KEF LSX speaker pair
The best–sounding new way to listen to your streamed and digital music for under a grand
$1100 From KEF, kef.com Features Built–in Spotify and Tidal support, soundstage audio
For the longest time, there’s only really been one game in town if you wanted to pay about one thousand dollars for a wireless speaker. Naim’s Mu–so delivers great sound from a single, large, handsome box, with excellent integration of Spotify, Tidal, and more digital systems, plus a selection of inputs to add wired audio kit.
Well, now there’s a second game, and this one is radically different. KEF’s LSX delivers great sound from a single, large, handsome box (well, two, technically), with excellent integration of Spotify, Tidal, and more digital systems, plus a selection of inputs to add wired audio kit.
Being a stereo pair, LSX sounds more like ‘proper’ hi–fi, whereas the Mu–so is more like a tightly focused, exciting audio assault, with a narrower soundstage. However, because the speakers are so small, it’s even easier to position than the rather long Mu–so.
At present, LSX’s streaming element is not as great as Naim’s. The apps — you use one for setup and one to play music, bizarrely — are less polished. In particular, Tidal support is bare bones, with no recommendations; many of the more sophisticated track–queuing features aren’t present; and even suffers from occasional drop–outs and crashes (Spotify is via Spotify Connect, and so much better). There is the option of aptX Bluetooth as well, but spending $1,100 to listen to Bluetooth audio seems like a bit of an ask.
However, quibbles over the software melt away when you hear the music. Lovers of dance music may miss a truly deep bottom end, but the amount of bass these speakers muster is hugely impressive for their size (and there’s a subwoofer output option). In terms of clarity, dynamics and sound stage, they’re really superb. That’s why KEF LSX is worth every penny of its, at first absurd–looking, asking price.
the bottom line. If you want a wireless, proper hi–fi system, this handsome pair of speakers is your best chance at rivaling the present champ, the Naim Mu–so. duncan bell