KEF LSX Wireless Speakers Review
By Chris Heinonen on
Performance
Value
Overall
We previously reviewed the KEF LS50W wireless speaker system and, like everyone else, came away very impressed with it. At $2,200 it was a high price point for many people, and the speakers are also quite large. They also had the annoyance of needing to be connected via an Ethernet cable, making them wireless but also wired at the same time. The new KEF LSX speakers are a more affordable wireless speaker system that is both smaller than the LS50W, but also don’t require a cable between them and comes in more finishes. Most importantly, they sound absolutely fantastic and can easily serve as a nice living room system.
KEF LSX Design and Set Up
The heart of the KEF LSX is a 4.5” UniQ driver that has a 0.75” tweeter inside the bass/midrange driver. What this driver design allows is for perfect time alignment between the drivers, as sounds originate from the same point. What this means in practice is that music sounds more clear and detailed because you’re hearing the sounds arrive at exactly the same time. When you have a separate midrange and tweeter, while sounds are going to arrive very close they’ll be just slightly off in timing depending on where you sit. While it might seem small and trivial, it is something that you can hear and is why I’ve been running KEF speakers for my home theater exclusively since I first reviewed a UniQ model.
The UniQ driver is housed in a solid cabinet with a curved front that comes in a variety of colors. My sample in red is finished with fabric wrapping the outside giving it a much softer and more friendly appearance than a standard speaker. Each speaker has its own 100-watt amplifier on the rear and its own power supply. The big difference from the LS50W is that there is now just an optional Ethernet connection that allows for 24/96 listening while without it you’re limited to 24/48. For most listeners, who stream content that’s recorded at CD-quality at best, there is no need for the Ethernet cable, but it is nice to have the option there for those that do want it.
One speaker also includes an Ethernet input in case you don’t want to use WiFi, an optical input for your TV, a 3.5mm analog input for a turntable or other source, and an RCA output for a subwoofer. You can configure if this master speaker is on the right or left to make it easier to set up.
Configuring the KEF LSX was quite easy. I took the speakers out of the box and connected each to power while also connecting the main to my OLED TV, Ethernet, and a subwoofer for testing. Using the KEF app to finish configuration was quick and it helped me to get them set up correctly for my room. You answer a few simple questions about room size, speaker placement and distance from the wall, and if you want to use a subwoofer. You can also use a more advanced mode, but the basic one works well. Once configured in the app I was ready to start listening.
KEF LSX Listening Notes
The main concern I had when I unpacked the LSX is how much the bass will suffer when compared to the LS50W due to the smaller size. To get right to the heart of this, I went straight to my playlist of subwoofer testing tracks and listened to “Angel” from Massive Attack. The opening bass line played much deeper than I expected from these compact little speakers. Clearly, you aren’t going to get the SPLs and impact that an 8” driver is going to provide, but you are getting the essence of the song which is what I was looking for. When listening I didn’t feel as though I needed a subwoofer at all to improve the bass response here.
More noticeable was the superior clarity of the KEF LSX compared to all the other wireless speakers I’ve recently reviewed. I compared it to the Sonos Play:5, which costs almost the same in a stereo configuration. While the bass on the Play:5 is a bit better due to the size, the clarity and detail in the vocals and instruments is an easy win for the LSX. I spent a lot of time A/B comparing using a playlist of songs from Wes Anderson films and the LSX just sounds amazing. When Nico sings her voice is much more present and in the room where it recedes into the background more with the Play:5. The instruments behind Nick Drake have a better tone as guitars sound more natural than with other wireless speakers.
Comparing the LSX to some other affordable bookshelf speakers I have around, like the ELAC B6.2 or the Q Acoustics 3050i towers, the LSX just sounds better. Those two speakers can do deeper bass, but not by a significant margin. To see how the KEF LSX could keep up, I added a couple different subwoofers to the setup for testing. The Martin Logan Dynamo 800X was a perfect pairing, as the integrated room correction and iOS app for adjustments made the configuration of the pair easy. With a few simple settings and testing, I was able to make the LSX sound even better than it did before.
Integrating my Power Sound Audio dual 15” subwoofer was a larger challenge, as it lacks the room correction and app controls that the Martin Logan offers. Even after my best efforts, I still found the balance of the bass and output to not be a perfect match with the LSX. If I was pairing a subwoofer to the LSX, I’d lean towards a 12” or 10” model, preferably with room correction, to make the integration easier and seamless. It will give you that lower-end impact you’re after and the blending will be easier to get right.
Moving onto movies and TV, I connected the LSX to my Sony A1E OLED and watched a variety of content from the internal apps and TV tuner. Watching football on TV doesn’t ask much of speakers, but the LSX sounded great. Far better than the internal speakers of any TV you’ll buy, bringing the impact of the hits on the field across. Streaming Edge of Tomorrow (or whatever they are calling it now for marketing reasons) the opening bass notes only strike so low, but the dialogue and explosions sound fantastic. The soundstage is wide and deep, putting you into the movie far more than any sound bar or TV speaker can alone. You don’t get the option for surround sound with the LSX, but you do get a fantastic stereo image that sounds better with most content, in my opinion, than a sound bar with surrounds would due to the smaller soundstage.
The LSX also supports Roon directly, making it easy to stream content to them from your local library or Tidal. You can also use the KEF app to playback music but Roon is the better user experience. KEF is also going to add AirPlay 2 support to the LSX in the first quarter of 2019. For those of us invested in the Apple ecosystem, it makes playback to the LSX incredibly easy and it also will make it possible to integrate the LSX with other multiroom speaker systems like Sonos and Bluesound that also support AirPlay 2.
KEF LSX Improvements
The KEF LSX sounds wonderful but there are always some ways to improve. If KEF could develop an automated method to integrate the subwoofer it would fix one of the biggest issues. Using the microphone of an iOS or Android device they could run sweeps at the listening position and figure out the ideal crossover and level settings for your room which would be great.
I also wish that the KEF LSX would be able to learn a TV remote code. If detecting a volume command from your TV remote would cause it to automatically switch to the Optical input and then control the volume, it would make using it even easier. Guests or family members could just pick up a TV remote (or Roku remote in my case) and the speakers would just work instead of having a secondary remote for the volume control. A universal remote will fix this but I’d much rather see it not require any extra hardware.
KEF LSX Conclusions
I write this review as 2018 draws to a close. With that, the KEF LSX claims a place as one of the best pieces of gear that I’ve reviewed. It sounds just fantastic, supports the essential streaming services and protocols to make it easy for anyone to use, and is actually wireless. It lets you set up a pair of great sounding speakers for your TV or music system that produces a huge soundstage with minimum fuss. I can see some of the color choices being more controversial but there are white and black finish options for those that don’t want something bold.
There’s often a disconnect between speakers that are easy to set up and use and those that sound great. There are many options I can suggest to people that will sound good and be easy to set up and use but come with limitations in sound quality and stereo immersion. The KEF LSX might not be as easy to use as the easiest option, but they sound much better and would be what I suggest to someone that is after fantastic sound for music and movies without hassling with wires or a receiver. By cutting the price of the LS50W in half they’ve made a solution that is far more accessible to people but gives up very little in performance and gets my highest recommendation.
Pros
Flat-out fantastic sound in a compact package, easy to setup, able to produce a huge soundstage and good bass.
Cons
No IR learning capability, some of the colors might not be for everyone.
Summary
Finding the right speaker solution for audiophiles can be hard as a sound bar isn't good enough, and speakers can be too hard to integrate with a TV. The KEF LSX system combines the best of both worlds into a package that is compact, attractive, wireless, and that sounds fantastic. For the person looking for a unified audio and video system that is easy to use and sounds great, you should listen to the KEF LSX.
Alastair says
This was everything i was looking for in a review of the LSX speakers, thank you so much for covering more than just the music side of things. I was originally looking for a Soundbar and subwoofer combo to use with my LG C8 OLED for use with both movies and music, but after listening to a 2.1 demo setup at Sevenoaks and Richersounds I was completely converted. However the two reps differed in their recommendations; one highly recommended the LSX active speaker setup with and REL T5i sub, the other recommend Dali Opticon 1 with Amp and Rel T5i setup (and actively advised against the LSX pair because the audio would be muddy and less clear than the Dalis). In my opinion both speakers sounded great but I love the fact that active speakers means less cabling and no amp.
Most reviews on the KEF LSX focus solely on the music sound quality but KEF themselves market them on their site for music and home cinema as well. I was desperately seeking a review that incorporated notes and thoughts on video and a more holistic assessment. I think my mind has been made up and I will be purchasing the LSX. Would love to hear your thoughts if you have any on the Dali Opticon 1 setup vs LSX.
Chris Heinonen says
I haven’t heard the Dali Opticon setup, so I can’t compare it to the LSX unfortunately. I’ve been using KEF speakers for years and would never describe them as muddy and would say the UniQ driver makes them the complete opposite.
Stephen says
Are these powerful enough for a ~300 sq ft living room? I’d love to not have to spring for the extra $1000 to buy the LS50w, which are also larger than i’d like for the aesthetics of the room. i would use them for music and for my tv. I’m not looking for super-loud party volume, but would like room-filling, high-end, clean sound. Thank you.
Chris Heinonen says
I moved them out into my open living room (~20′ wide, 30′ long) to test and at 80% of max volume, they were able to fill the space quite well. If you push them past there you can have the treble start to get a bit edgy in some cases, but I think for most things you’ll be able to fill that space quite well. If you’re having a party and need to crank it more, I doubt anyone is going to really notice the distortion there anyway.
Yang says
Hi – FANTASTIC. Been looking for a review that compares the Sonos 5 in Stereo with the LSX. Very glad to find this review! I have a pair of Sonos 5 with Sonos Sub integrated for a wonderful no fuss no muss stereo listening in a smallish bedroom. Hope you don’t mind a few quick questions as I can easily sell off my Sonos and more than pay for a pair of LSX and I already have a very fast and good sealed subwoofer.
I am genuinely surprised that you found the LSX besting the Sonos 5 pair as I thought, for now, that the Sonos 5 could not be beat at a $1K pricing. Sonos 5 already goes down to flat 30hz and is a sealed system. Adding the sub just makes the foundational bass deeper.
What Sonos does have that the KEF does not is True Play which I find to significantly improve the audio quality for most rooms.
Questions:
1. Did you actually compared a pair of Sonos 5 (current 2nd generation) with the LSX side by side or were you going by memory?
2. Can you confirm that the LSX is better resolved and has faster transient speeds? I know the bass extension does not match the Sonos 5 – sometimes hard to substitute for physical size.
3. Does adding a well matched sub improve the LSX resolution and transients? I would guess so as the larger bass excursions are now lifted off the LSX’s small mid drivers.
Thanks again for a wonderful review.
If I order from Amazon, will try to order through your link given your helpful review.
Thanks.
Chris Heinonen says
Thanks for reading. Your answers:
1. I only have a single Play 5 around now, so I compared it to a single one for bass response and overall vocal clarity but left soundstage out of it since that wouldn’t be fair. Using Roon it’s easy since I can change the output device for the track between the two speakers easily to switch back and forth.
2. The KEF is better resolved and has better clarity. While Trueplay is good and can help, the driver on the KEF is just better IMO.
3. Adding a sub made a noticeable improvement to the bottom end. You’re only taking a bit of strain off the driver since I’m still crossing it over at 80Hz to avoid any directional effects with the bass, so it’s just 30-80Hz or so that is being moved. So while this can potentially improve everything else that driver handles due to the easier load, I was listening to the improvements for the bass and not as much for the other octaves when I tested.
I hope that helps!
Yang says
Thank you. Yes, it is helpful. I need to get a pair to test.
Tibor says
How are this speakers with Google Play Music streaming? I have on my desk KEF Egg’s and they sound superb vs Sonos 3 and also vs B&O. Question, is possible to access your PC HDD with KEF app to play music, some library?
Chris Heinonen says
For Google Play Music, it depends on what you are using to play it back. There’s no Chromecast Audio support, but with Bluetooth and (forthcoming) AirPlay 2, you can easily stream Google Play Music to it from any device you have that supports either of those standards. For a local library, you can use the KEF Stream app to playback audio provided it’s from a supported source (DLNA support required).
Edwin says
Thanks for the review, well written.
What I do miss is the integration possibilities in your Home cinema, currently I have 7 Kef 3005 eggs and would love replacing Front L and R for these two great sounding HiFi speakers. Is that an option via the Aux -in 2,5 mm form Pre-Out ? (Would hope that referencehometheater.com would test that out)
Chris Heinonen says
In theory, you could use the pre-out from a receiver to feed the 3.5mm input on the LSX and control volume that way to use them in a surround system, but it wouldn’t be recommended. If your receiver or processor has a fixed level output for the front channels, then you’d need to adjust the volume on the LSX along with the volume on the receiver/preamp. If it is a variable output, then you’d need to have the LSX at the same volume position every time. The even larger issue is that you might have a processing delay in the LSX going analog to digital that the other speakers don’t have, and that could potentially be larger than the receiver or processor could handle with speaker distances.
We didn’t test this as it’s not the intended use for the LSX, you’re likely better off going with a pair of LS50’s and using a receiver that supports Airplay 2 and such itself.
Ric says
I bought these to use primarily for TV sound. They sound great but my biggest grumble is the remote is just not fit for purpose. You practically have to stand next to the speaker and point it in a very narrow range to make it work, and it takes loads of presses to noticeably change. The Kef Control app is much better and quicker to change volume but it’s a faff having to open an app on your phone to adjust the volume. I feel these speakers aren’t suitable for TV/home cinema because of this. They are more like superior Sonos Play 1s. I think they’d also benefit from a sub for TV which might be that I was just used to having one previously, however for music they sound great without a sub.