I’ve owned my trusty original, non-Meta KEF LS50s for a couple of years. I bought them new on sale, so they represented excellent value. They’re attractive, work well in my nearfield setup, and image beautifully.
People sometimes describe the LS50 as bright, but that hasn’t really matched my experience. I find the upper treble fairly soft, without quite the air or fine detail I’d prefer. Perhaps what some listeners hear as brightness is closer to the forward presentation of vocals and the upper midrange. There’s also a slightly shimmery quality to voices that I find appealing, although I wouldn’t speculate about what causes it.
I’ve tried the LS50s with quite a range of equipment: a vintage Marantz integrated, a Bluesound Node, an Aurender N200, an SMSL flagship DAC/preamp, a Denafrips Athena preamp and Pontus DAC, Schiit DACs, and a Pass Labs X250.5.
Across those combinations, their basic character remained recognizable. The most significant improvement I heard came from introducing the Pontus. Nevertheless, I eventually wanted more resolution—particularly clearer separation of instruments and more information in the upper frequencies.
Auditioning the Voice 22 and Focal
That led me to the MOON Voice 22 from Canadian manufacturer Simaudio—a less familiar speaker from a company I primarily associate with electronics.
The Voice 22 is an attractive speaker, with aluminium detailing at the front and rear that gives it a particularly well-finished appearance. I also happened to find a substantial discount. I was told the model was being phased out, so the timing worked in my favour.
I compared it directly with the Focal Aria Evo X N°1, using an Accuphase integrated amplifier and a Simaudio DAC/streamer. Being able to switch between the two made their differences easy to hear.
In that system and room, I found the Voice 22 more neutral and more revealing. The Focal presented vocals more prominently and had more midbass weight. Its presentation reminded me more of my LS50s, although the Focal sounded fuller in the midbass than either the KEF or the MOON.
I can understand why someone might prefer the Focal’s fuller, more immediately engaging presentation, but the Voice 22 better matched what I was looking for. I also own a pair of ATCs and enjoy what I hear as their neutral balance, so perhaps my preference wasn’t surprising.
Voice 22 vs. my LS50s
The LS50 still has advantages. To my ears, it produces particularly convincing, tightly focused images, especially with voices, and it works well at shorter listening distances.
The Voice 22’s strength is different. I hear more air, clearer separation, and a wider presentation in which instruments are easier to follow individually. Vocals don’t dominate the picture to the same extent. Rather than simply placing a singer sharply in the centre, it gives me a better sense of the surrounding arrangement and recording space.
That doesn’t mean the LS50 images poorly outside the midrange, or that a wider soundstage necessarily proves greater resolution. It’s simply how the differences come across in my listening.
For my setup, the Voice 22 needs roughly 1.5 metres between the speakers and my ears to come together properly. The LS50 is more accommodating when I sit closer. Neither speaker escapes the low-frequency limitations of a compact bookshelf design.
Practical details
The Voice 22 includes bass-port plugs, although I haven’t needed them in my placement.
I also like its removable magnetic base. Removing it creates a recessed area underneath that can accommodate a suitably sized stand top plate—a thoughtful detail that contributes to the speaker’s clean appearance.
My verdict
For me, the Voice 22 is a worthwhile upgrade because it addresses the qualities I wanted to improve: air, separation, and the ability to follow detail across the musical arrangement.
The Focal and MOON were similarly priced before the discount, but I preferred the MOON even without considering the savings. My reasoning is that I’d rather start with the presentation I find clearer and more neutral, then adjust the tonal balance to taste if necessary. I wouldn’t assume that EQ could make the Focal reproduce everything I preferred about the MOON—or that the differences were entirely separate from tonal balance.
The LS50 remains excellent for focused imaging and close listening. The Focal offers a fuller midbass and more prominent vocals. But of these three, the Voice 22 gave me the most convincing balance of neutrality and detail in the audition.
