Active Kef LS50

[Kal Rubinson]

That sounds like a really interesting device - especially as they anticipated people mating it with sub(s) and included digital crossovers and DSP. I bet a pair of those with some good sub(s ) would give some very high end speakers a run for their money for a fraction of the cost.

Agreed. I also noticed that the control app had options for mono, stereo and multichannel! Anyway, they sounded very nice under far from idea conditions when I heard them in Dallas.

[Kal Rubinson]

Seriously considering a pair of these. I loved the simplicity I had with my Quad 12L actives and Dynaudio BM5AmkII and these gave gobs more connectivity and tech built in.

 

The McIntosh/B&W Nautilus setup was always a goal if mine and it's enjoyable but there's something I miss about the LS50s.

@Kal Rubinson did you get a chance to bounce around the sub integration settings on the app? I ran dual subs with the passive LS50s but with only one Sub Out and a highish crossover point I'm wondering if there's any benefit to two mono subs (vs stereo subs like I have now).

I have no idea what you are referring to.

[Kal Rubinson]

Sorry Kal, let me clarify. I noticed you mentioned seeing some different settings such as multi-channel in the app that KEF will provide to take advantage of the Wireless LS50 technology. I was wondering if you had a chance to see, within the app, what sort of bass management will be made available.

I do not recall anything specific but they said that this part of the app was under development at the time. That was back in September at CEDIA and prior to the public announcement of the product.

 

The Active KEF's are for stereo only, not HT according to KEF.

At the moment. The prototype app did include reference to multichannel applications and I was assured that, eventually, it would be implemented

[Kal Rubinson]

Having the analogue inputs digitize the signal means you cannot use an external dac with these speakers . The lack of functionality is a deal breaker for me . I would want to use external dacs for flexibility . I think this was a bad decision by kef .

I think it wise and necessary. The essential DSP requires a digital signal.