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Kef speakers sound test

KEF has had great success with compact speakers recently. The speakers in the LS50 series have received much praise, and especially the latest version of the LS50 Wireless II has garnered much praise in tests. But even brilliant speakers like this lack something important: Real deep bass. Deep oscillations down to 20 Hertz or lower require a speaker that can pump lots of air without running out of power, and this is exactly the job a subwoofer is made for. It gets even better if you get a BIG active subwoofer with a built-in amplifier, that is tailored to reproduce the deep bass tones with a powerful and clean sound. KEF has followed this recipe to the letter, except when it comes to size, that is….


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WATCH RELATED VIDEO: KEF Q700 vs ELAC FS 207.2 test 1

Four Speaker Blind Listening Test Results (Kef, JBL, Revel, OSD)


Subscriber Account active since. A great pair of speakers can transform your living room experience. Problem is, if you're an audiophile then most consumer-grade speakers simply won't live up to what you're looking for. But if you have a bit more cash to spend, then you'll get something a whole lot better, like the KEF Q bookshelf speakers. Read more: The best speakers you can buy. But are the speakers worth the cash? Or should you save up for something better? We've been using the KEF Q bookshelf speakers for a while now to find out.

Out of the box, the KEF Q bookshelf speakers look like a high-end product. They're available in a few different finishes, including a nice satin black, satin white, or the stunning new walnut finish. We're reviewing the satin black, and they look great and should fit right in on any TV stand or entertainment center. The speakers come in at almost 12 inches tall, 11 inches deep, and 7 inches wide.

They weigh 12 pounds each, which is actually a little lighter than we expected. Still, they feel well-built and strong, so don't expect them to break easily. On the front of the speakers, you'll get the so-called Uni-Q array, which includes a 5. We'll dive a little more into the Uni-Q array a bit later, but it's generally aimed at offering well-timed frequencies and a wider soundstage than other speaker offerings.

On the back, you'll find a bass port, along with gold binding posts, which you'll use to connect the speakers to your receiver through either exposed speaker wire, or banana plugs.

We would have liked to see some speaker grilles to cover up the front of the speakers, out of the box. It's not a huge deal but still something that many similar speakers come with. Speaker grilles won't really change the sound in a huge way, but including them does make for a more aesthetically pleasing look. Generally speaking, the speakers look good and feel tough. They're light enough to be easy to carry but heavy enough to feel like they can withstand most abuse you can throw at them, whether that be multiple times moving houses, placing them for a house party, or whatever else.

It's essentially a inch cube with a fabric covering around the sides and controls on the top. It's all black and looked great next to our set-up. The subwoofer is designed to work well with other KEF speakers, making it a great choice for those looking for something to work alongside the Q speakers. It's important to note that the subwoofer doesn't come with the speakers.

Some will find that price worth it, however, and we'll get into how it sounds a little later. Setting up the KEF Q bookshelf speakers is pretty easy. These are passive speakers, which means that you will need an amplifier of some kind. To physically set up the speakers, you'll place them on speaker stands or next to your TV. If you're using bare speaker wires, you'll then unscrew the binding posts, insert the wires, and screw them back on.

You can use banana plugs with the speakers, but to do so you'll need to remove plastic caps on the back of the speakers, which can be a bit of a pain. Connect the other end of the cables to your receiver, and you should be good to go. KEF recommends setting up the speakers at least 6 feet apart, and at least 9 inches away from the wall behind them.

Setting up the KEF subwoofer was easy too. Because of the nature of lower frequencies, you have a little more freedom with where you want to place the subwoofer. We placed ours right next to the entertainment center. You'll then plug the subwoofer into a power outlet, and connect a subwoofer cable to the back and to your receiver.

Of course, the most important thing to consider when it comes to a pair of speakers is how they sound, and thankfully, these speakers sound great. There's plenty of detail to go around as well as deep, rich low-end that audiophiles will immediately appreciate. What does that mean? You'll hear the low rumble of car engines, plenty of kick drums and bass guitar in music, and so on.

The low-end is perhaps one of the best things about these speakers. It's fluid and deep, without going over the top. Some may wish for slightly more bass extension, and those are the kinds of people who should buy the subwoofer too, but everyone else will love the deep response these offer.

That carries over into the low mids, too, which are nice and warm — again, without getting muddy. The subwoofer is particularly helpful in situations like watching epic movies and gaming.

What a subwoofer does is essentially extend the lower frequencies that the speakers can reproduce. The effect is that you'll get a much more natural-sounding bass, which you otherwise wouldn't get from bookshelf speakers like the Qs. Alone, the speakers will sound good, but if you want that extra oomph, then you'll need a subwoofer, and it's well worth the extra cash if you can afford it. The speakers are ultradetailed, especially for a pair in this price range.

Sure, you could spend a lot more for a little extra clarity, but most will love the amount of clarity already on offer here. Like any quality speakers, it's worth hooking these up with a quality amplifier, but even lower-quality amplifiers will deliver solid high-end response through these speakers. Speaker detail is important, as it ensures that you can hear all the high frequencies that would otherwise be missing.

It helps ensure that they sound like the audio is coming from a real-life event and not from a pair of speakers. Have thousands to spend on a pair of speakers for your living room? The KEF Q speakers, however, bring quality sound to the masses. If you still want detail and clarity at a slightly lower price, then it's worth checking out the Q Acoustics i speakers. The KEF Q bookshelf speakers are absolute powerhouses in this price range. No, they're not the best-sounding speakers of all time, and if you have deep pockets you can do better, but only if you spend a whole lot more.

It's hard to overstate how helpful a subwoofer can be too. With a subwoofer like this one, sound will rumble kind of like it does in the movie theater, and who doesn't want that? That said, the speakers may not be the best choice for those on more restrictive budgets. Subscribe to our newsletter. You can purchase syndication rights to this story here.

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KEF LSX review

Vinyl has been on a resurgence for some time, and the pandemic somehow only accelerated that. Of course, there are multiple pieces that go into building a decent stereo, but perhaps the most important is the speakers. This is understandably the part of their setup that people likely spend the most time researching. And you have to make a number of choices. One of the biggest is: active or passive? Active speakers have an amplifier built in.

The new KEF LS50 Wireless II is an elegant, compact speaker system. For the test, for example, we used the smart solution IsoAcoustics.

KEF LS 50 Wireless II Review


Fortune town. First up is Klipsch. Curved for performance. Share Followers 0. They're quite big for a compact speaker, I guess that's part of the secret …. This was for music and whatever receiver it was hooked up with. Read more on klipsch. Beyerdynamic DT

Best stereo speakers: the best bookshelf, floor and Hi-Fi speakers in 2021

kef speakers sound test

Hall of Fame entry — and it has every right to be. But not only are the new LS50 Wireless II speakers untethered, they also come with a new and improved app. They have been designed to squeeze even more performance out of the familiar chassis and Uni-Q driver arrangement through the introduction of a new KEF innovation called Metamaterial Absorption Technology MAT. Physically, this technique sees a round piece of plastic with a maze-like structure placed behind the tweeter. This absorption technique has been used in other fields before, but this joint initiative with smart materials and acoustics company Acoustic Metamaterials Group marks its first application in a loudspeaker.

In addition to the smaller cabinets, smaller Uni-Q driver arrays and smaller, W amplification, some changes have been made to cater for the price and size reduction. Such a design is compact as well as being more power efficient.

Best bookshelf speakers 2021: The best compact stereo speakers, from £100


Michael Holzinger 6. It can also be said that solutions such as the KEF LS50 Wireless II from the English loudspeaker specialist KEF play a central role in this development, and some even say that such products represent the future of modern hi-fi. This may seem exaggerated to some, but a close look at consumer behaviour clearly supports this claim. Hi-fi in the classical sense has always been reserved for a comparatively small clientele, especially when it came to expansive systems with numerous components. Not least due to the fact that we live in a networked world in which PCs have long since been replaced by notebooks and in which smartphones, above all, represent the central component of the digital lifestyle, it is difficult to convey to a customer that he needs mountains of equipment for high-quality music reproduction.

KEF R7 Review – Bright Knight

We use affiliate links and may receive a small commission on purchases. Read more about us. But they also make much more affordable models that deliver killer sound without killing your wallet. In this review, we break down the LSX's sound , design , packaging and accessories , specs and more. To see how it stacks up, check out our list of the best bookshelf speakers. Really freaking good. But even if you're the kind of person who revels in five-figure amplifiers and dedicated listening rooms, you'd have to admit that for their size and price, the LSX sound extraordinary. The key to their success is in the openness of the sound.

The KEF Q bookshelf speaker looks exquisite, and sounds bigger and In our listening tests, paired with either the Sony STR-DN

The Best Bookshelf Speakers for Most Stereos

Apart from the integrated amplification and crossover system, the KEF LS50 Meta has all of the same features as the LS50 Wireless 2, including the Uni-Q coaxial driver with MAT technology, which uses metamaterials for a purer and more natural reproduction. But is the listening experience the same? Can an external amplifier provide the same performance as the amp with digital processing specifically developed for the coaxial speaker of the active version? The KEF LS50 Meta both come in the same box, with each speaker held in place with pieces of styrofoam and protected by a synthetic fabric cover.

The best passive bookshelf speakers for most people

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When you first look at this model, it seems that KEF has mixed its two series of speaker systems: "C" and "iQ", taking body from the first and the branded coaxial Uni-Q speaker from the second. In addition, the podium was replaced with powerful plastic legs with spikes. Q is equipped with four emitters, but they are arranged quite unusually, forming 2,5-way system with two passive radiators. The branded coaxial Uni-Q driver was significantly transformed.

They certainly look a little muscular because the cabinet is deep, but KEF disarmingly describe them as a mid-size three way.

KEF Q5 Floorstanding Speakers

Now, the Wireless II is simply the best possible way to realize the legendary point source technology in an active way. And don't forget that some amazing innovations are included. It allows for enormous precision in terms of plasticity and timing due to its coherence in both spatial and temporal aspects. Unlike conventional multi-way loudspeakers, the entire sound is generated in the same place, the same point even. Extensive research has always been put into each and every detail; geometry, material and motoring, to name a few. The coherence in the musical reproduction achieved thus is enormous. This can certainly be called the central common ground of the entire portfolio the traditional manufacturer from the British town of Maidstone offers.

Speakers are everywhere these days. That being said, the audio enthusiasts of the world will be looking for something far more enduring, powerful, and aesthetically pleasing than a last-minute gimmick tucked into a smart fridge door. But with how much a set of speakers can cost, choosing the wrong pair could be a high-priced mistake.




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