My LSX II Roon Ready speakers have quit playing DSD files. When Roon Radio comes across a DSD file in my library, the KEF speakers sever the connection with Roon and stop the play of my 4-zone group. The only fix is to Reboot the KEF speakers. Based on what information I was provided by Google/Gemini, this problem is the result of the last firmware update to the KEF speakers. At least that information has allowed me to quickly get my KEF’s back to communicating with Roon and Roon being able to resume the 4-zone group play.
Is KEF working with Roon to try to resolve this problem?
This is a known KEF issue with the latest public firmware for the KEF LSX II (3.0.137). I had the same problems with mine. Here is the fix: Report the problem through the KEF Connect App to KEF, and ask for firmware 3.0.138. KEF will ask you for the MAC address of your speakers, and can then assign the latest, but not (yet) public firmware to your speakers which you can then update via the update function in the KEF Connect App. This will solve DSD playback issues via Roon (and some other hi-res issues, like DXD playback).
The KEF LSX II is the second generation of the LSX speaker model. „Wireless II", if applied strictly, only appears on the model name „LS50 Wireless II" which is the next larger model. However, both models (LSX II as well as LS50 Wireless II) are 2nd generation when it comes to the streaming platform they use. They both use KEF’s improved „W2" streaming platform which includes the connect services, Roon Readiness, but also the current generation KEF Connect App as controls. The main hardware difference between the LSX II and the LS50 Wireless II is that for the LSX II KEF kept the 11th generation Uni-Q coaxial treble/mid-bass driver, whereas for the larger LS50 Wireless II, it was fitted with the 12th generation Uni-Q with Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT), which is basically a circular labyrinth on a disc aiming at absorbing 99% of tweeter reflections.
Thank you Akio. I previously had read that the firmware 3.0.138 is a beta version. Are you using it without any issues?
Stephen, I have not had any other issues with the speakers. Until I learned about the firmware issue, the problem had been quite vexing to try to troubleshoot. My network and my Roon system are very stable otherwise. These are second generation speakers. They are connected to the Internet via Ethernet to an Eero Pro 6e node that operates wirelessly within my home network. The speakers themselves are connected via the cable that allows them to operate at maximum file specs.
I am using it since without any major issue that I am aware of. I have to admit that also in my library, DSD (64, 128, 256) and DXD (352.8 kHz) files are a true minority. So I am not continuously testing it. One thing I noticed is that after streaming Roon/RAAT, the protocol seems to “cling” to the speakers for a few seconds, so immediate switching to, e.g. Qobuz Conenct will take some 40-45 sec. to work. But that is a minor inconvenience which I already incurred with FW 3.0.137.
I am not sure whether 3.0.138 is really a “beta version”. It is just no broadly distributed public version. At least according to the forum, I seem to be the first KEF customer to have got these versions (for my LSX II, and 3.0.132 for the LS60 Wireless), and the way it happened is that I reported the error early May via the KEF Connect App (separately for both speakers), and then nothing happened until early July, when they came back to me with “we have a solution for you” and offered to update the firmware. Nowhere was mentioned that this was a beta version or experimental or risky.
Akio,
Thanks again for the guidance on the KEF LSX II firmware issue. KEF customer service was quick to respond. They pushed the update to my speakers today, and they are playing my DSD files once again.
Robert