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KEF LS60 Wireless Just Announced

Daka

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That doesn't sound good. Where is the crossover to the woofers and any idea how loud it's supposed to be able to play?

I'm starting to think my rig with two SB 2000s crossed over at 140 Hz will outperform it.
Quite the opposite- it will have wider dispersion, hence wider soundstage
 

killdozzer

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Now, let us imagine a bookshelf LS60 - slightly bigger box than ls50 with a single kc62 driver on each side... If for no other reason, then to beat Kii... ;)
artworks-bC1bGVxqhE1QIuSD-Md8v7g-t500x500.jpg
 

harkpabst

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Why couldn't they just use the LS50 driver
In LS60, it's driver looks tiny
LS50 needs a LF/MF driver, LS60 Wireless needs a pure midrange driver. Different requirements, different solutions to fulfill them. The whole point of LS60 Wireless is to get them as thin as possible. So, Uni-Core and the smallest thinkable Uni-Q were chosen.
 

NYfan2

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if you had the money, just a semi-OT question, would you take a pair of used blade or those? the used blade could cost 12k+
Go for the blades, no doubt about that.
I'm one of the lucky people who already heard the LS60 and the new blade 1 Meta and it's no comparison.
The LS60 are really good but not in the same league as the Blade series.
Ofcourse it will cost you at least double the money (used Blade 1 or 2 with a Purifi based amp)
 

NYfan2

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That doesn't sound good. Where is the crossover to the woofers and any idea how loud it's supposed to be able to play?

I'm starting to think my rig with two SB 2000s crossed over at 140 Hz will outperform it.
I have been told (by KEF) that max SPL is 114dB, I've seen some others mention that it is 111dB. Ofcourse this is not for the lowest bass (26Hz).
All I know is that these loudspeakers go crazy loud for such a small speaker. (not speculation, I heard them)

You cannot cross the LS50 at 390 Hz like Kef does in the LS60 so your distortion will probably be a lot higher between 390 and 140 Hz. Also the design with the 4 woofers on the side and the uni-q driver in the middle in the front is done to create a point source for the whole sound spectrum.
That is also not possible to accomplish with 2 separate subwoofers crossed at 140Hz.
 

Absolute

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One-year warranty for the electronics? That's outrageous. In Norway we consumers are protected by law, 5 years warranty for all things meant to last, but even so there's likely to be a huge hassle to fix these if something goes wrong. Will they sell you a new electronics module or do you have to send the speakers back to England for repair?

How long will they support repairs? What will it cost? How long will they update software so you have access to the different apps? (Samsung fresh in mind here).

After the horror of real hassle when my Kiis died, until manufacturers of closed active systems can give guarantees on such things, I will never again go that route. Even though I was saved by tremendous support by Kii and their local dealer, it put the fear of God in me of what might occur if it had happened outside of warranty or when the new, shiny product line had come out.

For pure performance I'd have zero issues with buying ls60, but as a closed-system techno-fest with unknown life-span of both reliability and support I get chills just thinking about buying them.
 

KMO

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I have been told (by KEF) that max SPL is 114dB, I've seen some others mention that it is 111dB. Ofcourse this is not for the lowest bass (26Hz).
All I know is that these loudspeakers go crazy loud for such a small speaker. (not speculation, I heard them)
The published specs say maximum 111dB at 1 metre.

Bass limiting looks like this:

1652615107903.png


One-year warranty for the electronics? That's outrageous.
And also an urban myth as far as I can see. Two years according to KEF's web site.

Other than that, largely agree with the rest of your sentiments.
 

Zvu

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Go for the blades, no doubt about that.
I'm one of the lucky people who already heard the LS60 and the new blade 1 Meta and it's no comparison.
The LS60 are really good but not in the same league as the Blade series.
Ofcourse it will cost you at least double the money (used Blade 1 or 2 with a Purifi based amp)

I guess that they can not work the same in the same room. Blade is suited for large rooms, in my opinion.

What were subjective differences between the two ?

Measurements wise, they are more alike than not.
 

Ciobi69

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Go for the blades, no doubt about that.
I'm one of the lucky people who already heard the LS60 and the new blade 1 Meta and it's no comparison.
The LS60 are really good but not in the same league as the Blade series.
Ofcourse it will cost you at least double the money (used Blade 1 or 2 with a Purifi based amp)
i hope to find them used, they are a dream for me! thanks for your subjective opinion,thats true, you are one of the lucky ones that heard them booth, as i saw from the measurements, they are almost perfect data wise, and they are a beatiful piece of art imo..
 

pablolie

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It's not the way "totally not true" works though. :cool:
Apologies for my tone. I didn't mean for it to sound as strong. One glass of wine too many on a Saturday night... :p

We often tend to make slightly exaggerated and categorical statements to drive our point home in these hobby forums... and I'll openly admit when I do so...
 

pablolie

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LS50 needs a LF/MF driver, LS60 Wireless needs a pure midrange driver. Different requirements, different solutions to fulfill them. The whole point of LS60 Wireless is to get them as thin as possible. So, Uni-Core and the smallest thinkable Uni-Q were chosen.
Many of us deploy the LS50 with one or two subs. The former if the xover is at 80Hz or below, the latter if above. Even though no one seems to measure excellent bookshelf speakers that way, experience seems to show it truly beings the best out of them. In the LS50, that means that true LF duties are outsourced to the sub and hence the MF can focus on what it does best.

To me the question is how much better the LS60 are compared to such a setup. There are benefits and drawbacks to full-range boxes. I know many here say they'd use a sub with an LS60, but to me that would defeat their purpose.
 

Vacceo

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One-year warranty for the electronics? That's outrageous. In Norway we consumers are protected by law, 5 years warranty for all things meant to last, but even so there's likely to be a huge hassle to fix these if something goes wrong. Will they sell you a new electronics module or do you have to send the speakers back to England for repair?

How long will they support repairs? What will it cost? How long will they update software so you have access to the different apps? (Samsung fresh in mind here).

After the horror of real hassle when my Kiis died, until manufacturers of closed active systems can give guarantees on such things, I will never again go that route. Even though I was saved by tremendous support by Kii and their local dealer, it put the fear of God in me of what might occur if it had happened outside of warranty or when the new, shiny product line had come out.

For pure performance I'd have zero issues with buying ls60, but as a closed-system techno-fest with unknown life-span of both reliability and support I get chills just thinking about buying them.
Kef seems to be refreshing products starting with their LS50 line and actives, probably because those sell quite well.

The Blade and Reference refresh is a matter of prestige, as those are the very best lines they produce.

My guess is that next, is going to be the LSX refresh and then, the interesting part will arrive with the R and Q refreshes. And that's where, like you, I'll start thinking about upgrading my speakers...
 

phoenixdogfan

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Done 7.2.4 in a small room and they work wonders with two subs!

Many of us deploy the LS50 with one or two subs. The former if the xover is at 80Hz or below, the latter if above. Even though no one seems to measure excellent bookshelf speakers that way, experience seems to show it truly beings the best out of them. In the LS50, that means that true LF duties are outsourced to the sub and hence the MF can focus on what it does best.

To me the question is how much better the LS60 are compared to such a setup. There are benefits and drawbacks to full-range boxes. I know many here say they'd use a sub with an LS60, but to me that would defeat their purpose.
The published specs say maximum 111dB at 1 metre.

Bass limiting looks like this:

View attachment 206778


And also an urban myth as far as I can see. Two years according to KEF's web site.

Other than that, largely agree with the rest of your sentiments.
The bass limiting tells me you'd need at least one SB 3000 to play loud and possibly two to really play loud. BTW, they are $7000 USD, not $6000 which is putting them into an area where they bear comparison with the Reference 1 Metas.
 

MCH

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General question regarding Kef wireless.

The speakers have spdif and line in. If in the future kef stops supporting the app, can't one just plug a spdif source and play from there? Would you still need a working app? Don't they come with a remote control for at least volume and source switching? Or without an app and wifi they become a brick?
 
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