Don't sweat it. Old tube radios lasted years running all day. The Croft line stage/driver tube will last for 3 years at 8 hours a day. If you don’t need the phono function, remove the 2 tubes on left. Change the stock JJ for a Telefunken for upgraded sound. More air, detail, less grain.
KEF LS50 Wireless II vs. Harbeth P3esr
I have an approx. 200 sq feet rectangle office space. Currently running Harbeth P3esr with Croft Acoustics phono integrated hybrid amplifier (ECC 83 tubes and MOSFET) with Node 2i streamer passing through Metro Acoustics Onyx NOS dac. Running Dueland 12GA oiled speaker wire. The sound is musical, detailed, airy and comfortable to listen to. Vocals are outstanding, instrument separation is just right - listening to music is a dream for hours long. Lifetime subscription of Roon with Tidal and Qobuz active services. One would ask - so why the itch to change anything.
I find myself not listening to music as much as I'd like to due to the 'convenience' factor. I would like the Croft tube integrated to be on all the time, available for music play back on demand, between meetings or every evening - but I know that's not recommended due to the high heat generation and adversely impacting the tube lifespan. The amp does not have an idle and a wake up state. I have to 'plan' my listening sessions by warm up time and being careful not to shut down in between breaks and my next listening or timing it by shutting it down when long enough.
Enter the 'convenient' KEF LS50 Wireless II speakers. Rave online audiophile reviews. Got a pair from my dealer for 45 days. Ran the speaker for 120 hours break in period and configured the DSP along with Roon MUSE setting for optimal room configuration. The KEF LS50Wii are very convenient all in one system. When not in use for 20 mins they go in standby mode to be woken by the next stream of music playback. They are Roon certified, and can play every sort of file format and stream including chromecast. But they just dont sound as good as my Croft and Harbeth set up.
Close, but not the same. I think the KEF's can benefit from a better internal DAC. The sound lacks details, music separation, and sweetness compared to the Harbeth's. It sounds compressed. I have done a lot of A/B by having both on equal height speaker stands and connected to Roon - its a night and day difference. I am trying really hard to have the KEF play at par with the Harbeth set up so I can simplify my audio system and also be able to play music on demand with the KEF being on all the time in stand by mode. If I had not listened to my Croft and Harbeth set up first I would have bought the KEF in a heartbeat. But I feel I will be sacrificing quality listening session over quantity.
Not sure if I am missing some configuration that would wake up these speakers or should be looking at alternatives like the Buchardt a500 that would sound better then my current set up. I like the convenience of active speakers but....
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You have a very basic 'horses for courses' issue. It has nothing to do with DACs or power cables. Your current system, Harbeths and tubes, is very euphonically voiced and enjoyable. The KEF LS-50 is very specifically voiced as a near field in-studio monitor. Those are two very different things. Acoustically, the near field in a 200 ft2 room will be less than 3-4 feet from the speaker. Outside of that distance, they will sound much as you describe. This I have confirmed in my own experience. LS-50s in my roughly 200 ft2 living room from 10 feet away simply sounded small and lost. In my much smaller office, where they are more appropriate, they are spectacular. And demanding and critical, yes. The KEF R3, by comparison is much less demanding and easier to live with, as is intended. You may want to consider another powered speaker like a Genelec G Series 4 or 5 whose voicing tends to be more forgiving. (Not the 8000 series, which is their in-studio line). FWIW, I ended up with Monitor Audio S300 7G. Compared to its big brother, the S500, it is intended to be placed closer to the rear wall, a requirement in my room. I do wish manufacturers were a little more forthcoming about this kind of thing, but the feeling I get is the designers and engineers get overruled by the marketing department in the interest of sales volume. |
@noromance Thanks for that tip. I am not using the phono function. So are you saying I can take those tubes out and the integrated amp will still work? And I cam save those tubes when my line stage tube goes out?
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Spend more time tweaking the LS50 wireless II. First, hard wired them so they can accept the Roon upsampling and Muse EQ setting that I configured for KEF endpoint. Huge difference. Must say the sound came really close to Harbeth/Croft combo. Hard wiring and Roon EQ setting is a game changer though heavy on PC Processing. BUT - as soon as I changed source to TIDAL Connect or Spotify Connect the 'house' sound of KEF kicked in which again is more compressed and muddled compared to the Harbeth/Croft combo. I will be returning the KEF LS50 wirelessII back to my dealer and keeping my beloved Croft/Harbeth system. I will be borrowing a pair of Buchardt a500 from a friend next week, as he swears on its performance. Will chime in with my thoughts - but for now will enjoy my Harbeths. |
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