KEF LS50 Wireless II vs ELAC ARB51 Active

[ohnonate]

Hi ,

I was wanting some advice regarding purchasing an all in one active Speaker system.

I was looking at the following audio systems.

 

1) KEF LS50 Wireless II  $4,300 AUD  

 

or 

 

2) Elac ARB51 Active Speaker with the Discovery Connect Module ($600 AUD )  ELAC ARB51 ($3,700 AUD)  = Total $4,300 AUD

 

I was wanting some advice for me to make the right decision for this purchase as it is not cheap.

 

One of the main Pros is the the ELAC ARB51 is able to switch of its DSP and turn it to  Analog so down the track i can add different streaming DACS. So the speaker can be kept for long term as the internal connection can be update through the years with the new DACs that are added 

 

The problem i see with the KEF LS50 Wireless 2 is will KEF continue to add firmware example (SONOS no longer has updated for its Gen 1's) to the product series,  as people who have LS50 Wireless 1  feel like they have been left out. Also being an all in one system will it be outdated in 5 - 8 years?

 

I like to keep my purchase for as long as i can.

 

i look forward to hearing your feedback.

Thank you
 

[HeyNow Hi-Fi]

Hi Ohnomate

I stock both products and have experience of the sound signatures of them - albeit the KEF Meta 2 is yet to land. I can help you with your decision and am happy to talk to you.

Please PM and I''ll discuss my experience with them both

Kind regards 

Geoff

[Guest]

To the best of my knowledge, it's LS50 Wireless II that has not yet landed in AU (a few pairs did).

But LS50 Meta is here (at least, I'm looking at a pair right now!).

[rand129678]

9 hours ago, ohnonate said:

Also being an all in one system will it be outdated in 5 - 8 years?

 

LS50W II  features everything one could want in terms of streaming protocols -  Airplay 2, Chromecast Built-in, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Roon Ready (once certification is complete), UPnP.

 

That's literally everything in terms of streaming protocols.

 

Nobody can predict where we'll be in 5-8 years though, in terms of streaming protocols. So many changes the past 5-8 years in that space and it's still changing so quickly.

 

[thebobbyd]

Darko Audio has done excellent reviews of all the products you are considering, check it out.

I don't have any experience with either but from what I have read they are very different sounding systems. If you can get a demo with Geoff above that would be amazing I think.

[Ruffter]

17 hours ago, Marc said:

To the best of my knowledge, it's LS50 Wireless II that has not yet landed in AU (a few pairs did).

But LS50 Meta is here (at least, I'm looking at a pair right now!).

Just looking @Marc???