Hi
Writing a note on the KEF LS50 Meta speakers since there are not many threads or discussions pertaining to these.
The discovery:
I did not need new speakers. I was happy with my Wharfedale 220 speakers and the Micca Rb 42 speakers. But after living with the Wharfedales for 6 years I was getting bored and craving for a change. I started evaluating different speakers to see if I could buy anything more fascinating but……. cheap. My wife then advised me that instead of buying something sub-standard/ compromised and then “crying” about it for the next 5 years- why not buy something that I fancy ? Sound advice........
So I started looking for speakers which were “quirky”- such as KEF with their Uniq tech or Klipsch with their horn tech or Magnat Tranpuls which use horns and are very very large, etc.
Audition:
On my visit to Pune I heard the KEF LS 50 Meta speakers at AVExcellence along with my wife. The vocals were extraordinay but the bass was found to be severely lacking at that time. AVXcellence had connected a very expensive Roksan streaming amp to the speakers. We had dismissed the speaker back then as being just “hype”. But as the days went by the sound stayed with me.
Next I heard the active version of these speakers at the Profx stall at What Hifi at St Regis. Sound was similar to the passive version but this time it seemed more well- rounded. The imaging was fantastic and there was a certain presence to the instruments which seemed to float between the speakers. Again I dismissed these by saying- “not worth the price”.
Remembrance:
Last week we were attending the Sound of Music show at Neeta Ambani Cultural Center at BKC and the sound was so clear and pristine that I mentioned to my better- half that the dialogues were as clear as the sound we had heard from the LS 50 Meta. Somehow the sound had clung to me all along.
I then started wondering whether to buy or not to buy the passive version.
What about the amp ?
The other concern was that my current amp the Rotel RA10 would not be able to keep up with the speakers. That would then add to the cost. I luckily came across an article from John Darko which said that the Rotel RA 10 clubbed with the LS 50 (earlier version) was like a “happy accident” for him. He described the pairing as
“A glorious discovery of an improbable partnership between loudspeaker and amplifier where the results kick the door down on expectations, taking a large chunk of the competition with it” AND
“Readers with a better understanding of audio engineering than I are invited to explain possibly why the Rotel RA-10 defies price point expectations.” AND
“I played the amplifier lottery with the KEF LS50 this week and netted a sensibly-priced jackpot in the Rotel RA-10. A gob-smackingly wonderful pairing.”
I also heard reviews of the LS50 Meta on Youtube where reviewers had also paired it to a Rega io (not Brio) amp or with 20w pc kind of amps and derived good results.
Pricing:
I had a quote from Avstore/ Avxcellence for INR 1.15 lakhs. I also reached out to Ooberpad to see if it was available and at what price. After some negotiations the price was bettered and order placed. Warranty offered was 2 years. Arjun from Ooberpad was super helpful (gently persuading me to pull the trigger).
Usually I look at the US/UK/EUR pricing when buying anything to see how much we (Indian consumers) are being fleeced. Surprisingly the LS50 Meta were priced at USD 1,600 in the US and around EUR 1,350 in Europe. The price in India then seemed “fair”. The actual consumer reviews on sites such as Crutchfiled were also very encouraging.
Delivery & packing:
After placing the order on Friday last week, I received the speakers last night (Wednesday). Arjun was patient enough to answer all my queries on logistics and invoicing. The packaging was superb with a manual on how to use foam plugs (2 sizes) to manage bass. I was wondering what the fuss was all about if it did not have bass in the first place
.
Connections:
I connected the Wiim Pro via SPIDIF to the new Schiit Modi+ DAC. This in-turn was connected to the Rotel. The LS50s were placed on speaker stands. Source was apple music via Airplay 2.
First impressions:
My daughter suggested we play “eye of the tiger” first from Rocky though I protested since I did not want the speakers to fall “flat” on the first song itself. However what I heard was more of a shock. Forget the vocals or upper frequencies, I was hearing enough low end which was much more than the Wharfedale 220s. Song after song was proving me wrong. Maybe I needed the foam plugs afterall. These speakers have enough and more than enough low end. This kills a popular misconception about the speakers being feeble on the low end. Perhaps the back wall (1.5 feet) was helping the bass in a way I had never imagined.
Needless to say vocals were superb- Mark Knopfler, Hariharan (Be Khayale) were excellent. Edelweiss (Sound of Music) completely blew me away. Pasoori, Dilbaro, Charlie Hunter etc were fantastic. It was as it I was hearing different renderings of the same songs. I wont say that I felt like “I was hearing these songs for the first time” cliché
The surprise was Mukesh’s voice in “Dam bhar jo udhar” from Awara – so many layers and nuances to a voice which was recorded so many decades ago !!
Anyways I can go on and on. Will listen to some more songs tonight and let you know if I observe anything extraordinary.
Hopefully this will help some of you who stay away from these speakers either because of the hype (ethereal) or negative publicity (too bright/ shrill/ no bass, etc).
Writing a note on the KEF LS50 Meta speakers since there are not many threads or discussions pertaining to these.
The discovery:
I did not need new speakers. I was happy with my Wharfedale 220 speakers and the Micca Rb 42 speakers. But after living with the Wharfedales for 6 years I was getting bored and craving for a change. I started evaluating different speakers to see if I could buy anything more fascinating but……. cheap. My wife then advised me that instead of buying something sub-standard/ compromised and then “crying” about it for the next 5 years- why not buy something that I fancy ? Sound advice........
So I started looking for speakers which were “quirky”- such as KEF with their Uniq tech or Klipsch with their horn tech or Magnat Tranpuls which use horns and are very very large, etc.Audition:
On my visit to Pune I heard the KEF LS 50 Meta speakers at AVExcellence along with my wife. The vocals were extraordinay but the bass was found to be severely lacking at that time. AVXcellence had connected a very expensive Roksan streaming amp to the speakers. We had dismissed the speaker back then as being just “hype”. But as the days went by the sound stayed with me.
Next I heard the active version of these speakers at the Profx stall at What Hifi at St Regis. Sound was similar to the passive version but this time it seemed more well- rounded. The imaging was fantastic and there was a certain presence to the instruments which seemed to float between the speakers. Again I dismissed these by saying- “not worth the price”.
Remembrance:
Last week we were attending the Sound of Music show at Neeta Ambani Cultural Center at BKC and the sound was so clear and pristine that I mentioned to my better- half that the dialogues were as clear as the sound we had heard from the LS 50 Meta. Somehow the sound had clung to me all along.
I then started wondering whether to buy or not to buy the passive version.
What about the amp ?
The other concern was that my current amp the Rotel RA10 would not be able to keep up with the speakers. That would then add to the cost. I luckily came across an article from John Darko which said that the Rotel RA 10 clubbed with the LS 50 (earlier version) was like a “happy accident” for him. He described the pairing as
“A glorious discovery of an improbable partnership between loudspeaker and amplifier where the results kick the door down on expectations, taking a large chunk of the competition with it” AND
“Readers with a better understanding of audio engineering than I are invited to explain possibly why the Rotel RA-10 defies price point expectations.” AND
“I played the amplifier lottery with the KEF LS50 this week and netted a sensibly-priced jackpot in the Rotel RA-10. A gob-smackingly wonderful pairing.”
I also heard reviews of the LS50 Meta on Youtube where reviewers had also paired it to a Rega io (not Brio) amp or with 20w pc kind of amps and derived good results.
Pricing:
I had a quote from Avstore/ Avxcellence for INR 1.15 lakhs. I also reached out to Ooberpad to see if it was available and at what price. After some negotiations the price was bettered and order placed. Warranty offered was 2 years. Arjun from Ooberpad was super helpful (gently persuading me to pull the trigger).
Usually I look at the US/UK/EUR pricing when buying anything to see how much we (Indian consumers) are being fleeced. Surprisingly the LS50 Meta were priced at USD 1,600 in the US and around EUR 1,350 in Europe. The price in India then seemed “fair”. The actual consumer reviews on sites such as Crutchfiled were also very encouraging.
Delivery & packing:
After placing the order on Friday last week, I received the speakers last night (Wednesday). Arjun was patient enough to answer all my queries on logistics and invoicing. The packaging was superb with a manual on how to use foam plugs (2 sizes) to manage bass. I was wondering what the fuss was all about if it did not have bass in the first place
.Connections:
I connected the Wiim Pro via SPIDIF to the new Schiit Modi+ DAC. This in-turn was connected to the Rotel. The LS50s were placed on speaker stands. Source was apple music via Airplay 2.
First impressions:
My daughter suggested we play “eye of the tiger” first from Rocky though I protested since I did not want the speakers to fall “flat” on the first song itself. However what I heard was more of a shock. Forget the vocals or upper frequencies, I was hearing enough low end which was much more than the Wharfedale 220s. Song after song was proving me wrong. Maybe I needed the foam plugs afterall. These speakers have enough and more than enough low end. This kills a popular misconception about the speakers being feeble on the low end. Perhaps the back wall (1.5 feet) was helping the bass in a way I had never imagined.
Needless to say vocals were superb- Mark Knopfler, Hariharan (Be Khayale) were excellent. Edelweiss (Sound of Music) completely blew me away. Pasoori, Dilbaro, Charlie Hunter etc were fantastic. It was as it I was hearing different renderings of the same songs. I wont say that I felt like “I was hearing these songs for the first time” cliché
The surprise was Mukesh’s voice in “Dam bhar jo udhar” from Awara – so many layers and nuances to a voice which was recorded so many decades ago !!
Anyways I can go on and on. Will listen to some more songs tonight and let you know if I observe anything extraordinary.
Hopefully this will help some of you who stay away from these speakers either because of the hype (ethereal) or negative publicity (too bright/ shrill/ no bass, etc).
