Article: KEF's New LS50 Collection

[R1200CL]

3 hours ago, asdf1000 said:

Very future proof.

Yes, and finally without USB input 😀

 (But HMDI for TV sound). 

[OldBigEars]

On 9/22/2020 at 4:39 PM, AudioDoctor said:

The WAF is pretty high for these in my house...

 

LOL My wife would insist we sell my system and get these, if she knew they existed.  

 

 

[ejlif]

Hopefully they have worked out the bugs.  I have the original LS50W and LSX.  Both have had complete failures and had to be replaced.  Kef did take care of things so that is great.  I have had nothing but trouble with the Kef speakers though, wireless never worked basically with any consistency.  I ended up with a bluesound node 2i going to the digital input and they work fine.  I've also had Dynaudio Xeo 3 and 4.  the Xeos have never failed to work, no glitched no issues no dropouts nothing.  I think they sound better too, they are missing the connectivity options though you still need a streamer.  If Dynaudio could ever add Roon ready and spotify etc.  to the connect box they would really have something.  

[AudioDoctor]

1 hour ago, OldBigEars said:

 

LOL My wife would insist we sell my system and get these, if she knew they existed.  

 

 

 

Whats her number, i'll help you out!

[GrahamJohnMiles]

I have a gorgeous pair of original white LS50W’s in my living room. I considered replacing them but my SO adores their looks and sound. So I upgraded them myself, using an Allo USBridge signature and an SMSL Sanskrit 10 V2, hooked into the auxiliary input. The Allo Ethernet input is via fiber optic converters. ROON upsampling still maxes out at 192, but to my ears the combination surpasses a straight connection to the speaker’s internal DAC. 

[grinner]

22 hours ago, ejlif said:

Hopefully they have worked out the bugs.  I have the original LS50W and LSX.  Both have had complete failures and had to be replaced.  Kef did take care of things so that is great.  I have had nothing but trouble with the Kef speakers though, wireless never worked basically with any consistency.  I ended up with a bluesound node 2i going to the digital input and they work fine.  I've also had Dynaudio Xeo 3 and 4.  the Xeos have never failed to work, no glitched no issues no dropouts nothing.  I think they sound better too, they are missing the connectivity options though you still need a streamer.  If Dynaudio could ever add Roon ready and spotify etc.  to the connect box they would really have something.  

Well, I have to say that my pair of LSXs have been flawless in terms of connectivity. Now that I'm working from home due to Covid-19, they are streaming for perhaps 10 or 12 hours a day. And they look great too - I have the piano gloss white. 

[Wised]

Just ordered a pair! I have been mightily impressed by the LS50 since it was introduced. A good friend was an early adopter and he still has his original set. Best sound to price ratio on the market bar none.

I needed a decent pair of speakers for our vacation home. Given that no other components other than my phone is required these fit the bill in spades. If I bring my laptop I also have Roon and all my musical files (>4k)! 

Now if they make a pair of Blades with the same abilities I might give up the 60K spent on McIntosh and B&W's I have invested😁

[Wised]

On 9/22/2020 at 6:37 PM, AudioDoctor said:

So correct me if I am wrong,but this thing will accept DSD, but it will be resampled down to 24/192, at best, no matter what?

I belive you are right. Regardless, In my experience anything above 24/96 is just numbers. Over 96 the difference you hear are dictated more by the fidelity of the master than any computer manipulation of the recording.  Regardless of of format I still have to find any digital format that con dethrone a 45 RMP analog record as far soundstage and nth degree musical reproduction is concerned. Even my kids can A/B it 100% of the time! The best digital file always sounds as a facsimile of the original master. Please don't make me explain why it just does. Also note: that type of vinyl release is rare, usually limited and quite expensive. In addition, it takes equally expensive turntables, cartridges and preamplification to be able to reproduce it.

[kwb1]

I owned a pair of the original LS50w’s and had them connected up to my iMac via asynchronous usb output

 

The new LS50a’s do not have a USB input - I would of presumed that the best possible sound connectivity wise would be wired via the Kefs USB??

 

Why did they remove this and is there a better connection available than USB?? - remember the iMac does not have any digital outs or HDMI outs.. just a headphone out limited to 96khz?

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, kwb1 said:

The new LS50a’s do not have a USB input - I would of presumed that the best possible sound connectivity wise would be wired via the Kefs USB??

 

In my experience your presumption is incorrect. There is no single best interface.

 

 

 

1 minute ago, kwb1 said:

Why did they remove this and is there a better connection available than USB?? - remember the iMac does not have any digital outs or HDMI outs.. just a headphone out limited to 96khz?

 

My guess is that it was removed because the platform KEF is using doesn't have a USB input. I guessed that the StreamUnlimited platform is being used. no confirmation or denial from KEF in the email I received back. 

 

Just use the Ethernet or WiFi input and call it a day. 

[blaven]

I have the original LS50W on stands in a rather large room with 22 foot ceiling and they sound amazing.  They worked quite well with Roon and an Aurender.

 

I will say, they stopped working when I changed to an Eero mesh WiFi system 4 months ago.  Just all sorts of issues, but in short, I cannot get their app to even recognize the speaker, or in occasions when I can, it does not show up as a Roon endpoint and I have just streamed Tidal from the KEF app.

 

I have worked with their tech support and been told, in short, that it does not work well with Mesh networks.  I was told to try and assign a fixed channel (36,40 or 44), set a static IP to the LS50W, and for the Eero to push WiFi to the LS50 only on 5GHz but could not figure out how to do all of that in Eero app.  I then got separate tech support for the Eero and was told it cannot do that and the IT person thought that the problem might be that the Eero  will flip back and forth between 2.4 and  5GHz ultimately looking for the cleanest channel and he could see how that could be a problem for the speaker.  Very frustrating as Mesh networks are really not anything new.  My situation is either change the network or only use the Aurender (which I hope to sell).  Even when I tried hardwired ethernet connection with KEF tech support it did not work because  the speakers ultimately need be controlled through there app which is of course needs the WiFi.

 

The Eero works great BTW- not a single bug or hiccup besides this

 

My hope, and prayer, is that the LS50 V2 plays nice in the proverbial sandbox with Mesh networks.   The KEF support person I was working with thought that the V2 will work with Mesh networks and I had word from my dealer  that he believes it should work with Eero - but no solid confirmation.

 

So, I am more sending this out as a FYI,  as I am assuming others have similar not works and, there is a fairly high likelihood that others use Eero.  I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a WiFi product at this price range to work with a mesh network, and Eero is a rather popular one, so hopefully that is corrected in the LS50 V2.

 

Otherwise, besides this frustration, it is an amazing product.    They sound great, and image on par with almost any speaker I have heard.

 

Wishing all the best of health and happiness in these unique times - have a great weekend

 

 

 

[randyhat]

I've had a pair of the new LS50WII in my house now for almost a week.  I also owned the original LS50W. The good news is that the new version is a nice upgrade in sound quality over the original.  I agree what some of the early reviews have pointed out that the sound is more open with improved clarity.  The original was no slouch in this area but I immediately noticed an improvement with the version 2.  I am using these with a REL 7-7i subwoofer as I did with the older pair and they blend pretty seamlessly.   More good news is the App.  A single app is used for onboarding and streaming.  I was easily able to access both my Qobuz and Tidal accounts.  Another improvement in the speaker is the quality of the streamer.  I am able to stream hi-res files over my less than ideal wi-fi network without any glitches.  Having said that, I will probably run the speakers via ethernet since I already have the connection available.  This hard wire connection was a necessity with the older version but I think the LS50WII will probably work just fine via wi-fi.  The disappointing news is that the new version is NOT currently Roon Certified.  Also, although as advertised as being able to access files from a NAS.  The version of the app I have does not yet have this capability.  KEF support assures me that both Roon Certification and UPnP access is forthcoming....but they are not so specific on when.  These pending issues notwithstanding I would still recommend the IIs.

[ednaz]

I had a pair of LSX that I used in my living room, and I began with low expectations - just better than the single box solutions for social background music. They won me over big - enough that I thought, I'd be shush-ing guests if some favorite came on.

 

To reduce total pieces and wires, I decided to try a set of wireless LS50s in our master bedroom. (Replacing a Peachtree Audio integrated, B&W CM2 plus subwoofer speakers, different wireless DAC's rotated in and out.) Sold everything after two weeks. One week for the speakers to settle down, and then... those two speakers slayed the competition in the room. The imaging... yikes.

 

Side effect. The sound characteristics of the KEF driver setups is very seductive. I have one high end system in my studio I've loved for almost 20 years, another in our family room... but the sound of the KEF and their character are quite different from both, and have put me in questioning the longstanding favorite systems. That uni-Q setup is quite seductive in many ways.

 

Would I upgrade my existing KEFs? Don't think so, but would I upgrade my studio system from its current big floor standing speakers, oversized integrated amp, streamer plus DAC? Yeah, that's crossed my mind more than once.

[mourip]

I bought a pair of these this week along with the Kef stands. They are not able to be recognized properly by Roon yet, as in Roon Certified". They do however show up as available in Roon as "LS50" as AirPlay. So you can still use them with the Roon app. The KEF Connect app in IOS does allow you to steam Qobuz to them, which I subscribe to. KEF has not been too straightforward regarding using the Roon Certified verbiage in their advertising and manual. If you do not read carefully it seems as if they are already there. My understanding is that the KEFs are already capable but it is up to Roon to recognize them inside their app. I assume that will then allow their proprietary RAAT protocol to work.

 

The good news is that, this all said, they sound great just hooked up via ethernet to my LAN with the attached Roon server. My wife walked in and the first thing she said was that she thought I was listening to my regular system. This is big because I could potentially sell off much more equipment than these speaker cost and they are not even using Roon properly. While I am waiting for Roon to get their act together I will probably try using the SPDIF coax output from my AudioLinux Roon endpoint directly into the KEFs.

[mourip]

I would like to update progress with my new LS50W Mk2's. I will not go down the Roon Ready rabbit hole except to say that Roon and Kef have really dropped the ball here. KEF should remove their marketing wording until the end is in sight.

 

I love these speakers. I replaced a DAC, pre and amp, and a pair of crossoverless Alnico towers. I kept my front end and two SVS SB2000 subs. My front end is an Intel NUC running Audiolinux with USB out to a Mutec +3 USB with coax out to the speakers. A Mutec REF10 clocks the Mutec USB and an EtherRegen. Most pieces powered by HDPlex linear supplies. This front end makes up for the lack of Roon Ready.

 

I am using the KEF Performance stands. Yesterday I filled them with sand. It made a big difference. Tighter, better defined bass and better overall detail. Fill your stands! Sand is cheap.

 

Do I like these more than my previous system? Yes and no. I like the cost savings and simplicity. These cost about $3K and replaced about $18K of equipment. Sonically they are different. The previous combination had better detail and clarity. The KEF's are still breaking in but do have plenty of detail and a very spacious sound stage. Localization is excellent. They also have better "slam" and better dynamics. They are totally engaging. 

[GrahamJohnMiles]

I see the LSX is currently on sale in most countries. My presumption is they are clearing stock for a new version, perhaps with the meta modification, but naturally I can’t find any hints on the internet. Has anyone caught a whiff of an upgrade to this model?

[jcbenten]

18 hours ago, GrahamJohnMiles said:

I see the LSX is currently on sale in most countries. My presumption is they are clearing stock for a new version, perhaps with the meta modification, but naturally I can’t find any hints on the internet. Has anyone caught a whiff of an upgrade to this model?

KEF LS50 Meta - Headphones & Speakers - Audiophile Style