In those early days, the popular choices were corner horns and bass reflex speakers, but everyone was welcome to put drivers into any box they would fit in. Then,…
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I became interested in hi-fi well before the stereo era, at a time when DIY was a significant part of the hobby. In store catalogs of the time, as much or more space was devoted to raw speaker drivers and enclosures than to complete speaker systems. Those of us who wanted or needed to save some money built our own speaker enclosures from kits or plans or from articles in magazines like Radio-Electronics, Audiocraft, and Audio.
I began by using the LS60s the way I usually listen to music, playing music files stored on my NAS using Roon or JRiver. The LS60 system is Roon Ready; Roon sees it as a valid output capable of accepting up to 32/384 and DSD256, and of decoding MQA. However, all internal processing in the Primary LS60 is PCM, the rate determined by how the Primary speaker is connected to the Secondary. When wireless is used, sources are resampled to 24/96 PCM (footnote 3). If the two speakers are linked by the supplied Ethernet cable, all are resampled to 24/192. I could not discern an audible difference, but…
Sidebar 1: They're Not Just Speakers
I undertook this review thinking of the LS60s as a pair of powered loudspeakers with some additional features and concentrated on how they performed on those terms. However, their ability to accept and perform well with almost any music source puts them in a different category. They really are a complete audio system, lacking only a source.
At the most basic level, no networking is needed, although a Wi-Fi–connected smartphone is required for setup and control. You can directly connect a stereo line-level source (RCA) to the LS60 from…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: DSP-controlled, powered, floorstanding, three-way, Single Apparent Source loudspeaker with bass-reflex enclosure. Drive units: 4" aluminum Uni-Q (coaxial) with 0.75" aluminum dome with MAT, four 5.25" aluminum-cone bass drivers in two force-canceling pairs. Wireless: AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Roon Ready, Bluetooth 4.2, UPnP compatible. Streaming services: Spotify via Spotify Connect, Tidal via Tidal Connect, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Deezer, QQ Music via Qplay, Internet Radio, Podcasts. Input resolution: Network, up to 24/384, Optical, up to 24/96,…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal disc player, Apple TV 4K, Custom Intel/Win11 music server running JRiver Media Center v30 and Roon 2, exaSound s88 Mark II and Okto DAC8 PRO D/A processors. QNAP TVS-873 NAS.
Preamplifiers: Coleman Audio 7.1SW for balanced source switching. 3× Topping Pre90 preamps for buffer/line drivers.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, NAD C 298.
Loudspeakers: KEF Blade Two Meta, Revel Ultima2 Studio, SVS SB-3000 subwoofers.
Cables: Digital cables: AudioQuest Coffee (USB). Analog interconnects: Benchmark…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
I followed the instructions in the manual to set up the KEF LS60s, first installing the KEF Connect app on my iPhone 11 then connecting the Primary speaker to my Wi-Fi network. The speaker was identified as "LS60 Wireless-1a05a2," and its firmware was up to date. I used the app to select the input and apply DSP settings. Although Roon recognized the KEF as a Roon Ready Airplay device, I didn't use Roon for the testing. Instead, I performed a complete set of measurements with DRA Labs' MLSSA system using the Primary LS60's Aux analog input. I used a calibrated DPA…
"Roberta Flack has Lou Gehrig's disease and can no longer sing," Béla, my visiting friend, yelled from the guest bedroom. The news rekindled in me the same mixture of sadness and foreboding I get every time I read about the decline or death of an iconic musician who rose to fame during my aeonian youth.
The next day, Béla announced he was about to use my Audeze LCD-X headphones and AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt to play Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which he'd ripped to his laptop. "Honey," I replied, "forget about your computer. Let's listen to this in the music room. I've…
Preparing to listen
With Giolas temporarily grounded by COVID, installation of the Vivaldi was entrusted to Definitive Audio's Gary Bruestle. We began by re-spacing a shelf on the Grand Prix Monza to accommodate three Vivaldi components plus equipment supports.
Lately, an Innuos Statement Next-Gen music server running Roon has been handling file playback on my system. I wanted to sample the Innuos proprietary playback software (which I'll discuss in a future follow-up review), but it wasn't yet equipped to work with the Vivaldi Apex DAC. Because Innuos prefers USB to Ethernet…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-box networked upsampling D/A processing system with volume control and remote. Vivaldi Apex DAC features dCS proprietary Ring DAC topology with a choice of 3MHz or 6MHz operation. Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced on XLR. Output levels: 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V, 6V RMS for full-scale input, set in the menu. Output impedance: 3 ohms. Minimum load: 600 ohms (10–100kohm recommended); 1 pair unbalanced on RCA. Output levels: 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V, 6V RMS for full-scale input, set in the menu. Output impedance: 52 ohms. Minimum load: 600 ohms (10–100k ohms recommended…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Rossini Apex DAC, Rossini Clock; Innuos Statement Next-Gen Music Server; Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, and Nordost QNet Ethernet Switch, all powered by Nordost QSource linear power supplies (2); Small Green Computer Sonore Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys mesh router, and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 linear power supply; Apple 2017 iPad Pro.
Preamplifier: Dan D'Agostino Momentum HD.
Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Progression M550 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson…