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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
kiritz1
6 posts
 
I love the speakers but have a few questions:  (1) trying to update firmware, the app has a link for new firmware but when I go there "file not found."  How do I find the new firmware????

(2) Right now I am not able to go wireless as the app says the speakers are not connected.  Maybe something to do with my wireless router?  Everything else on my wireless network runs fine.  I think I 'll just go to USB when I get the proper connecting cord.
kiritz1
6 posts
 
I was able to download the update via my imac AFTER I connected wirelessly through Spotify using the back door route.  So I can stream if I want, but I still find the USB connection and using Audinirvana the best way to listen.  Audinirvana allows me to listen to MQA albums on TIdal.  I prefer these to all other sources so far.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,303 posts
 
I run ls50s off BEl Canto ref1000m amps (500w/ch). Top notch for their size and within their associated limitations! When the music starts it sounds very real, not like a hifi! They need a well integrated sub or two in addition to an amp up to the task to do it all though, even in a small room. Larger rooms can be very tough...they are not very big.
kiritz1
6 posts
 
My understanding is that MQA from Tidal site will just achieve the "first unfold."  In order to get the full MQA experience you need hardware to do it.  This could be achieved by using an MQA DAC out of the USB port on my computer and then this signal would go through the internal DACs on the KEF.  Would this work?  Or would there be something weird with one DAC feeding another?
so-al
19 posts
 
Awful wireless (WiFi) speaker!!
Kef stream app never works.
I use it a 2.1 home theater system, it works well as that.
kef should be ashamed of itself for putting out such a product.
Ive had it for 3 yrs now and my wife gave it it to me as an Xmas present.
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