KEF LS50 Meta vs KEF R3 Meta. Which one?

[beagleman]

I bought a pair of LS50 Metas shortly after Amir reviewed them. Ever since I've wished I got the R3s instead. Not actually using the LS50s at the moment.

When I heard them, I expected so much more.
I think all the hype created by great reviews, elevated them to some great class of sound, when in reality, they sound decent, but over priced to me. I settled with Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 and found those to be a bit better, not a lot, but also at a far better price. I teamed both with dual subs, and just did not hear the "Magic" many claim with the LS-50 OR the Meta version.

 

[Vacceo]

Thanks everyone for all your help.

I ended up going with the LS50 Wireless II as they had an amazing deal, 10% + free s2 stands. For my small room, they pair nicely with the KC62, playing levels max 65% volume. Gets really loud without distortions etc for the room size.

Plans in the future to upgrade to the big sister LS60 or equivalent when I’m ready. Enjoy the hobby!

To be honest, the LS line is, to me, quite better in active mode. You have a plug and play system, you can connect a lot of sources to it (mine in the living room has a CD, a TV and I could even get a turntable plugged), you get streaming with them and you can forget about amplification.

For not too large areas, they are fantastic. What do I miss from them? Well, I hope they could, some day, be the basis to build an IP based home theatre. That, and a series of CD and phono to digital sources that could be operated on the APP. And that would make me a happy camper.

 

[thewas]

I settled with Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 and found those to be a bit better, not a lot, but also at a far better price.

So much different personal tastes and perceptions are, I also own and used both with subs and found the 12.1 without EQ or mod unbearable for me while the LS50M with sub is one of the best systems I ever had for not too high listening distances.

 

[Mr. Reeee]

I would love to upgrade to the LS60 But it’s a little out of my price range. I think the R3 Metas are at the end of my budget tbh!

Remember that the LS60s are an entire system, amps and all.
There’s NO need to purchase and match electronics.
Setup is quick and easy.

I have blue LS60s and added 2 KC62 subs over time.
It’s an amazing system! Even without the subs.

Connect it to your TV with HDMI eARC cable. I have an Apple TV 4K and Sony Blu-ray player connected to the TV, too.
Connect another source to the RCA inputs or Optical. I have a NAIM CD 3.5 and FlatCap 2 power supply connected to the RCA inputs.
Stream to them from any AirPlay 2 compliant device.
They support a bunch of different streaming services built-in.

It all works together brilliantly! And the LS60s look cool, too!

Think about it!

 

[Mr. Reeee]

To be honest, the LS line is, to me, quite better in active mode. You have a plug and play system, you can connect a lot of sources to it (mine in the living room has a CD, a TV and I could even get a turntable plugged), you get streaming with them and you can forget about amplification.

For not too large areas, they are fantastic. What do I miss from them? Well, I hope they could, some day, be the basis to build an IP based home theatre. That, and a series of CD and phono to digital sources that could be operated on the APP. And that would make me a happy camper.

I can stream directly from my Synology NAS to either my LS60s or LSX + KUBE 10B system or to BOTH systems simultaneously.

It’s pretty damn flexible.

You can also use 2 subs with LS50 Wireless II speakers!
Each speaker has an RCA subwoofer jack.

 

[Vacceo]

I can stream directly from my Synology NAS to either my LS60s or LSX + KUBE 10B system or to BOTH systems simultaneously.

It’s pretty damn flexible.

You can also use 2 subs with LS50 Wireless II speakers!
Each speaker has an RCA subwoofer jack.

I know, I actually have both sets (LS50 WII and LSXII) with their respective subwoofers and we have used both to stream from a pc.

However, the next step on the LS line, to me, would be the capacity to decode Dolby Atmos and increase the channel count further than 2. I have a set of old KEF IQ´s with a Marantz receiver, but I´d not matter ditching the receiver for a Dante-style solution for multichannel with the LS as basis.

 

[Descartes]

R3 meta no question