double award winners for 2012 KEF LS50
“The LS50s are simply a brilliant achievement and a fine way to celebrate KEF’s 50th anniversary”
KEF R Series
“The KEF R Series looks gorgeous and sounds fantastic. What more could you want?”
www.kef.com
www.kef.com
stereo speakers FIRST TESTS
top tip
KEF LS50 | Stereo speakers
KEF’s quality still golden after 50 years
While the KEF LS50s aren’t particularly fussy abo ut positioning – they eve n sound acceptable clo se to a wall – they’ll perform at the ir best with ample room to breathe.
In our experience, Anniversary products tend to be either high-end
Stereo speakers From desktop mites to full-size floorstanders, the speaker market is brimming with quality kit. And there’s a pair to suit every budget
mega-money statements to show just what the company is capable of, or distinctly retro to show where it started. KEF’s new LS50 is neither. The marketing blurb goes on about connections to the fabled BBC LS3/5a mini monitor (which used KEF drive units), but the fact is that there’s little technical substance to link the two.
Best standmounter £700-£1500
That shouldn’t matter – the LS50
KEF LS50
remains a blindingly good speaker for the money.
KEF has an enviable habit of winning our Product of the Year Awards. This year is no different with the LS50 picking up where last year’s winner of the title, the Q300, left off. Given a little space to breathe and mounted on a pair of solid stands these monitors sound terrific. The first thing that strikes us is the quality of the bass performance – for a box that stands just 30cm high, these speakers deliver impressively deep, agile and powerful lows with the likes of Bob Marley’s Concrete Jungle. But the LS50s don’t over-egg things; everything sounds in balance, and that’s important.
Fine balance and bounce The drive unit complement is the latest evolution of KEF’s trademark Uni-Q array. The Uni-Q may look like a single unit, but it’s really a 25mm aluminium dome tweeter in the centre of a 13cm magnesium/ aluminium–coned mid/bass. The idea is to improve the way the speaker disperses sound and help integration.
Articulation with emotion
What looks like a grille in front of the tweeter is in fact a waveguide that improves
it’s flexible. This helps to reduce any
its high-frequency performance. Even
unwanted midrange distortions.
without that opinion-dividing colour
We’re impressed by the speaker’s seamless integration too, as we are by the
Given a little space to breathe and
– KEF calls it Rose Gold – this is one
mounted on a pair of solid stands (see
distinctive driver complement.
below) these monitors sound terrific. The
The engineers have worked hard on the
drive in a piece of music brilliantly.
first thing that strikes us is the quality of
cabinet. That curved front panel is made
the bass performance. For boxes that stand
of DMC (Dough Moulding Compound:
just 30cm high, these speakers deliver
For boxes that stand just 30cm high, these speakers deliver deep, agile and powerful lows. But everything still sounds balanced
way it sets up a huge stereo image
USE IT WITH Leonard Cohen Old Ideas A beautifully recorded album full of subtle layering and nuance. Sounds great with the KEFs
populated by securely focused sounds. And, perhaps most importantly, these speakers are fun to listen to. It’s not something (we think) KEF has always managed with its products. Here it has. Of course, the LS50’s innate transparency means that any flaws in the partnering kit will be apparent. But get it right and you have what is one of the best standmounters below £1000, and easily one of KEF’s most
a polyester resin combined with glass
deep, agile and powerful lows from the
fibre and calcium carbonate). DMC was
likes of Massive Attack’s Flat of the Blade.
chosen for its mass and inertness.
But, unlike most small speakers that deliver
The rest of the enclosure is made from MDF. It’s heavily braced and strongly damped to minimise any resonances. We don’t tend to go on too much about
big bass, the LS50s don’t over-egg things – everything sounds balanced. Move up the frequency range and these KEFs continue to impress. Kate Bush’s
reflex ports. The elliptical one used to tune
vocals on 50 Words For Snow are as clear
the bass on the LS50 is unusual, though.
and articulate as you could wish for. These
Put your fingers inside and you’ll feel that
speakers communicate the energy and
Reproduced from What Hi-Fi Sound And Vision November Issue 2012 www.whathifi.com
Move up the frequency range and these KEFs continue to impress. Kate Bush’s vocals on 50 Words for Snow are as clear and articulate as you like, and there’s no shortage of insight or emotion. The LS50s communicate the energy and drive in a piece of music brilliantly. We’re also impressed by the speakers’ seamless integration – as we are by the way it sets up a huge stereo image populated by securely focused sounds. Perhaps most importantly, these speakers are fun to listen to. You can thank a sure-footed sense of timing, class-leading cohesiveness and strong dynamics for that. Put it all together and you have one of the finest standmounters below £1000, and a worthy winner of our Product of the Year title.
musical efforts in years. That’s the way to celebrate half a century.
Rating ★★★★★
These monitors sound terrific. For a box that These terrific. For a box that standsmonitors just 30cmsound high, these speakers deliver stands just 30cm high, these impressively deep, agile and speakers powerful deliver lows impressively deep, agile and powerful lows
FOR Transparency, impressive resolution; excellent bass for size; fine build and finish AGAINST Demanding of partnering equipment VERDICT The LS50s are simply a brilliant achievement and a fine way to celebrate KEF’s 50th anniversary
Reproduced from What Hi-Fi Sound And Vision Awards Issue 2012 www.whathifi.com
Reproduced from What Hi-Fi Sound And Vision Awards Issue 2012 www.whathifi.com
www.kef.com
EXCLUSIVE
stereo speakers FIRST TESTS
KEF R100 | Stereo speakers
Killer KEFs deliver a superb soundstage
KEF R100 5.1 | Speaker package
Gorgeous looks, gorgeous sound, gorgeous package
news, especially when it comes from a
USE IT WITH
We raved about the KEF R100 speakers in
soundfield. The KEFs are relatively
October, so we couldn’t wait to get our hands
compact, but deliver heaps of easy
on a cinema system assembled from the rest
dynamics that fill our generously sized
of KEF’s R Series.
listening room. Play the Romulan attack
First things first. The system is made up
The launch of a new speaker range is big
5.1 speaker package FIRST TESTS
Marvel
scene and you’ll be amazed at the system’s
of two identical pairs of R100 speakers for
ability to convey the movement of such
the front and rear channels, a R200c centre
large objects moving in the vastness
channel, and a R400b subwoofer.
of space to such a impressive degree.
The construction of each speaker unit
It’s not just show-stopping explosions
Avengers Assemble The superhero event of the year, Joss Whedon’s Marvel masterpiece is finally out on Blu-ray.
We can’t end without mentioning the KEF system’s looks: in short, it’s stunning. The entire system has a sleek and clean design, with magnetic grilles negating the need for any unsightly fascia holes. The cabinets are sturdy and feel like high-end quality constructions that belie their price tag. The ‘tangerine’ tweeter looks shiny enough, and we rather love the high
demands a closer look, thanks to KEF’s
that get all the attention. It’s an immersive
gloss piano white finish. Other equally
distinctive Uni-Q driver arrangement. The
experience no matter what the scene: every
good-looking finishes include glossy piano
speaker technologies, and that’s the case
R100 standmounters each contain a 25mm
sound effect can be easily tracked across a
black, rosewood or walnut veneers.
here. The nine-model line-up calls on some
aluminium dome tweeter that uses
spacious and detailed soundstage.
of the design philosophy behind KEF’s
refinements borrowed from KEF’s
state-of-the-art, £20,000 Blade speakers –
state-of-the-art Blade speakers, siting at the
channels, with all three working as if a
spend extra money on quality speaker
for example, the 25mm aluminium dome
centre of a new 12.5cm magnesium/
single entity. Dialogue is crisp and clear,
stands is the only thing that comes to mind,
tweeter is a vented design. It sits in the
aluminium alloy mid/bass driver.
with a startling directness.
and that just goes to show how talented
manufacturer with KEF’s pedigree. With a new range usually comes new
centre of a new 13cm magnesium/
The centre speaker is a three-way design
We’re struggling to find any fault with
Integration is stunning across the front
The compact sub is a key element,
this KEF speaker package really is.
aluminium alloy mid/bass driver, in KEF’s
with the same Uni-Q tweeter/mid driver
delivering precision and punch to all sorts
trademark Uni-Q driver arrangement. Inside
(with a slightly different surround) in the
of impactful effects. More impressively, it
the cabinet, special damping techniques
middle, flanked by two 13cm bass drivers.
maintains that steady hum of the ship’s
have been used to prevent unwanted
Twin 250W Class D amps power the
engines without ever being obtrusive.
internal vibrations.
subwoofer’s side-firing 22.5cm drivers.
With just the Uni-Q driver in the centre of the gloss-black cabinet it can take a little
Astounding performance
time to acclimatise to the looks, but the
And the effect is astounding. We’ve watched J J Abrams’ Star Trek a few dozen
In some instances, music is flung so wide and high that you’d almost swear there were extra speakers in your system
times, but played through this system the movie felt fresh and exciting all over again. The first thing you’ll notice is the incredible scale of this package. That
magnetic speaker grilles, which keeps the speaker’s fascia hole-free. And, instead of having binding post links on the outside of the speaker, they’re hidden on the inside:
Rating ★★★★★ FOR Great scale and fluid dynamics; seamless integration; excellent definition; expressive midrange; cohesive and engaging sound AGAINST You’ll need to budget for stands VERDICT It looks gorgeous and it sounds fantastic – what more could you want?
The vented design aims to disperse the higher frequencies evenly across the room,
The R100s are available in Piano Black, Rosewood and Walnut finishes
There’s a fine sense of space, with the
scale and a shrunken soundstage. in any
vocals and instruments clearly positioned
case, it only happens rarely and it’s
and well-defined. Integration between
something that we’d be happy to live with,
midrange and treble is seamless.
considering the KEFs’ admirable – and quite
The KEFs project Emelie Sandé’s Daddy in fine style. There’s also a great sense of
If you want a speaker that sets the
two knobs on the rear of each speaker.
scale and authority as the track switches
musical scene, the KEF R100s can do
from a relatively slow-paced intro before
it like no other at this price. The scale
Driver design means great dispersion
hitting a more vibrant, dynamic groove.
and soundstage are of show-stopping
One of the benefits of KEF’s Uni-Q
This shift in attack is communicated easily
proportions, which many rivals will really
arrangement is that it encourages more
and explicitly and this translates well when
struggle to match.
consistent dispersion than a tra0ditional
switching to The Dark Knight OST. Highs are
driver arrangement. And in the R100 this
as sweet and delicate as we’ve heard from
effect is immediately – and dramatically –
KEFs at this money. For the most part, the KEFs deliver low
with a wonderfully full and expansive
notes with far more power and authority
soundstage. In some instances, music is
than you’d expect from a speaker of this
flung so wide and high that you’d almost
size. There is a slight trade-off: with some
swear there were extra speakers hidden
tracks, bass notes can sound just a touch
away. And, there’s an impressive order and
overblown. Placing bungs inside helps
precision to the various elements of a track.
lessen the effect, but then there’s a loss of
Reproduced from What Hi-Fi Sound And Vision August Issue 2012 www.whathifi.com
which results in a wide and unified
remarkable – strengths.
you engage and disengage them by rotating
obvious: the speakers present the listener
Integration is stunning across the front three channels, and dialogue is crisp and clear with a startling directness
Is it worth every penny of its asking price? Without a doubt.
tweeter is a key ingredient to the sound.
overall fit and finish certainly befits the £600 price tag. Neat touches include
this system: the fact that you’ll need to
Rating ★★★★★ FOR Excellent build and finish; expansive soundstage; sweet highs; expressive midrange AGAINST Just a rare, slightly compromised low-end performance VERDICT An extremely talented speaker: we can’t wait to see what the rest of the range has to offer
Reproduced from What Hi-Fi Sound And Vision Awards Issue 2012 www.whathifi.com