[jeffharris]

Hello all! A newbie here.

I’m a long time low end audiophile. Got tired of the constant upgrades and just decided to enjoy the music. The majority is classical. Medieval to Modern. Franco-Flemish polyphony, French Baroque, Late Romantic to Post-War and Contemporary stuff. Jazz, too.

Anyway, I’ve had essentially the same system for years.
Don’t laugh, but 2 bi-wired LINN LK-280 amps, NAIM NAC 112 pre-amp, NAIM Flat-Cap 2 (for pre-amp and CD), NAIM CD 3.5 and Paradigm Studio 60 v2 loudspeakers (inherited from an ex-girlfriend). And an ancient, never used NAD tuner. (Radio? Whazzat) It’s all pretty long in the tooth. It all works, still sounds good. I’m used to it at any rate.

I was thinking about upgrading the speakers, but remembered a time when I did that and regretted it. A nasty pair of giant Polk speakers to a pair of Apogee Caliper Signatures (LOVED those! Had to sell when I moved into a small apartment.) The Apogees made my electronics sound like manure, so I ended up upgrading all my electronics. Not really what I wanted to spend money on at the time, but there it is.

A couple of years ago I picked up a pair of KEP LSX wireless speakers for my bedroom. Added a KUBE 10 sub-woofer soon after. It’s a nice little system! Streaming music to them is fun and easy.

I got an email from KEF a few weeks ago announcing their new floorstanding LS60 Wireless speakers. They’re fully powered and even have RCA jacks for my CD player, which I still use regularly. It would simplify things and allow me to get rid of the rats nest of cables. You can even get them in blue! I’m VERY tempted.

My only worry is that the sound quality may not be what I’m used to (which may not be that great given the vintage of my system with 30 year old amps) or it may be inferior. I suppose I should wait until they’re officially released in August and try to listen to them.

Am I crazy?

Thanks.

[avta]

I'd suggest you consider these as well. I've had a number of devialet products over the last 10 years and find them to be cutting edge in design and performance. I have their Phantom l speakers currently and enjoy them very much. No cables or clutter. I use my iMac to play Roon software. Sound is excellent. I started with the Phantom ll a few years ago then traded up to my current models. Good luck.

https://www.devialet.com/en-us/phantom-speaker/phantom-ii/phantom-ii-98db-white-stereo/

[toocool4]

Welcome to AudioCircle jeffharris

There is only really one way to truly know, wait till they are released and give them a try preferably in your home with the rest of your system. Your ears will tell you what you need to know, I never part with my money till I have tried the kit myself.

The rest of what you have does not look bad, you may just need to set them up better preferably not stacked like you have it now.

Happy hunting.

[Phil A]

Welcome!

[FullRangeMan]

Welcome to AC 
Always liked contemporary composers some them made movie soundtracks that always are fascinating music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXxnNTG3JXQ

[ArthurDent]

Greetings & Welcome to AC Jeff   

[artur9]

Welcome and greetings!

I've been researching wireless speakers for a little while.
Two big "standards" in the space are WISA and PlayFi. 
The convenience of wireless goes without saying.
The quality seems to be there as most complaints seem to be about the stability of the wireless connections (dropouts, etc).

Those LS 60 are gorgeous!  If they support WISA (apparently other KEF do) then you can easily use them with certain TVs as well.

[jeffharris]

Welcome and greetings!

Thanks!

I've been researching wireless speakers for a little while.
Two big "standards" in the space are WISA and PlayFi. 

There’s Apple’s AirPlay 2, which my KEF LSX support.
It’s solid and rarely drops. When it has, I just have to “restart” the speakers.

The convenience of wireless goes without saying.
The quality seems to be there as most complaints seem to be about the stability of the wireless connections (dropouts, etc).

Those LS 60 are gorgeous!  If they support WISA (apparently other KEF do) then you can easily use them with certain TVs as well.

They are really nice looking, that’s for sure! My wife loves the look of the blue ones and is noodging me to get them!
They do AirPlay 2. I’m using a cheap little Belkin AirPlay 2 box to stream audio to my system now. It connects to an AUX input on my pre-amp.

The KEFs have an HDMI jack in the back so, I’d assume I can plug my 4K TV directly into them. Optical and RCA inputs, too.
I downloaded the manual, but haven’t dug into it too deeply yet to figure out how it’s all set up.

Here’s a list of WISA compliant speakers. No KEFs. Oh well…
https://www.wisatechnologies.com/speakers

[artur9]

I always forget about AirPlay.  I stepped away from Apple tech because of iTunes annoying way of replacing downloaded music with cloud music, which is then not accessible because I don't a have limitless data plan.

Only KEF I can remember hearing was the Muon.  My wife wanted a set! 

[firedog]

Hello all! A newbie here.

I’m a long time low end audiophile. Got tired of the constant upgrades and just decided to enjoy the music. The majority is classical. Medieval to Modern. Franco-Flemish polyphony, French Baroque, Late Romantic to Post-War and Contemporary stuff. Jazz, too.

Anyway, I’ve had essentially the same system for years.
Don’t laugh, but 2 bi-wired LINN LK-280 amps, NAIM NAC 112 pre-amp, NAIM Flat-Cap 2 (for pre-amp and CD), NAIM CD 3.5 and Paradigm Studio 60 v2 loudspeakers (inherited from an ex-girlfriend). And an ancient, never used NAD tuner. (Radio? Whazzat) It’s all pretty long in the tooth. It all works, still sounds good. I’m used to it at any rate.

I was thinking about upgrading the speakers, but remembered a time when I did that and regretted it. A nasty pair of giant Polk speakers to a pair of Apogee Caliper Signatures (LOVED those! Had to sell when I moved into a small apartment.) The Apogees made my electronics sound like manure, so I ended up upgrading all my electronics. Not really what I wanted to spend money on at the time, but there it is.

A couple of years ago I picked up a pair of KEP LSX wireless speakers for my bedroom. Added a KUBE 10 sub-woofer soon after. It’s a nice little system! Streaming music to them is fun and easy.

I got an email from KEF a few weeks ago announcing their new floorstanding LS60 Wireless speakers. They’re fully powered and even have RCA jacks for my CD player, which I still use regularly. It would simplify things and allow me to get rid of the rats nest of cables. You can even get them in blue! I’m VERY tempted.

My only worry is that the sound quality may not be what I’m used to (which may not be that great given the vintage of my system with 30 year old amps) or it may be inferior. I suppose I should wait until they’re officially released in August and try to listen to them.

Am I crazy?

Thanks.

You aren't crazy. My guess is the KEF's are excellent speakers. You simply need to give them a serious audition and see what you think. I'm not really familiar with what you have now, but I wouldn't be surprised if the KEFs are better. There have been amazing advances in tech in the last number of years, and a system like this takes advantage of all those advances. Since you are very used to your present setup, you need a long audition, so you can fairly evaluate the KEFs, and not just be reacting to the fact that they sound different from what you have now - whether that first impression is good or bad.

KEF still has some in store dealers, maybe one will allow you a home audition. The other option is to buy them from a place that allows you  a trial and return period.

As someone who owns a similar setup (full actives), they do have a downside: if you have an issue, your setup is useless till it is repaired. So if you can find a dealer that will help you with a replacement in such a situation, it's an advantage. And don't sell off your old setup. Keep it as a backup.

[JLM]

Welcome!

Wonder what the differences are between LS60 and LS50 Wireless 2, other than size and price?  Don't know much about wireless.  But the Buchardt A500 (wireless 2/3-way with room correction) intrigues me.

Most active loudspeakers are 2-way monitors, intended for studio use, although more and more consumer actives are being introduced.  I've owned a couple of 2-way active monitors.  Dynaudio BM5 Mk 3 used analog inputs, so required a DAC to go with my streamer.  JBL 708P used analog or digital (AES/EBU), so had onboard DAC that had to be used (word was it was very pedestrian for the overall price).  Both were good pieces and served me very well in a medium sized room at moderate levels, but that niggle about the DAC really bugged me so I sold the JBL's. 

[jeffharris]

Welcome to AC 
Always liked contemporary composers some them made movie soundtracks that always are fascinating music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXxnNTG3JXQ

Toru Takemitsu is a favorite! Woman in the Dunes or Kwaidan, for instance.
November Steps for shakuhachi, biwa and Orchestra.