LS50 Wireless fail, or is old gear that good?


After ready so much positive info on the LS50W, I gave them a try but was massively disappointed compared to my (much) older gear.
I set up the LS50's via Ethernet and WiFi playing HiRes files from NAS and Tidal via Roon, then compared the same tracks via WiFi to Roon on an iPhone>Dragonfly Red>ARC SP9 (1987)>Threshold amp (1980's)>Martin Logan Aerius i (1999). Wasn't even close.
Especially on female vocals, the sense of realism, timbre, air, etc was notably superior on the old system. I played around with the KEF DSP, room placement and even switched rooms.I really wanted the KEF's to work, but no luck.

So, am I missing something with the LS50W, or is the old stuff just that good?

128x128tcbrinkley

Showing 1 response by jeffersondavis

2-way concentrics have technical issues with doppler effect, but I’m not sure comparing it to an electrostatic panel with absolute insanely bad frequency response, decay, and dispersion measurements is a good basis for that judgment. It sounds like more like a expectation bias after being used to the sound signature of a speaker you’ve owned for a long time. After all, the directivity profile of an electrostatic panel is the polar opposite of a 2-way concentric, you literally can't have a bigger soundstage than a 2-way concentric and couldn't possibly have a smaller one than with a large electric static panel.