A brilliant, compact all-in-one hi-fi system. There are many DSP-based active loudspeakers on the market already, wireless or not. So, the actual customer, man-on-the-street, yawns at these cute little things about 50%, while Reviewers seem to be 110% positive. I consider this a Philosophical discussion about Corporate decisions on Global Marketing. Leaving aside the fact that a rational informed person would not want to needlessly and pointlessly radiate their own home with wi-fi, the biggest failing of the review is not to expound on the line: "signals can enter the LSX wirelessly via Bluetooth 4.2" etc ... which is a lossy massively compressed medium and that has no place in a magazine calling itself "Stereophile". The wavey printed fabric design of the Soundwave version and bronze tan coloured f… I just remembered my first-ever wireless audio product: a red-plastic transistor radio that fit in my shirt pocket. It would greatly and, unnecessarily, increase complexity and compromise the inherent value of the integration. Mel spent most of his life working in television journalism in Ohio, Florida, the BBC in London, and in Seattle, WA. KEF LSX review: If you want to have most of your ‘authentic hi-fi sound with wireless convenience’ cake and eat it too, look any further than the KEF LSX Great sound, no strings attached. It will ask you about the room the speakers are in and it will help you get the speakers set up on your Wi-Fi network. given the world we are living in (and how it changes in recent years), I do (and one really should!) There is none offered by ANY of the very large number of Reviews and/or reviewer' comments! Description "Fine!" etc. So, I have to think that this is a Paid for Review. Bluetooth is for noobs who do not know better .. with substantially worse quality than redbook CD ... and since the suggested inputs are streaming (Spotify) ... it only gets worse. Read our KEF LS50 Wireless review. Now KEF, one of the oldest and most respected speaker designers has added a smaller wireless system, that joins the wildly popular and oft-praised LS50 Wireless Speaker System, itself a derivative of the groundbreaking but more traditional wired LS50 speakers. Can KEF keep up the innovation with a new, diminutive wireless speaker system with high-end pretensions? KEF specifies the LSX's frequency range as 49Hz–47kHz, –6dB depending on the Control settings. ... Best KEF LSX deals 2020 The KEF LSX is testament to that. He’s got a lovely OLED TV now, flanked by Magnepan 3.6r speakers, and a Home theater with an Epson Projector and Focal speakers. One final thought: when you place a tubular speaker stand on top of a sub, even with SVS sub feet, you still need to fill them with steel shot and sand. Surprisingly for music it matched my setup in the bass department and exceeded the top end of the presentation and brought the 3d sound effect. The KEF LSX Wireless Speaker System is an evolutionary product, and we’re going to see more and more wireless speakers like the LSX on the market as time goes on. Yes, I still enjoy my once-indispensable home system under certain conditions; but the hard-earned money I certainly regret, though I know it was the only way those days back then. I had one small problem during my testing. I just love to hear great music and great music reproduction :-) ........ ... following link: A pretentious expert. Especially with it's Premium Price and that KEF are Marketing it to be a UK product. I needed you to step forward and declare me wrong. $1249.99 is not an impulse buy for most of us, but when you consider that it has matched built-in apps, wide frequency response and world-class imaging, it is a much better deal than at first glance. Is 6-Moons ? I would never use Bluetooth for serious listening, but I've come to appreciate it as a feature. ( all other photos are sharp ) feeling the inconsistency being a decision to not let us have a good read of it's contents. You are ready to go once you decide where your source material is. Should you decide to move the speakers, or want to change the preferences of the acoustic space the KEFs are in or add a subwoofer, the app handles it all. Percussion sounds were tight, and Ray Brown’s double bass thumped realistically with no subwoofer needed. The emotion and detail of true high-resolution stereo. ( as far as I've come to understand ). You promote the LS50 wireless and the LSX every chance you get. The KEF LSX Wireless Speaker System is an evolutionary product, and we’re going to see more and more wireless speakers like the LSX on the market as time goes on. At the peak of my frustration I called a young audiophile friend and begged her: "What am I doing wrong? A neighbor just bought both sets for their basement A/V system, a pre/pro, no amp, using the large set as the fronts, the small set for the rears, and they found a powered center of some other brand. There’s no way to tell if this was an isolated incident, but it’s only fair to mention it in the review and to report that things came back to life with no intervention needed from KEF support. There seemed to be slightly less dynamic range between the LSX system and the LS50s, but it was not stand out obvious. tony in Michigan is spewing racist bs. Using the USB takes up the 4th stereo line level in. Ordinary people will almost invariably buy the cheaper product, especially if they can return or exchange it when defective or whatever, at the local Walmart etc. So only an Apple product can be used to control these? Did I miss some mention of using them wired? Having said all the above, with conviction, I'm prepared to be completely wrong. But, I also see the fact each driver is coupled with its own internal DAC can be an advantage. (KEF responds that most people use the app, but they will work on improving the remote). I am seriously considering purchasing the LSX. That said, the controls available through the app are very impressive. It's not as if I spent the kind of money we see regularly for new gear in Stereophile. Digital streams sometimes reveal low-bitrate sources, but sometimes the sound is as good as any CD I've heard, it all depends. Nowadays, speaker cables can be as thick as firehoses, cost more than speakers, and be accessorized with battery packs, Teflon tea cozies, and toy-train trestles. A boy’s choir is an excellent test of stereo imaging. What a complete and utter snob you are. You get what you pay for. I did that, and the firmware installed correctly. https://www.soundstagesimplifi.com/images/stories/equipment3/201902_KEF_green_bottomb.jpg China publicly executes Drug Dealers! Have another look for : "Save the Audiophile Foundation" , donate all the money you can spare, I'm gonna need it to continue my product bashing. This means I usually watch on my laptop computer, with the computer sitting in my lap. Among the best in class imaging and stereo spread, The flexibility of sources, including direct connect, AirPlay, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. I concluded that it's an "INTENTIONAL" non-disclosure of important decision altering information. I truly appreciate your response. ( with tricky phrasing to encourage folks to think it's a UK product ). Anyone under 30 would have it working in five minutes. China has only been in ONE War since 1500 AD., with Viet Nam, they got clobbered, just like we did. ps. Yes, I am well behind the times. In any case, my smartphone lashed to good headphones gives me better sound than most of what I've owned over the last 50 years. ;-( .... May I ask what was the piece where you could point out each singer in a large chorus? by the way, one Amazon Buyer/owner complained that there is NO support for this device, did anyone at Stereophile attempt to get any sort of assistance from KEF? And if I want to hear Blandine Verlet's recordings of François Couperin I'm going to be streaming it because the physical issues are unobtanium. I've added a note to the online version. I hope some industry standard will be established that DAC manufactures can produce a standalone DAC which works with active speakers. "Rational informed people" is one of them straw men. Also, if an analog signal is received, then it would need to go through another DSP in order to actively drive each driver. The original statement is unfair to the manufacturer because it may limit the number of people interested in the speaker because they may have additional expense for an Apple device. ( typical of any product, nothing special about this product's acceptance patterns ). I read Stereophile for Lasting-Quality, decision help & understanding. Compared to the larger and not self-powered LS50 KEFs, the LSX Wireless speakers held their own. The reality is that streaming is the new norm. So you have choices, and not merely where you spend your dwindling paycheck. Buy yourself a $20 cable, stick in under the carpet if you don't want to see it, and get serious. It's not an appropriate piece for my reference system, and won't work with the self-powered speakers in our living room and my office. Also, the sound cannot be upgraded at any means in the future. The emotion and detail of true high-resolution stereo. Edited October 12, 2020 by markm1111. I don't know about this particular speaker, but a DSP speaker can use a DAC for each driver in the amplifier stage. While not a speaker I would recommend for fans of the deepest bass, like organ pedal notes or some electronic rock, the bass was quite good on its own. EISA WIRELESS STEREO SPEAKER 2019-2020 KEF LSX "...With Apple AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth built-in, plus access to Spotify and tidal, all controlled from aneat app on your smartphone, this could be all the hi-fi system many users will need".. — 2019 Full review It dismays me that stereophile would feed the hatred in the world like this. The voices were spread in almost 3D between the speakers, which gave a sense of depth along with left/right placement. ", She laughed. Thats it. Vol.12 – December 2020, Setting Up a Bryston BDA-3.14 Streaming DAC and Qobuz Streaming Service – A How-to Series, Part 2, Setting Up an AURALiC ARIES G1 Streamer and Qobuz Streaming Service – A How-to Series, Part 1, DCI-P3 Color – What It Means in Today’s Ultra HD World, AVR-Audio Video Reciever-Build Quality: Part V. Does Your Projector Display Accurate Color, and Why Is That Important? Each speaker is powered by its own Class-D amplifier (30W, tweeter; 70W, woofer) and 24-bit/192kHz DACs, with active crossover and DSP functions. The cost and the ease of use are attractive as HR mentioned .......... At the moment there is no American made product quite like the LSX .......... That situation may change 2 to 5 years from now :-) .......... You talk too much. Critics simply can’t get enough of its quality performance abilities and range of connectivity options to suit any and every music lover. 5805 integrated amplifier, which I have in-house right now. ( and Steve G ). The KEF Control app informed me the speakers needed a firmware update. KEF specifies the LSX’s frequency range as 49Hz – 47kHz (–6dB) depending on how you adjust the speaker for your room using the KEF Control app. (Note to KEF: One app is better than two. I could sense a slight shrinking of the stereo image, and the bass was not quite as tight, but at the high end, both KEF systems offered smooth treble. Unfortunately, playing music from KEF's LSX wireless loudspeaker system is not quite free. You don’t have to like wireless technologies but it’s also obvious you have no clue about them. Best hi-fi systems 2020. The difference is not subtle and it's effective & cheap! Read the full review here. ( pardon the un-intentional pun ), Dammit, I knew Raymond Cooke. Streaming, though--all those sources delivered over the Internet--are likely to develop and change. Plus I'm probably going to buy these speakers because of this review. China is an Advanced Civilization and has been for thousands of years. $1,249 /pair. However, the speakers could not pair after that, so I unplugged both of them for an hour or so. My stuff ain't junk, but it ain't new either. I am not attempting to generate a landslide of public anger. The LSX is more accurately called a WiFi speaker system—it's designed to receive audio signals via a WiFi connection and e controlled wirelessly from an iOS device. John Atkinson KEF was founded on innovation and new technology. ( I won't restate my rather ugly comment about re-education ) https://www.techhive.com/article/3390203/bowers-and-wilkins-formation-suite.html. THE WORLD'S #1 TECH BUYER'S GUIDE. The LSX enclosure is attractive from all sides, but especially from the front, where its 4.5" Uni-Q driver array draws the eye away from its glowing, ring-lit indicator lamp and toward its coaxial 0.75" aluminum-dome tweeter. Has original box and all accessories that it came with. Decorator wires?". You need an iPhone or iPad [or comparable Android device—ed. LSX is the speaker system for the way we listen today. FeaturedKEFKEF LSX Wireless Speaker SystemSpeaker System ReviewWireless SpeakerWireless Speaker System Review 2019. Obviously, someone heard me. Above is "MY" opinion. You can choose from White, Black, Blue, Olive, Maroon, or Red fabric finishes. The LSX system has four built-in DACs, one per driver, each supporting data sampled up to 24-bit/192kHz, but only with the supplied speaker-to-speaker Ethernet link. Dandy Hydraulic LP Cleaning Apparatus MKII, Peachtree Audio to adopt BluOS^® High-Resolution Multi-room audio platform, Available in several colors to match or accent your decor, Hookup was straightforward and without incident, Requires iOS or Android app to set up, but needs 2 apps to be fully functional, Deep Bass lovers may want to consider a subwoofer. It's sounds incredible. ( and hiding their Country of Origin ). Wireless Music System. These are not speakers meant to produce more than 98-100dB even with the hi-pass filter maxed. ( I'm gonna catch hell from measurers on this ). 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