KEF LS50 wireless series II

Too bad! I thought I’d found the right speaker, just waiting for RAAT. Now I have to start looking again :angry:

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@ogs I decided this weekend that I will resell my LS50 Wireless II and buy the LS50 Meta. Does anybody have a recommendation for the AMP? This setup will free me the account enforcement.

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Hi
I was a Devialet user for many years. I sold my 250 Pro CI a few months ago. I don’t regret the sale as I wanted to go with active speakers, but I really miss the sound quality. A Devialet 220 Pro is quite exceptional and sort of a ‘sweet spot’. When LS50 Meta gets a SAM profile this combination will be hard to beat. The only other amp I know of that can match is the Benchmark AHB2. The Devialet is a full function integrated amp and streamer while the Benchmark is just a power amp and needs a streamer + DAC.

Are there any alternatives for streaming hi-res files from network given that Roon is Airplay only?
Would Audirvana work?

Since when?

Wireless II is not Roon certified… the only streaming option in Roon is via Airplay or Chromecast which downsamples hi-res.

Ah. Sorry. I didn’t catch the full context for your statement about Roon being Airplay only. It’s unfortunate that manufacturers release products before completing certification.

For now, I would probably just snap this HAT onto a RPi running HiFiBerryOS and go COAX or TOSLINK S/PDIF into the LS50 Wireless II. This will give you full R.A.A.T. functionality up to 24-bit, 192 kHz.

Once KEF finishes certification, you can give the RPi away or use it in another system.

I suspect the KEF LS50 series II aren’t sold just for use with Roon. There’s no reason they would wait for Roon certification to introduce a new product.

I’ve no objections to them releasing a product before it has been certified Roon Ready. But, I don’t think it’s okay for them to claim “Roon Ready” in their published specifications until after certification is complete.

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I would guess their Airplay 2, Spotify Connect and BT inputs (and Tidal Connect) would get a lot of use… outside of the Roon world.

No argument on that point.

Unfortunately, KEF in the US omitted to include the wording on the original KEF UK specs:

WIRELESS STREAMING FEATURES

AirPlay 2
Google Chromecast
ROON Ready (coming soon)
UPnP Compatible
Bluetooth 4.2

As much of a chance as anything I own.
My Kefs from 1980 are still around and working. I bet KEF would service them if I needed service and asked.