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Switched to Ls50 wireless; they sucked the “Life” out of my music

Hi all, I am posting for advice and help. I am feeling a bit lost. I’ll start by saying I switched from a system composed of an
Mac
Anedio Dac D2
transparent rca
Nuforce Sta200 amp
kimber cable
Symdex Gama speakers

For better or worse I went all in for the LS50 wireless and included my much loved dac for trade in the deal. Now my system is...
Mac
Ls50 wireless on Kef performance stands.
dimarzio mpath  power cables 
W4s usb cable 

Gone are listening sessions that bring tears to my eyes. The beauty of the music is gone. To be honest the new set up is really boring compared to my previous system. Yes the low end is certainly improved but the life has left the vocals, horn, keys etc. The depth and fullness is totally gone. 

My question is what can I do at this point? Are these actives just not for me? Should I try to find another anedio and put that into the kefs? 

cooper60hz
11 responses Add your response
ianrmack
227 posts
 
Where’s your DAC?
How are you streaming to the KEFs?

Are the speakers broken in yet?

Lastly, WTF did you do it?
nekoaudio's avatar
nekoaudio
489 posts
 
I'm going to stretch a bit, but based on my experience, I believe you are missing the Anedio and NuForce combination.

You could try finding another Anedio (or try buying it back) and using that with the LS50's analog inputs, but you'd still be using the LS50's class-D and class A/B internal amplifiers instead of the NuForce.

It might be best to categorize this as a learning experience and sunk costs. Otherwise trying to change the sound back to something close to what you like will involve experimentation which could get costly.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
+1 @nekoaudio 

It might be best to categorize this as a learning experience and sunk costs.

The LS50s are not for you.
cooper60hz OP
2 posts
 
I did it for some unknown impulsive reason. 
I am unsure of how many hours the previous owner had on the ls50s. I have maybe 75 hours or so now. The previous owner already flipped the anedio so it’s in the wind and I don’t see anything available online at the moment. I am using tidal app on the Mac and the usb input on the kefs. 
I think I will post these for sale soon.

Any advice on a direction for my dac/streaming setup in my next system? I loved the anedio and have heard a few others that fell way short of it in my opinion. Is there a dac with a similar depth of sound or should I wait for one to pop up? 
Thanks so much for the responses 
erik_squires
16,049 posts
 
I honestly have a difficult time imagining how you ended up here.


You say you had listening sessions which "brought tears to my eyes."


That's a lot to abandon, and switch to a random set of speakers.
ianrmack
227 posts
 
That blows.

Def dump the active KEFs.

What about passive LS50s with an amp that matches well and a cost-effective DAC?

Then you will know if that deeper sound is there.
helomech
1,673 posts
 
Perfect example of why one need be weary of product hype.

I hadn't heard of Symdex speakers. After some quick research, I'm not surprised by your disappointment in the KEFs. I like the passive LS50s (haven't heard the Wireless) but they have their limitations. A 5" midwoofer in a .5 cu ft cabinet can only do so much.


bstatmeister
537 posts
 
I really wanted to love the KEFs, as well. Extremely great fit and finish. Just a totally fun and cool speaker. They just didn't do it for me so I moved on.
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
Not many people, including me, will have heard a Symdex, but judging from the age and design I'm guessing it gave you a warmer and more forgiving presentation.  If I were you, I'd go on my local Craig's List and search Spendor - Celestion - Wharfedale - Harbeth - etc., and see what you can find in good condition.  You just might be really pleasantly surprised.
audiojedi
225 posts
 
I don't have experience with the actives but the passives definitely sound hard until they have a pile of hours on them.

I would run them as close to 24/7 that you can for a month before you write them off.
nekoaudio's avatar
nekoaudio
489 posts
 
@cooper60hz you didn't mention including the NuForce STA200 or the Symdex Gama speakers in your trade. Do you still have those? In which case you might want to look at an ESS-based DAC like the Anedio D2 to try and return to your previous sound?
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