Kef LS50 vs. Emerald Physics CS3 mk2


I'd be shocked if more than a few people have heard these heads up, but that's what I'm narrowed down to on paper. Any thoughts/opinions? The Kef's I plan to go audition, the EP's prove a touch more challenging to hear... I lean towards a warm rich tone w/ fast dynamics. Music tastes tend towards jazz/blues/classic rock.

Supporting gear:
Dual Rythmic Subs
CJ ET3
W4S monoblocks
PS Audio NuWave DAC

Current Speakers PSB Stratus Mini's

Many Thx!
mcslipp

Showing 2 responses by regismc

Kefs LS-50 r great little speakers. Transparent & cohesive. Pure. Refined.
Addictive. Somebody mentioned them as 'truth tellers'. I'd sign on for that.
Musical little devils. Everything in audio should be so well sorted out & affordable. I have them in a large room, 25x30x16, & with a Modwright
Transporter, a Velvet Touch Pre, & a Yamaha AS-2000, AudioMagic Clairvoyant Liquid pwr/spkr/interconnects. I've been tweaking on power conditioner filter caps & Oyaide R0s feeding the whole rig & Mac mini music server, & the Kefs just keep getting better. A fun speaker to listen to
4 hrs.....;-). Never tried subs. I liked the EP stuff I've heard so I bet both could lead to a satisfying system. Tough choice.
Rockadanny, a bit of everything. What the Kef's do well, they do very well.
Subs would b interesting, but I kinda prefer the 'gestalt' of the overall system currently. As noted, I've been fiddling w/filter caps & outlets in a couple power conditioners & the system is grain free, musical, and just a
pleasure to spend an evening in front of. Vocals are really superb. (New York Voices Live, the latest release). & something like Toad The Wet Sprockets latest release is a bunch of fun to listen to. (I really like Rare Bird & especially The Eye). Kurt Vile's new double cd is great (very cool) & the Larry Carton/Robben Ford Unplugged is a sweet listen. Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra's 'Dune', reveals all the great details & rhythmic nuance of a world class artist and Acoustic Alchemys 'Roseland' is somehow, even better. Top 5 stuff.

Yesterday I played a Buck Owens X-mas cd released by Sundazed & was
surprised how well it was recorded & sounded. I shouldn't be, if one just listens & doesn't look, they sound like a larger floor stander, but more cohesive, less boxy. Fed well, they go just low enough, in just the right way,
that one gets lost in what they r doing & forgets (@ least for a while) what
they don't.

Someone on another thread was kind enough to post this link. I found the comment on bi-wiring interesting. Comments? Time to run some solid silver spkr wire in parallel to the liquids?

http://www.kefamerica.com/july12/LS50%20White%20Paper.pdf

"Initial prototypes were bi-wired but during the voicing it was found that the system actually sounded better with bi-wire loudspeaker cable connected together both at the amplifier and the loudspeaker. Consequently, the final product incorporates a single pair of binding posts."