Dynaudio Xeo 20 vs KEF LS50 Wireless

@mapman LS50W require the shielded interconnect still but it affords them 24/192 connectivity where as the Dynaudio are limited to 24/96 via their proprietary wireless connectivity. The new Kef LSX are similar to the Dynaudio in that they connect wirelessly Master (control speaker) to Slave but at 24/48 instead.

Great thing about Ethernet connectivity of the LS50W is that a shielded Ethernet cable is affordable and come in a multitude of lengths to use.

I’ve owned both of the Kef’s I mentioned and the similar Dynaudio Xeo2. All 3 great speakers. For a desktop setup the LSX were my favorite. For stand mounts the LS50W. The Dynaudio are great also but more along the lines of background listening appliances to me versus critical listening. As a side note I used the LSX connected via Ethernet so they were 24/96 in my office.

***a few other things to consider, the inputs on the Dynaudio are more limited for a desktop setup where you’re likely to have usb connectivity versus toslink or rca outputs on your computer these days. The Dynaudio are a more laidback sound so if that’s preferable to a forward revealing sound then they are worth a listen for sure. I settled on the Elac Navis ARB51 for my home office (stand mounted) listening setup btw. They are in between the LS50W and the Dynaudio to my ears as far as dynamics and detail. Very happy with them.

Xeo 20 sound is decent, but two caveats.

1. The top end is way too muffled. Positive reviewers will call this "soft" or "warm", etc. No, it’s not that. it’s just missing. For people accustomed to better speakers or better headphones, one has to truly crank up to hear the little details.

2. Secondly, the HUGE drawback: every time a digitally connected Xeo (e.g., via Mac Mini) is switched on, it starts with a VERY low volume and you need the remote to bring it back to the volume of the last time you were playing this at. This is apparently a "feature". Colossally stupid and no firmware yet fixes it.

LS50W2 is a decent choice. Dynaudio needs to get Xeo 20 right.

Just to update my message for anyone interested. 

Having extensively used LS50, and Xeo 20, and Focus 10 (latest Dynaudio wireless speaker), I'd say with the MCRU Linear Power Supply the Focus 10 is in a whole different league.