The Kef LS50 Wireless II are the link between the music enthusiast and the audiophile. Quality audio and ease of use these are the fundamental characteristics.
The history of the Kef LS50
The first time I listened to the LS50s was at Top Audio in Milan, about ten years ago. At the time there was only the passive version (without internal amplification).
I entered a very large room and already from the outside you could hear a great sound.
Before entering the room, my brain imagined mammoth floor speakers and instead there were these two microbes that amazed me not only for the sound performance but also for their design: beautiful and at the same time functional for listening.
Il Driver Uni-Q
The LS50 was born at a very special time. Kef had just experienced major corporate changes and wanted to show the public that the brand was more alive than ever.
The LS50 was an ambitious project with objectives bordering on the impossible: to become the heir of the historic LS3 / 5 monitor also nicknamed by the experts “the shoe box” due to its size. The LS3 / 5, initially used in the BBC’s mobile control stations, over time became one of the most popular loudspeakers among audiophile enthusiasts. They had the characteristic of returning a simply magical mid-high range even with obvious limitations at the bottom.
In short, these LS50s presented themselves as an important product, so important that it was almost presumptuous. Ten years later, we can say, with sales numbers in hand, that the goal has been achieved.
The competitors did not stand by and watched and so Kef after a few years presented some evolutions and a first version of the LS50 Wireless.
For an audiophile with a hankering to assemble, change and set up his own system, an almost all-in-one loudspeaker like this means a limitation of the game but that’s only one side of the coin. The other side speaks of small dimensions, few threads scattered around the house and an optimal synergy between the various components of the chain, as everything has been designed to work together.
What are the Kef LS50 Wireless 2?
The Kef LS50 Wireless II are a real one audio system whose starting point is LS50 Metaevolution of the LS50, inside which everything necessary to reproduce music in an almost completely autonomous way has been inserted.
So don’t just call them speakers, the Kef Engineers could take it badly given the effort made to design them.
I defined them as the Mary Poppins bag: two small cabinets with a lot of things inside which we are going to give you more explanations now.
“Dacs, streamers, amps, DSPs but how the hell did they get all this stuff in here?”
Don’t worry, we will explain it to you.
Touch display
Know that there is a main speaker (Primary) which includes connections, a display with basic functions and the sensor for the remote control (supplied). The secondary speaker (Secondary) has the necessary connections to connect to the main speaker, a connection for the subwoofer and an IEC tray to connect to the mains. The thing where they differ from many competitors is that each speaker has its own onboard amplification.
If you thought that your mobile phone in addition to these two speakers is enough to have a real Hi-Fi system available, you are not wrong, it is the reality of the facts, but let’s proceed step by step and find out more.
Structure in metamaterial (credit Hifight)
The amplification section and the metamaterial
Each speaker has two amplifiers. One in class D from 280 watt per low life and one in class AB from 100 watts for the high ones. We are therefore talking about a total of 4 amplifiers that allow, according to the declared data, to reach a sound pressure of 108 Db at one meter. In short, you will have something to enjoy. Of course, the sound pressure alone is not enough, it is essential to contain the distortion. This is possible thanks to a well-sized amplification, but also thanks to the study carried out by the English brand for the realization of a synthetic material (metamaterial) which thanks to its labyrinth structure has the ability to absorb unwanted sounds coming from the rear part of the driver. . Its labyrinth structure of the MAT (metamaterial) is designed in such a way that each groove absorbs a very specific frequency range. Kef technicians claim to be able to absorb 99% of unwanted sounds coming from the back of the speakers.
Admit it, you never thought about it huh? These Kef engineers are really strong!
Explanation of Uni-Q technology
Kef’s patented Uni-Q driver
The Kef LS 50 Wireless 2 are two-way speakers equipped with a patented driver called Uni-Q. This type of patent has distant roots, dating back more than 30 years ago and today it has reached its twelfth generation. To see it from afar, the Uni-Q seems to be equipped with a single loudspeaker, in reality, however, the mid-low frequency driver incorporates a tweeter with a wave guide, in charge of reproducing the high frequencies.
Exploded view of Uni-Q driver (credit Kef)
This choice stems from a study according to which the medium-low and medium-high frequencies radiating from two different positions end up interfering with each other. With the use of the Uni-Q system these interferences are reduced and consequently the sound is less subject to sprains. The Uni-Q system is Kef’s answer to the so-called point source of which we will try to give you more details in the future. It is not the only solution in the world but it is certainly one of the valid ones.
What can I connect to with the Kef LS 50 Wireless 2?
The Kef LS50 Wireless II can connect to most streaming services on the market. We have mainly tested them with Tidal e Spotify tramite Spotify connect. Without forgetting Amazon HD and Quobuz. As for Tidal, you should know that these Kefs offer file support MQA in addition to certification Tidal Connect which will allow you to manage music directly from the Tidal app without using KEF CONNECT.
Click on the speaker symbol at the top right (image 1) and then on the icon with the speaker (image 2). In our case we have named the Kef parlor. This is enough to set up Tidal connect.
We also took advantage of the Roon Ready certification. What is it about? Roon is a latest generation paid player with a beautiful and user friendly graphic interface able to make the listening experience even more performing and above all bit perfect.
Roon screenshot from Android mobile device
The certification Roon Ready will allow you to make the most of the protocol RAAT of Roon and enjoy the many features present on the expensive player.
Click on Roon’s settings menu then audio and scroll down. You will find Roon Ready devices. At this point, click on the Kefs and that’s it
Do not forget the presence of HDMI, compatible with ARC technology, to connect your TV and optical and coaxial inputs to use external sources such as a CD player. There is no USB input but you can still connect to a pc or nas via UPNP / DLNA or alternatively buy one of the many USB / COAX converters such as the M2tech Hiface.
The connections on the main speaker
If you own a record playeryou can use it or go bluetoothif your turntable has one, or by using the input TO with a special cable terminated rca-jack 3,5mm. We would have liked a traditional analogue RCA or XLR input more.
If you love “telluric” bass, you can add up to 2 subwoofers through the appropriate connection.
How difficult is it to configure the KEF LS50 Wireless 2?
This was one of the aspects that intimidated me the most. Reading the website of the parent company we talk about many features, beautiful and comfortable but which could generate confusion and fear in the average user. Fortunately this is not the case. Through the app KEF CONNECT in about 5 minutes you will be able to configure everything. Just follow the few and simple instructions (also in Italian) and as if by magic everything will work. Kudos to whoever designed the user interface for the simplicity of use. If you have heard of connection problems, you should know that they were referred to the first copies of the old version and that in our experience we have not encountered any type of problem. Finally, let’s not forget compatibility with Google Chromecast e Apple Airplay 2.
You can choose to connect the Kef LS50 Wireless II in cablata o wireless. Through the first you will have a resampling a 24 bit/192 KHz while with the second you will arrive at 24bit/96KHz.
Kef Connect all within reach of TAP
The application KEF CONNECT it is the nerve center of the system. Through this APP available for both Android and Ios you can make the initial settings and then indulge yourself with the various streaming services supported directly in the APP (Tidal, Quobuz, Amazon HD and others)
Through a convenient drop-down menu you can select the desired source and adjust the volume.
You can also go to configure the DSP interior according to your type of environment. The interaction between the listening environment and the audio system is one of the …