Dynaudio Emit M30 vs KEF LS50: which should you buy?

The KEF LS50 is my overall pick, and not by a hair: it leads on sound quality, midrange, treble, design and value for money by clear margins. The Emit M30 answers back in the low end.

Buy the Dynaudio Emit M30 if the bottom octaves are what you actually listen for. It leads on bass response by a clear margin, and the hardware explains why: two 6.69 inch mid-woofers in a 960 mm floorstander quoted down to 40 Hz, against a single 5.25 inch driver in a cabinet published at 79 Hz to 28 kHz, or 47 Hz to 45 kHz on the extended figure. In a larger room, with rock, electronic or film soundtracks, that weight arrives without a subwoofer in the chain. It is a solid, even handed performer elsewhere; the low end is simply where it pulls clearly ahead. Budget for an amplifier that is happy into a 4 ohm load.

If you listen mostly to voices, acoustic instruments, jazz or classical, and you want to hear what was actually on the recording, the KEF LS50 is the stronger speaker by some distance. Its midrange has a lifelike intimacy, its treble stays sharp and clear without turning brittle, and the presentation remains musical rather than clinical. It is the easier partner too: an 8 ohm load, a published 25 to 100 W amp range, a 302 mm cabinet that works in a smaller room, and a 5 yr warranty against 2 yr. Its own low end is honest rather than thunderous, so add a subwoofer if you want that last octave. Everything above it is already covered.