KEF LSX II Black

they call it "speaker" and the "sound" is actually better than anything I've ever experienced :-) I hear things, also in well-known recordings, that I have never noticed before. And, yes, that means that I sometimes experience less pleasure. But that's okay.

I mainly use these active speakers for near field (< 1.5 m) listening. They act as displays for my PC. I have also tried them as mid field (1.5 - 3 m) with and without a subwoofer. With a subwoofer, this system can easily function as a full-fledged HiFi system. For far field (> 3m) they are still somewhat inadequate, even though a subwoofer still makes the whole sound decent. The cause of this lies in the small mid/woofer of the KEF LSX II and the relatively small amplifiers for that frequency range; they have to work quite hard to achieve a decent sound pressure at far field distances. The Subwoofer can relieve the KEF's amplifiers by setting the threshold of the High Pass Filter to 80 HZ in the KEF Connect app; This protects the amplifiers and their mid-bass drivers of the KEF because the amplifier and the drivers of the subwoofer take over the lower frequencies. But again I use the KEF LSX II for near field listening. Although the constructions have rubber pads glued to the bottom with flat rubber feet, I still placed them on Isoacoustics - Mini Pucks, which benefits the mid and high tonal range.

These speakers produce beautiful sound at any volume. The stereo image is stunning. I love listening to and experiencing music, series, or movies with this set.

That said, there are also some drawbacks that prospective buyers might want to consider:

Privacy: It's bizarre that we've come to accept that manufacturers can force you to create an account so they can collect data on all their customers. KEF also requires you to opt in to privacy when installing the app. You have to, otherwise you can't connect the speakers to Wi-Fi or update the firmware.

Android users get less: (version 1.24.2)

I understood from reviewers (using iOS) that the acoustic guitar notes you hear when you turn them on can be turned off. They're beautiful notes, but after 25 times, you no longer need them. Apparently, you can turn them off in iOS (Apple), but not in Android. The speakers automatically go into standby mode after a while because you have to turn them back on with the remote and wait 10 seconds for that guitar to finish playing. I'd like to extend that timer a bit. It's not possible. At least, not on Android.

Why don't you make the same app for both platforms, KEF?

Switching sources:

If you first listen to something via USB-C and then want to listen via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optical, or HDMI, you have to grab the remote and cycle through all the options. The indicator LED shows which source is selected. It's important to remember which color corresponds to which color. It would have been easier if KEF had offered the option to automatically switch between sources.

Conclusion: You'd hope you wouldn't have to sacrifice your privacy, that you'd gain more user-friendliness, and that iOS and Android users—who pay the same—would get the same product. The disadvantages mentioned are technically completely unnecessary, but they do come at a price. KEF is a jerk that makes great-sounding speakers, it turns out.