Amazon.com: Customer reviews: KEF LSX II Wireless HiFi Speaker System (Soundwave)

Awesome connectivity, good looking, even better sounding.

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2024

Color: Cobalt BlueStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

Never imagine I'd spend $350 for a pair of sticks to hold up $1000 pair of speakers but here I am.

To be fair I have heard of KEF before, but the brand never appealed to me. The brand does not cross my mind when shopping for audiophile products. And I was never in the market for book-shelf style speakers. My old Logitech/Creative 7.2, 2.0 systems, or my parent's Yamaha or Onkyo systems, never ever impressed me.

The LSX II's grabbed my attention with its simplistic design. Clean lines with traditional speaker look yet somehow looks so luxurious. There are some wonky looking expensive speakers out there that try to stand out by prentending to be a UFO. But these KEF are so symmetrical, so even, straight edges with rounded corners, the driver unit square in the center. Just timeless. Classy.

The blue one especially grabbed my attention, and motivated me to research further. How much money am I paying for brand and design, how much am I paying for just fluff? There are tons of options out there. Are these KEFs worth it?

I remember my research was super simple and straight forward. The simplistic yet luxurious design carries over to the back. The availability of wired and wireless connectivity options are laid out perfectly clear. At the time I was dissatisfied with the SONY RA5000 ($700 single bluetooth speaker)'s horrible implementation of wifi and bluetooth. The KEFs have all the wired and wireless inputs I could want. USB C, Airplay 2, 3.5mm, and HDMI eArc. So I know they'd be perfect by my computers, or TV, or just playing out of the phone.

Furthermore the LSX IIs support wireless-pairing of the two speakers and still maintain hi-res audio. And I can use wired-pairing to boost the SQ even further. How flexible and amazing are those.

So after watching maybe 10-15 review videos, I pulled the trigger.

Normally these big purchases I'd have buyer's remorse - I'd think, I could've gotten the Edifiers for $100 or Audioengines for $200, and save so much money, and still get pretty amazing sound!!!

But happy to report, no buyer's remorse at all. I'm just happy with these. They bring me joy just by sitting there, not making a sound. And they sound wonderful. These are the type of speakers that make you dig up all your old favorite songs, songs you no longer remember you used to love, that these speakers will make you recall, and you will stay up all night sampling all of those songs, feeling like you are hearing them for the first time.

And they are so easy to set up and use. I was streaming lossless music from my iphone in minutes. Also hooked up to my gaming set up and played 150 hours of Mass Effect Legendary Edition with those. And they sound epic. Watched a few favorite moves, and they were perfect.

These speakers made me understand why they call good sound quality "high fidelity". They define "fidelity" for me. I love love love these.

Despite that there are a couple minor things - all of which I'm perfectly happy to overlook and not care about.

1) The new LSX II LT uses USB-C to connect the two speakers, adding power delivery. So now you'd only need 1 power source. This helps a ton with cable management, if you have your desk not against a wall. I wish this the LSX II have that feature. In contrast, the LSX II's need a power source for each Left and Right speaker, but you get the option to go wireless-pair, which could also lead to less cable clutter. But to me, the wired-pairing sounds pretty significantly better. So I'd prefer the new LSX II LT, if not for them looking cheaper and just lesser than the LSX II's.

2) When using the S1 stand, which elevates the look even further, the power cable feel a bit short due to the built-in cable management system taking away some length. So I had to use extension cables.

3) Despite their power and fidelity, they sound a bit less when powering a full room. They are best when being desk companions. However the uniq drivers do deliver sort of omni-directional awesome sound, but just a bit less than when you are sitting directly in front in the sweet spot. I believe adding a sub to the set up would solve the issue though, and so far I'm perfectly happy without a subwoofer.

I really love these. I think I'll buy another pair when they are on sale to put in bedroom.

8 people found this helpful

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Social science professor

They're not just great speakers, they are a compact audiophile stereo system with tons of inputs

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2024

Color: Olive GreenStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

The KEF LSX2's are pricey, but you're getting a lot more than just speakers.

You're getting a compact audiophile system with separate amplifiers for the tweeters & woofers, a built-in pre-amplifier with lots of different input options, and a network streamer than can stream TIDAL and other services or any music you might have on an NAS. You can connect almost any source you can imagine to the LSX2's, from a turntable to a TV set and much more. You can use them as bluetooth speakers. You can stream audio to them from any device on your home wifi network.

So think of them not just as a pair of speakers, but as a feature-rich hifi system that doesn't take any more space than is required for two compact speakers.

They also look really good in person, better than the pictures.

None of this would matter if they didn't sound great. They do. REALLY great.

I've played many genres of music through them - acoustic jazz, orchestral music, classic rock, funk, and soul. The soundstage is wide, deep, and tall. You can hear individual instruments and voices. The sound is warm and rich and full, with surprisingly great bass for the size. The highs are crisp, the mids are very present and warm, like piano accompaniment to vocal music, and the bass is tight and clear, never muddied like in cheaper systems.

The speakers sound best when connected to each other with the included ethernet cable. But you have the option of connecting the speakers to each other via wifi, which gives you a lot more flexibility in how you can place them. When connected cordlessly, it's possible that interference between the two speakers will cause occasional brief dropouts in the sound in the secondary speaker (the primary speaker being the one you connect your sources to). According to the manual, you can minimize or eliminate the dropouts by experimenting with placement of the speakers. I didn't bother--in my use-cases, I am able to use the fairly long included cable to connect the two speakers, which gives the best possible sound quality.

For best sound, I recommend putting them (and most speakers) on stands. You don't have to buy the $350 stands that KEF makes for these speakers. Amazon or your local hifi shop sells perfectly good stands for $100 or less. For best sound, put the stands at least 1.5 feet from the back wall, and spread out the two speakers so that the distance between them is about the same as the distance from the listener to the speakers, like in a triangle.

Like with other KEF speakers I've owned, the LSX2's "sweet spot" is much bigger due to the "uni-Q" drivers - where the tweeter is situatuated in the middle of a larger speaker. So the listener does not need to be at one point of a perfect triangle with the speakers to get the best sound. Most everyone in the room will get nearly equally great sound regardless of where they're sitting.

One downside of these compared to other speaker systems I've used is the learning curve is a little steeper with these. With other speaker systems I've used, it typically takes 20-30 minutes max from opening the box to enjoying them and fully knowing how to use them. With the LSX's, it took longer. Even when I got them going, issues would come up (like I was hearing dropouts in one speaker even though they were connected with the included cable, turns out they were operating in cordless mode and ignoring the cable). And I had to jump around between different screens on the app and whatever source I was using (usually my macbook or my phone when setting them up), and it took a little while to learn where the various commands and settings were that I needed to adjust to get everything working the way I wanted.

Lastly, with ANY audiophile speakers including these, there is a break-in period. Out of the box, they will sound okay but not amazing. As you play them, they break in and the sound quality gets better. Within 5 hours, they will sound fantastic and it keeps getting better from there. Break-in is a very real thing for this kind of speaker. For the past 30 years, I've been into hi-fi and have bought a lot of different components. With good speakers, including other KEF speakers I've owned, they really need time before they sound their best. A good thing to do is to run them overnight (in a room that's far away from your bedrom). They don't need to be real loud. The next morning they will sound much better.

If you just want decent computer speakers, spend half as much money and get something nice.

But if you want a compact audiophile system with a ton of useful tech and GREAT sound, it's worth spending for the LSX2's if you can afford them.

5 people found this helpful

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Eric Stromquist

KEF LSX ii plus a KEF 10b subwoofer makes a really fantastic desktop music system

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2024

Color: Cobalt BlueStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

The LSX ii powered speakers are very crisp and precise but have minimal bass. The 10b subwoofer, which I just added, fixes this completely - in fact I can’t imagine a better system for a sit/stand desk. The KEF connect iOS app handles settings and has a great interface for multiple streaming services. Apple airplay also works very well casting the music collection from my Mac. WiFi interconnect works well but I recommend using the provided cable to connect the right to the left LSX. The standard (as opposed to expert) settings in the KEF app work well, as does following the app’s advice to set the volume on the 10b half way up (with the indicator pointing straight up) and also leaving the subwoofer volume in the KEF app at half way (5 out of 10). The one thing I changed was moving the speaker/subwoofer balance slider in the app almost all the way to subwoofer. Curiously, if you select KEF 10b as the subwoofer model, the app moves that slider all the way to the speaker end. If you then move the slider toward subwoofer, which is a good idea, the app changes the subwoofer model to custom. Go figure.

Again, this combination of powered speakers is a superb desk setup, but maybe not so much if you have neighbors through a wall.

2 people found this helpful

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Howard Davis

This Is More Like It

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2023

Color: Soundwave BeigeStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

When KEF introduced the original LSX I was glad to finally find a small speaker that filled a big void in a small room. While the sound was what I expected, it was not without flaws. The two biggest were the app used to run it and secondly that there was no USB C or HDMI input available. They are now included along with the 3.5 pin analogue and optical port. When connected via the provided ethernet cable 96/24 resolution is available.

Thankfully, KEF has corrected this oversight with the LSX II. Where the original speaker required you to open two separate applications, the version II has one more detailed and logical app. KEF has also added Amazon, Deezer & Qobuz along with Tidal and Spotify for streaming purposes. Air Play2, Chromecast, Spotify Tidal Connect are also available. If I have one complaint it is that the included apps are clunky and still a pain to navigate.

Set up is relatively easy. The speakers each have their own power cable. In addition there is an ethernet cable that when connected allows for hi-res reproduction. The application does allow for some sound equalization as well as adjustments for speaker placement.

As to the sound, it is everything I could ask for. Detailed, with exceptional imaging. It feels like you were there in the room when the songs were recorded.. There is depth as well to the sound. Detail is so good, I find myself looking up in surprise after hearing something new on recordings I have listened to for years. Treble and mids are crisp without being so bright to overwhelm the music. Although the bass is not robust it is balanced and for a speaker of such small size punchy. If you desire more a subwoofer output is available.

In summary, the KEF LSX II sound and versatility makes it one of the best purchases you can make if music means something more than just background noise.

11 people found this helpful

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BK

Awesome sound, horrible USB-C connectivity

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2023

Color: Carbon BlackStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

I purchased these as a (substantial!) upgrade to my Vanatoo T0+s. They sound great to my ears. I have them on a desktop with the desktop stands (also from KEF). In a direct comparison with the T0+s, the LSX IIs sound fuller, richer, and more detailed. The LSX IIs also have substantially better bass than the T0+s. However, I highly recommend a subwoofer to get the most out of either set of speakers. I have the LSX IIs paired with a SVS SB 1000 Pro and I am incredibly happy with this pairing.

My major complaint is how janky the USB-C connection seems (especially for a $1k+ product). The USB connection with the T0+s is vastly superior and works exactly as one would want. Meanwhile, the USB-C connection with the LSX IIs is a huge headache. These are some of the issues I faced using Windows 10 after a week:
- Sometimes, the speakers cause any audio/video playback to freeze. I have to wait up to a minute to be able to play any audio/video.
- When changing the volume in Windows, the volume control will sometimes freeze, at which point I'm unable to change the volume in Windows for up to 10 seconds.
- And possibly worst of all, changing the volume in Windows only changes the volume of the speakers in huge increments (search this up, this is a common issue with the KEF LSX IIs when using the USB-C input). For example, changing the volume on Windows from 40-52ish does absolutely nothing, but going from 52 to 53 results in a huge jump in volume. It feels like there are about 7-9 increments at which this happens, and the increments are NOT EVENLY SPACED!!! Going from 72 all the way to the 90s does not change the volume at all...

I decided I liked the sound and aesthetic of the LSX II to try and find a solution to this issue. On Reddit, some users suggested getting a Douk Audio U2 and connecting to the LSX II's optical input. I spent another 60$ getting the Douk Audio U2 and this has solved the issues I've had with connectivity. Now, changing the volume is smooth and I don't have any more freezes/hangs caused by the LSX IIs.

If you plan on streaming to the speakers, perhaps this will not be an issue. However, if you are planning to connect this directly to a PC, be prepared to either deal with these annoying connectivity issues or spend some extra money on a Douk Audio U2 and a TOSLINK cable.

10 people found this helpful

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Huey

Make music enjoyable again

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2023

Color: Olive GreenStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

After testing a handful of soundbars, I can't recommend powered bookshelf speakers enough. You simply can't replicate what a larger driver and a properly ported unit can do for sound. I tried the Klipsch 5s recently and those definitely set the bar for me in terms of clarity and soundstage. Once I added a sub, the 5s just had a hard time with the low-pass crossover and the mid-low range was somewhat muddy, even after trying to tune the EQ. These just went on sale so I switched the 5s for the KEF LSX IIs and I would say they're worth the price.

KEF app is better than the Klipsch app. More features, better integration. I do miss having volume and input selection on the speaker itself, but I guess the smarter app control is worth the trade off.

Sound quality/clarity is up there with the Klipsch 5s, if not better. The sweet spot for listening is wider than the Klipsch, the sound is warmer, and the subwoofer integration is more precise. High and mids are clear and the sub takes care of the rest. These are also a lot smaller too.

My previous soundbar was a 2.1 setup. WIth high end soundbars I would have had to get stands for the surround and change my entertainment cabinet.. pretty much re-do my setup. These small speakers fit right in next to the TV on the top of the cabinet. Atmos and surround sound would have been more expensive given my current electronics, and what I would need to upgrade to output Atmos correctly. But I'm content with this 2.1 setup and should last me awhile.

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RickinSD

good sounding speakers, but too much stuff i don't need

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2023

Color: Carbon BlackStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

i recently bought a lenovo legion pro 5i laptop and was looking for speakers to hook up to it using the USB/Thunderbolt 4 port. Bought a pair of KEF Q905 speakers last prime day - i like them and liked what i read about the KEF LSX II speakers, so i ordered them this prime day and eagerly waited 2 weeks for them to arrive.

When i opened the box i saw 2 power cords, so checked the speakers and saw that each needed to be plugged in. This was not going to work for me without rearranging my set up. Was surprised that in all the reviews that i read, no one mentioned needing to plug in both speakers - i mistakenly assumed the cord connecting the speakers also would power the secondary speaker. but, in retrospect, can see the problem with that idea for wireless speakers.

nevertheless, i did some rearranging to test out the speakers. took about 20-25 minutes from unboxing to get them running. not quite intuitive set up, and had a couple stumbles, but finally got sound playing. they didn't sound too good initially, but after about 20 mins sounded better and sounded pretty good after about an hour or two.

i knew when i bought these that they were "wireless" speakers, which refers to the Bluetooth connection between the speakers. but i had intended to use the wired connection bc i figured they would sound better. A quick comparison seemed to confirm a little bit better sound wired vs. wireless, but i'm not sure i should be able to hear a difference given the published resolution specs.

i've been struggling with whether to keep these speakers - they sound good, but just do so much stuff that i will never use, primarily the wireless speaker connection. More to this point, i suspect it's the wireless aspect that requires the secondary speaker to be separately plugged in, and that, for me, is the real problem. and looking back at the description of the speakers, it mentions that 2 power cords are in the box, but i didn't see that at the time i ordered them. my bad.

bottom line, it's a cost-benefit analysis and the good sound doesn't overcome the cost for all the things i won't use. but i would buy an alternative version of this speakers that didn't have the wireless feature, and if it used a speaker connection cord that also powers the secondary speaker so a second power cord wasn't needed. and if kef's listening, would be nice if the connection cord was at least 4 meters, instead of 3 m. kef has a link the user manual for a longer connection wire, but the link doesn't take you to the product and a search of the kef website didn't find it.

i appreciate the return policy, and wish i didn't have to return them, but just can't justify the cost for so much that i won't use. but if you're looking for wireless speakers, these won't disappoint.

12 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Enjoying them so far

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2022

Color: Carbon BlackStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

Ive had them for about two weeks and I am quite pleased. They are amazing for almost every genre. sound like absolute butter when it comes to timbre and tonality when listening to rock/soul/R&B/disco, and provide really great imaging/sepparation/stage. Almost to an amazing extent at times given the small footprint.
Despite having somewhat of an enjoyable and laidback quality they can be quite revealing, so if you have a lot of low bitrate music in your library, or listen to genres where its common to find a lot of poorly recorded or mastered tracks, theyre not gonna sound any better. e.g. I have some metal tracks that were probably recorded in a garage and some edm tracks that probably got mixed using laptop speakers in 2007, and it shows.

As far as movies go, I would certainly consider them a soundbar replacement. They absolutely can do the job compared to what is on the market for 200-500 bucks, but theyre not going to do as good of a job compared to soundbars that cost the same as these KEFs. I have a similarly priced bar on one of my TVs. I think its either 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 channels with detachable satellite speakers and licensed for all of the latest 3D formats like Atmos etc. That bar certainly provides a better movie watching experience; however, that thing sound terrible when listening to music, and its not suitable for a desktop setup by any means. It all depends on your use case.

Speaking of desks, I use them on my computer table and the new app provides a lot of benefit when it comes to adjusting the DSP for room correction. There are not a lot of speakers that can claim to sound good when placed on a desk/6 inches from a wall. These can.

They look really great too. I was worried that the tweeter and tweeter cover/guide as going to look a bit like cheap gold plastic, but that is certainly not the case. You can tell they are aluminum at just a glance. I got the black ones and overall they look pretty good but there have been a few times where I wish I was a bit bolder and went with the blue.

20 people found this helpful

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Ho Hum

Not that great - full comparison with other speakers within the same price range

Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2023

Color: Soundwave BeigeStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

I'll keep this simple. I bought the KEF LSX II because of the sale price, where I managed to snag a brand new pair for $800 plus tax. I bought them directly on Amazon, not a third party seller.

In my main system I run audiophile reference grade Lampizator Pacific to Pathos Synapse/Pathos Adrenalin monoblocks to Dali Epicon 2 speakers.

In my desktop office setup, I have a Audio Mirror Toubadour V running through Townshend Allegri pre paired with either of 1. Gold Note PA1175 MKII Amp, 2. Sophia Electric 300B SET Monoblock amps, or Valvet A4 MKII Monoblocks. Speakers are Audience Clairaudient 1+1 v5.

Throughout the rest of my house speakers are Sonos Ones, Sonos Fives a Sonos beam and a Sonos Arc. The outdoor speakers in the backyard are fed through a Sonos Amp.

I either run songs on Roon or Sonos.

I bought the KEF LSX II's to power a gym room TV primarily when I'm using the TV for Apple Fitness workouts, Fightcamp, or watching a show while I lift weights. My partner prefers to have music on while working out.

I hooked the LSX IIs to the TV through HDMI, and connected an SVS sealed subwoofer (forgot the model, but it's the cheapest model they have). The two speakers are connected with an ethernet cable. Set up the KEF LSX IIs as a roon endpoint as well.

I have had these for several months now and made sure to fully break them in. Approximate use is about 120 hours.

In one simple phrase - these speakers are not great at all. After breaking in, I swapped the KEF for the Sonos Beam from one of the guest rooms. The Sonos Beam was better. I swapped the Arc. The ARC was miles better in every way.

I'm not bothering to compare these with the reference systems or my desktop systems, because it's not an apples to apples comparison. I bought the LSX IIs to be connected to a TV in the gym (the TV is a 2021 LG Oled 55 inch model). I spent the equivalent of what I would have spent on a Sonos Arc to get vastly inferior sound quality. This applies to both the TV output, and using KEF as a roon endpoint.

If you have a different use scenario, such as a pair desktop speakers for a small space, this may work for you as the Sonos speakers don't really connect directly to PC/Mac. Even then, save some money and get the Vanatoo Zeros. My secretary has those at her desk and I swapped in the LSX II's, which were marginally better, but not significantly better. If you can afford it, get the Audience Clairaudient 1+1 for your desktop setup and that will be endgame. May find some used models on Audiogon or USAM.

I intend to gift these LSX II's to my nephew and replace it with a Sonos Beam for my gym setup.

6 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Perfect

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024

Color: Soundwave BeigeStyle: Speaker SystemPattern: SPEAKERSVerified Purchase

Bigger better louder than I hoped. Just don’t get the generic stands. Wish I got the KEF ones

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