Kef LS50 vs. Emerald Physics CS3 mk2

Kefs LS-50 r great little speakers. Transparent & cohesive. Pure. Refined.
Addictive. Somebody mentioned them as 'truth tellers'. I'd sign on for that.
Musical little devils. Everything in audio should be so well sorted out & affordable. I have them in a large room, 25x30x16, & with a Modwright
Transporter, a Velvet Touch Pre, & a Yamaha AS-2000, AudioMagic Clairvoyant Liquid pwr/spkr/interconnects. I've been tweaking on power conditioner filter caps & Oyaide R0s feeding the whole rig & Mac mini music server, & the Kefs just keep getting better. A fun speaker to listen to
4 hrs.....;-). Never tried subs. I liked the EP stuff I've heard so I bet both could lead to a satisfying system. Tough choice.

I was hoping to keep my office system simple and cheap with the LS50 as the only splurge. A month later I have gotten a new DAC, new cables, new computer hardware just to bring out the best from the LS50. All the improvements had a discernible affect. The LS50's are not that expensive but I have spent a min-fortune upgrading what was supposed to be a 'cheap' office system.

The good part is I love spending time in the office now.

LS50s. Best monitor I have heard in ten years.

LS50----I have never heard a better monitor under 3k.

Regismc - small monitors in such a large room, and no subs? Wow. I'd read their sound falters at higher volume. What type of music do you play? Rock? How loud?

No experience with the Emerald Physics but I have the LS50 and its great.

I pair mine with Virtue Audio M5001 ICEBlocks (based on ICE power just like your W4S). Great match ! Has a slightly dark and creamy tone and well suited for your music tastes.

Don't stinge on the stands though. An Atacama Nexus 6 was underwhelming. An old Atacama SE24 was much better. It really flew with a Partington Super Dreadnought.

I've heard both (the KEF LS50 and EP CS2.2?), but never together. My impressions are that the KEF is more dynamic, more energy in the transmission of sound, whereas the EP reminds me of the Magnepan 1.7 or 3.7, realistic, natural, refined. Both are musical. I appreciated the EP but did not enjoy it however, whereas the KEF had me toe-tapping...

Rockadanny, a bit of everything. What the Kef's do well, they do very well.
Subs would b interesting, but I kinda prefer the 'gestalt' of the overall system currently. As noted, I've been fiddling w/filter caps & outlets in a couple power conditioners & the system is grain free, musical, and just a
pleasure to spend an evening in front of. Vocals are really superb. (New York Voices Live, the latest release). & something like Toad The Wet Sprockets latest release is a bunch of fun to listen to. (I really like Rare Bird & especially The Eye). Kurt Vile's new double cd is great (very cool) & the Larry Carton/Robben Ford Unplugged is a sweet listen. Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra's 'Dune', reveals all the great details & rhythmic nuance of a world class artist and Acoustic Alchemys 'Roseland' is somehow, even better. Top 5 stuff.

Yesterday I played a Buck Owens X-mas cd released by Sundazed & was
surprised how well it was recorded & sounded. I shouldn't be, if one just listens & doesn't look, they sound like a larger floor stander, but more cohesive, less boxy. Fed well, they go just low enough, in just the right way,
that one gets lost in what they r doing & forgets (@ least for a while) what
they don't.

Someone on another thread was kind enough to post this link. I found the comment on bi-wiring interesting. Comments? Time to run some solid silver spkr wire in parallel to the liquids?

http://www.kefamerica.com/july12/LS50%20White%20Paper.pdf

"Initial prototypes were bi-wired but during the voicing it was found that the system actually sounded better with bi-wire loudspeaker cable connected together both at the amplifier and the loudspeaker. Consequently, the final product incorporates a single pair of binding posts."

i got the LS50 for a system in another room. they are so amazing that i got rid of my $12k tower speakers in my main listening room and put the KEF on stands. i did add a musical, tight sub, but keep the volume at 10% as to not distort the fluid transparency that comes out of the LS50.
the KEF must be the audiophile bargain of the century, utter and total giant killers.
i also compared with other, far more expensive bookshelf speakers (i'll omit the brand as to not offend anyone), and the LS50 massacred them.

Slightly off topic, 2 speakers come to mind that trump the LS 50. Reference 3 a mm de capo new version and the vapor sound stiff breeze.