The LS50 Wireless Music System is a complete and fully active music system. Sharing the same winning acoustic features of KEF's renowned LS50, LS50 Wireless enables the user to easily enjoy excellent music reproduction, previously only achieved with a system comprised of separate high quality components. The LS50 Wireless features Tidal Streaming, is a Roon endpoint providing the ultimate in flexibility and connectivity, and is compatible with all music streaming services.
Inspired by the circular arrangement of time, a structured, architectural-type pattern with musical notes and symbols added to the seemingly unending depth of the rhythmic design, like a musical composition. Playing off the product name, when the lights are turned off the product continues to captivate late into the evening as selected elements glow in the dark. LS50 Wireless Nocturne. Design by Marcel Wanders. Sound by KEF.
Marcel Wanders is a leading product and interior design studio located in Amsterdam, credited with 1,900+ iconic projects. Marcel Wanders works with premium brands such as Alessi, Baccarat, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Louis Vuitton, among scores of others. Under Marcel Wanders' creative leadership and direction, and with the support of Gabriele Chiave as creative director since 2014, Marcel Wanders employs over 50 design and communication experts. His designs are celebrated in some of the most renowned museums in the world, including the Centre Pompidou (FR), MoMA (US), and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (NL).
All of the acoustic features and innovations that set the LS50 apart from every other speaker in its class remain. The FEA-designed cabinet with its constrained layer damping bracing and precision engineered curved baffle, the Uni-Q driver and the elliptical flexible port all work in concert to prevent cabinet vibration and resonances that produce unwanted sound coloration – putting you that much closer to how your favorite music was intended to sound.
To get the most out of your music, every note should arrive at your ears at exactly the right time. Before KEF perfected our Uni-Q technology, this perfect time alignment could only be experienced in a small 'sweet spot,' leaving listeners outside of the 'sweet spot' with a less than ideal listening experience. Uni-Q changed that, opening up the optimum listening space to practically every spot in your room. The LS50 Wireless employs an advanced time correcting DSP crossover which takes that awesome achievement to the next level by correcting for inherent time delays introduced in the crossover stage. Amazing sound dispersion matched only by a live music performance is now attainable in virtually every room. This incredible achievement cannot be reproduced by any other active speaker.
Every note should hit your ears at exactly the right time. Previously, this perfect time alignment was only a theoretical ideal and perfectly accurate sound could only be experienced within a small 'sweet spot'. With LS50 Wireless' advanced time correcting DSP crossover and the unique sound dispersion abilities of Uni-Q, accurate sound reproduction can be achieved in practically every location in any type of room. This is a feat that cannot be reproduced by any other active speaker.
The LS50 Wireless features an end-to-end 192kHz/24-bit high-resolution digital signal path, a streaming pre-amplifier, and two separate DACs for each channel, for a total of four. Powered in the analogue stage by an incredibly fast and clean 230 Watts per channel in a bi-amp dual mono configuration, the LS50 Wireless is a complete, high-fidelity music system that will cost you far less than you'd spend putting together the separate components necessary to match the performance of the LS50 Wireless. LS50 Wireless gives you all of the connectivity options you'll need to get the most out of your music, including 2.4GHz/5GHz Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 aptX, Asynchronous USB Type B, TOSLINK Optical, and RCA-type line-level analogue inputs. A dedicated LS50 Wireless app (available for iOS and Android) easily facilitates network setup, music streaming, playback and DSP control.
An incredible listening experience is easy as plugging in. Simply connect both LS50 Wireless speakers to a power source and connect an audio source to enjoy high quality sound that music deserves. Adjust how the LS50 Wireless sounds using a selectable EQ tuned to compensate for different mounting scenarios, creating more options for placement and positioning. Regardless of placement, Uni-Q technology disperses sound evenly for total listening enjoyment. Use the touch sensitive control panel or the remote control to ensure complete control of LS50 Wireless from a different aspect. A dedicated iOS or Android app can allow detailed adjustment to optimise sound for different rooms.
"The term 'game changer' is severely over-used these days but it applies to the KEF LS50 Wireless. It's the type of product this category was invented for, applying the traditional skills of hi-fi to the way most of us listen to music today – from the cloud, and from our phones."
"The LS50 Wireless speaker system packs big sound—along with plenty of technology and cool style—in a little box. And yes, this Nocturne edition brings extra fun to late-night listening in a dark room. Day or night, it's been a delight to have around."
"$2,000 might seem like a lot to spend on a pair of bookshelf speakers — and it is — but the KEF LS50 Wireless offers so much more than your average high-end bookshelf speakers. They're an engineering feat all in themselves, fitting individual amps, DACs and other electronics inside a cabinet that's essentially the same size as the older LS50 speakers. They can be used as desktop monitors or an all-in-one hi-fi speaker system. And, best of all, anybody can use them: the app and a wi-fi connection allow Tidal tracks to play in all their high-resolution glory, or with the tap of the Bluetooth button anyone can play whatever they like — no instructions needed."
"These speakers made me want to revisit old music albums that I hadn't listened to in a while, just to rediscover songs. The LS50W's make you feel the rhythm and enjoy listening to music. For a set of compact bookshelf speakers, they have no issues filling my medium-sized room. As far as balance is concerned, these speakers offer a neutral sound, with a crystal-clear mid-range, a rich and controlled bass, and a clear and open treble. I found these speakers to work great with any genre of music."
"In particular, the LS50W is able to maintain tight bass presence in busy tracks; on the Sonos those notes would become muddy, on the Devialet they would sometimes be obscured. If you live in an apartment, 40hz is plenty of thump for almost any kind of music without annoying the neighbors too much. But you can always add a subwoofer if you need more."
"The LS50W speakers are a revelation. They product finely detailed audio that will help you make better tracks, while still offering up a listening experience that isn't too clinical for the simple enjoyment of well-recorded music. (Bad recordings, though, are another matter entirely.) Best of all they integrate beautifully with modern digital setups, handling everything from analog inputs to high-def computer audio with aplomb."
"Powerful, precise, and as beautiful to look at, the LS50 Wireless are easily the best cordless speakers we have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Controlled by a smartphone app, they support Wi-Fi streaming from your device's library, as well as Tidal and Spotify, and the speakers can even stream network audio at up to 24bit/192kHz resolution. In terms of wired inputs, you can use optical, USB-A, and RCA."
"Best of all is the sense that every fibre and sinew of this system is pulling in the same direction. Fine clarity and focus, a spacious soundstage with stunning image solidity, and unfettered musicality make for immersive and hugely enjoyable listening."
"There's plenty of spaciousness and organisation on display, with obvious clarity and precision no matter what music is played. In short, this is a game changer that raises the bar for active wireless loudspeakers everywhere."
"That KEF has been able to stuff so much hardware and DSP know-how into one of their best-ever speaker designs and then charge only $2199.99/pair for it -- $700 more than the original -- is a mystery to me."
"Perhaps the most game changing product I have encountered in quite some time, Kef's LS50 Wireless certainly is it...Foundationally, this truly is a magical product in ways difficult to quite comprehend at first. First, Kef has done a fantastic job of creating a scalable, upgradeable platform from which to begin with. When I received my pair of LS50W, they offered up great value across the board with fully fledged high-end chops: like AURALiC's Polaris, LS50W is an endgame digital destination capable of acting as silver plate for just about all your analog or digital sources. But wait, there is more. Much more in fact. With several software updates over the year—at zero cost to the customer (think Apple iOS updates that add significant functionality over time)—LS50W has in fact added quite a few more KOs to said endgame: native Tidal? Check. Native Spotify? Check. Native Roon? Check."
"Overall, these speakers are revealing and informative but always musical and entertaining: a triumphant marriage of form and function, and that's why the KEF LS50 Wireless wins this year's Product of the Year Award for best music system and enter our Hall of Fame."
Magazine / Issuing Body: What Hi*Fi?
"The sound quality of the LS50W varied most critically with volume. Resolution at low-to-mid volumes was good, with excellent imagery and placement, and an overall engaging level of quality. Turning the volume knob over, however (or in this case, jamming the + button over and over), resulted in magic. These babies love to play loud. Bass is just exceptional for something this small/compact, and I loved it. The soundstage was 3-D and wholly holographic."
"The LS50Ws are an amazing addition for a company and industry that typically focuses on passive speakers hooked up to bigger and bigger receivers. To get this level of sound quality and clarity from such a small, self-contained pair of speakers is a true achievement and has the potential to lead a new class of speakers into the future. Hearing these in person removes any of the sticker shock, and music aficionados and budding audiophiles should move KEF's LS50W speakers to the top of their equipment wish list."
"KEF's LS50W is an outstanding loudspeaker. Its build quality, finish, and technical prowess are beyond reproach, and its sound quality remains faithful to both KEF's design principles and to the original LS50. That KEF has been able to stuff so much hardware and DSP know-how into one of their best-ever speaker designs and then charge only $2199.99/pair for it -- $700 more than the original -- is a mystery to me. The fact that it sounds better than the original is all the better."
"Sound is crystalline, set before your ears with sparkling purity, impressive expression, and effortless extension. Music sounds so transparent and articulate you feel you could almost dive in and touch each instrument as it's playing, and each sound is placed deftly within the wide soundstage, occupying a distinct and nearly tangible point in the air. Details are exposed with organic resonance, revealing each tick and glint of an instrument or voice's timbre, and just as importantly, the space that surrounds it."
"That the LS50 Wireless are rather grand, I would hope you understood by now—I can't think of any component in recent memory that has been this much fun to unbox, setup and take around the house, room to room so to speak, identifying its various commitments to multi-room, multi-condition sound... This is the future, no question."
"It's a futuristic home music system and a classic at the same time. KEF's technology and its Uni-Q driver dispersion is engineered to deliver the listener a full range speaker suited for both the desktop or a living room setup. For any audiophile and music lover this system is the easy way to have an audiophile system without all the separate components."
"We were all impressed with KEF LS50W's technical performance. The speakers are packed with powerful amplifiers offering near state of the art digital performance at half the price of a pair of Devialet Phantoms. It was easy to become deeply impressed with the sound quality of the KEF's and are among the very best luxury wireless music systems available."
"Now the active KEF setup competes with a passive LS50 system costing ten times its retail price. So sharp is the LS50 Wireless' value-for-money quotient that one could add the Sonore microRendu and Bluesound Node 2 and still find oneself sitting pretty with pie-in-the-sky performance/$, looking down from on high on the separates and integrateds required by the red boxes. From the LS50 Wireless system we get performance that exceeds the sum of its parts way beyond that which is expected or usual."
"Something for audiophiles, something for mainstreamers – after all, it's in the LS50 Wireless' DNA. As a straddler of worlds, the KEFs walk away not only with a Knockout Award but also DAR's Product of the Year award for 2016. If this product doesn't convince audiophiles of the legitimacy of active loudspeakers, nothing will."