Inside, the sturdy cabinets are reinforced with serious bracing to minimize vibration and distortion, and a flexible bass port helps the speakers reach deep into the lower register with more muscle than you’d guess. The specially designed Uni-Q tweeter/woofer combo sits inside a “precision-made curved baffle” along each speaker’s beveled front face. The design doesn’t just look cool it’s the result of countless hours of careful acoustic engineering, compounded by 11 generations of design evolution. Raised blades along the interior of the woofer and a rubberized ring of dimples along the edge help set it off. The 5.25-inch woofers come in electric shades of red, gold, and blue, while the piano-gloss cabinets come in black, silver, or white.
Minimalist almost to a fault at first glance, the more you stare into the LS50 Wireless, the more intriguing they become. Accessories include the CAT-6 cable that syncs the two speakers, heavy-duty power cables, and a miniature matte remote. The right speaker holds the real goods, though, including multiple wired inputs, a subwoofer output, and basic digital controls for speaker placement, labeled “desktop” and “stand.” A shiny touchpad for volume control and input selection rests on the top panel. The wireless version of the LS50 have their own affectations, including robust heat sinks at the back (which partly accounts for that anvil weight), and CAT-6 inputs to sync the stereo channels.
Dimpled woofers surround a concentric tweeter shaped like a lemon juicer, while the piano-gloss cabinets are elegant enough to feel at home in the poshest of Chelsea lofts. For those unfamiliar with the original LS50, the speakers offer an intriguing aesthetic that’s equal parts exotic and audiophile-chic. Out of the boxĪt 22 pounds apiece (plus an extra half pound on the right speaker for internals), you will feel it when you pull these speakers from the box. In other words, it’s a match made in heaven. What the LS50 Wireless really have going for them is their minimalist design, intuitive app, and custom-crafted internal amplification, which is digitally timed specifically for the speakers to create the kind of clarity and precision that’s rare (if possible) to find in a standard amp-and-speaker pairing. While “wireless” may be the headline, it’s no trick to add wireless streaming to a sound system these days - Google’s Chromecast Audio does it for $35, and virtually every receiver on the market offers built-in streaming. In short, it’s tough to mess with perfection, so the wireless speakers - which cost $700 more than the originals - are an interesting proposition.
#KEF LS50 META SURROUND SYSTEM BLUETOOTH#
So when we heard about the active LS50 Wireless speakers, which tack on hi-res and Bluetooth streaming, we were obviously intrigued. Packing trickle-down technology from KEF’s insanely decadent Blade speakers, the LS50s’ concentric tweeter design, rock-solid bracing, and heaps of patents have helped make them rock stars with reviewers, audio engineers, and sound enthusiasts alike. KEF’s original LS50 “mini monitors” are a hallowed name in the audiophile world.
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