Xtenda x300 review
Each 7.5kg loudspeaker houses amplifiers and DAC with inter-speaker communication taking place digitally via USB.
#Xtenda x300 review driver#
Perhaps that sense of neutrality can be attributed to the X300A’s Uni-Q coaxial driver array being juiced via a super-short signal path by a bespoke pair of Class A/B amplifiers? This is no master-slave active configuration.
The LS50 might be the better speaker but the X300A’s sound is cooler, more down-the-line neutral than most LS50-centred configurations I’ve heard. Spending time with the newer, network-connected ‘Wireless’ version has cemented previous assertions that these actives aren’t 1) as warm as the LS50 – which really dig serious Class D horsepower from a pair of Wyred4Sound mAMPs – and 2) do things with layer separation that I’ve yet to hear from the LS50 with any amplifier/DAC combo. I reviewed KEF’s original X300A in June of last year so consider this piece more of a follow-up than a review in its own right. Otherwise it’s the original’s more subdued gun-metal grey. Stump up the extra cashola for the new model’s network connectivity and you get the option of a white finish (which I think looks terrific). In Australia the X300A Wireless come with an RRP of AU$1399. KEF’s X300A powered loudspeakers now come in a Wireless version that load a US$200 premium onto the original’s US$799 price for a final RRP of US$999. The desire to tweak in the name of optimisation jams open the door for the tyranny of choice to take up co-habitation. More seasoned audiophiles, plagued by their own internal machinations will see audiophile nervosa eventually arrive. For newcomers this might just be too overwhelming. After which, you’ll need to choose a speaker cable. Then there’s the matching DAC to consider. This is where your local dealer comes in handy. The passive LS50 standmount might be KEF’s most popular loudspeaker of their fifty-year career but choosing a suitable amplifier requires forethought, research and audition time. Enough is enough.” Welcome to the obsessive-compulsive world of audiophillia where myriad possibilities often lead to choice paralysis and an attendant lack of satisfaction. I let you eat into my living space, my budget, my time.
Said the audiophile to the hi-fi world, “We should break up.