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Thanks, good post. I gave those 4 sets of speakers equal chance to shine: Same room, same amp, cables, placement, Tidal songs Jazz, Classical, Metal etc. Thats is considerable time, money and effort I believe beyond average buyers approach of purchasing home speakers. I wish there was another test like this I can look at but it wasn't, so I had to do it to help me form my opinion on the speakers. Similarly, the Hi-Fi forums, posts and pictures of audiophile rooms suggest most audiophiles picked speakers other than Meta. There are also people who posted they bought LS50 Meta and say they are the best... which is great, the more the merrier. Lastly in terms of professionals: I also talked to my hi-fi store. They said it's fine but if Meta was that good they would've carried it already. Here's their link for reference, inquiries and suggestions:
Link removed by admin
Hope that helps. Mustang vs Camaro, really...
Personal choice does not come into an objective review of the LS50 Meta. You've presented a very subjective opinion, even if you believed you were being objective.
You performed a rather subjective group test of several speakers partnered with your NAD M10 in a somewhat cluttered home environment. The KEFs sound their best with careful placement but not squeezed against a wall on top of another speaker or on a shelf. Any objective test should be at the same listening amplitude rather than the same amplifier setting, to account for a very human bias towards louder speakers, even at subconscious levels, a trick salemen know well. How entirely predictable then that you preferred a speaker that wasn't as fussy about placement and was louder at the same amplifier setting.
In a subjective review It's your home, your setup, your amp and your taste that's important. But then you posted on a KEF LS50 Meta review thread, without any of the above context, that the LS50 Metas are not an audiophile speaker but merely a lifestyle choice and a clever marketing exercise. You back this up in a following post by claiming that your local store, who don't stock KEF, expressed a similar opinion. Here's a tip. Salesmen never recommend that you buy a speaker they don't sell. They only get paid to move their own stock.
People generally prefer reviews of speakers by those who actually own them, having run them in and found their best placement. The original LS50s typically required about 200 hours to really open up. The KEF LS50s are quite fussy about placement, other less so. Components don't exist in a vacuum. The LS50s are very demanding of partnering equipment. I've not read of anyone recommending them with any NAD amps, so perhaps they just don't match well.
At least qualify your reviews in future, with context, so that others can learn something from your experience. All reviews can be worthwhile, but without context they can also be misleading.
As a long time LS50 owner I believe that most people will be more than happy with these incredible speakers or their derivatives, especially at the price. There's an overwhelming consensus shared across reviewers and owners that the LS50, its successor the LS50 Meta and the wireless versions of the LS50, represent fantastic bang for buck and can better many more expensive rivals.
Happy listening.