Question The active way - Kef LS50 Wireless

robnet77

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Hello,
I am somewhat tempted to go active and buy the Kef LS50 wireless speakers.

Pros: they got great reviews; they would look nice (in white colour) in my living room; I could get rid of my amp (and passive speakers).

Cons: list price (2.000£) is a bit out of my league; I don't think I can demo them (but I could return them, I guess).

Does anyone know where to get them at a discounted price in UK/ROI?
I read that somebody got them for 1.700£ at the last Bristol show.

The alternative, AVI DM10, appears to have gone up from 1.500£ to 2.000£ and is probably not as good, also it does not come in white.

Thanks.
 
Have you tried them? Also to see if standard ls50's with an amp of choice sound as good?
 
It seems a shop in Dublin actually sells them, so I could actually try them (haven't yet, see first post), but I'm not interested at the retail price anyway and would look elsewhere if I cannot get them for less.

The passive version + amp is not ideal for me, also it seems the active version is the real deal and provides the bass which the passive speaker was lacking. Thanks.
 
The active version is certainly the way to go. I'm using actives myself - never using passives ever again.

They seem like a great all in one solution without separate boxes etc.

I dont know where you could get them cheaper. You could also look at the Genelec 8040 BWM white, or the Dynaudio LYD but they dont offer any of the integrated features that you get with the ls50 wireless.

thanks for providing alternatives...
The Genelec looks ugly though :laugh: and I am really focused on sound quality, which seems really good with the wireless KEFs.

Dynaudio could be a cheaper alternative in case I need to lower my budget (or I could buy used AVI ADM9.1, or ADM9 + subwoofer but prices might be too high).
 
The active version is certainly the way to go. I'm using actives myself - never using passives ever again.

They seem like a great all in one solution without separate boxes etc.

I dont know where you could get them cheaper. You could also look at the Genelec 8040 BWM white, or the Dynaudio LYD but they dont offer any of the integrated features that you get with the ls50 wireless.

Not necessarily if you prefer choosing the sound of the amp for the speaker
 
As you might be interested in alternative, the new AE1 actives might suit. If you paired them with something like a Cambridge audio CXN you'd have active and a sleuth of wireless options
 
The actives don't have room correction, my amp does.
 
it seems the active version is the real deal and provides the bass which the passive speaker was lacking. Thanks.

What?
Having heard standard LS50s before buying some R500 I can assure you the LS50s are not lacking in bass. You either haven't heard any or are falling for advertising hyperbole. Any speaker is as good as the way its set up!
 
The manufacturer does that and optimises the amps for each driver of which will have their own own independent amp after the electronic x-over. Of course you cannot upgrade them, but if you like simplicity then they are the way to go.

I read of someone with BW Nautilus 801 and PMC fact 8 and got the Genelec 8351 and says those genelecs are some of the best speakers they have ever owned.
they are also some of the most dog ugly things I've ever seen.
 
What?
Having heard standard LS50s before buying some R500 I can assure you the LS50s are not lacking in bass. You either haven't heard any or are falling for advertising hyperbole. Any speaker is as good as the way its set up!

I haven't listened to them yet, but that's what I read on more than one online review, of course the choice of amp etc. may have a positive impact.
Anyway the active version seems to improve a lot on the bass area.
 
The actives don't have room correction, my amp does.

Well, your AV receiver costs 1.550£ alone, and while room correction is a feature I would like to try, the whole system would end up costing much more than I can spend.

Also, I am not sure that spending 4-5K on separates would give me a better sound than with active KEFs anyway.
 
the £2k you're spending on Kef LS50 wireless can buy an awful lot of kit and dependent on your source £1k on an amp and £1k on speakers will equal if not better the Kefs even more so if you buy used kit!
 
the £2k you're spending on Kef LS50 wireless can buy an awful lot of kit and dependent on your source £1k on an amp and £1k on speakers will equal if not better the Kefs even more so if you buy used kit!

Maybe, but that's not what reviews (and users who bought them) say.
I will need to listen to them, but for now I'd like to see if I can get them cheaper than at retail price, otherwise it's a moot point for me.

There are intrinsic limitations with passive speakers that require getting very expensive ones to equal the performances of good active speakers (like the KEFs).
Also, a good DAC is not included in most regular stereo amps at 1K.

Buying second hand could be an alternative, sure, but I don't have much room for separates.
 
Listened both to the KEFs and Dynaudio active speakers and it's a very close call. The later gets my vote due to looks and price.
 
Well, your AV receiver costs 1.550£ alone, and while room correction is a feature I would like to try, the whole system would end up costing much more than I can spend.

Also, I am not sure that spending 4-5K on separates would give me a better sound than with active KEFs anyway.
I don't disagree.

With seperates you could upgrade part of your system at a time, which is an advantage or disadvantage, depending on your view point. Depends if you like the thrill of the chase!

I was amazed just how much of an improvement room correction made in my room. But in other rooms I believe it can make hardly any.

If you're interested in AV then having three identical speakers at the front is the way to go. This isn't possible with active.

You're hardly going to go wrong with either.
 
Maybe, but that's not what reviews (and users who bought them) say.
I will need to listen to them, but for now I'd like to see if I can get them cheaper than at retail price, otherwise it's a moot point for me.

There are intrinsic limitations with passive speakers that require getting very expensive ones to equal the performances of good active speakers (like the KEFs).
Also, a good DAC is not included in most regular stereo amps at 1K.

Buying second hand could be an alternative, sure, but I don't have much room for separates.


I'm not sure about getting expensive passives to equal the performance of cheaper actives, as that presumes the actives electronics are as good and I doubt that. It's often hyped up by some people on this forum, that actives are some kind of golden ticket where you get active £1500 to £2000 speakers for the same performance of maybe £5000 speaker and electronics combos. It's just not real world, nor credible. You have to conisder the overall quality of components that go into the two systems of passive (with electronics) v active (and its electronics). One guy (kc.....) was comparing £2500 ish actives with £12k pmc fact 12's, without even including the electronics. Quite ridiculous really and totally different speakers, in different classes in any event.

One thing to remember with a comparison of kef ls50's and the £2k wireless active versions is that the latter are an upgraded design in the driver components. So it's maybe not a fair comparison with the two speakers, but I'd geuss the ls50 and ls50 wireless will be close, and if not close, just different in sound. If I'm honest I'd rather have fun tuning the amp for the speaker and buying appropriately but that's just me.

But if you do listen to both the actives and passive version (with say a £1k amp) it would really be interesting to have your feedback on relative performance of the two.
 
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But I could say the reverse of what you've said in support of passives, as is common sense, but that would be going off the thread. So many things go into the design of speakers, active or passive, to make them good or not at relative price points.

Not even pmc would advocate what you are saying at incomparable price points.

But I don't think an amp with the ls50's would necessarily be as good or better as marksovereign says, but equally the other way around. Have to listen to both first.
 
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Listened both to the KEFs and Dynaudio active speakers and it's a very close call. The later gets my vote due to looks and price.

What's the exact model of Dynaudio you tried, please? The Xeo 2 I guess?
Any major differences between them and the KEFs?
 
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the £2k you're spending on Kef LS50 wireless can buy an awful lot of kit and dependent on your source £1k on an amp and £1k on speakers will equal if not better the Kefs even more so if you buy used kit!

Not really. To get the best from the LS50s you could easily spend £1200 on a amp.

It just seams a lot for speakers, but in the context of a system it not too bad.
 
Has anyone listened to the Kef wireless and Adam A7x in comparison, obviously with the Adams using a good preamp?
 
In my view the tweeter in the LS50 cannot compete against the art / ribbon tweeters used in the adams and others. The adams also have a much larger woofer cone so it wont have such long excursions when handling low frequencies hence reduced distortion there. It also has a more advanced composite cone material.
However they don't look as good as the kefs and don't have the integrated features.

But I don't think you've heard the ls50 so you can't make judgements like this on tweeters etc.

A composite cone material is often used in a speaker to be stiffer to stop the cone folding under high pressures eg from the cabinet pressures. It doesn't necessarily mean by being 'advanced' material, it's any better sounding or not. Doped paper cones can sound equally as good. Dope is the stuff they use on aeroplanes sticking fabric coverings onto a wooden wing structure. You can use it for model aeroplane making too.

I'm not sure what the kef ls50 wireless uses for its cones.
 
I was reading a review in hi fi world of a pair of Swiss piega 3.0 speakers with ribbon tweeters @ £900. They look nice and were reviewed well.

Competing in a similar price bracket to the kef ls50 passives, and being a ribbon tweeter design, well worth the OP potentially checking them out if going down passive route. Not a huge presence in uk means often you can get better quality at the price.
 
What's the exact model of Dynaudio you tried, please? The Xeo 2 I guess?
Any major differences between them and the KEFs?
The Xeo 4 and see the attached. Best bet if you compare the specs yourself so that you can prioritise your personal needs.
Dynaudio Xeo 4 review
 

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