KEF LS60 Wireless Just Announced

[terryforsythe]

found a used pair of LS 60s for about $2.5 K.

If they are in good condition and the color you like, I would jump on that deal. Now they are listed for $6k on KEF's website.

 

[terryforsythe]

If the Revel's are heads and tails better than the KEF's

I don't think they are from the data I have seen. That's where personal preference may come in.

 

[drdansil]

I think any opinions you get will be biased. You should hear them in person. If that is not possible, evaluate their differences.

I own the LS60's and I have not heard the f228BE's. Here is why I chose the LS60s (which does not necessarily mean that you should):

1. The LS60's are all active.

- This provides the advantage of not needing separate components.
- There are no passive crossovers. The woofers are directly connected to their own amplifier in each speaker, minimizing the damping factor. This provides very tight bass.

2. The LS60's use a concentric midrange/tweeter driver. This provides better vertical dispersion characteristics - the tone does not change much when your ears are off axis.

3. Each LS60 has four 130mm (5.25") woofers, each with 6.5mm peak excursion. Together, four 130mm woofers have about 40% greater piston surface area than two 8" woofers. But, the 8" woofers probably have more excursion. I don't know what is their excursion, but it probably is a wash.

4. The LS60's extend a bit lower in frequency; 26 Hz vs 33 Hz @ -6dB.

5. The LS60's are very narrow, which worked out well for where I wanted to place them.

Here is the SPINorama comparison:

Easily compare loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org

Wow, that is a cool graph. I didn't know you could pull up a comparison like that. Thanks for the comparison.

 

[drdansil]

If they are in good condition and the color you like, I would jump on that deal. Now they are listed for $6k on KEF's website.

The KEF's are banged up a bit. Bunch of cosmetic damage. Not sure what I'll do about the cosmetics. They sell a speaker sock of $100/pair. It would be quick and easy until I get around to refinishing the damaged areas. I'm told the speakers work as they should. Returns are permitted but I would have to pay shipping.

 

[Laserjock]

The KEF's are banged up a bit. Bunch of cosmetic damage. Not sure what I'll do about the cosmetics. They sell a speaker sock of $100/pair. It would be quick and easy until I get around to refinishing the damaged areas. I'm told the speakers work as they should. Returns are permitted but I would have to pay shipping.

Run away. It’ll never be the same and if the outside is abused, the internals would probably be hard to get repaired ?

 

[terryforsythe]

It would be quick and easy until I get around to refinishing the damaged areas.

Paint color matching technology is very good these days. After you get the dings fixed, you probably could remove the trim rings around the drivers, cover the drivers, etc. with painter's tape, and get them re-sprayed by an automotive painter or cabinet shop with a spray booth.

 

[terryforsythe]

I'm told the speakers work as they should. Returns are permitted but I would have to pay shipping.

Shipping will not be cheap. I would ask for some type of proof that they do indeed work as they should. REW is free and a microphone is around $100. Ask them to perform a frequency response sweep of each speaker and send you the results. If they cannot provide proof that they work properly, try to get them to cover return shipping if they don't.

 

[ban25]

The KEF's are banged up a bit. Bunch of cosmetic damage. Not sure what I'll do about the cosmetics. They sell a speaker sock of $100/pair. It would be quick and easy until I get around to refinishing the damaged areas. I'm told the speakers work as they should. Returns are permitted but I would have to pay shipping.

One of the problems with active speakers like the LS60s is that they are a media player and amp(s) encased in a speaker. KEF actives are far from bulletproof in terms of reliability, especially the LS50W and LSX. KEF's warranty is not transferable in the case of second-sale. Given how beat up they seem to be, you may well be paying quite a premium for someone else's garbage.

Have a look here to see what you are getting into if you need to repair them yourself:

KEF LSX Teardown and Repair

A friend of mine gave me these speakers for repair if possible, or at least to understand what was happening. According to him, the speakers would operate for a couple of minutes, then the sound would fade away progressively to 0. After a few tries and a firmware update the speakers no longer...

www.audiosciencereview.com

And that's before considering the obsolescence of the electronics (all that RoHS lead-free solder waiting to crack), control apps going unsupported, HDMI standards changing, etc.

The Revels on the other hand, will last decades.

 

[kemmler3D]

If they are significantly beat up there's a material chance the voice coils could have been knocked out of place. Casual listeners might not catch that and could say in good faith that they are working fine. I wouldn't buy without having the chance to run a sweep. At $2.5k they are a no brainer... If they're working right.

 

[Mnyb]

One of the problems with active speakers like the LS60s is that they are a media player and amp(s) encased in a speaker. KEF actives are far from bulletproof in terms of reliability, especially the LS50W and LSX. KEF's warranty is not transferable in the case of second-sale. Given how beat up they seem to be, you may well be paying quite a premium for someone else's garbage.

Have a look here to see what you are getting into if you need to repair them yourself:

KEF LSX Teardown and Repair

A friend of mine gave me these speakers for repair if possible, or at least to understand what was happening. According to him, the speakers would operate for a couple of minutes, then the sound would fade away progressively to 0. After a few tries and a firmware update the speakers no longer...

www.audiosciencereview.com

And that's before considering the obsolescence of the electronics (all that RoHS lead-free solder waiting to crack), control apps going unsupported, HDMI standards changing, etc.

The Revels on the other hand, will last decades.

Owning both the LSXii and LS60 the LS60 seems to have cooling sorted and and diffrent electronics hmm we will see i took my chances... wonder what's the diff between LSX and LSXii

The included streaming app is a bitt of dud to begin with so you always use something else instead . You can use spotify or tidal directly i use ROON .
or a WiiM connected to the digital input, using LMS .

The digital and analog input saves them from obsolete streaming , you can always connect a streamer . However nothing saves them from obselete setup apps . There is a web-UI but very limited at the moment ( it could be expanded if Kef wants to ) .
KEF abandonded the original LS50 wireless it can not be used with the new app you must use the older app for those speakers so there that

Buying these used for a bargain price and bit banged upp ? No thanks

 

[Marc v E]

I'm all for second hand or demo speakers, but only if they are in pristine condition. If they're all banged up I would skip this deal.

 

[kyuu]

Hell, I would even spring for a scratch 'n dent deal, but your description of those LS60s makes it sound like they've been through some rough times. Could be a killer deal, assuming you can live with the cosmetic damage, or you could end up with some lemons. It's a risk.

 

[drdansil]

If they are significantly beat up there's a material chance the voice coils could have been knocked out of place. Casual listeners might not catch that and could say in good faith that they are working fine. I wouldn't buy without having the chance to run a sweep. At $2.5k they are a no brainer... If they're working right.

I've never done any sweep analysis on a speaker. Anyone have a link for a simple tutorial on how to test the speakers? I see lots of stuff online, but some of it goes over my head.

 

[kemmler3D]

I've never done any sweep analysis on a speaker. Anyone have a link for a simple tutorial on how to test the speakers? I see lots of stuff online, but some of it goes over my head.

The simplest way is just to play a sweep (using REW or a tone generator like this and listen to it carefully, live. Doing it manually with a tone generator is probably better for an ears-on test because you can go back and forth if you think you hear something.

Using this method you're looking for any weird sounds other than the tone. Clicking, buzzing, or easily audible distortion of any kind might be a sign of damage. Both speakers should behave the same for any of these tests.

Using REW you can put the mic close to the speaker, record a sweep, and look at the results. In that case you would be looking for big deviations in the frequency response (compared to KEFs graphs) or big increases in the distortion graph. Here's a tutorial on that:

For this purpose you can ignore the stuff about correction, but the process of setting up the mic and taking measurements will be the same.

 

[MattHooper]

Out of curiosity, does anybody have any idea how the LS60 has ended up selling?

Did the speaker turn out to be a hit or not?

 

[terryforsythe]

I suspect that initially, not well, because after they dropped the price from $7k to $5k for a sale back in Dec., 2023, they kept that price for over a year. That is when I bought mine. Coincidentally, the truck driver who delivered my LS60s had another pair on the truck out for delivery in my small town. I think a lot of people jumped on them when they went on sale.

They are now up to $6k, probably because of the tariffs.

 

[Mnyb]

KEF recently got picked up,by one of the larger HiFi chain stores ( hifi klubben ) in Sweden so I think KEF sales gone up.
This distributor only has the active KEF speakers.

Passive KEF are available at smaller specialist stores .

So this means that I can suddenly buy the LS60 locally and its well represented in many cities, this should means more sales ? And the price is still 60000kr

 

[drdansil]

If they are significantly beat up there's a material chance the voice coils could have been knocked out of place. Casual listeners might not catch that and could say in good faith that they are working fine. I wouldn't buy without having the chance to run a sweep. At $2.5k they are a no brainer... If they're working right.

After all the comment I decided against the KEF LS60's. The cost of shipping them back might have been prohibitive. The seller offered to film and record them with his phone, but the quality of the recording would have been inadequate to tell if the speaker had a subtle problem. The comments about the durability of the electronics in the speaker swayed me. I have a pair of Wharfedale E-fifty's from the 70's (I'm the original owner) and they still sound good, although I had to replace a woofer some years back. 50 years of longevity speaks highly of simple might be better.

The following morning I saw a pair of pristine Goldenear Triton Reference speakers for $2100 and I grabbed them. I love my Tritan 5's with an SVS sub so I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with the Reference model.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[WaveCollapser]

They are now up to $6k, probably because of the tariffs.

when I was demoing them in the London store a few months ago the guy told me KEF is going to increase the price soon. So I think it was a worldwide planned price increase

 

[Laserjock]

After all the comment I decided against the KEF LS60's. The cost of shipping them back might have been prohibitive. The seller offered to film and record them with his phone, but the quality of the recording would have been inadequate to tell if the speaker had a subtle problem. The comments about the durability of the electronics in the speaker swayed me. I have a pair of Wharfedale E-fifty's from the 70's (I'm the original owner) and they still sound good, although I had to replace a woofer some years back. 50 years of longevity speaks highly of simple might be better.

The following morning I saw a pair of pristine Goldenear Triton Reference speakers for $2100 and I grabbed them. I love my Tritan 5's with an SVS sub so I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with the Reference model.

Thanks for all the input.

Your 5s

SoundStageNetwork.com | SoundStage.com - NRC Measurements: GoldenEar Technology Triton Five Loudspeakers

www.soundstagenetwork.com

Your new Ref

SoundStageNetwork.com | SoundStage.com - NRC Measurements: GoldenEar Technology Triton Reference Loudspeakers

www.soundstagenetwork.com