Cambridge Audio Aeromax 2 vs KEF LS50: which to buy?

The KEF LS50 is my pick here, and not by a whisker. It takes sound quality, midrange clarity, treble detail and value for money by clear margins, with design edging its way too.

Buy the Cambridge Audio Aeromax 2 if your listening runs to rock and punk and you want a bigger box doing the work. It is the taller cabinet at 371 mm, the more sensitive of the two at 90 dB, and it accepts up to 120 W, which makes it the easier partner for a modest amplifier asked to fill a larger room. Its midrange is strong on vocals and guitars, and its treble is crisp without turning sharp. Two caveats from my time with it: it needs a run-in period before it opens up, and it is unforgiving of weak electronics and cabling. Feed it a good amplifier and it repays you. Push it into dense electronica or jazz and the low end can smear.

Buy the KEF LS50 if resolution matters more to you than scale. It opens up the midrange with a real sense of the performer being in the room, and it pulls more fine detail out of the top end. It is the shorter cabinet at 302 mm and the less sensitive at 85 dB, so a small to medium room suits it best, though I have heard it sound convincing on an amplifier putting out only 10 to 20 W. It is the better value of the two as well, performing at a level I would expect from far pricier speakers. Bass is where the two sit level, and the low end here favours accuracy over weight, so add a subwoofer if you want films to shake the floor. For everything else, it is the one I would keep.