KEF LS60 Wireless Active floorstanding loudspeaker streaming system

What’s higher than a wi-fi all-in-one audio system? A wi-fi all-in-two audio system, that’s what – as a result of true stereo sound is a pleasure without end. And whereas it won’t have gotten in on the bottom ground the place wi-fi all-in-two audio techniques are involved, KEF didn’t must dash up too many flights of stairs to get into the elevator – ever since 2017’s LS50 Wireless, the corporate has been there-or-thereabouts at any time when the dialog turns to ‘wi-fi comfort with out sacrificing genuine hi-fi high quality sound’.

On a pound-for-pound foundation, the efficiency of the present KEF wi-fi streaming system line-up is tough to put a glove on. It doesn’t do any hurt that each mannequin within the line-up is, to a lesser or higher extent, visually fairly particular person and attention-grabbing, too. But the corporate has taken issues to the following stage with the LS60 Wireless – the corporate payments it as ‘wi-fi hi-fi audio system’, however everyone knows the reality. This is a wi-fi all-in-two streaming system – simply on a bigger scale than we’ve change into used to from KEF.

Lifestyle enchantment

Of course, it’s the vexed notion of ‘life-style’ that’s a giant a part of the enchantment of the entire all-in-two wi-fi streaming system market – or, at the very least, the dearth of disruption thereof. Any variety of music lovers wrestle to accommodate a full-on, full-size audio system – too costly, too ugly, too massive, too jarring when launched into in any other case fastidiously thought-about inside design vocabulary. KEF provides each indication of understanding this completely – and so earlier than any dialogue of how the LS60 Wireless performs, it’s completely legitimate to contemplate the best way it appears to be like.

These are terribly slender loudspeakers – ignore their stabilising plinths and so they’re simply 13cm huge. Name a narrower floorstanding speaker. Not simple, is it? Even once you take the plinths into consideration, they’re simply 21cm throughout – and they also’re hardly about to stay their oar too assertively into your inside decor selections. And the number of matte finishes – ‘carbon’ black, ‘mineral’ white, ‘titanium’ gray and ‘royal’ blue, with ‘Lotus Edition’ British racing inexperienced as a value possibility – does no hurt by any means in terms of delivering a harmonious look. Add within the drama of the motive force array in every skinny tower and also you’ve a hanging and, arguably, elegant pair of loudspeakers right here.

Ah sure, the motive force array. Each tower options the twelfth and newest model of KEF’s Uni-Q driver; at 100mm, the smallest Uni-Q drive unit for the reason that 75mm mannequin within the KHT1005. Here it includes a 19mm vented aluminium dome tweeter within the throat of a 10cm vented aluminium cone that covers the midrange frequencies, and incorporates a tweeter damper hole and new ‘Z-Flex’ driver encompass to minimise distortion and create as even a dispersion as potential.

The tweeter can be packing KEF’s acclaimed ‘Metamaterial Absorption Technology’ (or ‘MAT’, to make use of its moderately underwhelming acronym). MAT is designed to soak up these soundwaves that radiate from the again of a drive unit and disrupt its ahead output – it’s the tweeter dome that’s getting the MAT therapy on this occasion. A plastic disc printed with a maze-like sample sits behind the tweeter, and every of its ‘routes’ is the best size to soak up a selected vary of frequencies. KEF reckons the MAT methodology is so efficient that it will probably soak up 99 p.c of those undesirable soundwaves.

Uni-Core

For low frequencies, KEF has deployed its Uni-Core driver know-how that’s just lately taken a great share of the reward lavished on its KC62 subwoofer. The intention is to liberate an entire lot of bass presence from unpromisingly small enclosures (by subwoofer requirements, the KC62 could be very small certainly) by combining power cancellation (which requires drivers to be positioned back-to-back), concentrically organized voice coils and one shared motor per pair of drivers.

For the LS60 Wireless, two pairs of 14cm Uni-Core drivers are utilized in every speaker, positioned equidistantly across the forward-facing Uni-Q array in an association KEF calls ‘Single Apparent Source’. This structure debuted in 2011’s witheringly costly Blade loudspeaker, and is designed to offer the impression of data from all elements of the frequency vary originating from a single level – with exact stereo imaging over an uncommonly massive space the final word purpose.

KEF has specified Class A/B amplification for the tweeter – 100 watts of it per speaker. The midrange cone will get 100 watts of energy per aspect too, however this time it’s of the Class D selection. Class D can be used to drive every of the eight (rely ‘em!) UniCore bass drivers – there’s a complete of 1000 watts obtainable, which my rudimentary back-of-envelope calculations divulge to be 125 watts per driver. All the amplification is boxed off within the decrease half of every tower, the place it will probably’t disturb the drive items – heatsinks that vent on the rear of every speaker preserve working temperatures acceptable.

As is normally the case with an all-in-two speaker system, the LS60 Wireless includes a ‘major’ and a ‘secondary’ speaker. Both audio system require mains energy, after all, however apart from this the secondary speaker options only a pre-out for a subwoofer, a USB-A slot for servicing and an RJ45 socket for a hard-wired connection to the first speaker. It’s value noting that the 2 audio system are completely pleased to keep up a wi-fi connection, however this association leads to all sources being resampled to 24bit/96kHz PCM decision – wire them collectively utilizing the beneficiant size of cable KEF gives and 24bit/192kHZ PCM resampling is the consequence.

Story eARC

The major speaker, too, has connections for mains energy, a pre-out for a subwoofer, a USB-A slot for servicing and an RJ45 to connect with its partnering speaker. In addition, it options an HDMI eARC socket, digital optical and digital coaxial inputs, a pair of stereo RCA analogue connections and an RJ45 socket for ethernet connection. Wireless connectivity runs to dual-band wi-fi and Bluetooth 5.0 with SBC and AAC codec compatibility – a wired or wi-fi connection to a community brings Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast into play. And the LS60 Wireless can be Roon Ready and UPnP-compatible. If this array of choices the place sources of sound are involved appears a bit tentative, the KEF Connect management app lets you combine Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, Spotify and TIDAL music streaming companies in addition to to entry web radio.

The app itself has developed to the purpose the place it’s now a superbly usable, steady and logical interface – a giant advance on these unhealthy previous days when a KEF all-in-two demanded using two apps to use all of its capabilities. These days KEF Connect permits entry to all playback capabilities, room configuration and EQ adjustment, part correction, a bass extension limiter and lots extra in addition to.

The firm additionally gives a bit distant management handset, extra (it appears to me) for the sake of box-ticking than for any compelling necessity. If your smartphone is quickly unavailable, the distant management will let you choose enter, modify quantity and entry fundamental playback controls too.

Expert time

It’s actually value investigating the ‘professional’ set-up menu within the management app, because it’s potential to exert fairly an affect over the eventual efficiency of the LS60 Wireless. Certainly in case your room is in the direction of an excessive of 1 variety or one other – numerous glazing, uncommon form, generously stocked with smooth furnishing or what-have-you – you’ll be able to mitigate it to a good diploma.

And as soon as that’s executed, after all, it’s only a query of enjoying some favorite music from a favorite supply or two. During the course of this assessment I listened to web radio and TIDAL through the KEF Connect app, a Rega Apollo CD participant into the digital coaxial enter, a Panasonic DP-UB820 UHD Blu-ray participant utilizing the HDMI eARC socket, and a Clearaudio Concept turntable through a Chord Huei phono stage into the stereo RCA inputs. And it’s truthful to say there’s advantage to every of those strategies – and loads of it.

No matter the place you begin, it’s the mixing of all these drive items that’s most instantly spectacular. Obviously there are qualitative variations between a 160kbps stream of France’s FIP web radio station presenting Sous les Jupes de FIP and a 180g vinyl reissue of Heaven or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins [4AD], however the place stereo focus and coherence is anxious the LS60 Wireless by no means wavers. The soundstage it creates is huge and tall, with loads of elbow-room obtainable on it, but it surely’s concurrently tightly unified and orderly. The notion of a ‘single obvious supply’ of sound is delivered on from the get-go.

Low-frequency data is deep and textured, managed on the onset of every notice or hit with one thing approaching fanaticism, and completely loaded with element each broad and wonderful. The KEF can summon prodigious ranges or easy punch, however inside that it’s a refined and insightful performer. The authority over the underside finish means it’s capable of categorical the Frafra rhythm of Florence Adooni’s Kinne [Philophon] with absolute assurance in addition to no little enthusiasm. Edges are straight and true, and the decay of bass data is noticed simply as fastidiously because the assault.

Analysis vs leisure

The same stability between ‘evaluation’ and ‘leisure’ is struck by means of the remainder of the frequency vary. There’s appreciable chunk and shine to the highest of the frequency vary, an actual impression of assault when the music calls for it, however on the similar time the LS60 Wireless shapes treble data deftly and by no means loses the run of its high-frequency copy even at vital quantity. And the midrange acuity that’s obvious throughout a hearken to a CD copy of The World’s Biggest Paving Slab by English Teacher [Island] leaves you in completely little question that you simply’re getting the whole and unexpurgated image. There’s an immediacy to the best way the KEF all-in-two handles a vocalist, in addition to profoundly spectacular perception into their character, their angle and their approach, that’s endlessly participating.

Hans Zimmer’s blaring, droning soundtrack to Dune: Part 2 [WaterTower Music] provides the system the chance to reveal its dynamic efficiency – and it’s protected to say it doesn’t disappoint. The KEF can shift from ‘tense, pressing whisper’ to ‘all-out firefight’ right away, and the space it will probably put between these two positions (when it comes to depth in addition to sheer quantity) is excessive. There’s a gratifying quantity of texture given to the sonic abstractions Zimmer indulges in right here, and an actual sense of outright scale. If you need your new all-in-two system to double up for film night time, the LS60 Wireless has the midrange constancy, the size and the utterly assured soundstaging means to make even essentially the most achieved soundbar sound confined and passive.

Overall tonality is fastidiously impartial, and the KEF appears completely prepared to get out of the best way of recordings with a view to enable them to specific their specific flavour with out hindrance. The sensation of unity and singularity is extraordinarily sturdy, even when enjoying a scissors-and-glue collage like Music Makes Me High by The Avalanches [Modular] – regardless of the sheer variety of drivers concerned within the system, the LS60 Wireless integrates the frequency vary with the identical form of confidence it demonstrates when describing a soundstage.

Struggling to ‘sure, however…’

It’s customary at this level to muster a “sure, however…” or two with a view to reveal that I’m tough to please and a person of some discernment – however in all honesty, I’m struggling. Yes, a wi-fi system is rarely truly wi-fi if you wish to introduce sources that aren’t apps on smartphones – however that’s hardly a difficulty that’s distinctive to this KEF system. And it’s true that the KEF Connect app did neglect what it was doing on a few events throughout my time with the LS60 Wireless (on each events it was alleged to be persevering with with a TIDAL playlist) – however apart from this, I’ve nothing.

So in the event you’re excited about some extraordinarily spectacular engineering clothed in some notably engaging and pretty uncommon loudspeakers, in a giant serving of hi-fi audio credibility balanced in opposition to comfort that’s simply described as ‘painless’, KEF – not for the primary time – has the all-in-two for you.

Technical Specifications

Type: Floorstanding loudspeaker system with built-in amplification, DSP, and wi-fi connectivity

Driver complement: Uni-Q 19mm vented aluminium dome tweeter inside 100mm vented aluminium midrange cone array; 4 x 135mm Uni-Core force-cancelling bass driver

Amplification energy (w)/sort (per speaker): 100/Class A/B (tweeter); 100/Class D (midrange); 500/Class D (bass)

Frequency response: 31Hz – 24kHz

Crossover frequencies: 350Hz; 2.8kHz

Inputs: HDMI eARC; digital optical; digital coaxial; stereo analogue RCA; RJ45 ethernet; USB-A (service solely); RJ45 interspeaker connection

Wireless inputs: dual-band wi-fi; Bluetooth 5.0; Apple AirPlay 2; Google Chromecast; Roon Ready; Spotify Connect; TIDAL Connect; web radio

Outputs: subwoofer

Digital audio pattern charges: as much as 24bit/384kHz

File varieties: AAC; AIFF; ALAC; DSD; FLAC; LPCM; MP3; MP4; OGG; WAV; WMA; MQA

Dimensions (hwd, cm) (per speaker): 109 x 21 x 39

Weight (kg) (per speaker): 31.2

Finishes: carbon black; titanium gray; royal blue; mineral white; british racing inexperienced (price possibility)

Price: £4,499, $4,999, €4,999 per pair (£5,499, $5,999, €5,999 British Racing Green ‘Lotus Edition’)