KEF LSX

S YS T E M S

26 www.whathifi.com

Scaling something down

proportionally to create a

smaller replica may work

for model villages and food

recipes, but in speaker

design the rules aren’t quite as simple.

Despite that, KEF shrunk its multi-

Award-winning LS50 Wireless streaming

system (see p30) down to make this

miniature, half-price version.

The LSX shares its successful sibling’s

blueprint as an all-in-one hi-fi system: a

network streamer, Bluetooth receiver

and amplification within a pair of

compact stereo speakers.

But creating the LSX isn’t just a case of

simply miniaturising everything in the

LS50 Wireless’s anatomy and cutting the

price in half. In addition to the smaller

cabinets, smaller Uni-Q driver arrays and

smaller, 200W amplification, some

changes were made to cater for the price

and size reduction.

Rather than combining a Class A/B

circuit (to feed the tweeter) with a Class

D module (to power the mid/bass unit)

as the LS50 Wireless does, the LSX’s

amplification is purely Class D. Such a

design is compact as well as being more

power efficient. This reduces the need

for large, bulky heatsinks and means KEF

KEF has been involved in many design

collaborations over the years – including

the ‘Nocturne by Marcel Wanders’

edition of the LS50 Wireless, the

multi-coloured KEF Muos by Ross

Lovegrave, and KEF’s Porsche Design

Space One headphones. For the LSX, KEF

had a helping hand from British designer

Michael Young, whose signature is subtly

printed on the olive green (with gold

cone and red tweeter) version.

You can also opt for red with red cone

and silver tweeter, blue with blue cone

and silver tweeter or black with silver

cone and red tweeter variants. There’s

also a fabric-less glossy white version

with a silver cone and red tweeter.

The LSX has many sources you’ll want

to make use of. Over ethernet or

2.4GHz/5GHz wi-fi, users can stream

networked music via DLNA or from Tidal

– all from within the KEF Stream app.

Spotify Connect, Roon compatibility,

aptX Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay 2 are

also part of the package.

While the LSX’s master speaker

overlooks its sibling’s legacy RCA and

USB type-B connections, its optical and

3.5mm aux inputs provide the means to

connect TVs and portable devices, while

a subwoofer output offers the

opportunity to add more bass.

You can always add a bit more bass by

tweaking the balance in the system's EQ

settings, which can be found in KEF’s

Control app. The app is also used to get

the LSX on your network, apply room

settings, perform firmware updates and

switch sources. The last can also be

performed via the supplied remote – as

can volume adjustment.

Two instead of oneWe’ve mentioned two KEF apps (Stream

and Control); one is for set-up and control

and the other for navigating network

streaming. It feels unnecessary given

how some rivals manage to integrate

everything in one app, but at least you

can easily switch between the two

without having to open and close them.

Our biggest grumble is that the Stream

app has a tendency to trip up during

playback from Tidal. It’s not the end of

the world, but the occasional dropout

stops it being a completely satisfactory

user experience. Thankfully no such

problems occur when we stream from our

media server, although the interface does

have a simplistic list view, rather than a

grid view for browsing music libraries.

can keep the plastic cabinets as small

as possible.

The LSX system loses a couple of its

bigger sibling’s connections: USB Type B

(for computer and laptop hook-ups) and

RCAs for connecting legacy hi-fi kit. But

KEF has also evolved its stereo speaker

system concept on the LSX; this system

doesn’t require an ethernet cable to

connect the two speakers.

The LSX can play hi-res files up to

24-bit/192kHz, but will downsample to

either 24-bit/48kHz if the speakers are

connected to each other wirelessly or

24-bit/96kHz if you do decide to run the

supplied ethernet cable The LSX’s

‘miniature’ description isn’t just relative

to its larger sibling. Each speaker is

smaller than any passive stereo speaker

we can recall testing, bookshelf-friendly

and easily transported to another room.

The smaller proportions may make

them less of an eyeful than their sibling,

but they’re no less bold. The LSX

speakers use KEF’s distinct-looking

Uni-Q driver array, in which a 19mm

aluminium dome tweeter sits in the

centre of a 10cm magnesium/aluminium

mid/bass cone. And this time the

cabinets are, bar the curved baffles,

wrapped in an attractive woven fabric.

£999

S YS T E M S

www.whathifi.com 27

KEF pitches the LSX as equally

competitive for its price category as the

LS50 Wireless is. We need to hear only

the serene drum beat and guitar-

plucking duo of Nick Cave’s Jubilee Street

to know that these KEFs do, to borrow

lyrics from the song, “practice what they

preach”. From the poised delivery of his

first stanza, the LSX are clearly sonic

descendants of the expressive, tonally

even and rhythmically astute LS50.

The audible assortment of guitar

notes, along with the varied emphasis

upon each, is credit to the LSX’s

transparency, not only in the amount of

detail it digs up but also the dynamic

discretion it delivers. The placement of

the crystal-clear vocal is given no less

consideration than the bells that come in

subtly beside it.

Warren Ellis’s violin entrance pushes

the soundstage’s ceiling and inflates the

presentation, while denser passages

and choral accompaniments busy the

soundstage but don’t overwhelm the

LSX, which appears as comfortable in

revealing layers as an expert trifle maker.

Right on timeTiming is of the essence with any piece

of hi-fi kit and, no doubt thanks in part to

KEF’s ‘Music Integrity Engine’ digital

signal processing, which works to ensure

accurate time alignment, the LSX has an

assured approach to rhythms.

With Tidal streams, the LSX remains

cohesive without feeling condensed.

Play Shame’s The Lick and the building

swamp of primal electric guitar

underneath thickens the presentation’s

consistency but doesn’t drown out its

clarity or that of the singer’s deliberately

prolonged pronunciation.

The LSX doesn’t defy the scientific

logic of smaller drivers and boxes

equalling smaller sound, but that doesn’t

feel like a shortcoming, especially

considering its soundstage is more

expansive than that of its nearest rival,

the Dynaudio Xeo 10s.

The undulating synthwave that

undertows Thom Yorke’s Has Ended

(from the Suspiria remake) manages to

be atmospheric and room-filling,

although naturally the LS50 Wireless

would be able to more impactfully mark

the occasion with its greater power, scale

and dynamic reach.

VerdictThat, and the extra connectivity, keeps

the LS50 Wireless very much relevant in

KEF’s streaming system offering. But the

presence of the LSX in the line-up feels

almost as justified. Here, KEF has

managed to squeeze much of its

innovative system’s performance and

feature set into a more modest stature,

offering the convenience and versatility

of the tried and tested package at a

much more accessible price that, for

an all-in hi-fi system, looks like

remarkably good value.

Indeed, the LSX is a scaled-down,

carefully crafted copycat of its sibling,

and for that is just as triumphant. Take

heed, rival systems; these miniature

marvels still take some beating.

We switch to Olafur Arnalds’ Ljósið,

and the LSX really engages us. Smooth

and full-bodied enough to bring a sweet

lushness to the piano-playing, but

insightful enough to reveal the varying

weight on the keys as well as the slight

coarseness in the accompanying violin,

its rendition easily carries us through the

track’s duration.

While the LSX doesn’t offer the

absolute last word in dynamic

expression, it offers variation that isn’t

bettered at this price point.

Despite having a smaller mid/bass

driver (10cm as opposed to 13cm) and

cabinet volume than the LS50 Wireless,

it shares its sibling’s relative talent for

bass performance. Whether it’s punching

out the potent beat opening to St

Vincent’s Los Angeles or pushing along

the tubby yet tuneful bassline in Mac

Miller’s What’s the Use?, the LSX’s

low-frequency delivery is consistently

taut, agile and lucid.

RATING

FOR

• Class-leading

insight

• Extensive

connectivity

• Neat, colourful

design

AGAINST

• Some app snags

VERDICT

A neat, compact

and entertaining

all-in-one system of

rare sonic qualityBUILD

FEATURES

PERFORMANCE

”The denser passages fail to overwhelm the LSX, which appears as comfortable in revealing layers as an expert trifle maker”