Sonus Faber Lumina 1 vs KEF LS50 (sound test)
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
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This time, the smallest bookshelf speaker of Sonus Faber goes up against the mighty KEF LS50 originals. Quite different approaches and sound signatures - let me now your opinions down in the comments!
The room has been acousticaly treated (ongoing) since the last video. Measurements of both the room and the acoustic result are available upon request - drop me a PM.
Associated equipment as well as songs and performers are in the video.
Lumina 1 are such nice sounding speakers. Can listen for hours without fatigue.
Lumina 0:09 1:13 3:40 5:16 8:21
LS50 1:52 2:54 4:23 6:49 9:03
Lumina tweeter is outstanding- fast and sweet sounding. Midrange is like butter 😊
Kef are smooth, balanced and accurate systems, but this can be incomprehensible to many due to the habit of listening to more colored sound. Sonus faber has a clear color in the treble and midbass area, the sound seems warm and cozy. Both systems have a place to be, personal taste and preferences will be more influenced here.
Correct assessment with a great conclusion.
Personally I prefer the KEFs. Maybe because I‘m an old Brit. I‘d love to hear the upgraded METAs.
The detail of the Lumina is not achieved by the Kef
Lumina´s are much more refined and the level of detail is great. Kef´s in comparison sound dull and obscure.
KEF sound a little bit distorted side by side.
Lumina 1 has richer sound.
For me, Lumina clearly a warmer speaker, could listen for hours. Kef are to me harsh I'd get tired to quickly. A matter of what your after.
Wow, really appreciate the effort you’ve put into this comparison. I’m listening through a pair of B&W PM1’s with 2 X PV1’s, what surprised me was the difference between the Kef’s and Sonas Fabers, which I wasn’t expecting to hear with my relatively inexpensive speaker set up!
Initial couple of listening’s drew me into the Sonas Fabers warmth of presentation, then on the 4th and 5th listen the Kefs accuracy became more apparent and I grew to like that. But they both seem to be great options and personal preference will determine a final decision.
Both sound amazing for such small speakers.
I love Both. I have the Sonus Faber Lumia II's and really love them. I think they are better than the LS50 Meta's. But that doesn't mean the LS50 meta isn't also really good. I would love to hear the Lumia 1's. I was considering them for computer speakers.
They both have their moments. Nice job 👍
It's amazing how many people are convinced that the forward voicing of the Luminas somehow evokes the idea of detail. The evidence is clear in the first minute of the of the first track, that the KEF is the more detailed speaker. Background and crowd noises are much more defined and easy to place in the soundstage. The KEF imaging is hands down better as well.
But the Luminas do have that demo type of sound that while less accurate, definitely draws you in to thinking it is detailed.
Some people want the in your face sound and I understand the appeal. The Luminas do it very, very well. But for my money I prefer detail and accuracy, which sometimes comes at the expense of sounding laid back. This is an excellent case of a musical speaker versus an analytical speaker.
Buy them both for whatever mood you happen to be in.
There are other factors. For me I am want speakers with either front or no baffles. I don't wat bass bothering people on the other side of the wall. So the KAFs can't work for me.
@TaiMan Chan Yea I wish, LOL. I couldn't afford either pair right now, but I have some KEF towers that I am pretty happy with.
KEFs sucked balls in Queens of the Stone Age song. Like playing out of a can. I mostly listen to heavy genres of rock, so that is why this is important for me. Thank you for the test.
@@hefic I was going to agree with you but after a few listens I changed my mind. The lumina's do sound heavier in the bass and mid bass, which I think is what you are looking for. But also I do think they sound a little muddier when it comes to detail. That is the thing with KEF's. Sometimes you want to hear that detail and sometimes you don't. For that kind of music I perfectly understand why you would choose the Lumina. It has more meat on the bones for hard rock, for sure. But sucked balls? Not really.
@@boneseyyl1060 I admit, I was exaggerating with words. I think KEFs are brilliant at acoustic or classical music.
*edit: I am on a cath for Lumina 2 920 eur shipped from Italy. Looks like a no brainer.
Most people dont realize that a woofer/drivers size makes a difference in certain frequencies. Kef's sound fuller but less foward due to larger driver. Smaller driver will emphasize cleaner and more detailed midrange with a forward emphasis but will not sound as full or balanced.
Seems like something to consider if you are planning to use a subwoofer..a smaller driver with better clarity and tone might match better.
@@NosEL34 somethin along those lines, yes. One of my much more hifi-experienced freinds said once 'if you're looking for a speaker, get the highs and the mids right. You can always add bass later, but you can't add those two.'
@@georgedomse That's some good solid advice
@@georgedomse this is true
@@georgedomseSo Lumina 1 and if you need later you can buy subwoofer, correct ?
SonusFaber, hands down!
With compressed UA-cam audio, and built in iPad speakers, I was able to gain an accurate assessment of those two sets of speakers.
Wow! The difference between these two in the QOTSA song is clear. That's a pin point for me and why I prefer the Sonus Faber
Thanks for the comparison. I like to compare it also with the way original song sounds in my headphones , by doing that I’m noticing that Lumina is making it more bright which I don’t like. Both the way the Nils guitar or Queens cymbal sounds. Lumina gives them brightness which is not in the mix. Considering also the UA-cam compression I suppose Luminas will be too bright and fatiguing for me in reality.
Lumina have much nicer sparkle and livliness ... I don't think the KEF ar bad at all .. .but I prefer the Lumina.
( I actually own the Lumina 2.. Many clips and videos on my channel with them) **soon to be more**
Lumina is more fullbody sound, LS is more detail in bass... But its just for me
Sonus Faber 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
I have Lumina I, it's bright, thin midrange and fatiguing for my taste. I have LS50 Wireless in the same room, it's neutral, fuller midrange and I can enjoy listening for longer hours. Same also for my P3ESR, this is neutral tone, full midrange and none fatiguing.
You are a liar !
You never have the Lumina 1 !
yes the Lumina sound more like listening to it live- when miked and amplified nicely
Hi George- nice series of comparisons you have published so far. my favs till now are the AE500s. This one clearly show that the Lumina 1s are mostly for small rooms and really well dampened rooms, as they seem a bit too detailed and hot to my ears. I believe you agree- there isnt that much body to the sound and i noticed that you kept the LS50s. Myself i run a pair of Quad S2 (ribbon tweeter) with a Rega Brio-R integrated. I believe they may interest you since the tweeter is very good and i find them my fav bookshelves under 1000EUR/£. Give them a go if you have a chance.
Thanks! I contemplated for a very long time whether I get myself the S2's (or the Z2's for that matter) - but some say it is a fussy speaker to work with. I am sure you saw Jay Soulsik's take on that one. So far I skipped the Quads.
Indeed I disliked the Lumina 1's. It is loaded with detail but indeed the sound is so hot that (in room) even deep voices like Leonard Cohen or Gregory Porter had a glare, a shimmer that was unnatural to my ears. I was on the fence if I keep the KEF or the Dali Oberon 3's, BUT to my huge suprise, the white pair of LS50's sounded completely different to this red pair (the red ones outperforming the O3's). And I mean completely, like not even from the same brand. Weird, I know... but for now, the LS50's strike a good balance between smoothness and detail for me(note that my rooms has a +20dB bump at 55Hz and my hearing is dead from 14kHz upwards from decades of gigging in rock bands).
Next up there will be some amp sound tests. Marantz PM8006 maybe?
@@georgedomse i wanna say that Jay knows nothing about the Quad S2 i completely disagree with him except for the fact that the S2 do have a slight bump at 4Khz which make them very articulate for "Ch" sounds ( not that different from the LS50s actually). You should check the replies on that "review" he's done- there's a lot of disagreement with his review. . I strongly believe he didnt do them justice. Regarding your oberon 3, in the videos they sound a bit boomy but i can't argue that they dont sound better in reality compared to the recording. What happend to the Elex-R? i personally enjoy the Rega Brio sound with a SMSL SU9N DAC because they both are warmer sounding and that works well with the Quads. i really recommend the SU9N if you look for a very-very good affordable DAC.
@@apmihai82 The Elex-R went right back. Turns out it has no pop-protection (when you turn on, it produces a pop sound in the speakers, which annoyed me). Also, there was a slight hum which to some reviewers like Zero Fidelity is a common thing with a lot of amps - I tend to disagree, I never had that with any of my amps but the Rega and my Musical Fidelity M2si (the m3si did NOT have the same issue). Sorry (not sorry) but for over 1200 Euros I don't want to hear amp induced hum in my speakers.
So the search continues...
@@georgedomse If I am reading this right, the Lumina has some glare particularly with human voice and perhaps pressurizes (rather than stay even keel with other frequencies) at certain frequencies? I have looked at Polk R200, Dali Oberon 3 and Lumina II and don't know which would be a more suitable choice for a wide range of music but particularly piano and human voices.
I have the Dali Opticon 1s now and like them well enough but there is some glare/sibilance which can be somewhat controlled by moving the speaker height. They are otherwise nice enough rounding off some of the edges, I guess from the wood pulp driver but do well enough in nearfield for price performance (bought at half off NIB). I have triangle zetas which sound more open and detailed, especially micro details but also have some glare. Budget speakers seem to do this but when they do alot right, you live with it.
Those that better control that glare seem to have been lacking too much in other areas. Dynaudio Emit 10 could sound larger and would flip from sounding decent and then unnatural with music on the same album and it obscured lots of detail. I wouldn't mind a warmer speaker but not because it does away with detail, that to me is woolly.
MA Silver 50s chirped, MA 100s were hard to listen too over long periods of time, Quad S2 too flat a stage, kind of boring but high resolution and detail. The list goes on.
What I have and like are Triangle Zetas (like old color series), much better than borea imo, and my mains are Focal 807Ws which have outperformed, well pretty much everything else but are big. I am aiming for a smaller speaker that performs well for classical as well as most genres.
Don't know. At least I could live with what I have now and maybe that's the way to do it until one hears something. I have heard the Oberon 1s and like the bite of the Opticon 1s better, more dynamic and detailed, a bit more resolving too. Also like the Opticon 1s more than Dali Menuet SE better, more detail though not as resolving, the Se just did away with too much detail in the music though they were smoother.
I suppose there are alot of good choices at much higher price levels but I don't play music at too loud a volume anymore and am not trying to recreate a concert, just a nice enough facsimile for a small room. Funny when one likes budget speakers better than higher end counterparts.
@@georgedomse That;s enough for me to cross those off the list. If I want to spend some money...the two I am eyeing are either Exposure 2510 or the Belles Aria which would seem to fit the bill over many others for my needs. I have a Hegel h160 but don't need the power and bulk. My smaller amp is a Keces e40 which is small and performs very well. I might even buy another but it isn't suitable for under 4 ohm loads (does great for Opticon 1 though) but many amps will get hot with very low impedance speakers. Anything above 4 ohms is fine. Hegel is nice too but I want an amp to do one thing, amplify. Swapping dacs every few years is a fun hobby and it would be easier to fix an amp over the long term, meaning decades, IMO.
Well, the Lumias sound nicer on my headphones. The KEF sounds a little boxy or honky almost. Of course it may be different during in person listening
The Luminas have that typical showroom sound that will wow you from the get go but sound annoying after some time, the LS50 is neutral-ish besides the bump in the lower treble. The best balance between both? The Metas. People that chose the Luminas clearly like a sizzling hot treble.
Had mine 3 months and still waiting to be disappointed. They just get better! I do not find them over bright. Maybe down to my smp, Refa Elex-r.
@@elmowedgewood everyone's definition of bright isnt goin to be the same. Measurements tells us that it is a top heavy speaker. I also doubt an amp would be as drastic as to reduce 5db off the top end of the spectrum. As long as you like such a frequency response, its all good. Nothing wrong with that. I try to avoid speakers like these at all costs because I personally know I would get tired of such a sound.
@@AbsoluteFidelity Indeed, the hi-hat in that last song sounded way too bright on the Lumina. The tweeter of the LS50 seems to be broken in comparison.
@@cremersalex the tweeter of a Genelec 8361A would sound broken next to the Lumina.
Depende q gustos, yo escuche x años el sonido calido , y me gusta, pero le encontre mas disfrutable la riqueza de los medios con detalle , sinnquenla voces suenen ahogadas, esas luminas son perfectas , pero para mi necesitarian un subwoofer para darle ese cuerpo que les falta
KEF LS50 is missing, like, 25-30% of the tonal picture that Lumina 1 can deliver.
The KEF’s were excellent up until the vocals, then it sounded nasally in comparison to the sf’s
If I had to live with one, it would be the sf’s, I reckon the Lumina 2’s would sound far fuller and dynamic 👌
Lumina 1
I feel like the both need to be pulled away from the side wall a bit more. I am hearing some box sound with these two. Also the ls50 seems bumped in the mids compared to the sonus faber. It could be that the highs and lows are just missing on the ls50.
SONUS FOR ME
Good test, I like them both but it depends on your taste preference, but I will say the kef’s have richer mids.
Te BEST Sonud Faber, for me.
Well, I may be another contrarian, but to my ear the LS50 have a more realistic midrange articulation and better LF texture and body. Mid bass is more pronounced, which sounds more accurate to my expectations in most of the recordings. Through my headphones elements in the soundstage sound better delineated.. more natural. In suppose you could say the SF’s sound ‘luxurious’ …but in an artificial sound. It’s as if there is the classic ‘saddle’ voicing in the x-over to make a small speaker sound big, but then certain elements in the recordings become recessed when seems they shouldn’t be. KEF for me, thx. It has a larger bodied more natural and neutral sound without sounding small.
Lumina 1 have very good micro dynamics with natural sounding vocals.
I love both, yet Sonus Faber don't have that nice mid-low punch in KEF, but better on strings.
Great service posting these samples! Lumina sounds a bit bright. Treble sparkle easily impresses in the short term but the neutrality of kef is what will be better for long haul. I’d get kef between the two.
Szia, Luminának mintha tisztább élesebb precizebb lenne a hangja, valamint feszesebb mélye. Valójában is igy van? Nekem a Kef is tetszik, csak hallani hogy jóval másabb hangolás, mintha lenne rajta egy fátyol. Egyébként nagyon szuper videókat készitesz, igy tovább
Köszi. Ez ízlés kérdése, nekem a KEF hangja sokkal kellemesebb. Élőben nekem a Lumina magasa nagyon sok, hamar fáraszt. A női vokálok jól szólnak rajta, de én maradok a KEF mellett inkább.
Lumina is open, clean, detailed. May be a bit dynamic too. KEF sounds muddy.
The Lumina are stronger on the highs than its counterpart, so maybe there will be a bit of listening fatigue after a few hours of rock or electronic music. Great video! I'm a suscriber!
I wasn’t keen on the Kef LS50 meta’s on my Hegel H390. But the Kef LS50 wireless 11 are a very different story. Of course, it all depends on what you feed them with. I’m using Innuos Zenith and Roon. Marvellous.
What quality did you not like on the Metas, that the W2's seem to deliver?
@@georgedomse The wireless 11’s are cleaner and more detailed. Good for acoustic guitar and vocals.
@@gary-kr7dm the Wii are clearly the top end heavy speakers. Great for people that like a brighter sound. The Meta is neutral.
@@AbsoluteFidelity Fed with innuos via Roon/Tidal hifi, they are not bright at all. I even sold my smooth lovely sounding Hegel H390 for this set up and I can’t stand bright digital sounds.
@@AbsoluteFidelity The wireless 11 have also got the Meta technology.
Can you please give us some insight into those lovely back panels? are they diy? thank you
Love the lumina one more harmonic and liquid sounded.
Seems impossible for me to choose. What about George? What's his opinion?
Voices have more body with the LS50 but with a touch of sibilance, LS50 meta would probably deal with this issue
Late to the party here but are looking for upgrade. I really like the Kefs lower part of the midrange and the full body from, maybe 4-500hz (?) and below. Buy also the sf's somehow brighter but effortlessness presentation as well. If the sonus had just a tad fuller sound it would be amazing. I see comments about a lumina II. Is it just as bright, but does it have a fuller sound just a tad more towards the kef's? If someone knows and responds it would be a problem solver for me :)
Use tubes somewhere in the mix with the Sonus Fabers.
Sonus Faber 👍👍👍
You probably want to stream directly to the Hegel, when you go trough the tv you get everything converted to 48kHz 16 bit.
Directly to the Hegel? How?
(this is an H80)
@@georgedomse if it has usb you can use a Rasberri pi with roopie if H80 doesn't have USB you need a hatboard for the Rasberri pi to get coax or toslink.
@@marcusm5127 it does have USB, but I thought you meant streaming in the usual sense of the word (OTA or hardwired via Ethernet). The USB conversely support only 24/96, whereas the optical and the toslink on this device support 24/192... weird, huh. But yes, indeed the optical signal from the TV is converted to 16/48. I connected my Macbook to the USB and the quality IS better - but for sake of this video, remote controlling was necessary, thus I stuck with the Tidal app.
Kef are veiled, Lumina open and detaile, much better.
Sonus Faber is amazing 👌👌👌
Ls50 warmer mellower fuller more natural mids, vocals.
Lumina sounds better =) btw, is that marble tile under the stand?
It's granite.
Thanks for that idea my laminated floor is quite wobbly is that block working good?
The role of the granite block is decoupling the speaker from the floor, not to even the surface. PM me on facebook (same name as here) and we can continue the chat in hungarian.
Hi George, How are you?
Congrats on your UA-cam Channel. I follow you from the Caribbean on
the island of Trinidad.
Please advise which between these two SF Lumina 1 and KEF LS50
Meta speaker should I go for? Which one would you recommend and do I need a subwoofer?
My amplifier is a Parasound A23+ and P6 preamplifier. Would this A23+
be sufficient to drive these KEF speakers?
Living space measures 19ft long x 13ft wide x 10-14ft high ceilings.
Speakers would be 6 ft apart and I would sit about 9ft from the
speakers.
Thanks in advance,
Hi Richard, thanks! We must not forget that this channel is not meant to be an audio review sort of thing - I am just documenting my journey towards a sound that I like and that I find is a great value.
Having said that, the Lumina I's will be way too small for a room like yours. Also, your amp is capable of more that just these mini monitors. Have a look at the Lumina II's, they deliver the same sound but MORE of it. Just by looking at the Lumina I's and the LS50 Meta, the Metas would be a more balanced speaker I say. Initially, the Luminas will sound impressive, with tons of high end detail, but for me they quickly got fatiguing. Male bass voices like Leonard Cohen got an unfriendly shimmer, cymbal hits were very pronounced - thus I kept my LS50's instead of the Luminas.
As for a sub - yes, you better get one. Only reason I don't use one is that my room is small and I have a bass frequency bump at 55Hz (+21dB!). Find the right position for your speakers and off you go!
Happy listening.
Edit: the Luminas are harder to drive than the LS50's - but then again, the Lumina II's are easier than the Lumina I's. Your amp will handle them all just fine.
@@georgedomse Thanks for your response. Much appreciated.
@MD.2 Sorry, not into snakes. Lol
Kef builds a more voluminous and detailed picture! Kef has a grown-up sound!
Kef теплей и натуральней
'Integrated' George, not 'Intergrated'
Thanks for pointing that out! Unfortunately I do make quite a many typos.
Try this Direct compare 0:10 sonus vs 1:52 Kef switch back and forth
time to get rid of my LS50 wireless !
way more space and air in the mids and vocals of the SF Lumina 1.
Kef ls50 , so great!!!!
Lumina 1 the best
There seems to be bigger to-in with Luminas.
So what is your verdict George?
I found that it doesn't really matter what others say, so my opinion is not worth anything, at all, either.
I did not like any modern Sonus Faber so far, neither did I like the Luminas. They have a top end shimmer that is really unpleasant to me and that - in my system, for my ears - makes singers sound 'younger' than they are.
But keep in mind, you mileage may vary. You must absolutely try them before you decide.
@@georgedomse I think everyone's honest opinion is worth a lot given we understand this is subjective. Always matters as long as context is given with opinion.
I've heard the classic Electas. Wish I could afford them. More power to your channel.
SF Lumina I is sweet....period!
KEF LS50 в жизни более чёткие образы
It’s incredible how well the differences in sound come across even on an iPad. the width of the sound stage is clearly different. How do you record the sound for the videos? Thanks for the great content.
I simply take my iPhone 12 mini and have a go at it from the listening position with the stock Camera app.
@@georgedomse I bet those dampeners behind the speakers help. So many home demos are wrecked by room acoustics. Yours seems to be relavely free of that. The only way my room works for recording is to shoot from a meter and have the speakers closer together. That worked for me much better than from 3 meters. The voice sound is way more distinct and more meat on the bone, from a meter (in my room).
@@Justwantahover I spent quite some time with getting the room acoustics right. I am stuck with overwhelming bass, as many of us are, but got the mid- and high frequencies in check. I also have broadband absorbers on the back walls and acoustic foam in all top corners of the room. That's all I could do here.
@@georgedomse
Man, that's impressive! I've listened to many samples with prof. mic setups that didn't sound this good. 🙏
The LS50s are like a high res speakers compared to the Fabers, the sound of these Sonus Fabers is warmer but reminds me of BOSE coloured sound.
I have the LS50s and I prefer that sound, but congrats to the people that prefer the Sonus Fabers
Italia is always a winner when it comes to sound
depending on the shape of your ears.......
What amp is in use???
0:03 in the video.
@@georgedomse thanks
These Italians....are good.😊
The Kef are hard to drive (but may be the Sonus too ?..). Nevertheless I wonder how the same test would render with say a Peachtree Nova 150 or the like. May be it would remove the veil and even boxy feel on the LS50. The Sonus lacks bass rendering but the highs are very punchy and crystalline.
I hear many people like the Peachtree Nova. I have never auditioned it BUT in all comparison videos I have watched so far it sounded more veiled than its competitors. So far I am not really compelled to try it, to be honest.
In person, the KEF does not sound boxy or veiled to me - of course if you listen to them after another pair of speakers that are extremely clean and shimmery like the Lumina 1's, the KEF's may come over as veiled. In real life though, for me the Lumina's sound with the Hegel is the epitomy of 'fatigue'. Way too much of a good thing, as they say. May, MAYBE the veiled nature of the Nova would fit the Luminas better.
@@georgedomse Thank you for your insight George, much appreciated... Did you ever get to see if the Lumina 2 were much different from the Lumina 1 with their larger enclosure ?
@@alanalain4884 unfortunately not. The Lumina 2 is in more than a half-year delay in Hungary. Still not available. I am on the waiting list though.
@@georgedomse Well I hope you will get them soon, for your enjoyment and ours. Ever heard the Sonetto I ? Are they an upgrade compared to the Lumina II ? But I guess they must be hard to find too...
@@alanalain4884 I wnasn't really out to test many SF speakers, manl due to the small size of my room (what you can see here is lmost the complete listetning space) and so the dispersion of most SF speakers will make them sound too bright in my system. Tih think te Lumina II will be worth a try - at the same time I just placed my order for the LS50 Meta, so expect some comparison videos of LS50 vs LS50 Meta to come soon :)
absolutely Kef LS50
I like the sound of the Lumina I's better.
Sonus faber's Lumina's sound WAY better! More refined and clear sound.
For all those who think the Lumina 1 is as good or better, you can get the Lumina 2 for the same price as the Metas. Same detail, even bigger sound and more effortless bass.
I just checked, in Europe the Lumina 2s are 200 euros a pair cheaper than the Metas. The Lumina 1 is 400 euro cheaper. All fantastic speakers, but the Sonus Fabers are much better value.
Sonus Faber much superior no comparison...!
Bro, I swear the Luminas make the Kefs sound like a Logitech, lmao
Wow KEF can't sing, but does some other things better, although Sonus has a bit thinner vocals, they have soul, KEF vocals are somehow smeared, veiled, lame, have no emotion and intimacy, that's a no go for me, it's the most important thing on a loudspeaker, I'm listening to wide-range units, and they have the best vocals, thank you for this video, now I know that KEF is hyper-hyped or just reviewed by people with mediocre sense of hearing.
Edit: Now I've read that these red ones are not representable, you say that white ones are sounding much different and better, so my review and happiness are not real lol :D
KEF's are sublimely accurate and reviewed and praised highly by people who do it for a living and have listened to literally hundreds if not thousands of speakers - it is the reference speaker for many of these folks to judge other speakers against. You like speakers with "character" then go for it - just don't mistake the LS50's as over-hyped
@@JamesJoyce12 Vocals are rubbish, and that's the most important thing, no emotion also, I wouldn't take that LS if you pay me, of course it's overhyped.
Those reviewers didn't listen to "full"range units, so they missed that and found a piece of it in soulles and emotionless coax KEF, that's the only reason I can think of why they are hyping it.
@@DYNABLASTERTUNERS Seriously - the "reviewers" don't listen to full range units - how stupid is that - they have been auditioning speakers for decades and only listen to standmounts?? lol
Stereophile just came out with their ratings issue - KEF is class A right up there with the $15,000+ full rangers.
Soulless? Emotionless? Now you are literally making stuff up - what does that sound like? Get educated dude and quit championing distortion.
@@JamesJoyce12 You are only good to get lost, you are lacking everything, you can't even understand what I'm talking about. Don't bother me again with your ignorance and mediocre hearing sense.
@@DYNABLASTERTUNERS Common reaction from idiots to empirical facts
I prefer the Kef the detail is amazing.
Sonus is warmer and richer
it turned out to me that KEF is overrated in many reviews. I don't subscribe to UA-cam, so my supply bitrate is 128 Mbps, but even that was enough to hear the difference in favor of Lumina.
Tastes are different. I did not keep the Lumina's, they had way, way too much top end and sparkle for me. IRL they made deep baritone/male vocals sound 20 years "younger" than they should be.
Don't forget, YT chaets the other way around. The compression will cut off the high end, so everything you hear in my videos will be much brighter in person.
here is the reason for UA-cam MP3's low bitrate. at low bitrate usually low medium deep low is not. And KEF dominated here, so Lumina looked better because he was able to disclose key information more accurately. Listening outside of UA-cam would be a real benefit to Lumina.
@@vidaswidas again, this is system dependent. In my system, the Lumina was too bright, too shimmery and fatiguing, and very far from "real musical sound". But with another amplifier (the rega being bright in its own regard), yes, the Luminas can come out on top.
@@georgedomse I’m agree with you. I have Naim Atom and first speakers was Focal Chora 806, I wasn’t sure if that was the best combination, so I changed to Lumina I and result was better (room about 25 sq.m). After all when Lumina II appeared, I asked to sales manager (big experience, more than 30 years in audio business), what can I try to test KEF LS50 or Lumina II, and got answer “no doubt, Lumina II “. And now I’m very happy. But for other readers i want to say that in small room (no more 30 sq.m) Lumina I is enough.
The Sonus sound better. Natural, fuller and deeper soundstage. Kef sound more direct but metallic sound and less dynamic than the Sonus.
Lumina 1 totally DESTROYS the Kefs. RIP
Its weird, they both sound like my computer speakers.
Tutta la vita sonus faber!!!!
This feels so weird, listen through my Bower and Wilkins and recorded by a random microphone? and trying to establish which one I should buy. But on these recording of your sound especially QOTSA, Sonus sounded a mile better 😊
Why would you establish any conclusion based on my video? Who said that you should? Always go and listen for yourself :) These videos are only for my personal archive, nothing more and nothing less. Everyone is welcome to watch of course.
@@georgedomse That was my point, I was ironic 😉 Unfortunately I don't have any close shop that sell Sonus Faber that's why I was google the shit of it and ended up here..
@@SuperHurtman to give you my feedback, I was not a fan of the Lumina 1's. I listen for midrange clarity and thickness, and the SF underdelivered here. Male vocals had a slight shimmer to them, making the sound rather unnatural to my ears. Highs were a bit too extended for my liking as well. I ended up keepimg the Metas.
obviously, KEF performs oustanding vs SF. synthetic "clarity" of SF is a highs amplification. KEF produces natural, detailed sound as in life, nothing from "themselves". vocals are fully ruined by SF
Keff is a clearer sound..
Sonos Faber's sound better but if I was stuck with either speaker I would pick the KEFs. Not cost of quality but cos the KEFs are point source.
Limina thin anemic mids
ls 50 sound is messy and unfocussed. In every comparison I do notice this.
LUMINA 1 is more open and detailed.
Clarity is day and night. Lumina 1 wins.
faber has a bit more bass,weight, but both great
lumina plus rapide,neutre ,transparente , ls50 plus de bas medium , je prefere les lumina 1
Bonjour
Je suis français également.
Depuis tu les as eu les Lumina 1 ?
En tous cas dans ce test notamment pour le dernier morceau rock, je trouve moi aussi les Lumina 1 bien meilleures, c'est à dire offrant une sonorité plus vive et plus claire, les LS50 paraissent un peu brouillonnes par comparaison.
Avec le dernier morceau, très rock, les Lumina 1 sont nettement meilleures que les Kef
I’m with the KEF - the Lumina are too bright and sound unbalanced to me.
KEF LS 50 is heavily over-rated! Nowhere near the sound of Lumia!!