Drive Kef LS50 meta - Evo 150 vs Uniti Atom

[Slash86]

Hi everyone,

I am new here, and have really appreciated what I have been able to read on a couple of threads here (it is very helpful!) and decided to go for a post on the off chance that one may help with my audio quandary..

I have always been into audiophiles headphones and never owned proper home setup. but the first house mandates a proper upgrade to a “real” setup.

My partner would like a multiroom, I would like a proper hifi set.
my partner wants great design and colours that match the house, I want better définition and wider stage.
so we agreed to complement a sonos multiroom system with a streamer hifi stereo.

Speakers have been selected, they will be Kef LS50 Meta. There was a question with the active version, but the question has been discarded because of the colour scheme available only on the meta!

I also tend to prefer the passive ones, give flexibility to upgrade separately a timeless speaker with a not so timeless streaming technology.

Now the question is for the amp. And that is when I got a bit confused. I amvery hesitant between Cambridge Evo 150 and naim Uniti Atom.

I have never heard Naim amps, but am familiar with the Cambridge gear that I may find somewhat analytical (I know, that’s very unscientific)

I was about to go for the atom initially, as it is very small (important for my partner) yet covers all the functionalities we need (stream from tidal & Spotify, roon ready, connect to local server & multi room) with class A/B amp and stellar reviews

But then I got scared by the relatively “small” output of 40w which , I red a few times, may be on the low end of the spectrum to drive the Kef speakers.
the living room is medium (3,5m x 6m ) but I did read that regardless of volume (which I know wouldn’t be an issue) , the atom could struggle.
I then set my eyes on the Cambridge EVO 150. I have huge respect for the brand , it is 150W , and packs a connectivity that is extremely reassuring for future proofing….

and now, I don’t know which way to go!

i would appreciate alternative opinions / advices to help guide the decision.
Thank you in advance !

 

[Colonel7]

Hi everyone,

I am new here, and have really appreciated what I have been able to read on a couple of threads here (it is very helpful!) and decided to go for a post on the off chance that one may help with my audio quandary..

I have always been into audiophiles headphones and never owned proper home setup. but the first house mandates a proper upgrade to a “real” setup.

My partner would like a multiroom, I would like a proper hifi set.
my partner wants great design and colours that match the house, I want better définition and wider stage.
so we agreed to complement a sonos multiroom system with a streamer hifi stereo.

Speakers have been selected, they will be Kef LS50 Meta. There was a question with the active version, but the question has been discarded because of the colour scheme available only on the meta!

I also tend to prefer the passive ones, give flexibility to upgrade separately a timeless speaker with a not so timeless streaming technology.

Now the question is for the amp. And that is when I got a bit confused. I amvery hesitant between Cambridge Evo 150 and naim Uniti Atom.

I have never heard Naim amps, but am familiar with the Cambridge gear that I may find somewhat analytical (I know, that’s very unscientific)

I was about to go for the atom initially, as it is very small (important for my partner) yet covers all the functionalities we need (stream from tidal & Spotify, roon ready, connect to local server & multi room) with class A/B amp and stellar reviews

But then I got scared by the relatively “small” output of 40w which , I red a few times, may be on the low end of the spectrum to drive the Kef speakers.
the living room is medium (3,5m x 6m ) but I did read that regardless of volume (which I know wouldn’t be an issue) , the atom could struggle.
I then set my eyes on the Cambridge EVO 150. I have huge respect for the brand , it is 150W , and packs a connectivity that is extremely reassuring for future proofing….

and now, I don’t know which way to go!

i would appreciate alternative opinions / advices to help guide the decision.
Thank you in advance !

Out of those two the Cambridge is a way better choice for power requirements and how good the Ncore is. I don't think you can go wrong if it is in your budget. 40 watts is way too little, from power and price perspective.

 

[maty]

KEF LS50 Wireless II
https://eu.kef.com/pages/ls50-wireless-2

Plentiful power

The built-in amplifiers have been developed in-house by KEF. Each tweeter is driven by a 100W class A/B amplifier that delivers a smooth, incredibly detailed treble performance. Dedicated 280W class D amplifiers power the mid/bass drivers, for room-filling, controlled sound up to 108db.

 

[maty]

Old KEF LS50

LF: 200W | HF: 30W (Per Speaker)

 

[Colonel7]

Hi everyone,

I am new here, and have really appreciated what I have been able to read on a couple of threads here (it is very helpful!) and decided to go for a post on the off chance that one may help with my audio quandary..

I have always been into audiophiles headphones and never owned proper home setup. but the first house mandates a proper upgrade to a “real” setup.

My partner would like a multiroom, I would like a proper hifi set.
my partner wants great design and colours that match the house, I want better définition and wider stage.
so we agreed to complement a sonos multiroom system with a streamer hifi stereo.

Speakers have been selected, they will be Kef LS50 Meta. There was a question with the active version, but the question has been discarded because of the colour scheme available only on the meta!

I also tend to prefer the passive ones, give flexibility to upgrade separately a timeless speaker with a not so timeless streaming technology.

Now the question is for the amp. And that is when I got a bit confused. I amvery hesitant between Cambridge Evo 150 and naim Uniti Atom.

I have never heard Naim amps, but am familiar with the Cambridge gear that I may find somewhat analytical (I know, that’s very unscientific)

I was about to go for the atom initially, as it is very small (important for my partner) yet covers all the functionalities we need (stream from tidal & Spotify, roon ready, connect to local server & multi room) with class A/B amp and stellar reviews

But then I got scared by the relatively “small” output of 40w which , I red a few times, may be on the low end of the spectrum to drive the Kef speakers.
the living room is medium (3,5m x 6m ) but I did read that regardless of volume (which I know wouldn’t be an issue) , the atom could struggle.
I then set my eyes on the Cambridge EVO 150. I have huge respect for the brand , it is 150W , and packs a connectivity that is extremely reassuring for future proofing….

and now, I don’t know which way to go!

i would appreciate alternative opinions / advices to help guide the decision.
Thank you in advance !

And what color Metas?

 

[Matias]

Welcome to ASR. I would choose the Cambridge Evo 150 and still add an SVS 3000 Micro hidden somewhere.

 

[Ron Texas]

And what color Metas?

Gee wiz, but I'm in love with the piano black my originals came in. The cool looking blue meta's are backordered at KEF online.

 

[Slash86]

And what color Metas?

It Would be royal blue metas, my partner fell in love with them … and I won’t complain as it makes the negociation for good quality speakers way easier!

Thanks a lot for your feedback Colonel7, Matias and maty. I was hoping to hear “no the atom will do the job” but it is not worth asking if you’re not ready to hear the truth

for the sub, I’ll have to wait to see how things go. For now, I do not get a sub allowance as long as we haven’t proven that the system doesn’t upset the neighbours too much, so it will come after!

 

[Colonel7]

It Would be royal blue metas, my partner fell in love with them … and I won’t complain as it makes the negociation for good quality speakers way easier!

Thanks a lot for your feedback Colonel7, Matias and maty. I was hoping to hear “no the atom will do the job” but it is not worth asking if you’re not ready to hear the truth

for the sub, I’ll have to wait to see how things go. For now, I do not get a sub allowance as long as we haven’t proven that the system doesn’t upset the neighbours too much, so it will come after!

Those are sharp and a great initial system with the Evo. Too bad the KEFC62 don't come in the royal blue! The only other small form amp that I would think I fits your criteria is the Sonos Amp, but only then if you use it solely for streaming. The analog inputs didn't measure well but it did with direct streaming.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I choose the carbon myself because I already had a pair of piano black OG LS 50's and wanted something that would blend in. Besides when I play a movie, I want all the equipment to be as dark as possible so as to not compete with the image on the screen. The program material and not the gear should always be the star of the show.

 

[VintageFlanker]

But then I got scared by the relatively “small” output of 40w which , I red a few times, may be on the low end of the spectrum to drive the Kef speakers.
the living room is medium (3,5m x 6m ) but I did read that regardless of volume (which I know wouldn’t be an issue) , the atom could struggle.
I then set my eyes on the Cambridge EVO 150. I have huge respect for the brand , it is 150W ,

The Atom has been measured at 27W/8Ω. On the same bench, the Evo 150 (Ncore NC252, to call a spade a spade) reached 148W/8Ω.

The LS50 Meta is quite some power hungry speaker. Your answer is in these numbers.

 

[maty]

Trust me, you need at least 100 watts (THD 0.1%) at 4 Ohms with KEF Q100, KEF Q150, KEF LS50 (old and new)... if you listen good recordings with high DR (Dynamic range) > 11 dB.

Most who dislike those speakers use underpowered amplifiers.

 

[Slash86]

Thank you all for the additional feedback!

I did go with the EVO in the end, and I couldn’t be more happy! Not only am I discovering a brand new world of stereo imaging (coming exclusively from earphones / headphones) but even my SE846 sound amazing with the headphone output, and bring a completely new sound signature compared to when the SE846 were plugged to a Mojo Chord.

As far as the KEF are concerned, it sounds to me as a perfect match and I had to add a small SVS almost immediately because…. One cannot be allowed to tamper with quasi-perfection.

Maybe one little drawback of the EVO is the lack of a high pass filter for the speakers, making it impossible to fine tune crossover frequencies with the sun and reduce the frequency range sent to the speakers. I have just set my crossover fairly low on the sub, but this functionality would have been very useful! I guess it’s been sacrificed since this amp is above all for simplicity.

My main problem now is that things like room modes and corresponding corrections where not a thing when you’ve got music plugged in your ears… and I am now navigating a whole new realm of enjoyable geekiness

For the sonos @Colonel7 , I thought about it, and it has been dismissed purely on non objective grounds: I do not like the fact that volume of sales drives capacity for innovation, especially in the software world, making it incredibly hard for high end audio companies to propose quality software & apps compared to sonos. So Sonos dismissed on principle.
And I am paying the price of this dismissal, I have been having nightmares trying to integrate these KEF with all my differently branded legacy speakers in a single multiroom…

 

[ad_fletch]

Weird to me how these "all-in-one" units provide sub outs, but no way to control the crossover. In some cases, no crossover at all (just a low pass filter at some arbitrary frequency).

The NAD M10 and EVO150 would otherwise be high on my list. Maybe even Yamaha WXA-50, which measures surprisingly well.

 

[Fritzenheimer]

Hi everyone,

I am new here, and have really appreciated what I have been able to read on a couple of threads here (it is very helpful!) and decided to go for a post on the off chance that one may help with my audio quandary..

I have always been into audiophiles headphones and never owned proper home setup. but the first house mandates a proper upgrade to a “real” setup.

My partner would like a multiroom, I would like a proper hifi set.
my partner wants great design and colours that match the house, I want better définition and wider stage.
so we agreed to complement a sonos multiroom system with a streamer hifi stereo.

Speakers have been selected, they will be Kef LS50 Meta. There was a question with the active version, but the question has been discarded because of the colour scheme available only on the meta!

I also tend to prefer the passive ones, give flexibility to upgrade separately a timeless speaker with a not so timeless streaming technology.

Now the question is for the amp. And that is when I got a bit confused. I amvery hesitant between Cambridge Evo 150 and naim Uniti Atom.

I have never heard Naim amps, but am familiar with the Cambridge gear that I may find somewhat analytical (I know, that’s very unscientific)

I was about to go for the atom initially, as it is very small (important for my partner) yet covers all the functionalities we need (stream from tidal & Spotify, roon ready, connect to local server & multi room) with class A/B amp and stellar reviews

But then I got scared by the relatively “small” output of 40w which , I red a few times, may be on the low end of the spectrum to drive the Kef speakers.
the living room is medium (3,5m x 6m ) but I did read that regardless of volume (which I know wouldn’t be an issue) , the atom could struggle.
I then set my eyes on the Cambridge EVO 150. I have huge respect for the brand , it is 150W , and packs a connectivity that is extremely reassuring for future proofing….

and now, I don’t know which way to go!

i would appreciate alternative opinions / advices to help guide the decision.
Thank you in advance !

Have you considered the NAD M33?

 

[alitomr1979]

Have you considered the NAD M33?

The NAD M10 doesn’t have a selectable crossover?

That is weird, considering their NODE, a 599usd streamer/DAC has it.

OP, I understand you are loving the EVO but you could probably get something like the NODE and add a power amp, or even an integrated, for far less money. It seemed to me you were initially after convenience, which is the target of integrated all in ones like the Evo, M10/30 and they likes… now, you are probably considering getting the most out of those amazing speakers and maybe sacrifice some convenience?? A Bluesound Node with a power amp provides what you need. For EVO150 money you can get a better DAC than the one integrated in the NODE.

 

[Hagan66]

Trust me, you need at least 100 watts (THD 0.1%) at 4 Ohms with KEF Q100, KEF Q150, KEF LS50 (old and new)... if you listen good recordings with high DR (Dynamic range) > 11 dB.

Most who dislike those speakers use underpowered amplifiers.

Well...I have a pair of KEF q150s hooked up to a Node 2i streamer/DACand an Arcam Solo Mini amp/CD player. The Arcam amp only measures 25w output but the sound to my ears (which is all that matters) is fuckin phenomenal.....

 

[maty]

If you listen to modern commercial recordings it is most likely DR < or << 10 dB.