so, how
so, how does it sound? i have tube pre that i'd like to use with the LS50W. i'd like to know before i make the upgrade. yes, i intend to use rca cables.
Having owned both the standard and the wireless version, I can confirm that the wireless version sounds significantly better than the standard. They have more fullness, authority, and control due to having perfectly matched amps (4 in total) on board. You would not be able to buy a high quality outboard amp anywhere near the asking price of the LS50W that would sound as good.
With that said, there are some usability issues that keep me from wholeheartedly recommending them.
-The cord issue, as stated above, can be a real problem when they're sitting on stands. Normally all those cords go in and out of equipment that sits in a rack or an entertainment center. With the LS50W, it can only go right into the speakers, so you have a bit of an eyesore.
-You can't tell which input is selected from the listening position (the LED markers are stupidly placed on top of the speaker). Sounds like nitpicking, but it's actually pretty annoying to click through inputs and listen to tell which one you're on.
-There have been frequent issues with motherboards melting on these. I don't know what the fail rate is, but it seems pretty high. Because your entire system is wrapped up in the 2 speakers, you're down a whole system rather than just a single piece of gear.
-I had connection issues, where once a week or more I couldn't get the app to recognize the speakers. Deal breaker for me. I bought them for convenience and once a week I was frustrated with troubleshooting them. This issue could easily be solved with a future firmware update, so maybe this has been fixed by now.
So in summary, they sounded great and offered some cool features, but for me, the cons outweighed the pros. If you already have a system you like, you can get better reliability and usability by plugging in a $15 Chromecast Audio into your tube pre.
