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Five years after launching the deservedly lauded LS50 Wireless II active bookshelf speakers, British speaker designer KEF has revolutionized your environment without breaking your voice. The LS LUXE wireless speaker reinvents that icon. From the rounded metal silhouette to the contour lines of the heat sink, industrial designer Ross Lovegrove has sculpted a study in acoustic topography. However, the smoothness of the contour is not an indication of the clarity of the speakers.

We were lucky enough to have a pair of LS LUXE speakers at home for a few days and immediately remembered why we love a KEF setup. We’ve spent countless hours with the LS50 Wireless II and the best word to describe them is incisive. The LS LUXE may have trimmed and polished the physical profile of the LS50 Wireless II, but it hasn’t removed any of the transparent, tactile presentation. If anything, the LS LUXE features an even more articulate and enveloping soundstage.

The LS50 and LS LUXE feature the same 12th-generation Uni-Q coaxial design, but the LS LUXE places its 1-inch vented aluminum dome tweeter at the acoustic center of a 6.5-inch magnesium-aluminum alloy woofer, an increase over the LS50’s 5 1/4-inch cone. Supporting this point source configuration is KEF’s Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT), which is an intricate labyrinth-shaped structure designed to absorb unwanted sound waves coming from the back of the tweeter. That and the low-diffraction organic enclosure combine to nullify stray reflections that impact the treble. But what also drives reduced distortion and increased bass expression is Velocity Integrated Control (VECO) technology. With a speed sensor monitoring the driver in real time, a custom amplifier uses that data to correct any motion inconsistencies and deliver linear bass. A 100W Class AB amplifier powers the tweeter, while a 280W Class D amplifier drives the woofer.

To further dampen unwanted vibrations, the Uni-Q assembly is mechanically decoupled from the cabinet. The end result of all this on paper is a frequency range of 35 Hz – 47 kHz (depending on equalizer settings), with a response of 42 Hz – 28 kHz (±3 dB, measured at 85 dB/1 m). The end result of all this in perception is a clear center of coherence with striking images. I’ve spent the last month with a pair of DALI Sonik 3s powered by an Advance Paris A10 APEX and a Bluesound NODE ICON, and the midrange of that nice combo may be richer, but the LS LUXE packs more punch. Not to mention that it is autonomous and synergistic. No need to worry if it doesn’t have enough power or colors the matrix too much.

And setting up KEF powered speakers is effortless. The KEF Connect app helps you connect the LS LUXE to your Wi-Fi, establish whether the pair will communicate wirelessly or over Ethernet (cable allows for higher resolution audio), then the KEF Music Integrity Engine (MIE) tailors the speakers’ DSP to your room and subwoofer setup. While the LS Luxe distributes a deep soundstage without diffusion on its own, I recommend a KEF KC62, or two, to take the bass extension from experienced to truly elevated.

As for connectivity, the W2 wireless platform is compatible with Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, and Spotify, or you can stream directly with Spotify Connect, Qobuz Connect, Google Cast, and AirPlay 2 (the latter two allow for whole-home setups). There are also HDMI eARC, analogue, optical and coaxial inputs for connecting a TV, turntable or other physical media sources. Finally, NAS drives/music servers and formats up to 24-bit/384 kHz (PCM) and DSD are supported.

We will write more about it KEF LS LUXE in the future. For now, this high-fidelity wireless speaker system is available in three finishes (Eclipse Black, Dusk Titanium, and Mineral White) for $3,999.

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