Bam! IMO, These are the best monitor/bookshelf speakers under $15k, and I do not say that lightly. I used to own the passive LS50 and ran them with a $7k and a $10k amp (to test them). THESE blow the passive's away and will cost you so much less. Amps are built in, DAC's are built in, all inputs are there.
The app is pure junk but I never used it. You can set up the speakers with the back panel, and how I use these is with my Sonos base station going into the speakers via an Audioquest Diamond optical cable. I use Spotify connect as well as the Spotify app uses my Sonos to play the tunes. I then have my turntable going into the analog, using an external phono stage.
These sound about 95% as good as my old Sonus Faber $25k Guarneri Evolutions in my listening room. Yes, I have had systems up to $50k and these are AMAZING and leave nothing to be desired. NO Sub needed.
BUT you must set them up correctly, you MUST. If you do, you will be rewarded after about 50 hours of listening when they fully break in. Once they do, you will hear an organic beautiful detailed yet never ever harsh sound. Never strident, never hard, never thin, Just a huge wall of sound with a massive soundstage and precise imaging and layering.
These have magic in them and at $2200 for these, then about $1500 for my Sonos and cables it would take me $15-$18k to reproduce the sound using amps, docs and traditional speakers.
KEF hit a home run here and for smallish rooms (min is 12X13), when set up right they are phenomenal. Amazing.
I own Devialet Phantom Golds, and at $6k for the set of Golds and another $500 for the Dialog (needed) and remote, these little KEF's are giving me a better sound experience. While not as powerful as the Gold's and not as HUGE sounding, the detail and layering are better with these.
I never use the app with these, and never need to. So to those complaining about the app, try other options so you do not need to use it. KEF should be ashamed though for releasing these with an app that appears to have been created by a 15 year old. It's buggy, never connects and is useless.
BUT, again, the app is not needed if you use something like a Sonos system. If you do, just hook it up via optical and you can have access to any streaming service such as Tidal, Deezer, or Spotify.
These are so good, I wish I had an extra $5k to buy the other colors for other rooms. Seriously though, these are about as good as it can get for smaller rooms when it comes to stereo speakers with audiophile quality, under $15k.
I have owned so many speakers over the last 20 years and never have I seen a value like these. My old Merlin monitors came close but again, those needed a $5k amp, a dac and pre amp to sound magical. a $14k proposition. These..$2200...a steal. If someone stole these and KEF raised the price to $5k I would still buy a pair. They are that good.
If you own or have owned the passive versions and felt they needed more bass, or were too bright and got harsh when played loud..all of that is addressed here as these can play loud as your ears can handle and still remain composed, and they never get harsh or bright. Bass down in to the 40's and build quality that is gorgeous.
While I love having a nice amp with a nice volume dial, these just make so much sense and like the Devialet systems, are the future of HIFi.
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From the manufacturer
Immerse yourself in sound
LS50 Wireless benefits from KEF's near-six decades of experience in acoustic research and design. The crowning achievement is the signature Uni-Q driver array, providing beautifully natural sound to every seat in the room. Perfectly matched electronics provide the engine for the Uni-Q, ensuring that every detail and every ounce of power is recreated, elevating the experience from listening to being there.
For every room and situation
LS50 Wireless ensures that anybody can bring great sound into their life. The instantly recognisable shape is not just a design choice, but an acoustic feature, solidifying KEF's holistic approach to acoustic and industrial design. Available in Titanium Grey, Gloss Black and Gloss White, you can make LS50 Wireless stand out as much or as little as you want. The choice is yours.
Less time setting up, more time listening
A few minutes and the KEF Control app is all it takes to bring life changing musical experiences home. With integrated electronics, including 230w of amplification in each speaker, the guesswork of equipment matching is removed. A vast array of inputs ensure that you can connect almost any music streaming device you can think of - even a turntable, for the ultimate expression of the vinyl revival.
Comprehensive Connectivity
Connect a huge range of devices with LS50 Wireless' connectivity options, including 2.4GHz/5GHz Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 aptX, USB Type B, TOSLINK Optical, and RCA Analog.
For Every Room or Situation
For Every Room or Situation: Classy and chic, coupled with rich high-quality wireless sound. These speakers are the best for every room or situation, with styles to match any room preference.
KEF Control APP
KEF Control makes setup easy with step-by-step instructions, letting you choose your source and adjust the EQ settings to match the room.
KEF Stream APP
KEF Stream makes accessing your digital music library quick and easy. Up to 192kHz/24bit high resolution audio can be wirelessly accessed from your phone or NAS drive, whilst Stream also gives access to services such as Tidal and Spotify.
Features
- Amplifier Power: 230 Watts per speaker
- Resolution: Up to 24bit/192kHz
- Frequency Response: +/-3dB 45Hz – 28kHz
- Max SPL: 106dB
- Streaming: Spotify, TIDAL, Roon, NAS Servers
- Inputs: Bluetooth, USB, Optical, RCA
- 2.4GHz/5GHz Dual-band Wi-Fi network
- Subwoofer Output
Videos
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Videos for this product
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KEF LS50 Wireless Unboxing and getting started
KEF
Videos for this product
3:43
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KEF LS50 Wireless Setup and Operation
KEF
Videos for this product
0:29
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KEF LS50 Wireless Fully Active Music System
KEF
Inspiration from this brand
Setup was easy. I had no problems with the app
12/04/2017Let me start of by saying I have the passive LS50's and have been comparing the passive vs the active version all week. The actives have about 40 hours on them as of this writing. Both speakers were tested on IsoAcoustic Aperta stands.Appearance wise they are similar. Both my passive and active versions are gloss black. The gloss black on my passives is flawless. The active versions have a slight orange peel texture to the gloss. Reflections in it are not as clean and kind of wobble as you move your head side to side. This could be a defect with my pair but thought I'd mention it.Setup was easy. I had no problems with the app, playing with DSP settings, or streaming music. I updated the firmware on the speakers as well without a hitch.Here's how I have the passive and active speakers set up:Passive LS50Computer -> USB -> Chord Mojo DAC -> HK 3480 120 watt Stereo Amp -> SpeakersActive LS50WComputer -> USB -> SpeakersAs you can see the setup of the actives is far simpler which is why I was interested in them. Also they have gotten almost universal praise from every reviewer when it comes to sound quality. The sound quality however is the reason I'm rating it 1 star. It is likely that I received a lemon and I have requested a replacement to confirm my suspicion. I'll update my review when I've had a chance to play with the new pair but I'll give my thoughts on how they sound currently.If I didn't have the passive LS50's to compare I might think that their sound was decent, something you'd expect from a speaker in the $300-500 range but definitely not $2000+ . They have decent bass and there's nothing obviously wrong with their sound. In direct comparison with my passives however the soundstage shrinks a ton. Instruments and voices lose their texture and complexity. Many fine details in the music almost get completely blurred away. My passives sound like pure magic and the actives just sound like a decent speaker that can put out some bass.I am almost certain I got a lemon. I hope to god I did. But I'm also worried that their quality control has gone down hill. Not only do they sound bad but the black piano gloss is inferior to that of my passives. The 1 year warranty I now feel is too short. I wouldn't have had a problem with it if I didn't have these problems. I just don't have much faith in their quality now and I'm worried an amp or something else will break if they did indeed lower their standards.Anyways, I'll update you all when I get the new pair.UPDATE 12/09/2017I received the new LS50W speakers yesterday and compared them to my passive LS50's and the active LS50W's which I returned today.Let's start with the good news. They sound great! They've only got about 8 hours on them but they already sounded way better than the last active pair. They sound a lot closer to my passives than the other active version did. Hurray!The black piano gloss is a miss. Again, compared to the perfect piano black gloss on my passive speakers these new actives have an orange peel texture which makes reflections look grainy. The right speaker is WAY worse than the left speaker with obvious pebbling, so it isn't even consistently bad. I'll see if I can get a good picture of what I'm seeing later.Also, at one time I got an error code saying the left speaker wasn't connected. I checked the cables and all was good so I simply restarted the speakers and the error cleared. I haven't seen the error again so maybe it was a fluke. Or maybe it's waiting until I'm out of warranty to present itself in a more permanent way. But you know, one of those two! :PI intend to contact KEF regarding the paint to see if that's just how these "new" active speakers are or if most of them have a nice smooth piano gloss finish. Maybe someone else who's purchased these can chime in here. For now I'll increase the star rating from 1 to 3 stars, because they really do sound amazing!If I can get a pair that sounds great, looks great, and doesn't give me errors they would definitely be 5 stars like my passive LS50's. I'll keep you posted on my findings!Update 12/12/2017I have attached a picture of the paint. My left speaker looks great, my right speaker has the orange peel texture. I'm waiting to hear back from KEF regarding the paint to see if it's within their standards. Will update when they reply.Got a reply from KEF and they said if I wasn't happy with them to just send them back to Amazon which I did and ordered a new pair.Update 01/02/2018I've had the new pair for a couple weeks now. They sound great, just like the last pair. It seems sound quality is consistent and I probably got unlucky with my first pair. If all you care about is what they sound like and you don't care about cosmetic issues then order a pair and don't bother reading further.For those of you still reading be aware that paint quality varies from pair to pair and even from left to right speaker. You should also be aware that I am probably pickier than most people. That being said I'm not looking for perfection. I'm looking for good enough and the new pair almost passed.First let me talk about the overall finish. The black piano gloss. Each speaker will have a slightly different texture (ideally I'd think piano gloss would be smooth?). My new pair is even in the overall look between the left and the right speaker. In comparison to my last pair reflections look more hazy and not as clear. I attribute this to the paint being not as smooth but it's not awful. There at least isn't any obvious orange peel look happening and it probably doesn't help that I have an LED strip lighting up the wall behind where the speakers are placed, revealing the unique paint characteristics of each speaker. The overall paint does meet my good enough bar and if it didn't have other flaws I would be keeping them.I've included pictures but I'll explain in words as well. On my new left speaker there is paint lacking in the crack between the speaker body and the front composite bezel. The bare wood is exposed and it stands out when in a brightly lit room. On my right speaker I really don't know what it is I'm seeing. Just looks like a blob of black paint was put in the crack.So I've gone through 3 pairs of these and I'm left with a couple questions before proceeding.1. Do I think I could find a pair I'd be happy with? Yes. I think I could, but it may take several more attempts.2. Is it fair to KEF and Amazon for me to keep ordering and opening new items only to return them because of blemishes other people might not care about? I don't know. Maybe I'm being too picky here. Anyone care to share their input here?Maybe I'll order another pair and maybe I won't. But I'll let you guys know if I do!
