KEF LS50 Meta (Pair, Mineral White)

Never did I thought I would add speakers that were so beautiful! Love the sound, but still the lack of grills makes me nervous with kids. Worth every penny and more!

Love ‘em. The most amazing thing about these speakers is that, by design, they are both time and phase coherent. So what? Well, that means on a good recording, you can hear exactly where the vocalists and instruments are placed in three dimensions. You can even hear different voices within acquire and different instruments within an orchestra very well. They also nail the dynamics of percussion like nothing I’ve ever heard in this price range. I don’t consider Stereophile magazine to be the absolute reference, but I do put some credibility in their reviews. They include the speakers in the “restricted low frequency” section of their recommended components in “Class A,” and some of the reviewers use them as their reference speakers. That is saying a lot, considering that many of their recommended speakers cost more than the average new car today. I’ve used them with extremely good separate components by Audio Research and McIntosh, but you don’t have to have that quality of electronics for these to sound excellent. I use them with a pair of subwoofers, but I have turned the subwoofers almost all way down, and they still have extremely good bass although not at the lowest octaves. I think the mids and highs are amazing too, especially considering that they use metal drivers. I got really turned off on metal tweeters by a pair of B&W speakers I had, but these exhibit, none of the sizzle and ringing that those did. Further, I think they’re great for almost any genre of music, from Black Sabbath to Beethoven. I have since upgraded my speakers because I got an incredible deal on a pair of Evolutions, but from time to time I consider swapping these back in because there’s something about them I kinda still miss. That said, I’m not selling them. They literally are the types of components that I know I would regret if I ever got rid of them.

I love these speakers. Added the KEF subwoofer, and the sound stage is complete. The fit and finish are exceptional and they truly deliver amazing sound.

I see a lot of reviews here saying they sound bad. It's simply not true, because then I see what they are running, and its a very low tier amp. Your "200" watt Emotiva BasX or similar class amp simply does not have the torque that these speakers need. I know, I own several Emotiva amps. I'm an audiophile, and have lots of gear, it's the hobby. I'm running these off comparably priced equipment, all of my gear is in the price wheelhouse of the Ls50. My amps are Orchard Audio class D GaN monoblocks with GaN power supplies. I run a Gustard X26 Pro dac, dual mono dacs, dual mono power supplies, excellent clocks. This speaker goes down to 3 ohms. Your cheap amp is likely begging for mercy at this impedance regardless of "200 watts". You need high quality. Give these high quality components and this speaker is AMAZING. I have 7 sets of speakers. All different types, Magnepans, CSS Audio, bunch of stuff. These speakers are worth every penny! But bear in mind their performance sits right where the price range is. These are not $10000 speakers for 1600. You get what you pay for. That said, in the 2K range, they are probablyunbeatable, for overall performance. Another caveat though is I have a pair of subs, near field, 3 feet off the ground, perfectly tuned with these speakers. You need a setup like this for perfect full range sound. If you're an audiophile, I recommend starting with these, make sure you have nice, NICE components to back them up, and a pair of subs when you can do it. I'm running 2 RSL Speedwoofer 10s. If you just buy these, you don't own subs, and your equipment is like $200 dac, no preamp, $500 amp, low level stuff, you're going to wonder what all the fuss is about and return them. Do them right, you may never shop for speakers ever again.

These image as good as any speaker i have owned, but i find that the enjoyment of imaging wears off, sort of like imaging is listening to equipment rather than music. Ultimately i find my older (made in England) speakers more musically engaging and emotionally satisfying, though perhaps less “neutral”. Also, I could not get these to blend with my subwoofers. They are a little thin sounding on their own, but this might contribute to their superior imaging. Adding the subwoofers (including weeks of positional and crossover adjustments) always detracted from what the LS50s do well. Perhaps it would be different w a KEF subwoofer.

Beautiful sounding and crafted speakers that exude refinement and quality. Have the ability to reveal great detail when paired with other high quality components and quality interconnects. Pair well with a warmer sounding amp. Look great on their matching KEF stands (which similarly are not cheap but beautifully crafted and high quality). Strongly recommend.

These speakers get really great reviews here and by audio magazine journalists, but I’m not sure why. As another reviewer here stated, these are good, but not great speakers. They definitely don’t live up to the hype. Very questionable if they are worth the now $1600 price (up from $1500 when I purchased). Here’s the good and not so good- Good: 1.) The KEF LS-50 speakers are really solid and well built. The design may not be for everyone, but they do look kinda cool. 2.) The speakers have a very full, wide, smooth natural soundstage. Plump and juicy might be a good way to describe it. They put out a sound that belies their small size, provided they are set up per the manufacturer’s instructions. (8-12 ft apart and 18” from wall), and fed enough power. 60 WPC is absolute bare minimum and then only in a small room. I’d recommend 150-200, and find an amp that has a musical sound. Amps that have a sterile, dry, and precise sound will not pair well with these speakers. Spend some $$ on a good amp and your ears will be rewarded. I have a Schiit Rag2, and while it sounds good with the speakers, 60WPC is not enough power. 3.) Really good bass for speakers their size. Will suffice for many listeners, but you’ll want a subwoofer if you like to rattle the walls. So what’s not to like? 1.) The sound from the LS-50 meta lacks depth and detail (it’s very ‘flat’) and therefore they have *very* poor imaging- from the perspective of being able to identify the location of instruments in the soundstage. The positioning of instrument in the soundstage is not well defined, and is very vague and indistinct. The sound from instruments seems to emanate from everywhere because of the lack of detail. Really poor for speakers at this price level. This is the major issue with these speakers. 2.) These pups will take 100 hours of listening to fully run-in. Don’t invite your audiophile friends over to listen to your new speakers the week you get them--you will be embarrassed. They are very closed and very tight and “boxey” at first and don’t begin to open up until 40 hours and then really don’t sound reasonably good until you get past 80. You *will* have buyer’s remorse at first, but give them a chance and they will get better. Play them while you’re at work or not at home if you can, to speed up the run-in. There are posts on the web on how to do this without pissing off your neighbors. Final thoughts: I’d recommend these speakers for those people who grew up listening to digital music recorded from the mid-00’s to date. Starting around that time music was compressed and brickwalled in the studio during post-production which had the effect of removing all dynamics and detail from the music. Here’s a description of brickwalling from Steve Hoffman forums- “I call something brickwalled when there are no dynamics left in the music. Everything is so limited and compressed that all passages of the music are the same volume. Songs mastered this way are perceived to be LOUD LOUD LOUD!” So you won’t miss the detail and dynamics because it never existed in the recorded music to begin with. I would *not* recommend these speakers to those who are listening with vinyl or high quality digital sources of music (DSF or HD Flac) recorded before mid-00’s. You will definitely miss the lack of detail, dynamics and imaging in the soundstage, especially if you are listening to acoustic, vocals, or classical music. My test system consists of- • Emotiva XPA-5 Gen 2, 200 watts per channel class AB amplifier and Schiit Rag2, 60 WPC • Oppo BDP-205 Blu-ray and streaming music player • I used really well recorded DSD128 files for auditioning • High quality speaker cables, and Mogami Gold studio quality balanced audio cables between the analog audio output of the Oppo and the XPA-5 inputs I also compared the LS-50 Meta’s to the Dahlquist DQ-10s. The DQ-10’s are 80’s era speakers with a cult following and are some of the best sounding and imaging speakers out there today. While I didn’t expect the LS-50’s to match the DQ-10’s they fell far short of my expectations.

Still breaking these in. First impression: Very, very nice for orchestral music, especially strings. Strings of all kinds sound amazing: guitar, lute, violin--they're just amazing from Paul O'Dette to Prince. I agree with the assessment that these speakers have a richer lower range than the Anniversary monitor LS50s, to which they are kin in style, size, and precision. I adored and still adore the original Anniversary LS50s for their clarity and dispassion. They rock for transmitting the human voice--sopranos never sounded clearer or more accurate: Absolute faithfulness to the recording, no color added. The Metas are very similar, except--and I haven't read this elsewhere--they seem tonally warmer. Maybe that's in the expanded perception of a lower range. I am powering the Metas with a refined Yamaha Natural Sound AS-2000 amp. I revised my setting on Spotify to maximum data and turned off equalization for greater dynamics. There is no point in having speakers that can tell you the whole story of your music unless you feed them lossless or as close as you can come to that. My Yamaha Super Audio CD player provides excellent source material for these Metas. (I have too much invested in this CD collection to dump it or sell it.) I find Yamaha's best components provide subtlety in addition to power. I haven't tried yet the Metas' performance with my monstrous, higher-powered AdCom565SE amp. Familiar with a vast lineup of KEF speakers, I know KEFs like to drink up the juice. I can listen to these speakers for hours, the pleasure in hearing more is so satisfying! Meanwhile, I endorse this suggestion, echoed from other reviewers: Metas will sing their ohms best from an A or AB class amplifier with 80 or more watts per channel, connected with 12 gauge low or no oxygen genuine copper wire. Will they run on less power? Yes. It's not the mere power that counts, it's the quality. In any case, it seems unlikely a keen listener will be disappointed in these Metas. You might also want to crack a window. Right out of the box, and for a few days afterward, there is a very strong chemical odor--smells like epoxy, but probably a proprietary magic material KEF invented to house thIs genius.

En remplacement de mes Tannoy dont un haut-parleur avait lâché (les teufs des ados, c'est pas toujours une bonne idée pour les enceintes Hi-fi). Très belle présentation so on aime le style. Très qualitatif. Le son est très clair, très transparent, avec une scène précise. Grande qualité de son pour des enceintes de taille modeste. Prévoir des pieds pour les dégager des murs (je ne les mettrais pas dans une bibliothèque). Rendement faible, il faut de la puissance pour les faire chanter. J'en suis au début de mes écoutes, mais je passe beaucoup de temps à les écouter, CD, streaming de qualité, etc. avec beaucoup de plaisir. À associer avec un caisson de basses, où se trouve leur faiblesse, pardonnable au vu de leur taille. Bref, très content de mon choix. Seule réserve, un rendu très brillant des aigus, mais je pense que c'est dû au fait que mes anciennes enceintes étaient moins performantes dans ces fréquences et que je dois m'habituer à cette plus grand fidélité à ce spectre. J'organise des concerts chez moi, et si je compare avec les instruments entendus en live, finalement, on a le même phénomène. Je me demande si un ampli plus "rond" ne leur conviendrait pas un peu mieux (j'ai un Yamaha).

Bought these to replace a pair of LS 50s based on the glowing reviewed of the Meta. They were not wrong, the sound is deeper, fuller, and more dimensional. They are the perfect speakers at this price point.

Uniq driver sayesinde yatay kullanıma da uygun, fotoğraflardaki gibi, güçlü bir amp kullanılması performansını ortaya koyuyor, ses karakteri muhteşem, tüm frekanslar dengeli, ne tizler sizi yoruyor ne de baslar arka planda kayboluyor, enstrümanları net duyabiliyorsunuz. Kesinlikle tavsiye ederim, indirimde fırsatı değerlendirdim yoksa daha düşük bütçeli Dynaudio Emit 20 tercih edecektim ama aklım da bunda kalacaktı, Amazon sağolsun, ne varsa Amazon’da..!

Ich habe die Lautsprecher seit zwei Jahren und bin nach wie vor absolut zufrieden. Der Klang ist klar, kraftvoll und ausgewogen, die Verarbeitung hochwertig und das Design zeitlos. Egal welche Musikrichtung – sie liefern immer wieder ein beeindruckendes Hörerlebnis. Langfristige Freude an erstklassigem Sound und elegantem Design – 5 Sterne

Purtroppo per questioni di spazio sono costretto a scegliere solo casse da scaffale così optai, su consiglio del mio rivenditore HIFI abituale, per le KEF Q350 che sono impressionanti per il loro rapporto qualità/prezzo. Suonavano bene ma qualcosina non mi convinceva soprattutto nel medio-alto, mancava un pò di precisione e dettaglio. Ho quindi acquistato questi bellissimi diffusori Titan Grey e....beh, a parte il design strepitoso, non credevo ci fosse tutta questa differenza. Ora mi è chiaro perchè KEF continua a migliorare questo progetto e perchè questi diffusori continuano a vincere premi. Abbinate al mio Cambridge Audio CXA81(non consiglio di scendere sotto gli 80w per canale perchè sono diffusori non molto efficienti), ho perso qualcosina ma veramente poco nel basso rispetto alle Q350 che hanno un driver più grande, ma è ancora molto presente nel mio ambiente. Il medio-alto invece è un qualcosa di spaziale, ogni volta che le sento mi stupiscono, credo rimarranno lì per molti molti anni. Ne è valsa veramente la pena anche se il costo, rispetto alle Q350 è quasi il triplo. Consigliatissime!!!!!