Ls50 wireless II vs separates with passive speakers

@mcslipp that’s the big selling point to me, there ease of use and bang fir the buck. I plan on mounting them high. You can fully control them with an app right?

@varchard yes, you can control through the app. I did the initial setup and fiddling with the app, set the volume (almost max) on the master speaker and then control the volume from whatever device I’m using. Works great.

I also own some of the LS50W (not the IIs). Super happy with them. They sounds excellent and have quite a bit more bass then the passive versions due to the design. Pretty flexible in placement given you can tailor the DSP settings in the app. You can use the app to wirelessly stream music but as they are DLNA devices I use JRiver. Other software likely can discover them as well and think the IIs do this a bit better. Super flexible with digital input and subwoofer outputs. For my 2 cents the finest active speaker in that price range. I know the IIs step things up and likely have a pair of those in my future. FWIW the older  LS50Ws  can be found right around $900-1200.

LS50 Meta with SHD Power ($1499) is a good choice IMO.

SHD Power has amp, network streaming + Dirac Live.

Also if you decide to active later it has digital AES outputs so you can run Dirac Live with your active speakers.

LS50 Meta + Dirac Live should be better than the LS50 Wireless II since not only will it have superior DSP correction but also target curve can be personally tailored.

@alcoholbob - I was looking at adding the NAD C638 as a streamer/dac/preamp which also has Dirac Live and for $99 the full Dirac system. I think Dirac in a large kitchen is a must.