KEF LSX Introduction

John Darko did a video review posted yesterday of a new speaker from KEF called the LSX. It’s a bit smaller than the LS50W and has less connectivity but in lots of ways looks sweet. No mention of Roon however. No price point yet either. I checked the KEF US site and no mention there yet either. If anyone knows the release date I’d like to know.

Dont know about the release date, but the UK price point for the LSX is £1000.

EDIT: Actually in the UK at least there is some info to suggest a mid-November release;

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Just found them online at Best Buy for $1099.98 in the US. It does not say if they are in stock though. Lots of cool colors. I am going to go down there today to see if they are on the floor.

They are not as of today. My guess is 14+ days out.

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I guess you didn’t watch the Darko review to the end. He says for Roon he uses a Chromecast audio with toslink and powers it via the speaker’s USB port.

To be honest, no, I didn’t watch the entire thing. The video seemed a bit long and a bit boring. I usually like his stuff. This one put me to sleep even though I love the subject.

KEF posted them today on their KEF Direct web site. The only ones in stock are the white. Hopefully more to come soon.

KEF site says “Roon tested “.

The video is worth a watch (skip to near the end) because he demonstrates the perfect use for these new KEFs, as desktop speakers for his computer desk. LS50s are too big in that scenario (according to the video), and they do look cute used like that.
Is this a good or a bad time to mention KEFs reliability record for active speakers…?

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I love how long John Darko’s videos are, he’s one of the few youtubers worth watching when it comes to digital audio.

The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel is also fantastic.

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@Paul_Whittaker Agree with you Paul. Darko has a good sense for communicating hi-fi perceptions and his use of video is second to none. Surprised more hi-fi reviewers don’t follow suit.

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Two of the best IMO. Is also due in part to the few folks behind the camera (audio, video, graphics).

They seem expensive stil. I wonder how they compare to the Dynaudio Neo range as similar price to the Neo 2’s.

So can these act as a Roon endpoint or not? Directly I mean, not using Chromecast.
Seems odd that they wouldn’t… given they did with LS50.

Not yet but according to some things I read this weekend they are working on it. It was the same way with the LS50W.

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At less than 8 lb per speaker – and these are active speakers with amps and heat sinks padding out the weight – KEF seems to have cut costs by diminishing the level of inert cabinet construction that went into the LS50. The LSX cross section photos appear to show a decidedly thin cabinet. Not impressive in that regard.

AJ

Just came from Capital Audiofest (CAF) and I spent a lot of time in the KEF room. According to KEF the LSX will be running Roon in three weeks time. I got to listen to the LS50’s next to the LSX and to me the LSX seems to be 75-80% the presence of the LS50’s. Of course we were in a fairly small room. KEF actually showed the Darko review so I think they agreed with it.

Here is a side by side shot of the two speakers together and a shot of the back of the LSX. The fabric covering really looks great.

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Thanks for the picture of the two side by side. I was trying to figure out how much taller the X is and now we know.

Any guesses about whether these could be grouped in the same zone with a pair of LS50Ws?

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Testing the LSX at the moment. They show up in Roon, but you get an error when trying to play tracks.

So I would guess that support for the LSX is a given, but it still needs some work.