I compared the Elac Navis ARB51 and the LS50W at home with an A/B switch over about a week using a Schiit Saga preamp and an LKS MH-DA004 DAC in a small 11 ft x 13 ft room. I used the RCA input on the LS50W and a sound meter to ensure the volume level coming from both speakers was the same as I listened. I adjusted the LS50W settings using the KEF app to the best of my ability. No subwoofer was used.
I switched back and forth repeatedly while music played with many different tracks. Depending on what was playing, at times I couldn’t tell one speaker from the other. When I heard differences the Navis sounded better to me. It had a bigger, fuller sound. The bass is very impressive for such a small speaker. The Navis with it’s richer low end sounds more like floorstanding speaker than the LS50W does.
The LS50W is probably better for someone who wants an all in one solution. One downside to this might be that all signals sent to the LS50W go through it’s internal DAC which can’t be bypassed. The LS50W’s DAC does seem very transparent though. For those with turntables that prefer to keep an analog signal, or someone who already owns a DAC that’s better than what the LS50W has might also prefer Navis. I picked the Navis over the LS50W for the sound quality. The LS50W is great, I just liked the Navis a little better.
I switched back and forth repeatedly while music played with many different tracks. Depending on what was playing, at times I couldn’t tell one speaker from the other. When I heard differences the Navis sounded better to me. It had a bigger, fuller sound. The bass is very impressive for such a small speaker. The Navis with it’s richer low end sounds more like floorstanding speaker than the LS50W does.
The LS50W is probably better for someone who wants an all in one solution. One downside to this might be that all signals sent to the LS50W go through it’s internal DAC which can’t be bypassed. The LS50W’s DAC does seem very transparent though. For those with turntables that prefer to keep an analog signal, or someone who already owns a DAC that’s better than what the LS50W has might also prefer Navis. I picked the Navis over the LS50W for the sound quality. The LS50W is great, I just liked the Navis a little better.