KEF’s New Wireless Bookshelf Speakers Are Modern Marvels

Audiophiles are a prickly bunch, specifically when it pertains to cordless speakers. In order to save space, time, or cash, audio business will often take the design of a larger, more expensive device and dumb it down slightly to make a product thats more available, and most likely much better for the majority of us. Naturally, audio lovers turn up their noses at such compromises.Until I tried the KEF LS50 Wireless II, I tended to agree with them. Even at the luxury, cord-cutting speakers just never matched their cabled equivalents. But after a month listening to these new KEFs play everything from Sheryl Crow to Stephen Colbert, Ive heard real proof that cables and amps will eventually go the method of the dodo. KEFs cordless speakers are an almost best window into the future of high-fidelity audio.Two to TangoThe British company has been making speakers given that the early 1960s, however the huge bulk of audiophiles know KEF for its more current designs. The businesss exclusive Uni-Q motorists, which mount the tweeters concentrically within the midrange speaker, are its modern calling card. These flower-like chauffeurs have moved the original LS50 design to near-mythical levels of nerd appeal given that they introduced in 2012 to commemorate KEFs 50th anniversary.The LS50 Wireless II has the very same concentric motorist style as the initial.
Photo: Kef Never fear, nerds: The new version of the LS50 looks the like the old one. Theyre rounded rectangles with a curved front that showcases the stunning motorists. You can get them in lots of colors, but my review units was available in a sophisticated matte black with copper accents.Unlike the passive LS50 Meta speakers, which require a stereo amp to provide the juice, the LS50 Wireless II speakers are self-powered. Plug them into the wall, and to each other, and there are no external amps required.Even without dedicated outboard hardware, the back of the best speaker has a hodgepodge of inputs. Youll find an optical input, a coax cable jack, a 3.5-mm mini-jack, and even an HDMI ARC port for TV– an uncommon function that makes them outstanding for placement in a living-room on either side of a screen. For fully wireless operation, you can combine a PC or phone with them utilizing Bluetooth, or include them to your Wi-Fi network for AirPlay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, or Roon streaming. Controls for all of the above can be adjusted with the included little black remote, or by managing the backlit touch controls on the top of the best speaker.New KEF SoundUnder the hood, the businesss engineers have actually invested a substantial amount of time ensuring that the LS50 Wireless II heartily outperform the original KEF cordless design that came out a number of years ago.The new speakers feature what the business calls Metamaterial Absorption Technology, which according to KEF, permits the speakers to take in as much as 60 percent of the distortion-causing energy thats usually shown back into the speaker cabinet. The maze-like structures of this material inside each speaker arent easy to design; it took a two-year research task with a business called Acoustic Metamaterials Group (AMG) for the company to develop.The results are less complicated to comprehend than the technology itself. Switch on the KEF LS50 Wireless II and you are greeted by the most immersive, distortion-free noise youve most likely ever spoken with speakers this size. They might look the very same as their predecessors, but they definitely sound better.The depth and width of the sound phase is significantly improved, thanks to that lower distortion down low. Each component of the music youre listening to occupies a practically three-dimensional place in the sound, enabling you do easily dart focus between them or to hear more plainly how they integrate into the whole.Ive become consumed with Lucy Dacus new track “Hot & & Heavy,” which develops from synthy pads to full-fledged dance rock over the first minute. On the KEFs, the sluggish addition of layers and instruments pulls me through the tune, as though Im able to see each aspect of the music through a sharp, clear lens. I can hear precisely where each of Dacus vocal consistencies is sitting in the sound, the best edge the engineer obtained from the signal ever so slightly misshaping when she sings her loudest.

KEFs wireless speakers are an almost best window into the future of high-fidelity audio.Two to TangoThe British company has been making speakers given that the early 1960s, however the huge bulk of audiophiles understand KEF for its more current styles. You can get them in lots of colors, but my evaluation systems came in a sophisticated matte black with copper accents.Unlike the passive LS50 Meta speakers, which need a stereo amp to provide the juice, the LS50 Wireless II speakers are self-powered. Controls for all of the above can be adjusted with the included little black remote, or by handling the backlit touch controls on the top of the ideal speaker.New KEF SoundUnder the hood, the companys engineers have actually spent a significant quantity of time making sure that the LS50 Wireless II heartily exceed the initial KEF wireless design that came out several years ago.The brand-new speakers include what the company calls Metamaterial Absorption Technology, which according to KEF, permits the speakers to take in up to 60 percent of the distortion-causing energy thats typically shown back into the speaker cabinet. Turn on the KEF LS50 Wireless II and you are greeted by the most immersive, distortion-free noise youve probably ever heard from speakers this size.