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KEF LS50 Wireless -- wow!!!

Today I bought a new pair of the KEF LS50 Wireless speakers for my study (10 x 13 x 12). Just so you know my main system in the media room (15 x 20) consists of a pair of Bowers and Wilkins CM10s2 ($4000), Parasound A21 ($2500), Cambridge Audio  851D ($1000), Double Shotgun silver wires ($350), power cable from Cerious Technologies (Graphene something -- $350), with a total cost of something around $8k. 
I thought it would be fun to put the KEFs in the same room as my main system and play them side by side using Tidal streaming for both. Now keep in mind that the CM10s have several hundred hours on them, whereas the KEFs have probably less than 2 hours so far. The speaker stands for the KEFs are still on backorder, so right now they're just sitting directly on the media console (glass top) -- in other words, this is a totally unfair comparison. Also, the CM10s are placed about 9 feet apart and 4 feet from the wall, whereas the KEFs are about 6 feet apart and less than two feet from the back wall. 
What I heard was totally unbelievable!!! The KEFs, which mind you, are not broken in at all, not sitting on a proper stand, and not as wide apart from each other as the CM10s, totally blew the CM10s out of the water. The sound coming out of the KEFs is more full-bodied and balanced, beautiful midrange, and a very satisfying base. The imaging is just so much better than the B&Ws. I just can't believe how a speaker which is literally 4 to 5 times smaller than the CM10s can produce such a rich, satisfying base. I think the only aspect where the CM10s have a slight edge is the soundstage. But, I suspect that might improve with proper stands and more play time.
A few weeks ago, I auditioned a pair of Harbeth M30.1 in the same media room (driven by Parasound A21). While I really liked the midrange on them, they sounded a little thin to me. The KEFs, on the other hand, have a pretty good midrange (probably not as good as the Harbeths), but to my ears, they sound better in every other aspect.

Now, I'm not saying that these $2199 speakers are the ultimate bookshelves. But they sure beat my comparatively more expensive setup by a mile.

All hats off to the KEF engineers! 

P.S. The CM10s will be on the market pretty soon :)

128x128arafiq
helomech
766 posts
 
Even the passive LS50s are leaps ahead of all B&W speakers I've heard. They  easily compete in the $4K standmount realm. Some say they're merely good, but I suspect they heard them with low quality amps. It's the trailing edges of notes, the "decay" that really sets their midrange apart from competitors. The highs are detailed, yet non-fatiguing, and their imaging is hard to beat at any price. 
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213runnin
562 posts
 
Aren't these LS50 wireless speakers EQ'd, the back panel shows several EQ options.  That and 230 watts per speaker (200 for the woofer, 30 for the tweeter) are going to give a certain advantage over a traditional pre amp and amplifier.  But it's an apples to oranges comparison.  The EQ function is giving anything but a flat frequency response.  Some will like certain frequencies pushed to the foreground.  

arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
164 posts
 
So today my kid, who has some sensory issues, decided to poke his finger into the front of the speaker. Almost punctured the area between the foam and the tweeter. I was able to straighten a part of it but there’s still a crease on the left side. Now, I have a true dilemma .... knowing my kid, I know that (due to his sensory issues) he won’t be able to resist poking his fingers to push the driver cone. I cannot return it because it now has a pretty visible crease on the front. I don’t know the impact on the sound yet. The speakers are not even 4 days old and they are now non-returnable :(

Lesson learned: these speakers (or any speakers with no front grilles) are not suitable for households with young children. I wish KEF sold front grilles for these.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
164 posts
 
A few more observations after listening to the speakers for the last 3 - 4 days ....

Pros:
1. Vocals, jazz, light/soft rock sounds amazing. There is a certain fullness in the sound that I was missing before. Last night, I had listened to them for over 3 hours at a stretch with zero fatigue. However, having said that, I don’t think the speakers would cut it for heavy metal or rap music. Maybe adding a subwoofer might help, but for the kind of music I listen to, I don’t feel the need to add anything else. Also, IMO classical music is not their cup of tea. But it very well could have been the recording (Rimsky).

2. The bass on these is just amazing for a speaker of this size. I am not kidding, but the base is almost the same as my much bigger CM10s. In fact, it is more textured and punchy and never gets boomy.

3. Imaging -- really, really good!! Blows my B&W CM10s out of the water. The voices and the instruments are fixed in exactly the same spots. Very accurate! This is probably the standout feature of these speakers!

4. The disappearing act -- these disappear behind the wall of music much better than my CM10s. With the B&Ws, I always had a sense of where the speakers were located, not so much with the KEFs. However, this is one area where I felt that the Harbeths that I demoed for a few hours were better.

Cons:
1. Absolutely pathetic app (iOS). Tidal integration leaves a lot to be desired. Every now and then, the music just stops playing intermittently. The only solution I found is to restart the speakers. KEF really needs to get their act together when it comes to hiring better software developers.

2. Low volume -- this is one area where the CM10s (and the Harbeth M30.1) have an edge. The KEFs sound amazing at moderate to high volumes, but lose quite a bit of their magic at lower volumes.

3. Placement -- despite the DSP advantage, the speakers are still quite sensitive to placement. Although I bought them for my home office (10x13), they sound way better in the game room (25x15) which is a bit bigger than the media room. They definitely need to be placed at least 6 feet apart and 2 feet from the back wall to sound their best. They still sound good in the office, but some of the magic is lost. Unfortunately, I cannot put them back in the game room since my kid would destroy them in a few minutes :(

BTW, I tried bluetooth streaming and did not like it at all. Tidal (via KEFs app) sounds much better. I’m seriously thinking of subscribing to Roon to play music from my NAS drive.

Lastly, please keep in mind that I don’t have a lot of exposure to high-end gear. Prior to the KEF LS50s, I’ve only owned the B&W CM10s, and LSA-1 Signature bookshelf speakers. So, hopefully, you’ll take my exuberance with a grain of salt :)
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