KEF LS50 Wireless Bookshelf Speakers Review – Bring The Studio Home

Why Buy This KEF LS50 Speakers?

If you’re looking for quality audio performance, then the KEF LS50 is ideal for audiophiles who want that trait (and more) in a pair of bookshelf speakers. These audio-listening devices offer flexibility for users because of its nice array of different source inputs. Don’t worry as the brand didn’t sacrifice sound quality for the LS50’s compact architecture. It even has integrated streaming support for Spotify and Tidal.​

Bring The Studio Home with these Wireless Bookshelf Speakers.

Introduction

The KEF LS50 Wireless Bookshelf Speakers are compact and premium-looking devices that offer more features than what many individuals might assume because of the units’ sizes. It comes with a connection panel, a heatsink and reflex port, and even a touch control panel at the top. Its wireless capabilities make it possible to stream audio from your mobile device without having to access its onboard controls.

As for its construction and design, these speakers use a rounded glossy finish made with MDF material. These design elements come with a gentle and curvy matte finish for the dough-molded composite front panel. Its soft and curved edges help minimize smearing of edge diffraction. Both cabinets also come with comprehensive bracing with internal damping to make Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation techniques to optimize overall design while minimizing panel resonance to reduce echoes and unwanted audio artifacts.

These two speakers make for a 2-channel stereo setup which means it requires a center channel to add tonal balance and power. Still, the additional speaker isn’t a dire requirement and many casual audiophiles will already be happy with its bass performance.

KEF LS50 Wireless Bookshelf Speakers Review

To start with the review of the KEF LS50 Wireless Bookshelf Speakers, we’re going to check out its design. On that note, it’s a pair of beautiful speakers that will sit on a surface of your home. KEF manufacturers these speakers in with either a glossy black piano finish or with white and silver cabinets. Regardless of which color you choose, both design choices will have the same list of features (sans the color) and specs.

Look at the front of the cabinets of these speakers and you’ll see it’s dominated by the brands Uni-Q drivers. There’s also a tweeter in the center and a midrange woofer. With this setup, KEF claims it offers a 3D soundstage regardless of where you’re sitting in the room. That promise isn’t short-lived as the overall performance of the speakers’ audio is astounding (more on that later).

The top of the right speaker has a touch capacitive control panel. Here, you can control the speakers’ wireless, source, and volume controls. For the wireless setting, it mainly uses Bluetooth connectivity to wireless connect to your preferred device.

Moving forward to its features, the KEF LS50 may have a compact design but its list of functions is anything but small. First, there’s the dedicated two 230-watt power supply found in each of the speaker units. This element supplies the bi-amp dual mono configuration which means both units have a dedicated amplifier. With these hardware components, it grants the speakers interference-free power.

Inside, users can see the onboard DAC for each channel. This element can cater to up to 192 kHz and 24-bit sources. Even though these figures mean that it’s not going to push the limits of ultra high-resolution audio, it’s still a decently solid DAC setup that can last for many years.

Users of the KEF LS50 Bookshelf Speakers may also take advantage of its wireless capabilities. It can connect to either 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands with wireless N streaming support. The speakers support streaming for Tidal and Spotify, but it would be better if it can cater to other streaming services as well like AirPlay and Google Cast.

Last, but definitely not the least, is the audio performance. Turn on the KEF LS50 and you’ll see it’s staggeringly phenomenal detail regardless of sound source. Its sonic feature presents holographic imaging accompanied by instrumental layering. These characteristics translate to knowing the direction of the instruments played in tracks. It also means these seemingly tiny speakers are great for studio monitoring purposes.

Audiophiles seeking a flat profile may not want to look further than these speakers. The tonal balance is significantly neutral. Still, users who want to add a bit of “flavor” to their audio-listening experiences with the LS50 can tweak the performance from the accompanying app.

Specs & Features of KEF LS50 Speakers

– Dimensions: H11.9 x W7.9 x D10.9in
– Weight: 7.2kg (15.8bs.)
– Amplifier requirements: 25 – 100 W
– Maximum output: (SPL) 106dB
– Frequency range: 47Hz – 45kHz (-6dB)
– Frequency response: 79Hz – 28kHz (±3dB)

Driver units:
– Uni-Q driver array:
– HF: 25mm (1in.) vented aluminum dome
– LF/MF: 130mm (5.25in.) with magnesium and aluminum alloy

Final Conclusion:

Without a doubt, the KEF LS50 Wireless Bookshelf Speakers accompany other marvelously-performing audio-listening devices on the market. The detail in each audio signature is exquisitely crisp while the overall tonal balance is near perfect. There are some shortcomings like the lack of streaming support and the basic remote that comes with the package, but ultimately these are minor nitpicks compared to its good list of beneficial features for its users.

* Other Bookshelf Speakers Reviewed:
– Klipsch R-15PM Powered Monitor Review.
– Klipsch R-15M Bookshelf Speaker Review.