Sonos Amp and KEF LS50 Meta..

I’m particularly interested in your exact question; based on my listening experience with a range of KEF’s with the SonosAmp. 
I look forward to auditioning a pair of the Metas with my friends at  Magnolia (in Best Buy St Pete). I’ll stay tuned to this thread and look forward to initial impressions!!

Hi @h3m and @Jprice455.

Welcome to the Sonos community and thanks for reaching out to us. I understand that you guys wanted to know about pairing KEF LS50s with the Sonos Amp. Let me help out.

I would like to share with you this topic that discusses the integration of the KEF LS50 with the Sonos Amp. There is also a member of the community who has this set up currently working for him and shared his experience on that topic. Please feel free to visit the topic and reach out to other members of the community. We are always here to help out.

Thanks,

I installed a pair of KEF LS50 meta today at my house in fact! It’s wired to a Gen2 Sonos amp. Also have a Sonos Sub tied to it. 
 

it’s Awesome! I have a BIG living room. Sub mounted in opposite corner behind a fake plant. Sound fills the room. Very clean. I think they look awesome, but my wife is a little pissed about the aesthetic 

i think I’m going to plug a turntable into it and put it (inside) that furniture you see. 

I am surprised - the wife does not like the look of the KEFs?

Have you tried the Sub for sound quality when placed on the floor adjacent to the speakers - on either side?

Does Sonos Amp + Sub offer Trueplay tuning? If yes, it is worth doing that and deciding if you like that result more than the untuned version.

And since there is no technical reason for the Sonos amp to not work as well as any other 100 wpc amp, I am not surprised that the KEFs work fine with it.

She likes the speakers but she won’t let me put up speaker stands, and thinks the top of that piece should have useless decor on it - which I disagree. She said I can get little tables for either side, so I compromised with her on that :)

so the sub is on the opposite wall, but about 18 feet diagonal from the RH speaker. The couch prevents it from being directly across.

I have a Gen2 (of 3) amp. It’s not the new black one. It is the silver and white thing. It does NOT offer true play tuning. I can’t speak for the new one maybe it does? It sounds great though without tuning in this room. you definitely need the sub though. The LS50s don’t have a particularly rich bass. It’s just right with the sub.

No, the silver white amp does not offer true play tuning - but it does allow selection of crossover for the Sub, and with the LS50, I would do a crossover on the higher side. Play around and see what works best.

It is best to let things like useless decor slide, I have found. 

Seeing the distance from the listening area, stereo imaging would be better with more distance between the speakers - in theory they should be as far apart from each other as they are from the listening place. And placing the Sub on the same side as the speakers will give you better integration with the LS 50 for music play - for movie sound effects, if the TV is also wired to the Connect Amp, it may not matter as much.

All of the above without disrupting domestic harmony of course:-).

Awesome! Thanks! Yeah I think I have the crossover up at about 80 or so. So maybe the side tables will make it even better since it will give me another couple feet of spacing!

I’ve been running the ls50’s with an amp for a few months and paired now with the Arc, I can’t speak for everyone but I’m more than happy 😊 

JTTSteve wrote:

I installed a pair of KEF LS50 meta today at my house in fact! It’s wired to a Gen2 Sonos amp. Also have a Sonos Sub tied to it. 
 

it’s Awesome! I have a BIG living room. Sub mounted in opposite corner behind a fake plant. Sound fills the room. Very clean. I think they look awesome, but my wife is a little pissed about the aesthetic 

i think I’m going to plug a turntable into it and put it (inside) that furniture you see. 

 

Are the Meta’s good???

Congratulations; please share your impressions !!!

As far as actual TruePlay tuning, that doesn’t work with any speaker tied to the SonosAmp other than the Sonance/Sonos architectural and outdoor speakers. Still smashingly good amp and any speaker I’ve heard tied to them sound good. 

I had a demo of the Amp and LS50 Meta’s today - really pleased, however, I did

miss the low end on some songs.

I’m going back to the store next week to try the same setup with a sub. I think the store have a Rel T5 which I hope is close to the B&W PV1 that I have at home.  Anyway I’ll also try the Blue Sound Powernode 2i as well as some KEF R3’s.

Random q - can anyone tell me how Sonos devices work with Airplay 2/HomeKit? Does it appear as a separate item as my HomePod, Apple TV’s appear in the attached photo?

I think I’m swaying towards the Power Node 2i.  Is that due an update?

What do you expect Bluesound to do for heard sound quality that Sonos or Echo cannot?

I would also try the Sonos Sub with Sonos Amp. Compatible DSP will allow it to integrate as well as any third party Sub and better than most. And the set up is hassle free unless you enjoy tinkering with the various controls on third party Subs. 

h3m wrote:

I had a demo of the Amp and LS50 Meta’s today - really pleased, however, I did

miss the low end on some songs.

 

I’m going back to the store next week to try the same setup with a sub. I think the store have a Rel T5 which I hope is close to the B&W PV1 that I have at home.  Anyway I’ll also try the Blue Sound Powernode 2i as well as some KEF R3’s.

 

Random q - can anyone tell me how Sonos devices work with Airplay 2/HomeKit? Does it appear as a separate item as my HomePod, Apple TV’s appear in the attached photo?

 

 

You can use Sonos app or AirPlayII (see below)

Thanks. I think slightly better quality sound, to be honest the Bluesound supports high res which I think the Sonos doesn’t.  Correct me if I’m wrong.

In terms of the Echo, it’s not on my radar. I just want a single box which I can connect my speakers, sub and a turntable (in the future). And I want AirPlay 2/HomeKit compatibility.  

In terms of a sub I’ve already got a B&W PV1 sub which I intend to use with the amp.  I bought a Sonos Arc yesterday and may buy the Gen 3 to go with that tomorrow. Does the arc need a sub? 

Hi Res isn't supported to be better via blind listening tests, but if it floats your boat…I mentioned Echo more to stress this point than anything else. I haven't seen one double blind listening test where Bluesound has bested an Echo Dot as a source, leave alone Sonos.

If you already have a sub, that is the better thing to go with until it proves itself to be unworthy, for sure.

I am not familiar with Sonos TV products, but I would expect the Arc to be short on the ability to deliver the movies effects minus the Sub as all TV products of that form factor are. How much short and can you live without it are things related to personal preference, best decided after listening.