Mine’s a Nocturne Edition as well, from early 2018.
I have black LS50W that I bought from a local hifi store in 2017, in New Zealand. In late 2021 the left speaker developed a crackling distortion sound that shows up after about 15 minutes of music playback. It does go away after speakers turn off and cool down but returns again after about 15 minutes of power on.
Anyway I contacted the store I bought them from and they pointed me to the local NZ distributor who should be able to repair it. The distributor said its a $60 fee just to inspect the speakers for a problem. Anyway I dropped the LS50Ws off at the distributors warehouse and a few weeks later they had it fixed by replacing circuit boards, and did not charge me anything, not even the $60 inspection fee.
This is really excellent service given its nearly 5 years since I bought it. Despite the crackling issue, I would highly recommend KEF and its official distributors, for such excellent level of service (even in my country on the other side of the planet!). It is increasingly rare in todays throw-away consumer electronics culture.
1 Like
Hi all 
I’m struggleing with my ls50w for years 
Very long story short, they have been in two services for many months and nothing was done, so i contacted KEF and they pushed things up with the service speakers were in at the current time but the price for repair is 1400 euros 
wich is just crazy expensive…
So i took them back unrepaired at they sat home collecting dust until i stumbled up on one store in France thats sells al the parts new for very reasonable prices (main board is around 260euros and slave around 220) so i ordered them! They arrived and i was very happy that i will finaly fix them! but it seems that the bad news continue. I installed the new board, conected everything properly and still nothing
Hello,
Could you share the link or contact of that store that sells parts for reasonable prices.
I also have a pair of LS50W waiting fore repair with a slave speaker dying.
Any help aprechiated.
I bought the KEF LS50 Wireless speakers in 2017. The left speaker stopped working this week.
I am debating on getting them repaired, selling, or trying to convert them to a passive speaker.
My left speaker went out 2+ months ago.
Still under warranty, but Kef in New Jersey has had them for 2 months and still not repaired.
I have a backup, but TOO long
1 Like
This week my left speaker stops playing. First, there is some clicking noise in the left speaker, then it stops playing. Three lights are blinking, AUX, OPT and Bluetooth. Unplugging the powerchords for a few hours make them play again, but then it starts all over again. So far, I changed the powerchords, change the CAT cable from speaker to speaker and change the CAT cable to the router, but no succes so far. These are late 2018 models. When they play, I can’t here anything strange, so it can’t be the amplifiers or DAC? any thougths or idea’s? Thanks (sorry for my English, as it is not my native language)
Have you updated to whatever the latest firmware is? check KEFs website for the process of updating.
Might also try resetting the speakers? reset instructions are also on the KEF site or in the manual.
It could be the amp or DAC once it heats up?
Mine had the clicking and crackling and needed to be sent in for repair. The boards were replaced. They were just out of warranty, but hey covered them anyway. So if the above does not work I would contact your dealer or KEF
Not too good experience with Kef LS50W here.
Bought the pair in summer 2018. The same winter, they started having problems, left one switching off every 5 minutes after listening for 20 minutes.
Service had no idea what the issue is, replaced the motherboard. As it was warranty, this repair was free.
Fast forward to summer 2021 (warranty over), right speaker started having issues when trying to switch it on (blinking power button, which according to the user manual means system error).
By that time there was no official distributor in Lithuania, so I had to send the speakers for repair to Latvia, where they diagnosed it as motherboard issue.
Getting new motherboard from China took insane amount of time, and they are sending the speakers to me only now in spring 2022(!). They say the motherboard alone was 750$ without shipping/tax, bringing a total after tax bill to 1100$!
Should have just bought new speakers…
3 Likes
That is insane. I have no idea why it’s so costly, if you order the mainboard from setelec (A shop that has all sorts of speaker repair stuff) you pay around 230€. I can’t think of any way how that makes sense, how can the manufacturer quote 750$ for the motherboard when a 3rd party can quote less than 1/3.
I also inquired about getting the whole membrane (Not sure if that’s the correct word for it in english) replaced. They quoted me 182,70€ per Unit, as well as 40€ per Unit for the technician. Purchased and swapped them both myself for 230€ including shipping.
1 Like
Mine have just burned like yours . Outside the warranty. Here in Brazil , to replace the boards it would cost the price of a new one . I will try to convert them to passive
Mine just blew up like yours. To replace the boards where I live it would cost the price of a new set . So I will try to convert them to passive to still use the drivers and cabinet that are great
I ended up paying the $$$, and they’re still going strong
Same issue here . I will transforme mine into passive
I own a pair for 2 years. No problems with them. But roon loses control of them making it unusable with roon.
2 Likes
My pair of LS50W (from 2018) recently started having issues powering on. The power light would just blink. A power cycle would fix it but it’d happen 1/10 times.
Contacted KEF UK and cost of shipping aside they’re repairing them free of charge (due to this being my second replacement pair). Not very reliable speakers but KEF support has been solid and responsive.
Given a choice, who would go wireless or passive +amp ?
I have the LS50 wireless 2 & wish I hadn’t, I am researching my next system already. It will be an amp or amps with no integral dac & a manual & reversible means of firmware updating (or no firmware updating preferably) with passive speakers. I will never have an active system again, I have wasted more time on this Kef system in the less than 2 years I have owned it than my previous passive system I had since 2008.
3 Likes
Thanks , that’s what I was wondering. I am currently 100% headphones but have always contemplated a speaker system and the active route seemed very attractive and simple but for the extra money a an amp/passive system I suspected was more fool proof
I was looking at the KEF passives and a Cambridge Audio CXA81 , I have been a CA user for years and consider them stable.
You’ve made the right choice, simplicity is best in this case I think. Manufacturers should release a product when it is ready and it works rather than the fix on fail mentality.