Cambridge Audio SX-50 vs KEF LS50: which should you buy?

The KEF LS50 is my pick, and the gap is wider than the shared 2-way, 5.25 inch driver layout suggests. It takes every aspect I score here, from sound quality and treble detail through to design and value.

Buy the Cambridge Audio SX-50 if your listening happens close up, in a small room or on a desk, and your amplifier is a modest one. It is the more sensitive of the two at 87 dB and it will run from as little as 10 W, which matters with a compact integrated. The midrange is the part I enjoy most about it, natural and organic with vocals sitting where they should, and the treble is smooth and slightly dark, which forgives rough recordings and long sessions. Its bass rolls off below 50 Hz, so plan for a subwoofer if you want weight, and expect placement to shift the low end more than you would like.

Everyone else should go for the KEF LS50. It resolves more of the recording, with a treble that stays sharp and fully lit rather than softened, and a midrange that puts singers and wind instruments in the room with you. Read the frequency figures carefully before you judge the bass: its rated response starts at 79 Hz against 50 Hz, with an extended figure of 47 Hz to 45 kHz, and what actually arrives is tighter and better judged, which is why I place it ahead on bass response. Neither speaker will satisfy a basshead. It does ask more of you: 25 W minimum, 85 dB sensitivity, a taller 302 mm cabinet that wants breathing room, and a source and amplifier worth hearing, because it reports honestly on both. There is no bi-wiring either. Give it that and it is the stronger buy on value as well as on sound.