A beginner's guide to the KEF LS50 Wireless II 

How far we come...20 years ago I was mixing and matching.amps, preamps, DACs, transports , cables...now just LS50 Wireless II.

I love it when a company listens to their customers and makes real improvements to the new products. Not having to play the amplifier lottery seems like a really huge deal. Thanks Darko.

John I really appreciate these reviews on the “Sonos generation” products. The fact is most of the music people will listen to is on a digital streaming platform and there’s not enough HI-Fi reviews on these products. I’m especially interested in the Naim mu so, Martin Logan crescendo B&W wedge. All HI-Fi products that get left out of the conversation for casual listening which 80% of what people do.

Well there you have it , the best review you’re ever going to see or hear about these new speakers. Just superb.

Great review as always, John. And good good job. These KEF are really a clever sound system.

kef genuinely taking the piss not making the app backwards compatible. customers paid 3 thousand dollars, kef should take care of them.

I think I was never that excited to watch a new youtube video pfff. Really well made review, thank you

john i gotta say i really love your videos, the way u point all the important things and visuals is so dope

Excellent review. Always look forward to your perspective. Usability is very critical to the user experience and I am excited to hear the new changes Kef made on that front as well as the Meta technologies. I look forward to see what Kef plans to do with the Meta technologies in regards to the Kef R3. Your videos have peaked my interest about the streaming audio experience. Dipping my toes into the streaming world with my LUMIN U1MINI and L1 5TB and Tidal. I love having the options to listen to my analog lp's and cassette tapes, digital sacd player and now streaming. You have made it easy to understand the streaming benefits which is not an easy thing to communicate as well as an interesting music selection. Thank you.

Great review John! Having an intuitive app and Chromecast support really seals the deal for me. I'm surprised not more amps and active speakers offer it. I've been hoping my Powernode 2i would get it but Bluesound are having trouble getting it done. This will most likely be my next pair of speakers.

These are incredible little speakers. After listening and comparing a few pairs I was really impressed with the metas.

John, we just opened our new KEF LS50 WII speakers! It's the most expensive music purchase we have ever made and we don't regret it. With your guidance, we made a sound purchase that is filling our home with warmth, tranquillity and beauty (We're currently listening to Tripping with Nils Frahm). Thanks to you & your team for all your hard work. It's forever changed the listening experience in our home.

Thank you for active speaker reviews. Definitely the way I am headed.

I expected your video on this product this weekend... not disappointed ! :) I almost bought the LS50 few months back. I'm glad I waited. They seem like a real improvement on the previous version and at the same price ! That's a no brainer to me.

Thanks John! I’ve been waiting for your review all week. I like to balance your review with that of the old school Steve Gutenberg one.

Amazing speaker system.... Amazing Darko review.... again.

Been looking forward to your KEF LS50 Wireless II coverage going to pick a pair up as soon as I can!

Absolutely superb review. Really informative and well structured. An easy to follow review that non audiophiles can understand. Job well done!

I've been waiting all week for this! Great job!

Great thoughts and reviews aside, I love the production quality of your videos. Keep it up!

I think it’s criminal that the new app is not available for the first versions of the LS50 or LSX. App’s should not be built per product. The last update on the original KEF app was Oct19 (4.1). My fear that they will never update this, with the speakers becoming obsolete to new OS updates seems very likely. This type of planned obsolescence is outrageous particularly for the audiofile/enthusiast segment and the cost. I’ve reached out multiple times to KEF support and directly to employees (over LinkedIn) on this and got no answers. John, could you please be a voice for us and bring this up with the team? It seems such a shame for such great products and loyal customers.

Great review, always a good watch. High quality without the snobbery 👍

Yea thank you for the review Darko ☀️

I'm enjoying the LS50 Wireless II on S2 stands and today the KC62 will be delivered, all in white. Sounds and looks great!

Thanks for the tip on the Enjoy The Silence Quad Mix!

Great review. Always favoured the passive version, but this has given me something to think about.

Thank you John, really appreciate your reviews

Great review as always, thanks John and loving the FDW reference in sound cloud! Shame they couldn’t update/combine the previous two Kef apps into one for previous systems (as a LSX owner my only gripe with a fantastic system).

Thank you John for the clear review of the Kef. Myself I'm not entirely fond of speakers which have almost everything build in, especially streaming options like spotify connect. What if in 3 years spotify connect is not anymore supported on your speaker / app? Or other services... then you're stuck with your 2500 euro speaker. Rather have those services within a separate device. But I can totally understand people who buy them for the easy install, no separate devices etc.

Wonderful review. Sounds like a smart solution to multiple audio problems.

As an LS50W Gen I owner, anyone tempted to pick up a pair on the cheap: DO NOT. Spend the bucks to buy the Gen IIs. The Gen I apps are awful. I could not get the speakers to connect to my plain vanilla mesh network and had to buy a Bluesound Node 2i to do the job instead, bypassing the KEF’s DAC and streamer. KEF seems to have fixed all of the problems. My bad luck is your good fortune.

So helpful John. Think I'll go ahead and get a pair!

Well, looks like after only 2 years my Kef LS50W will be making way for the LS50W2. The app upgrade, along with full MQA support and HDMI eARC have me wanting it. The fact that the driver has a major upgrade along with far more headroom on the already strong amps is a bonus.

I appreciate the detailed features review, the clear explanations, and the outstanding production quality. The subjective listening tests, not so much. But overall thanks!

Brilliant video. Informed, educated, insightful, knowledgeable and passionate. Great work, I’ll subscribe. Oh….and Depeche Mode? The icing on top of the gorgeous cake!

The fact that the new KEF Connect doesn't support the (read: my own) original LS50W absolutely confirms my suspicion, that whole concept has a pretty big miff of planned obsolescence to it.

That is a great version of DM's Enjoy the Silence. Glad you mentioned it!

I watched this video, bought the speakers and could be happier. Thanks!

John Darko seems to make videos on the *exact* products I'm interested in whenever I'm struggling to find info about them. I already own the first gen LS50ws, but this iteration seems to have absolutely nailed it. Would love a comparison between these and the Buchard A500...

I only hope they fixed software issues and upnp. My LS50W drives me nuts sometimes!

I e ordered a pair of these , I’ve been waiting 2 months for them to show up ! I laughed when you were discussing the wireless aspect of them , my Mrs said they’re not really wireless if there is a mains cable 😂😂

It takes forever to get through one of your videos because I keep having to pause to check out the artists you are talking about. Found some good ones through you. Thanks!

Simply the best ,great review 👍🏼

Absolutely, John. LS 50 Wireless /Wireless ll with a quality Sub will sound amazing. And probably all you need in a minimalist system. A quality Sub like REL will add another £ 4 - 500 to the equation must be money well spent. Just my two cents. 🙃🙃

I ADORE that we opened with the cover of PE's Fear of a Black Planet.

There are many hifi audio product reviewers out there, but few, if any, comes close to the production value and presentation of what John does. Keep it up. Love your presentation. Your work is in no small part why I own some of the stuff that I bought. And roon too come to think of it lol(which was also partially motivated by you lol)

Good in depth review, I’m still learning about streamers. Nixon is an awesome album as well as public enemy btw.

Superb review as always

I guess you will review "The Fives" from Klipsch at some point. It will be interesting to see and hear the differences between a £2500 high end speaker set, and an £850 lower end speaker set.

Amazing video mate! Genuinely!

Another illuminating and comprehensive review. Thanks a lot. Have you considered doing a review of products in the Sonos category, ie Sonos’ products, Denon Heos and the like? That’s an entry point for many from the “Sonos generation”.

Good thing kef finally decided to hire a proper dev team for the app. It would be good to add backwards compatibility to 1st gen of ls 50 and lsx. I have LSX and open the control app only when I need to reset the speaker for various reasons. As for these all in one speakers that are not a niche product...well it's true to a certain degree. Most of people when looking to buy a system will probably try a 1k max set-up...and these are way more. If you have the money and you don't want the hassle of set-up, yes these are a really good option. But I do think I can get a better sound from a pair of R3s with a Hegel and a bluesound. And kef is not really the brand that has really hard to pair speakers. I bet you can even get a really good sound with a rotel or even emotiva as long as you have a proper dac. But with these you can simply move whenever and enjoy really high quality audio.

Love your smart nuanced reviews, wish I lived in Berlin!

John, super presentation!

Great video and choice of music!

Mum n Dad user here... just purchased thanks for your amazing reviews ❤

The KEF LS50 must be a good speaker because it ALWAYS comes up in reviews. It seems to be used for countless audio comparisons etc. I never thought of it for myself but I’ve come to believe that it must be a very good choice for a lot of people.

Again, a very very useful review

John your usual thorough and comprehensive review. I've been looking for a higher quality transition away from my current Sonos setup and these look very promising. Would love your thoughts on the Qobuz integration as I canceled my Tidal sub.

I just ordered a set of the Carbon Black LS50W2, though I wish they came in the Royal Blue/Gold finish like the new passive LS50 Meta. Won't ship until mid to late November, but I'm excited to try these babies. Already have a buyer for my LS50W, so I'm all set.

Finally the review we’ve been waiting for

Pretty tempting! That HDMI ARC is a smart move by them. I found the tweeter fatiguing after a while on the originals...great to hear it's improved on the new one.

Great speakers for people wanting a compact all in one solution and a performance to match

Absolutely fair comment re subwoofers in the context of a review.

I'm a Roon into LS50w version 1 user. I absolutely love the sound of my LS50w v1 but I must admit that I'm tempted by the version 2. Getting even better sound is nice but equally compelling is the full RAAT implementation which incidentally shouldn't you technically as of date of recording say is "planned" since the KEF white paper says this is coming "(via a firmware update)" so I don't think Roon has officially signed off on it being a certified implementation yet has it? On my Roon-Tested V1s it's great that the remote and Roon app volume controls (including mute) sync perfectly with each other and reflect each other's changes but it drives me nuts that I can't hit pause on the KEF remote to pause the music but instead have to reach for the Roon app on my iPad (hitting pause on the KEF remote causes Roon to "lose control of the output device"). As I understand it a condition of being Roon Certified is that KEF must also ensure that the transport commands on its remote also sync fully with Roon. One question on RAAT. How does input switching and wakeup work if at all? Right now I do actually use my LS50w v1s for both Roon (via the wired Ethernet input) and my TV (via the optical in) and to play music I have to explicitly switch on the speakers and select the network input for Roon to even see the speakers in its list of endpoints. On a full Roon-Certified implementation must the client include code so that a Roon core can automatically take the speaker out of standby and switch its audio input to the network so that music starts playing simply by selecting something to play via the Roon remote? If I had one teeny, tiny complaint about KEF's v2 update it is that I wish they had addressed one concern I had when I bought my v1s. I have a very minimalist decor and chose the white version plus stands in order to make them as visually unobtrusive as possible in my room. Now I admit that it is a tiny point but in the same way that black tablets tend to have black bezels around the screen and white tablets tend to have white bezels around the screen I wish that on the white speaker finish they had changed the backing colour for the top control panel on the primary(*) speaker to white rather than black so that it blended in better with the cabinet. As I say, not a big deal and the black backing on my white v1s actually bugs me less than I feared it would but it would still have been nice if that tiny little detail had been addressed, I can't see that anyone buying white speakers would have been upset by such a change. Then again, if this is all that I have to complain about that's pretty impressive. (*) As you might see, I have read up a lot on these new speakers hence me adopting the KEF official terminology change from master/slave to primary/secondary!

Would love to hear about off-axis imaging and overall sound. If you have this on your TV then your family might gather around to watch and they can't all be in the exact sweet spot for listening.

Very interesting. I think these might work well as a desktop speaker. For many of us, now working from home, a desktop integrated system would be great. I guess you could add a mic and use it for zoom meetings and calls. That might be an interesting topic: hifi desktop system for work (not video production, mixing etc.). KEF makes some odd looking desktops (no mic) haven't found any info on how they sound.

Sound like an awesome pair of speakers but the convenience does come with a caveat around upgradeability especially around the dac and longevity being tied to how long kef support them.

Hi John, Thanks for again a useful and entertaining review. My question: do the improvements of the LS50 WII in your opinion make such a difference that you would revisit your conclusion in your Buchardt A500 review (giving the Buchardts a significant higher "rating" than the KEFs)? After that review I was planning to take the risk of testing the A500. But now I am considering to first listen to the LS50 WII (and the Elac Navis ARB51).

Another great review. Attempted to set up a Qobuz account last night but the pay screen kept giving me an error message. Set up a Deezer account instead, very impressed with it so far. Had everything I searched for including quite obscure stuff.

Guess I know what Santa Clause will be bringing me for Xmas this year. I've been a very good boy too! Thanks JD! Excellent review. You're the best!

Lovin the intro music John

Really not cool that a $2,500 speaker that's just 4 year old is stuck with a cruddy, outdated app with no sign of real update. I'm an LSX owner and disappointed in KEF's level of support. Has me wary of buying streaming powered speakers in the future.

Great video. I was dissapointed to see they omitted the USB input on new version (as they did with coaxial on v.1 - they put it back and killed USB??? Are they nuts???)

I rate the LS50W II as a lifestyle speaker with great performance & support for streaming, but excessive for myself utilising Spotify only. A price hike to £2250 hoping original buyers will upgrade is a cheeky move...Given what has been said so far, KEF need to update their Customer support to loyal buyers in this market. Myself, I’m buying an Amp with streaming onboard to run my Neat SX3is (I just can’t swap them out for KEFS TBH) Great review tho 👍🏻

I know gapless playback is a personal thing, but I'm gonna grumble over here how in 2020 this is not a standard. Another Great Review John 👍

Fantastic review!!!!

My initial idea was to swap my LS50W's for the new ones. But now I'm not so sure anymore. Minor differences in sound, major differences in the features. For me the sound of my LS50W's is perfect. Connected my tv with optical and playing Roon/Tidal through the Roon-app. Never bothered the lousy Kef-app, except for the setup. So all the new features (minus PC!) bring nothing extra that I need. Maybe the RAAT setup and standby-mode (like Sonos) are interesting but to upgrade for that? Think I will wait for the LS50Wiii instead ;-)

I would honestly love for there to be a LSX II.

KEF really need to bring the new app to backward support the original LS50W - heck they should even add the missing services support to the old speakers.... not airplay or chromecast but at least Deezer and SoundCloud

Can't wait for the comparison with the new Q Acoustic Q Active 200 ;)

I started with an Audio Pro C10 mkii to have music on and for the price and the speaker it was it was amazing. But I missed stereo, details, clarity and the fact that I in the future would by a stereo-set and make them obsolete made me return them back. I've since tried DALI Oberon, tried KEF LSX, looked at used Rubicon 2's and now a part of me just wants to stop overthinking and just get this because what I keep asking myself is "is this really giving me the best sound per dollar". I loved the oberon 1's and for the price they seem great, but I cant use them for listening to big orchestras and heavier types of rock. The KEF LSX is amazing, but everyone complains about the apps. The Rubicon I absolutely loved. I trully love those speaker, but with a decent amp (with abilities to stream) it will over 2300 usd and at that price we're getting dangerously close to an LS50w ii. The Oberon 1 with a powernode 2/2i will be around 1000 usd, but I'm not sure if that's a smarter choice than the KEF LSX which are going for 902 usd. And this is a weird situation, because even though I absolutely loved and love both DALI speakers It seems like the speakers that give the most sense to buy are either KEF LSX or KEF LS50 wireless ii. I do have a decent headphone set up so tbh I'm thinking about just buying a dac for my phone and use them around the apartment instead as no speaker in teh budget hifi-class is able to play classical musical and orchestras well but I do not like wearing headphones that much ):.

Hi John, thanks for your great reviews! love to hear your thoughts, Elac NAVIS ARB51 or KEF LS50 Wireless II ? They are pretty much the same cost here in Australia. Have been saving for a while

Great review! Since you mentioned subwoofers, which one would you suggest to complement these speakers?

John, love your channel and appreciate all you do. I pulled the trigger and bought the LS50 wireless II. I have been blown away by the sound in my room and very happy with the purchase. Adding the KC 62 when they are available again. My question is about Hi Rez music in the Mac ecosystem. I have Audirvana on my MacBook Pro and run that to a Sprout DAC/Amp feeding HiFiMan Sundara headphones. I have been very happy with that setup. Now, with the LS 50 II's, I am struggling to find the best way to get a hi Rez signal to the speaker. As far as I can tell, this is not possible with Airplay. Any thoughts or suggestions? Keep up the good work!

Sounds like W2 and W1 have minimal differences in terms of sound quality, but most of the updates are in connectivity and software. Since I use my W1s as computer desk speakers connected through USB, looks like no reason to change. For people using the speakers in living room connected to TV and also streaming through phone, frequently changing sources, etc. looks like would be a definite upgrade.

John I enjoy your reviews very much but it would be helpful for you to mention the price point of both speakers

Thx for that great review. If you had the choice between these and the klipsh "the fives", witch one would you pick? PS: i am newbie in the audiophile world.

Nice! These are on my radar :) Do you think that you’re gonna do a review of the Dali Oberon 1 C at some point? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts of that solution compared to maybe a powernode with passive speakers :) Thanks for really good and interesting content as always

Much waited! John + LS50W. Will it worth the upgrade? :)

Great video, John! I wonder if you got the chance to compare them to the Formation Duo, more from a sound quality viewpoint.

Brilliant review thanks, I wonder how these compare to the AVI ADM speakers?

Great video. I've got these on order but they're backordered as of now. Can you speak about the three wooden art pieces on your wall?

Love your videos, I actually got the LSX due to them, an amazing PC (desktop) speaker set I shall say... However, software wise I sometimes wanna throw them off the window :/

No playlist for that one ? I keep on watching your reviews for that and the cool vibe they carry along....BTW, too bad for the disappearance of the usb input. The more, the merrier....

I am particularly interested in DSD 256 - Is it possible to play DSD through the HDMI input? (I understand that it will be down-converted to PCM, but I would like to play SACDs through a Cambridge CXU). On first look, I am disappointed to see that the original USB input is gone, as it was (by far) the best way to take advantage of the LS50W "one", in particular when using a Mac platform.

Are these a better bet than the B&W formation duos? Couple of other questions, can you connect directly the Audiolab 6000-CDT CD transport and does it matter which speaker becomes the right or left channel?

Hi John, will you be reviewing the GIK Acoustic panels. I noticed more have been added to your front wall. Discussion on placement and impressions would be good. Regards Tim

Would of liked to have heard your opinion as to how this updated active speaker system compares to other similar systems you have reviewed in past year.

Thank you John.