KEF LS50 Meta

KEF LS50 Meta – The new class leader

The best speakers manage to disappear into the room, leaving you with only the music. The LS50 Meta is exactly such a speaker. It offers an incredibly immersive sound that will make you lose yourself in your favourite music. Here you’ll find yourself enjoying every nuance of the layer upon layer of instrumentation it delivers with unparalleled acoustic accuracy throughout the room.

HIGHLIGHTS:

– Detailed, accurate and three-dimensional sound image
– Immersive and engaging musicality
– 12th gen Uni-Q delivers huge soundstage and sweet spot.
– MAT technology
– Compact and easy to place
– Aesthetic design with curved and low diffraction front fork.
– Patented reflex port provides improved clarity and detail.

The Uni-Q unit – the core of the LS50 Meta’s sound.

It’s been almost a decade since KEF launched the old LS50, so the big question is, has the LS50 Meta been worth the wait? We have no doubt – it has! But hear for yourself, because with the LS50 Meta, KEF has now introduced its 12th generation Uni-Q unit, and it delivers an audibly larger soundstage, better imaging and a stunningly natural and detailed sound. Plus, the LS50 Meta delivers a clearer, cleaner sound in the upper midrange and lower treble, so you can enjoy far more of the voices of your favourite artists.

The LS50 Meta’s distinctive sound is only possible because KEF places the tweeter in the acoustic centre of the midrange/bass unit, so all sound comes from a single point. This means that the mid and high frequency tones are spread much more evenly and widely than conventional speakers, where the sound comes from devices in different locations. Having the sound come from a single point also has the advantage of avoiding interference problems, resulting in a much cleaner and more natural sound. Another advantage is that all the frequencies reach the ear at the same time, which has the effect of making the sound much more accurate and realistic.

MAT – A revolutionary acoustic technology.

Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) is a synthetic material developed by KEF to ab-sorb unwanted sound created by the device or cabinet. They’ve done this by creating a complex maze-like structure where the patterns are made to absorb the different frequency ranges, creating an acoustic black hole where the sound from the back of the unit and the cabinet can’t get out. It eliminates as much as 99 percent of unwanted sound, so you only hear the sound you want, fired from the front of the speaker. The result is a cleaner, more natural sound that’s completely free from distortion.

Designed to play

The LS50 Meta’s acoustic improvements are also reflected in KEF’s design choices. Here they have equipped the LS50 Meta with a low-diffraction baffle, while the cabinet is cross-stiffened, injection moulded and damped to eliminate internal vibrations. The effect of this is that the LS50 Meta has the absolute lowest coloration of any speaker in its class!

Another feature of the LS50 Meta’s design is the patented offset reflection port, which is designed to delay turbulence and prevent resonances from affecting the midrange. This improves clarity and leads to a much more detailed and immersive sound.

The KEF LS50 Meta can be mounted on the S2 Floor Stand, which is specially designed for the speakers. Buy them
here
.

Reviews:

EISA AWARD – click here.
What Hi-Fi? – click here.
Sound & Image – click here.
The Absolute Sound – click here.
AV Forum – click here.
Stereophile – click here.
Hi-finews – click here.

Specifications:

Design: 2-way bass reflex
Units: 12th generation Uni-Q with MAT
Frequency range: 47Hz – 45kHz
Typical bass response (-6db): 26Hz.
Recommended amplifier power: 40-100 watts
Maximum SPL: 106 dB