Active Kef LS50

[Arcus]

1 minute ago, realhifi said:

Bizarre. As I said, they should have hired (or enlisted another company) for the software side of this project. I just hope that it doesn't end up putting serious egg on their faces. It would be a shame as they have come so close to a wonderful product. 

 

PS.  Was the software Beta and was it optional to join the Beta program ala Sonos?

I was being sarcastic when I referred to it as Beta software. It was officially released on their public site for customers.

[realhifi]

17 minutes ago, Arcus said:

I was being sarcastic when I referred to it as Beta software. It was officially released on their public site for customers.

Not good. So I assume if someone is purchasing a pair they should NOT "update" their firmware. I'm going to get a pair of these and give them a test drive, I'm intrigued. 

[DarwinOSX]

1 hour ago, Arcus said:

We're under the impression that they are working on Roon support although I do agree that any software support could be beneficial and Roon certainly knows how to create solid software with a nice UI.

FYI, I was using Roon with the speakers but the beta (maybe alpha) firmware that was released on 5/22 has made the speaker unusable right now. 2 1/2 weeks later and I'm not aware of any response from KEF which is starting to be a very bad sign for their ability to support this product.

 

1 hour ago, realhifi said:

If KEF was smart they'd get some software help from Roon. Tie Roon into their superb amp/Dac/speaker combo they have produced and wham, off to the races. Of course then there would be those that complained that they wanted Spotify, Apple Music or whatever other service they are using baked into the speaker. 

 

Not sure why people aren't just using them with a good streaming source that is controllable from phone or tablet until they get things sorted out a bit more in the app side. To me they look like a stone cold bargain even if you never used the app. They probably should have just come out with these without having networked functionality. 

 

Not sure we have any reason to believe Roon has expertise with writing firmware for a speaker with a built in amp and dac.

They haven't even fixed the airplay security issue with Apple TV that other's have managed to fix like Rogue Amoeba.

[DarwinOSX]

1 hour ago, realhifi said:

If KEF was smart they'd get some software help from Roon. Tie Roon into their superb amp/Dac/speaker combo they have produced and wham, off to the races. Of course then there would be those that complained that they wanted Spotify, Apple Music or whatever other service they are using baked into the speaker. 

 

Not sure why people aren't just using them with a good streaming source that is controllable from phone or tablet until they get things sorted out a bit more in the app side. To me they look like a stone cold bargain even if you never used the app. They probably should have just come out with these without having networked functionality. 

 

 

Bargain or not this is still a chunk of change and the advertised features should work.

One of the fixes in the app listed, i.e. controllable from other sources, doesn't even work.

I've had these since December with little to no fixes.  how much longer should people wait.

Kef is clearly not prepared to support these speakers.  They don't even respond to support questions.

 

[asdf1000]

No ETA but Roon Ready-ness is getting closer:

 

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/mock-tell-us-what-strange-gear-youve-installed-rock-on/26349/30

[DarwinOSX]

1 minute ago, Em2016 said:

No ETA but Roon Ready-ness is getting closer:

 

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/mock-tell-us-what-strange-gear-youve-installed-rock-on/26349/30

How is this related to the Kefs getting Roon?

[ecmfidelity]

I'm trying to update firmware on the LS50w. First it was stuck on the "left speaker", but after some fiddeling I managed to get it going again. Now It's stuck on left speaker, saying Left speaker is disconnected and I should reboot. But doing that get the same result: Error Code: 102).

[DarwinOSX]

2 minutes ago, ecmfidelity said:

I'm trying to update firmware on the LS50w. First it was stuck on the "left speaker", but after some fiddeling I managed to get it going again. Now It's stuck on left speaker, saying Left speaker is disconnected and I should reboot. But doing that get the same result: Error Code: 102).

Ugh.

Glad they don't have the Mac updater out yet.

No wonder this update is essentially hidden.

[ecmfidelity]

4 minutes ago, DarwinOSX said:

Ugh.

Glad they don't have the Mac updater out yet.

No wonder this update is essentially hidden.

 

10 minutes ago, ecmfidelity said:

I'm trying to update firmware on the LS50w. First it was stuck on the "left speaker", but after some fiddeling I managed to get it going again. Now It's stuck on left speaker, saying Left speaker is disconnected and I should reboot. But doing that get the same result: Error Code: 102).

Eh, I meant I was first stuck on "right speaker" but fixed it and now completely stuck on "left speaker"

[DarwinOSX]

Just now, ecmfidelity said:

 

Eh, I meant I was first stuck on "right speaker" but fixed it and now completely stuck on "left speaker"

 

Man....

[erniejade]

Call their tech support.   They should be open.  

[ecmfidelity]

1 minute ago, DarwinOSX said:

 

Man....

 

2 minutes ago, erniejade said:

Call their tech support.   They should be open.  

Thanks, but I'm on central european time and I think they have left for the weekend - probably sitting on a nice bar somewhere

[ecmfidelity]

Someone know if there is a way to do a factory reset?

[gbryant]

paper clip press of the tiny button on the back of the master speaker... it's in the manual...BTW

 

 

Sorry... just realized your in the middle of a bad update... disregard.

[gbryant]

The more break in time I get on the LS50w, the better they sound... this is one of the best sounding systems I've owned, and believe me, there's been plenty.

 right skippy?

[DarwinOSX]

4 minutes ago, gbryant said:

The more break in time I get on the LS50w, the better they sound... this is one of the best sounding systems I've owned, and believe me, there's been plenty.

 right skippy?

Could not agree roe on sound quality.  Which makes all the issues even more disturbing.

I'm going to see what I can get for mine and move on.

[ecmfidelity]

11 minutes ago, gbryant said:

paper clip press of the tiny button on the back of the master speaker... it's in the manual...BTW

 

 

Sorry... just realized your in the middle of a bad update... disregard.

I knew I could find the answer easily by my self, I guess I just wanted to reach out  Thanks...

[erniejade]

They do sound fantastic even in rooms with bad acoustics. Since I run a Lumin D1 into it or my laptop with a w4s recovery, both sound better then the wireless portion but, I would still like to be able to control the app from those hard wired sources. Because of the issues others are having, I'm holding off.  

 

I am am surprised no one is monitoring their Facebook owners group! 

[DarwinOSX]

4 minutes ago, erniejade said:

They do sound fantastic even in rooms with bad acoustics. Since I run a Lumin D1 into it or my laptop with a w4s recovery, both sound better then the wireless portion but, I would still like to be able to control the app from those hard wired sources. Because of the issues others are having, I'm holding off.  

 

I am am surprised no one is monitoring their Facebook owners group! 

 

Facebook is a terrible place for that even if you have Facebook which I don't.

I was able to e-mail questions before but they stopped replying.

If you have Tidal and an MQA DAC try a direct connect from your laptop using MQA.  Sounds amazing.

[realhifi]

Anyone have a link to any forums that show how many people are having major issues (beyond obvious glitches in app)?

be curious if this is a majority. 

[DarwinOSX]

1 minute ago, realhifi said:

Anyone have a link to any forums that show how many people are having major issues (beyond obvious glitches in app)?

be curious if this is a majority. 

 

I first heard about it on AVS Forums.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/2611385-kef-introduces-ls50-wireless-active-speakers-7.html

[ecmfidelity]

The reset "button" isn't much help. I have pressed it for at least 10 sec, and also rebooted during that. The speaker is stuck on circling between the selection button and the minus button, whatever I do. Restarted everything. Nothing helps. Will call support on Monday.

[tuan209]

My speakers got stuck during the firmware update and I had to master reset in order to reinstall the firmware.  

 

Here are the steps

 

a.       Unplug all cables,


b.       Plugin interconnectcable between master and slave


c.       Plugin AC cable in SLAVE only


d.       Use paperclip and press the factory reset


e.       Without releasing, plugin the AC into the master


f.        This should trigger the UPGRADE mode


g.     Run the update again

 

Please let me know if this solves the issue you are having.

[ecmfidelity]

7 minutes ago, tuan209 said:

My speakers got stuck during the firmware update and I had to master reset in order to reinstall the firmware.  

 

Here are the steps

 

a.       Unplug all cables,


b.       Plugin interconnectcable between master and slave


c.       Plugin AC cable in SLAVE only


d.       Use paperclip and press the factory reset


e.       Without releasing, plugin the AC into the master


f.        This should trigger the UPGRADE mode


g.     Run the update again

 

Please let me know if this solves the issue you are having.

Thank you, I just tried this. I did not do any difference for me. I guess it is because it's stuck in a firmware update. Just to be sure - the reset button is the lower recessed button, right? I shall not touch the grey, rubber thing above that?

[tuan209]

17 minutes ago, ecmfidelity said:

Thank you, I just tried this. I did not do any difference for me. I guess it is because it's stuck in a firmware update. Just to be sure - the reset button is the lower recessed button, right? I shall not touch the grey, rubber thing above that?

 

Thats odd!

 

Mine was stuck halfway through the firmware update too and idled for a few hours. 

 

Ya, the reset button is the lil button behind the speakers. It can only be access with a paper clip.  

 

Give it another go?  

 

If it doesnt work, give Kef a call.  They are pretty responsive and helpful.

 

Tuan