Audience THE ONE on Desktop Need amp

Well I have made a change to my desktop system and I thought I would follow up.

I decided to go with the KEF LS50 for my desktop to replace my AudioEngine A2's. I was worried that the speakers were too big from my space. A friend of mine was nice enough to come over with his LS50's and demo them for me on my desktop, 57" x 29" (situated in an alcove). They sounded so good that I ended buy going online and buying a pair from A'Gon.

I also bought a Parasound Halo A23 amp from eBay for $540. I already have a Emotiva XDR-1 DAC with digital volume control, $150 on closeout.

The reviews I read online indicated that KEF demos these speakers with the Parasound Halo A23.

So this system is not too expensive for the office where I spend most of my life. In the future when I move to another home I may take these speakers off the desk and put them on stands on front of the desk and a little further apart of the desk. Currently, I am using the KEF recommended foam plugs in the back of the speakers since I am in a tight space.

One additional point for anyone else thinking of going this way. The LS50 are so reveling that I find it hard to listen to 320-bit internet streaming (www.mog.com). With my old A2's mog sounded just fine. My FLAC's sound amazing on the LS50.

The ONE is a true ONE way, point source speaker without a crossover. There is no crossover like NO crossover. The ONE driver is DIRECT coupled to your power amp. Nothing get's more revealing. "This isn't just another small loudspeaker, it's the start of a revolution!" Alan Sircom, Editor, HiFi+ - Oct '13

Whoah, no offence, but I heard uber-expensive Parasound amps driving KEF flagships in Newport last year and thought it was absolutely unlistenable! Shrieky, bright, fatiguing, horrible! Like a match made in Hell.

If I was doing a desktop system (and putting the speakers on the desk!), I'd just get some active studio monitors like from Focal or Adam.

Weird I have a pair of Sound Field Audio M1 outfitted with the uniq driver from kef and do not find them to be harsh at all. In a nearfield set up they are incredible.