How does it sound ? - Kef LS60 W

[staticV3]

LS60 Wireless spins: https://pierreaubert.github.io/spinorama/speakers/KEF LS60 Wireless/KEF/index_vendor.html

 

[Tangband]

LS60 Wireless spins: https://pierreaubert.github.io/spinorama/speakers/KEF LS60 Wireless/KEF/index_vendor.html

Is this data from Kef , or has he measured himself ?

 

[staticV3]

Is this data from Kef , or has he measured himself ?

 

[sifi36]

The KEF spinoramas, whilst better than nothing, seem to disagree somewhat with what’s measured independently. They consistently show more unevenness in the low to mid treble, and a slight downward tilt. Examples of this can be seen on the same website for the Reference 1 Meta as measured by Erin on the Klippel versus the KEF data. Another example is the LS50 Meta as measured by @napilopez here. An independent Klippel test is required.

 

[Danaxus]

Do the spinoramas have much meaning in an active speaker like this, with custom settings? Won't they drastically differ from each other depending on what software configuration you've set up?

 

[sifi36]

Do the spinoramas have much meaning in an active speaker like this, with custom settings? Won't they drastically differ from each other depending on what software configuration you've set up?

The DSP correction available through the app is limited to three discrete levels of bass extension, +/-3dB of treble trim and “wall mode” - SBIR compensation for close placement to a rear wall. As such, the baseline response of the speaker is pretty important as there perhaps isn’t the same level of flexibility as there might be with a Genelec with GLM or the Dutch & Dutch 8c. Erin measured the impact of the DSP settings on LS50 Wireless II, which is on the same software platform.

Kef LS50 Wireless II Speaker Review

Kef LS50 Wireless II Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

 

[Recluse-Animator]

Comparing two different speakers in two different rooms is useless.
Comparing two different speakers in the same room weeks or months between is probably also useless.
Comparing two different speakers in the same room back to back is useful.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Comparing two different speakers in the same room back to back is useful.

Even better if they are facing the same way.

 

[Recluse-Animator]

Even better if they are facing the same way.

Not if they're omnidirectional.

 

[Soundstage]

This is a thread were you can discuss listening impressions about the new Kef ls 60 loudspeaker . This is because the sound of a loudspeaker only can be judged about 70 % with spinorama measurements . 30% of the sound is subjective and a matter of opinion with real listening sessions .

How does Kef ls60 W sound ?
How does the sound compare to other 7000 dollar loudspeakers ?

Im starting with my own listening impression .
————-

Today I had the oportunity to listen to Kef ls60 again in another store. Soundsource were TIDAL and Apple lossless.

Listening impressions that stands out :

1. Integration to each speakers 4 subwoofers is perfectly done with no audible problem heard . Integrating a standmount speaker to a subwoofer gonna have bigger problems in most cases .

2. The stereoimage L/R is really good .

3. The bass is NOT super deep , but it plays down to about 30 Hz .

4. The sound in the midrange sounded this time a little more analytical compared to my Genelec 8340 ( but listening impression were in a different room ) .

5. Again - these floorstanders are visually stunning and feels smaller in real life .
View attachment 229825

Did you try the extended bass setting?

 

[Tangband]

Did you try the extended bass setting?

No I didnt change any settings

 

[BigFKahuna]

This is a thread were you can discuss listening impressions about the new Kef ls 60 loudspeaker . This is because the sound of a loudspeaker only can be judged about 70 % with spinorama measurements . 30% of the sound is subjective and a matter of opinion with real listening sessions .

How does Kef ls60 W sound ?
How does the sound compare to other 7000 dollar loudspeakers ?

Im starting with my own listening impression .
————-

Today I had the oportunity to listen to Kef ls60 again in another store. Soundsource were TIDAL and Apple lossless.

Listening impressions that stands out :

1. Integration to each speakers 4 subwoofers is perfectly done with no audible problem heard . Integrating a standmount speaker to a subwoofer gonna have bigger problems in most cases .

2. The stereoimage L/R is really good .

3. The bass is NOT super deep , but it plays down to about 30 Hz .

4. The sound in the midrange sounded this time a little more analytical compared to my Genelec 8340 ( but listening impression were in a different room ) .

5. Again - these floorstanders are visually stunning and feels smaller in real life .
View attachment 229825

These are certainly on my short list....I am intrigued with everyone's thoughts. However I would say, compared to a 7 grand sound system...not 7 grand speakers. They, to me, seems to be closer to a system than they are just speakers.

 

[Soundstage]

I took 1h30m today to audition the LS60. Contenders in the roon were the Kef Reference 3 and the Kef Ls50 II wireless plugged to the Kef Subwoofer.
There is no comparison possible between those passive speakers and the LS60. The LS60 disappears in the room. The music is not coming from the speakers and this is beautiful. The classics from Kind of Blue to Jennifer Warnes were played successfully.
On the bass reproduction test, there was no issue in playing Limit to your love with the LS60. Royals by Lorde or Not duh Yet were fully satisfactory.
Well done Kef!

 

[BigFKahuna]

For those with the LS60's and use a streaming service, do you stream through the KEF app or otherwise? I am wondering as to should I keep my New Bluesound Node or sell it with my KEF Q950/Cambridge kit?

 

[Vacceo]

For those with the LS60's and use a streaming service, do you stream through the KEF app or otherwise? I am wondering as to should I keep my New Bluesound Node or sell it with my KEF Q950/Cambridge kit?

I have used the TV, a PC and the speakers themselves (LS50 WII) and I have noticed no difference in sound.

Try what you have at hand, measure for better testing if you need to, but personally, I'd sell the extra gear.

 

[Tangband]

I took 1h30m today to audition the LS60. Contenders in the roon were the Kef Reference 3 and the Kef Ls50 II wireless plugged to the Kef Subwoofer.
There is no comparison possible between those passive speakers and the LS60. The LS60 disappears in the room. The music is not coming from the speakers and this is beautiful. The classics from Kind of Blue to Jennifer Warnes were played successfully.
On the bass reproduction test, there was no issue in playing Limit to your love with the LS60. Royals by Lorde or Not duh Yet were fully satisfactory.
Well done Kef!

Really interesting . The Kef ls50W II sound really good , much better than the passive ls50 but still have the construction dissadvantage to let a coaxial driver play fullrange .
The ls60 W is much less of a compromise- the uniQ driver is crossed at 350 Hz and that fact alone gives the coaxial driver optimal performance.

The 4 bass drivers playing in an omnipolar pattern makes the sound really natural from ls60, in my opinion.

What about the price - would you say the sound was better or worse , or maybe spot on for the price?

 

[Vacceo]

Kef reference 3 is a passive loudspeaker and ofcourse its worse sounding because of that . The Kef ls50W II sound really good , much better than the passive ls50 but still have the construction dissadvantage to let a coaxial driver play fullrange .
The ls60 W is much less of a compromise- the uniQ driver is crossed at 350 Hz and that fact alone give the coaxial driver optimal performance.

The 4 bass drivers playing in an omnipolar pattern makes the sound really natural.

Add a subwoofer on any of the two systems to counter the shortcomings and... Magic! Less in the 60 than the 50, but still, easy to do.

 

[Soundstage]

Really interesting . The Kef ls50W II sound really good , much better than the passive ls50 but still have the construction dissadvantage to let a coaxial driver play fullrange .
The ls60 W is much less of a compromise- the uniQ driver is crossed at 350 Hz and that fact alone gives the coaxial driver optimal performance.

The 4 bass drivers playing in an omnipolar pattern makes the sound really natural from ls60, in my opinion.

What about the price - would you say the sound was better or worse , or maybe spot on for the price?

Add a subwoofer on any of the two systems to counter the shortcomings and... Magic! Less in the 60 than the 50, but still, easy to do.

I haven't seen any in-room measurements of the LS60 so far to see how deep and clean its bass is when considering the room bass gain.
The sub option is tempting but makes the LS60 + sub at an even higher price. The challenge with the subwoofer is the integration which is not easy even with the KC62 sub. With the LS60, all the woofers play nicely together, being time aligned and producing an excellent impulse response.
I hope Kef will go further on the Genelec route of the active speakers and produce a GLM measurement kit to integrate the sub etc.
My wife likes the look of the LS60 compared to many other speakers (think Revel/Genelec etc.), so this speaker can go in the living room. I also believe that the wireless connection nature means that the slave speaker is easier to move. In my situation, the TV couch set is orthogonal to the dining + kitchen orientation (90 degrees), so I could move the slave from the couch listening area to the rest of the room position without messing with cables etc.

 

[Vacceo]

The great thing about the app is how easy it is to get a good starting point with the KC or KS subwoofer (the default high and low pass plus the adjusted su polarity). Sure, you'd still have to go for a bit of old fashion subwoofer crawl and other heuristics, but the baseline is, at least, easy.

On the correction, I agree entirely. We had some cryptic posts about Dirac integration in this thread, but some sort of room EQ would be excellent.

 

[Butter]

I haven't seen any in-room measurements of the LS60 so far to see how deep and clean its bass is when considering the room bass gain.
The sub option is tempting but makes the LS60 + sub at an even higher price. The challenge with the subwoofer is the integration which is not easy even with the KC62 sub. With the LS60, all the woofers play nicely together, being time aligned and producing an excellent impulse response.
I hope Kef will go further on the Genelec route of the active speakers and produce a GLM measurement kit to integrate the sub etc.
My wife likes the look of the LS60 compared to many other speakers (think Revel/Genelec etc.), so this speaker can go in the living room. I also believe that the wireless connection nature means that the slave speaker is easier to move. In my situation, the TV couch set is orthogonal to the dining + kitchen orientation (90 degrees), so I could move the slave from the couch listening area to the rest of the room position without messing with cables etc.

Bass was good in my room, with only issue at lower mid-bass, room vs listening positions (near sidewalls) I suspect. There are some FR posts in the Announcement thread.