KEF LS50 & LS50W - Why the huge price difference

[JJB70]

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but is there any reason for the massive price difference between the passive and active versions of the LS50?

Here in the UK, SRP of the LS50 is £800, while for the LS50W it is £2000. A difference of £1200.

Now I know to hard core audiophiles these prices might be low rent, to a normal person £1200 can get you a very good pair of active speakers, or it'd get you a second pair of passive LS50's plus a decent amplifier. Given that the LS50W sheds the need for a DAC and amplifier you will obviously save by not having to buy those components (not to mention those audiophile cables...…) but £1200 will buy you a very good digital amplifier or amplifier plus DAC and leave you change.

Is the LS50W effectively a different speaker, or did they use a particularly good amp and digital package, or is it £1200 more than the passive model because people will happily pay an extra £1200 so that's the price? It's notable that for speakers which have been around a while neither model seems to be heavily discounted and even B stock and ex-demo stock still isn't that deeply discounted (at least in the UK).

 

[Krunok]

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but is there any reason for the massive price difference between the passive and active versions of the LS50?

Here in the UK, SRP of the LS50 is £800, while for the LS50W it is £2000. A difference of £1200.

Now I know to hard core audiophiles these prices might be low rent, to a normal person £1200 can get you a very good pair of active speakers, or it'd get you a second pair of passive LS50's plus a decent amplifier. Given that the LS50W sheds the need for a DAC and amplifier you will obviously save by not having to buy those components (not to mention those audiophile cables...…) but £1200 will buy you a very good digital amplifier or amplifier plus DAC and leave you change.

Is the LS50W effectively a different speaker, or did they use a particularly good amp and digital package, or is it £1200 more than the passive model because people will happily pay an extra £1200 so that's the price? It's notable that for speakers which have been around a while neither model seems to be heavily discounted and even B stock and ex-demo stock still isn't that deeply discounted (at least in the UK).

I think this pretty much sums the differences..

Quote from KEF official site:

"The LS50 Wireless Music System is a complete and fully active music system. Sharing the same winning acoustic features of KEF’s renowned LS50, LS50 Wireless enables the user to easily enjoy excellent music reproduction, previously only achieved with a system comprised of separate high quality components. Created without compromising on any of LS50's award winning acoustic capabilities, LS50 Wireless adds audiophile-grade amplification and sound processing, as well as extensive connectivity. The LS50 Wireless features Tidal Streaming, is a Roon endpoint providing the ultimate in flexibility and connectivity, and is compatible with all music streaming services."

In other words, same speaker but with added amp, WiFi capabilty, Tidal streaming and Roon endpoint capabilties. Yay - all that for only £1200 more!

 

[BDWoody]

I think this pretty much sums the differences..

Quote from KEF official site:

"The LS50 Wireless Music System is a complete and fully active music system. Sharing the same winning acoustic features of KEF’s renowned LS50, LS50 Wireless enables the user to easily enjoy excellent music reproduction, previously only achieved with a system comprised of separate high quality components. Created without compromising on any of LS50's award winning acoustic capabilities, LS50 Wireless adds audiophile-grade amplification and sound processing, as well as extensive connectivity. The LS50 Wireless features Tidal Streaming, is a Roon endpoint providing the ultimate in flexibility and connectivity, and is compatible with all music streaming services."

In other words, same speaker but with added amp, WiFi capabilty, Tidal streaming and Roon endpoint capabilties. Yay - all that for only £1200 more!

Very happy with my passives... I've got plenty of amps and CCA's...

 

[maty]

Woofer with class D (200 watts) but tweeter with class AB (30 watts).

Problem: what evolves faster these days are the DACs...

 

[JJB70]

I think the audio DAC achieved technological maturity 25 - 30 years ago and despite a lot of hype any competently implemented DAC designed going back quite a lot of years will be audibly transparent and be perfectly sufficient.

 

[maty]

I think is a better idea to buy a good active monitors from Thomann if you can live with them and / or she leave you. Up to < 3 m. Better tweeter with class AB. And RME ADI-2 DAC.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/active_nearfield_monitors.html?oa=rat

Of course, I do not need streaming services!

 

[BDWoody]

Woofer with class D (200 watts) but tweeter with class AB (30 watts).

Problem: what evolves faster these days are the DACs...

Yes, it would be nice if the 'components' could be easily upgraded...

 

[digitalfrost]

Personally, as someone who modified his KEF LS50, if I was interested in going fully active, I would disable the internal crossover, drill two new holes for binding posts and do the rest myself. You can do an easy LR4 crossover and correct the rest with DRC. How bad can it be?

If you use a PC for playback anyway, a good multichannel soundcard and some DACs are in the price range.

 

[Juhazi]

LS50 is 7 years old and has made a lot of profit despite of it's modest price. Now the market is focusing on active systems that consist of a mobile phone and a pair of active stereo speakers. LS50W is not an update, it is a different product with different target group of customers. The good reputation of LS50 gives the realistic possibility to gain more profit with LS50W.

I am not a businessman or economist, so this is just guessing...

 

[garbulky]

The reason is profit

 

[Ron Texas]

The price difference in the US is much less. I suspect KEF sees a lot of competition for the passive in the UK which is not as intense in the US and the situation is flipped when pricing the active model. Ultimately, it's what the market will bear.

 

[JJB70]

I am in two minds on active digital speakers. I have a pair of older KEF active digital speakers in my home office and they are very good (superb for the price I paid) and certainly the simplicity and integrated system design of active speakers is the future. From a SQ perspective I do think these designs are the future.
However I have two things holding me back from jumping in, one entirely subjective and a purely personal preference, and the second a concern of longer term supportability.
The subjective bit is I happen to like classic amplifiers, CD players etc and am really rather reluctant to let go of big lumps of metal with dials (and even better if there are VU meters). Yes, it is a silly attitude, completely illogical but whatever I might say about active designs being the future and outperforming passive models I also think a decent passive set up is entirely satisfactory so in terms of SQ I see no issue with remaining passive.
The other point is that passive speakers are fundamentally simple and long lived and don't require much TLC. I'm just a bit worried that these new active speakers will be fix by replacement very quickly and I am not in the habit of replacing speakers (the ones I have now have been with me since the early 90's). If I was to pay a lot for a pair of active digital speakers I'd be worried about their long term durability.
That said, I've been playing with the idea of keeping my current set up and having it serviced to keep it tip top as a "hobby" set up in the office or something and getting a pair of more modern digital speakers as the working system.

 

[Krunok]

LS50W is not an update, it is a different product with different target group of customers.

I agree that LS50W is targeted toward different customer group but I don't agree it is not an update as both speakers share the same driver and enclosure.

 

[BillG]

I'm just a bit worried that these new active speakers will be fix by replacement very quickly...

Perhaps as recording studio people about the longevity and repairability of their active studio monitors...

 

[Krunok]

Perhaps as recording studio people about the longevity and repairability of their active studio monitors...

Studio monitors are professional equipment, Kef LS50W is not.

 

[BillG]

Studio monitors are professional equipment, Kef LS50W is not.

I was well aware of that already. What you aren't apparently aware of is numerous speaker manufacturers make both. But let's not quibble over minor details, shall we...

 

[flowjm]

Each speaker contains two amplifiers and a DAC. Add to that DSP, wireless, Bluetooth, ADC for the analogue input and the price seems reasonable, at least to me.

 

[Krunok]

I was well aware of that already...

Sorry, I missunderstood you, I thought you were about to compare longevity of pro equipment vs KEF consumer product.

 

[Krunok]

Each speaker contains two amplifiers and a DAC. Add to that DSP, wireless, Bluetooth, ADC for the analogue input and the price seems reasonable, at least to me.

Hmm.. Better performing amps, DAC etc can easilly be purchased for considerably less.

 

[Ron Texas]

Each speaker contains two amplifiers and a DAC. Add to that DSP, wireless, Bluetooth, ADC for the analogue input and the price seems reasonable, at least to me.

There are a lot of claims about how the actives are better than the passive LS50's. I'm a bit skeptical that the actives would be that much better than the passives set up with enough clean power and a little EQ.