KEF Ls50 wireless vs passive


Hello,

Was wondering if anyone has had a direct comparison with the passive ls50 speakers and the active ones.  I only ask because a dealer near me only has the passive ones and the amp they have it paired with (Sony TA-A1ES) is $2k alone.  ( I did love the combo but if I could save the cash and go with the actives I would). From what I have read people seem to really speak highly of the performance of the actives.  I am curious as to how the actives might sound in comparison to the demo at my dealer with the Sony.  Also, I noticed the actives only come with a one year manufacturer warranty which kind of scares me since all that hardware is packed into such a small enclosure I feel that the risk of failure would be rather high. But if anyone has any feedback I would love to hear your thoughts.  Thanks!


mgrec42

Showing 1 response by audiotroy

We sell both, here is the way you should look at it:

1: Active vs Passive sound quality, the Actives actually do sound better, more open, impressive clarity.

2: Future up-gradability,  Passive setup totally open as you can switch up to different electronics, and even replace the LS 50 with the much better R 500 floor standers, active, no up-grade path.

3: App, the KEF app really is primitive they finally got Tidal, vs an NAD D368 with blue sound streaming module at $1200 with a stunning app and part of an entire echo system.

So there you have it price favors the active, flexibility favors the passive, the NAD combo $1200 amp +$1500 speakers  plus cables would be $3,000.00 vs the actives at $2200. 

If this is going to be a secondary system get the passives if you are building a main system go with the passive option.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ