume. But some speakers will be better than others at giving me reasonable results at low volume.

No speaker sounds good at low volumes because the lows and highs are perceived as too quiet. Equalising can improve things a bit but it still won't sound right.

DrBob wrote:

Another option that got great reviews is the KEF LS50, but someone on another thread said these really are for desktop, not main speakers for a room. What do folks think about the LS50s as main speakers?

They are mini-monitors/near field monitors/desktop speakers which can provide clean sound at around 1m distance but not further away in a normal sized room. If they are used as main speakers and music is played at the standard level (the level in a cinema) then they will compress the peaks in the music. They will sound loud enough just not clean.

It is not a fault of KEF but basic physics. The cone is simply not large enough to compress enough air to deliver the musical peaks cleanly at the required SPL. It is easy enough to check for yourself if you have a local KEF dealer.

DrBob wrote:

I see there's already a difference of opinion about the LS50s.

I hope I stuck more to facts than opinion. The LS50 are good mini-monitor speakers and I have been happy with a number of KEF speakers I have owned over the years. I even bought some KEF drivers a few weeks ago. If you are only going to listen at less than standard levels then I would suggest keeping them on your list.

Dynamics will be very important for low volume listening and the shoutiness of horns might be a strength in your situation. I would put them at the top of the list of speakers to listen to.

When I think of "good at low volume," I'm thinking a speaker that can sound believable and real while not subjected to critical listening. That takes a very dynamic speaker to get your attention at low levels. That suggests horn speakers that are super sensitive and projecting to my way of thinking.

DrBob wrote:

One thing that speaker reviews never seem to address is whether speakers sound good at low volume listening. I often want to have music on as background while I'm doing something else, and I want it to be quiet enough to talk, for instance, but still sound pretty good. Obviously I'm not going to get all the detail that I would at regular listening volume. But some speakers will be better than others at giving me reasonable results at low volume.

I'm looking for new main speakers for my stereo/home theater setup, somewhere in the $1000 range. I've seen good reviews of Paradigm Studio 10, PSB Imagine Mini, and Goldenear Aon 2. Does anyone have an opinion which of these would be best for low volume listening?

Another option that got great reviews is the KEF LS50, but someone on another thread said these really are for desktop, not main speakers for a room. What do folks think about the LS50s as main speakers?

You need to READ the Stereophile review of the LS50! Doesn't anyone READ anymore??

You seem to be missing a lot of basic facts that the article will supply you with.

One issue with the LS50 that you should take note of is that it has a very low sensitivity of 85 db/watt, and therefore needs a lot of power to drive it at normal listening levels.

For use a a main speaker in a typical system it should be driven by an amplifier that is rated for at least 100 watts per channel.

vienna acoustics beethoven, I can't speak for the grand series but the v2 had resolution, balance, and musicality I would put up against any other speaker at low to mid volume ans soundstage depth was pretty magical to. of coarse many wouldn't take my system as a quality reference but thats my 2C.