Pre-Meta KEF Reference 1 or LS50 Meta

I think I'll try the LS50 Metas in place of the Reference 1s.  They will be driven by an Ayre VX-5 Twenty amp, augmented by pair of Velodyne HGS-15s with acoustic room room correction, and high-passed at 80 Hz by a passive balanced Marchand filter.  IIRC, KEF recommends a 45 Hz crossover to subs and a 75 Hz high-pass.  It's easy to set LF with the SMS-1 bass manager, but high-pass is fixed at 80 Hz. 

Whatever the Meta material is, it's not magical. The Ref 1 is in an entirely different league. With or without meta material. 

The KEF KC62 with the LS50 Meta plays deeper than the Reference 1. Not sure about sonics being in a different league. I have heard both and own the LS50 Meta and sub. My gear at home is likely better (for my ears) than the gear I heard with the Reference 1.

My assumption is that the Meta material is doing the same thing as the tube in the Yamaha NS5000 and the tubes in Vivid speakers.

Yes, monitor speakers with a sub will play deeper than monitor speakers without a sub. Does adding a sub make lesser speakers sound better? Debatable. 

Lethargy is likely to win out and the Reference 1s will stay in place until I replace everything except the Ayre disc player and subs with LS60.