They need quite a bit of time to break in. The mellow out a bit, which is needed. The passives had zero bass and really no slam in my modest set-up but they imaged like crazy and some female vocals would send shivers up my spine. I could see how people could be underwhelmed with the Passives, especially on low to mid hifi front ends. I got rid of them because the LS50W’s had so much more bass and I thought I’d like the app. I didn’t. The app is awful and I always wondered if the electronics would go out and then what would you do?
That being said, New Ls50W’s with an extended warranty (5years on electronics?), a bluesound node 2i in order to bypass Kefs crappy app, and 2 10” or 12” subs sounds absolutely outstanding. Both a friend and my brother are running LS50W’s on isoacoustics on top of solid, sand filled metal stands, in conjunction with 2 Rel T9i subs and everyone who hears their systems are floored.
Set-up, break in, placement are all key in any system. I ran my LS50’s straight for 200-300 hours before they relaxed. In my room they sounded best far apart and with very little toe in.
I had Dynaudio Xeo 6’s after and preferred them even though they were limited to 16/44 and didn’t have the detail of the LS50W’s.
That being said, New Ls50W’s with an extended warranty (5years on electronics?), a bluesound node 2i in order to bypass Kefs crappy app, and 2 10” or 12” subs sounds absolutely outstanding. Both a friend and my brother are running LS50W’s on isoacoustics on top of solid, sand filled metal stands, in conjunction with 2 Rel T9i subs and everyone who hears their systems are floored.
Set-up, break in, placement are all key in any system. I ran my LS50’s straight for 200-300 hours before they relaxed. In my room they sounded best far apart and with very little toe in.
I had Dynaudio Xeo 6’s after and preferred them even though they were limited to 16/44 and didn’t have the detail of the LS50W’s.