People sometimes ask me for a great all in one system that works with Roon. Quite a few of my customs have come up with this solution so I decided to pass it on.
The KEF LS50 wireless speaker pair has a USB input and a 24/129 DAC built is as well as a 230W amp. Both speakers have their own amps and you connect them to each other with a Cat5 cable.
All you need to do is attach a microRendu to the USB input and you have a complete Roon Ready system.
The LS50 wireless costs twice as much as the standard LC50 but it includes DSP functionality that can be controlled via an iPhone app. You can attach a sub to the LC50 wireless and configure the DSP to send bass to it.
People have told me the LS50 wireless + R400b sub + microRendu combination sounds almost as good as the Kef BLADE a much more expensive pair speakers.
I just bought these speakers yesterday and ordered the microRendu to pair with it. The mR comes on Monday. I will report back on the ease of set up and SQ after I get the pair working together. No plans to add a sub at this time. Can’t wait to try these two together.
Small correction to the OP. It’s not a 230W amp per se. There is a 200W amp for the low frequency and a 30W amp for the high frequency. So I guess that’s a 230W amp?
I received my microRendu today (Saturday) instead of on Monday as originally scheduled. I guess the post office was extra efficient this time. From the time I took it out of the box until music was playing was less than 10 minutes. I had completely read through the installation and user guide instructions so I knew what I was planning to do before the unit got here. It was a snap. Through the web site I was able to install find the unit and switch it over to Roon Ready in seconds and then went into Roon and under Audio in Settings I had to enable the microRendu in order for it to be one of the devices I could use. After that I was able to point Roon to it and began playing music. Now I see why the KEF LS50 Wireless speakers are so special. The audio quality of this combination is magical. Highly recommended.
Interesting. I think I’m being a little slow here, but what’s the advantage of the speakers being wireless if you’re using them with the Microrendu? That needs to be connected via ethernet in and USB out. Am I missing something?
Wireless is a mis-nomer. Wireless means they can be communicated to via wi-fi or bluetooth. They also have a USB and optical connection into the internal DAC. They also need to be plugged in electrically. So they are not completely wireless. Probably a poor choice of names since everyone seems to jump on that term as a point of derision. Be that as it may I can tell you that the microRendu and LS50 combination is magic.
Wireless functionality is mostly for Bluetooth conductivity. But you can connect with an app from KEF and configure the internal DSP. For example you can configure what frequencys get sent the the subwoofer.
They may add more wireless functionality in the future.
It’s wireless in DLNA and Bluetooth(for a 2000+ speaker?) mode. Even in those modes they require power cable for each unit and an ethernet cable in between to sync. A shame…
Hi @agillis, is it possible to make the Previous/Next/Play/Pause on LS50W remote work with mR and Roon? i’ve read in KEF Q&A they do send control signals back in USB mode but Roon doesn’t seem to recognize it.
This would require some programming on the Roon end and would be quite a bit of code. Not sure Roon would want to invest all the time and money required to just to support one speaker.
@agillis, if that’s the case then probably I’ll let it pass. Maybe KEF can handle that as they rumored to be getting the speakers Roon Ready. I though the control signal should be standard…
Just a side note, I tried AirPlay mode of MicroRendu, and surprisingly found it sounds quite different than in RAAT mode… is it possible? Actually I like it better in Airplay mode.
AirPlay is not lossless. The sending sending devices (iTunes, iPhone) resamples the music and in most cases we need to re-sample the audio again to a different rate again to match your DAC. This has the effect of making the audio a little warmer although it’s not as accurately reproduced.
AirPlay works well on the microRednu although it’s not as good as the other playback modes for the above reason.
How Funny, I got my LS50 Wireless this past week. They are great and yes the wireless naming is not a great one.
What do you think of Roon ? I am using it for all my Demos now and using with our Ayre QX5 and Krell Products as well. Also with Bluesound we are testing.
I am down in Florida now I am not sure if you heard we moved Theatermax to Boca Raton ?
I have the Kef wireless and have been looking at the SonicOrbiter and Microrendu. So this thread is very timely.
The keys are attached to my TV by optical and I would prefer to stick with optical between the TV and the Kefs so I don’t have to manually switch sources.
I would also like Airplay which I use now through my Apple TV connected to the TV’s HDMI. Its a Samsung full size One Connect box by the way.
So will one of these product allow me to connect to the speakers this way?
OK I guess I can live with switching sources, too bad the Kef’s don’t do it automatically. Fortunately the Logitech Harmony 650 remote works with the Keys since the Kef remote is awful.
Why the MicroRendu over the SonicOrbiter? Don’t I use the Kef’s built in amp and Dac anyway?
I have found I don’t need a sub with the Kef LS50 wireless speakers. Curious what other owners have done. I upgraded the power supply and USB cable though.
