LS50 Meta

I don’t accept your premise. There’s no reason B&W, Philharmonic or other audiophile brands should not be suited for Hip Hop or R&B. The implication there is that these genres are not produced to audiophile standards and I think that sells those producers short. It sounds like you have a preference

For pure trance listening I run KEF LS50 Meta on a decent amp - imaging is insane for those layered synths and breakdowns hit hard. If budget tight Edifier R1280DBs do surprisingly well for the price. Avoid Bluetooth speakers, wired clarity matters here.

IMHO, KEF's subwoofers tend to be overpriced for what they offer. I'd recommend something from SVS or Rythmik, or if you want to stay truly in budget, RSL. I run an RSL Speedwoofer 10e with LS50 Metas and it's...fine? I wouldn't mind more, but my wife would 😁.

They are a very well balanced modern 'dark' sounding speaker with great imaging and overall neutral but don't go down low at 45 Hz so can use bass assistance as expected for bookshelf speakers. When I play them it is very hard to pinpoint which speaker is making sounds which indicated that they seem

Not convinced of which? I have owned LSXII, LS50, Q Concerto, and WiiM products and think that’s exactly the right combo to consider. The KEF app sucks for real DSP control. WiiM gives you 10-band PEQ and even their own room correction software. If you want to add a sub you can time-align it with Wi

For a give cabinet and drivers the active speakers give a greater range, more bass and lower cost than the passive version. LS50 Meta with an amp that is in total double the cost of the Kef LS50 II wireless is claimed to be better. Kef themselves claim that they could not make a passive version of t

KEF LS50 Metas for near field listening are phenomenal. You will likely want to add a sub as they roll off early. Would pair very nicely w the H90. The KEF will give you a critical, detailed listening experience. The Ascend recommended above are going to be deeper, with wider dispersion. The KEF are

I've been very impressed with my Oberon 3s. I "downgraded" from KEF LS50 Metas and a KC62 sub to just the Oberons and the reality is that the wide dispersion and generous bass response of the speakers alone are just way more enjoyable for my typical ambient, off-axis listening. On-axis midfield list

I came to the same conclusion as you (LS50 Meta + Rel T5x), and here's why. The R3 Metas have a highly shelved bass response that is hard to work around when you're trying to blend in a subwoofer. You could try to fight it with a couple of different PEQ settings, but then those would be lost to you

This was my recent solution. Smaller room, so nothing crazy- but I bought LS50 Meta 3’s and was a little underwhelmed (as expected) by the lower end. Added a REL T5x and absolutely love the pairing with the KEF’s. Oh and I also left the port plugs in since I only have about 9” to the back wall.