Hey everyone, Wiim Ultra user here. I'm currently running it with KEF LSX II as my main setup and love how it sounds - the convenience of an all-in-one active speaker is great, but I've been trying to get into the passive speaker world and I'm not sure where to start.
My main gripe with the LSX II is that it has no bass
. I don't want a subwoofer, so I want a passive speaker that can match the LSX II's overall clarity and soundstage but just... goes lower and hits harder naturally. Now I'm staring at a few paths and genuinely not sure which makes the most sense:
- Wiim Ultra -> VibeLink -> passive speakers — keep my Ultra, add VibeLink as the amp.
- Wiim Amp Ultra -> passive speakers — simpler chain, but cannot upgrade the amp later.
- Wiim Ultra -> KEF Coda W — skip the whole passive rabbit hole, just get something that's still active but has more bass than the LSX II. This feels like the "safe" option but also the least exciting one: cannot upgrade amp, and the Coda W has less function than LSX II anyway.
Budget is flexible, room is 25-30 m2. Would love to hear from anyone who's made a similar transition or has opinions on these paths. What passive speaker would you even pair with a Wiim ecosystem at the LSX II quality level?
It is not possible to properly respond to your need for several reasons:
1. you say "I don't want a subwoofer, so I want a passive speaker" but any speaker's ability to reproduce bass has nothing to do with whether it is passive or active.
2. If as you state you are using Wim Ultra, and not Amp Ultra you will need an amplifier to drive passive speakers. Is that to be included in the budget?
3. You do not explain how much bass you need - it depends upon your choice of music. Personally I listen to many types of music except for rap or drum & bass and lowest bass around 40Hz at -3dB works well. See later explanation
4. You say budget is flexible, but that is of no use you will have to give some idea. The ulimate would be B&W 801 which costs around £36,000!
"the LSXII has no bass" is a true statement. Kef specify lowest frequency is 49Hz but that is at -6dB which means that the reproduced volume will be only a quarter of that for a 100Hz note of the same level. I have attached their specification sheet. The problem is more obvious if you look at the relevant section of the response curve, which Kef do not publish. I have attached a partial copy from a review at erinsaudiocorner.com.
The graph shows the output at 200Hz on the left and how it falls away as the frequency decreases to the right. For every 3dB reduction the volume is halved from the previous value.
Now back to how much bass you actually need. Both the pipe organ and electric bass go down to 20Hz which is considered to be the lowest note that a you healthy person can hear. at 50Hz those two insttruments are joined by double bass, piano,harp, harpsicohord, and tuba. A bass baritone singer can only go as low as 82Hz. So it is no surprise that for the vast majority of music (except for electronic and organ) 40Hz is adequate.
And finally when it comes to speakers there are two types of bass. First is plenty of noise with very little definition everything is a bit muddy and when two or more instruments are playing the same note you will not be able to distinguish them. This is often achieved in lower cost speakers. the second is where the notes are produced correctly and instruments can be heard seperately but total volume is less that in the first type. some exceptional speakers can be of the second type but give even more volume that the first - back to B&W 801!
I hope that helps you determine what you need, if so perhaps you can clarify the your requirement in the light of my points 1-4.
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