Interesting situation! Do we need this....

The question I have is: Did you then listen to the KEF’s and did they sound a lot better?
 

that is tonight’s assignment….

Let us not forget....This was not about "What Speakers Sounded Better"......This was about thoroughly enjoying 6 hours of intense listening to a new amplifier through what I thought was $1600 speakers....Speakers that I have been listening to for over a year and they always amaze me. I didn't question the sound....I thought the amplifier sounded fantastic "through the KEF LS50 Metas"......Man, was I shocked when I realized that I was auditioning a new amplifier through $120 speakers! So now the question.....Sell the KEFs??????

Factory, Fluance speakers

So along comes a little speaker, made in Asia, cheap labour, nothing innovative but using well proven  2 driver concepts, mass produced, with simple distribution and less dealer mark ups and we are surprised that it sounds good.

On the back of the Fluance speakers it state..."Designed and Engineered in Canada".....No where does it say Made In China.....

switching back and forth will tell if Fluonce competes, beats or loses to KEF.

I'll repeat....It is NOT about what was better.....It was all about the satisfying experience listening to a set of speakers that certainly are NOT as good as the KEFs, but none the less, for six hours I was very well pleased.....I reiterated this above so we don't get side tracked....

The better question is what was the result after you connected the kefs again?

Easy...The KEF LS50 Metas are a better speaker...no question. But the "question" was never, "What sounds better...."....

It will be interesting to see what his experience is with the intended combination, but he never said that the “lower expectation” speaker was better.

I did connect the KEF LS50 Metas to the Akitika Z4 amplifier, and gave a it a good listen. It is quite obvious that the Fluance speakers are simply no match for the KEFs......The KEF create a sound stage like no other speaker I've auditioned in my living room....on some recordings you'd swear there were two more speakers on the sides of you....It's actually spooky. The Fluance speakers have a rise in the 70hz and down range which gives the impression of deeper bass, but in reality it is just more bass. In my room it is rather plesant. The KEF's are an amazing speaker.....In 50 years of selling, installing, designing systems, only a couple other speakers ever impressed me like the LS50 Metas. (Any Magnepans, Dahlquest DQ10s, B&O Red Line series, and in the right room, Klipsch Forte)......But I'm here to tell ya, for $120 a pair, the Fluance speakers are remarkable....or maybe it is just my room and my ears that they have "synergy"...

wasn't a fan of the yellow drivers just based on looks. 

No YELLOW drivers..... Basic Black....I see the price has gone up $30!

Peter3..."but I think that the OP is really looking for validation that cheap speakers can sound good to him."

Once again, you simply don't get the jist of the post. It has nothing to do whether the speakers sound good or bad or ARE good or bad.....It is all about the fact that I enjoyed 6 hours of listening to very inexpensive speakers.......They fulfilled my need that night for an evening of music enjoyment. The point is, how "good" do speakers need to be to enjoy them.....

 I think your experience is partly a result of expectation bias because you expected that the new amplifier would be an improvement with the more expensive speakers.

After 50 years in the HiFi business, and auditioning hundreds of amplifiers and speakers, I'm WAY beyond improved expectation bias. In fact, most times just the opposite..."Here we go again with yet another Worlds Greatest amplifier/speaker/preamplifier..." Mostly underwhelmed or simply what I expected.