KEF LS50 Wireless Will Not Join Other Group

I just bought the KEF LS 50 wireless and hooked it up with Roon and everything is going fine. The problem is I can’t group it with my Bluesound Flexes or my Bowers and Wilkins Formation. Apparently I have to buy a separate streamer?? That’s out of the question for me because I’ve already spent all this money and I had no idea I couldn’t play all my devices at once throughout the house. Is there a workaround for this? If not I’m gonna have to return it

Did you look here at Zone Grouping restrictions?

https://kb.roonlabs.com/Zone#Zone_Grouping

and

https://kb.roonlabs.com/Partner_Devices_Matrix

and specifically here re the KEF

KEF Streaming

Roon supports network streaming to KEF LS-50 Wireless and KEF LSX speakers.

Due to the technical details of KEF streaming these speakers are not Roon Ready, so linking multiple pairs of KEF speakers is not possible and some RAAT-specific functionality (like convenience switching or advanced Signal Path functionality) is not possible.

Thanks for your reply. I think that’s completely outrageous. It says that it works with Roon and you expect that you’ll be able to pair it with your other zones. Let me ask you this… I have a Bluesound Power Node 2. Can I hook that up to the wireless KEF speakers and use that as a streaming point?

I dont have the Kef products nor the NAD Bluesound ones so I will leave that to support to chime in when they get to this thread.

It is a limitation that Zones of different types can’t interoperate in grouped zones but one that Roon has had for as long as I have been using it. Most often these limitations are because not all manufactures are able to have support for full RoonReady and thus RAAT support. Even Bluesound struggles with some of its devices as I recall to work properly.

Often its best to seek advice pre purchase with the folks here.

Thanks again. Can someone at Roon please explain why one of the most popular, and most widely praised, speakers are not officially “Roon Ready”? As an end-user I find this very frustrating because I would like to play the same music throughout my house. Thank you!

There is also a KEF area on the community #audio-products:kef

Not sure about its “most popular, and most widely praised” reference. YMMV

I said “one of” :wink:

I was implying the KEF area here is not perhaps quite so rosey :wink:

It doesn’t require someone from Roon to explain, the information is already out there. The Kef products do not have the capability to attain full Roon RAAT certification. Consequently, a workaround was agreed between the two parties that enabled Roon to work with the LS50 W. Kef, like Linn are one of the few to get a proprietary solution for Roon, done because people in Roon liked the product and its potential combined with Roon. However Kef, Linn, Squeezebox etc cannot be grouped with other solutions, or with each other. It is a shame but the reason began with a limitation in the way Kef implemented their networked solution. I would add that buying a simple Pi based streamer to enable grouping would be a relatively inexpensive undertaking.

Thank you Henry for your explanation. I appreciate it. I realize that I could get in an Allo DigiOne Signature but it seems crazy that I have to. It would be really helpful if Roon did a better job explaining the minutia of what brands actually work flawlessly (to provide a single song running in all groups) versus ones That have limited functionality. Yes, the information is there, but it is buried to the eyes of the end-user.

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Not so hidden 9th result in Google “c

an Kef ls50 be grouped in roon”

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