STANDMOUNT SPEAKERS
The final stage of an important musical journey, your speakers’ role is make or break
KEF LS50 Meta £999
We still find it hard to believe that this iteration of our beloved LS50S are even better than the ones that first arrived in 2012. But somehow, unbelievably, with these Metas KEF has improved upon an already winning formula.
They don’t look any different from the LS50S – KEF having concluded that little could be improved on their beautifully made enclosure. The only obvious changes are to the back panel, which has been tidied up and made to look neater. The Uni-q driver array, though, has been thoroughly reworked, taking in the refinements KEF has developed over the past few years and, crucially, adding something new in the form of MAT (Metamaterial Absorption Technology).
Here, the rearward sound feeds into something about the size of a hockey puck that looks like a plastic circular maze. It is layered and made up of 30 tubes, each tuned to absorb a different frequency. KEF claims that, once combined, the tubes absorb a wide range of frequencies – from around 600Hz upwards – much more effectively than alternative methods. The result should be cleaner, less distorted highs.
And, sure enough, it doesn’t take long to realise that the LS50S have improved significantly. The basic sonic character is instantly familiar, but the new Metas have gained a level of clarity and finesse the originals only hinted at. They sound so much more transparent, and render low-level details, such as instrumental textures, much more convincingly.
It’s a full-bodied presentation with a good degree of authority for such compact speakers. Large-scale dynamics are handled well and there’s a good amount of muscle for a speaker of this size. These are refined and composed performers that rarely sound stressed unless volume levels are high.
There’s little to complain about when it comes to tonality. The KEFS sound smooth and balanced while still having enough in the way of high-frequency bite. They will reveal the shortcomings in poor recordings, but don’t go out of their way to be nasty.
KEF’S Uni-q designs tend to image well by their very nature, and the LS50 Metas generate an expansive and tightly focused soundstage where instruments are layered convincingly. We’re also impressed by the image’s stability when the music gets demanding.
KEF is on to something with the Metamaterial technology and, as things stand, that tech and all the other work KEF’S engineers have put into the Uni-q array has propelled the LS50 Metas to the head of the class at this level. We always loved the LS50S, but these Metas really are a cut above. A worthy Product of the Year, for sure.