I think the LS-50 speakers do not perform their best unless you have a fairly hi-powered high-quality amplifier. They also have essentially no bass at all.
The Arcam A38 or Musical Fidelity M3i would be better suited to them than the Rega Brio, IMO, if you want to see how they will perform.
I have seldom heard a Dynaudio speaker that I was not positively impressed by.
I also suspect, based on their rather low sensitivity of 85 db/watt, that the X14 would sound even better with a bit more power from the amplifier.
KEF rates the LF cutoff of the LS-50 speakers at 79 Hz, which means that most people would not want to use them without a subwoofer; they essentially have no bass at all.
Dynaudio claims frequency response down to 50 HZ for the X14, which should provide a healthy dose of midbass energy and a more satisfying overall sound.
Those Excite 14s are great. I have a Brio R and I like it a lot. I have a relatively small room at 10 x 15 and find that it provides more than enough power for a speaker that has an 86dB sensitivity. More power is always better, but unless you are in a larger room or like listening really loud, that Brio R is a great sounding amp.
I had the chance to hear these at CES. They had just arrived, and the distributor was genuinely delighted with them. I was there to audition some more expensive floorstanders, and the X14s left me wondering if I just needed a pair of these coupled with a REL. I also began to question the value of their more expensive Confidence line, as these new models sounded tremendous.
I think the LS-50 speakers do not perform their best unless you have a fairly hi-powered high-quality amplifier. They also have essentially no bass at all.
The Arcam A38 or Musical Fidelity M3i would be better suited to them than the Rega Brio, IMO, if you want to see how they will perform.
I have seldom heard a Dynaudio speaker that I was not positively impressed by.
I also suspect, based on their rather low sensitivity of 85 db/watt, that the X14 would sound even better with a bit more power from the amplifier.
KEF rates the LF cutoff of the LS-50 speakers at 79 Hz, which means that most people would not want to use them without a subwoofer; they essentially have no bass at all.
Dynaudio claims frequency response down to 50 HZ for the X14, which should provide a healthy dose of midbass energy and a more satisfying overall sound.
Those Excite 14s are great. I have a Brio R and I like it a lot. I have a relatively small room at 10 x 15 and find that it provides more than enough power for a speaker that has an 86dB sensitivity. More power is always better, but unless you are in a larger room or like listening really loud, that Brio R is a great sounding amp.
I had the chance to hear these at CES. They had just arrived, and the distributor was genuinely delighted with them. I was there to audition some more expensive floorstanders, and the X14s left me wondering if I just needed a pair of these coupled with a REL. I also began to question the value of their more expensive Confidence line, as these new models sounded tremendous.