KEF LS60 Wireless Just Announced

[ahofer]

This seems to be a common opinion amongst manufacturers big enough to have a marketing department, that their users are idiots not to be trusted, it's really annoying.

Harbeth clearly have the same idea. But it's not just that they are idiots. Shaw thinks it can be difficult for non-Shaws not to make the speakers sound worse....

 

[Purité Audio]

This seems to be a common opinion amongst manufacturers big enough to have a marketing department, that their users are idiots not to be trusted, it's really annoying.

Once upon a time I sent a Kii/BXT set to Skye, it cost a fortune, the customer said that the Kii’s had given him an instant headache, when I reinstalled the speakers and looked at the filter options the bass ( and most of the midrange ) had literally been turned off!
The Kii distributor doesn’t even mention the Kiis PEQ capability to the majority of his dealers!
Keith

 

[Soniclife]

ugh yeah. ideally they would just incorporate a room correction algorithm. Dirac or SONOS type thing that uses your cellphone mic. in mind not really any all in one streaming solution without that if you have to use an AVR or minidsp, etc. box

I'd be really happy with just 5 PEQs, relatively simple to add to an app front end, should be supported by their hardware, and probably gets you over the 80 / 20 threshold for most users. Leave the full blown correction to specialist providers.

 

[Soniclife]

Once upon a time I sent a Kii/BXT set to Skye, it cost a fortune, the customer said that the Kii’s had given him an instant headache, when I reinstalled the speakers and looked at the filter options the bass ( and most of the midrange ) had literally been turned off!
The Kii distributor doesn’t even mention the Kiis PEQ capability to the majority of his dealers!
Keith

You've got to wonder how they did that without knowing they did it, you have to dig into the kii menus to do it, and it involves lots of buttons and knob twiddling, not like just knocking a graphic equaliser by accident.

 

[Purité Audio]

I imagine it’s the same idea as giving a thousand monkeys a type writer but in reverse.
Keith

 

[Emlin]

I imagine it’s the same idea as giving a thousand monkeys a type writer but in reverse.
Keith

I don't think that a typewriter would know what to do with a thousand monkeys.

 

[lewdish]

I saw a model at a BestBuy last week, the cabinet is insanely dense and rock solid. They're really small in person but for such a small slim speaker they're really heavy. Didn't get a chance to hear them since they werent plugged in though. Im curious what they're made of, doesnt feel like typical Speaker MDF/HDF

 

[KMO]

I think they're MDF. Although only reference to material I could find was a Stereophile review saying that. White paper and specs seem to fail to mention it.

Probably very well braced, and probably with the "constrained layer damping" (squishy tape) between the braces and the walls, making them very solid, like the LS50s.

 

[AOR]

I saw a model at a BestBuy last week, the cabinet is insanely dense and rock solid. They're really small in person but for such a small slim speaker they're really heavy. Didn't get a chance to hear them since they werent plugged in though. Im curious what they're made of, doesnt feel like typical Speaker MDF/HDF

Cabinet is MDF, but the base/plinth is metal.

 

[Purité Audio]

I believe the enclosures are a type of resin, I will check with KEF.
Keith

 

[BigFKahuna]

I saw a model at a BestBuy last week, the cabinet is insanely dense and rock solid. They're really small in person but for such a small slim speaker they're really heavy. Didn't get a chance to hear them since they werent plugged in though. Im curious what they're made of, doesnt feel like typical Speaker MDF/HDF

As well they each contain all the electronics...amps and such, to add to the heft.

 

[lewdish]

I believe the enclosures are a type of resin, I will check with KEF.
Keith

Is it coated w/ a resin or is it the cabinet material itself? I recall it did have a unique feeling texture

 

[jhaider]

I asked a KEF representative if there is an option for PEQ to address roommodes, (both representatives present went: Whoah, then you need to know what you are doing ) their advise is to use Roon and use the PEQ in Roon. I can agree for that when you are streaming music but I guess that won't work when using the HDMI input for television sound. That's one of the drawbacks of many active speakers I guess.

And yet some people take umbrage when others note Roon is not at all a legitimate substitute for proper room calibration capabilities in audio hardware, downstream of all the sources.

 

[Purité Audio]

Is it coated w/ a resin or is it the cabinet material itself? I recall it did have a unique feeling texture

Feels like the material itself.
Keith

 

[VintageFlanker]

LS60 Wireless Lotus Edition

LS60 Wireless is our vision of high-fidelity sound for the future. An all-in-one speaker system that allows you to stream from any source and connect to any home audio devices with audiophile-grade power. Inspired by the British Racing Green of the Lotus heritage, it was created to bring the...

kef.com

 

[Soniclife]

View attachment 301836View attachment 301837

LS60 Wireless Lotus Edition

LS60 Wireless is our vision of high-fidelity sound for the future. An all-in-one speaker system that allows you to stream from any source and connect to any home audio devices with audiophile-grade power. Inspired by the British Racing Green of the Lotus heritage, it was created to bring the...

kef.com

Let's hope the Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious doesn't hold.
Or can you now drive them underwater?

 

[kemmler3D]

This seems to be a common opinion amongst manufacturers big enough to have a marketing department, that their users are idiots not to be trusted, it's really annoying.

I used to do marketing for an audio manufacturer (with some overlap on support) and frankly, if my users expected hi-fi sound and someone suggested building in a PEQ, I'd at least make them promise to bury it in a developer-mode menu somewhere.

EQ is fine when people don't have specific expectations for sound. The typical audiophile doesn't really know how to use a PEQ and there are JUST enough of them that will 1) make things worse and then 2) return the speakers or burden support staff with their user error that it's not worth it.

People who know what they're doing (us) also know enough to set up PEQ some other way. We're going to buy the speaker anyway... and so our convenience doesn't outweigh KEF's inconvenience here, unfortunately.

 

[delta76]

View attachment 301836View attachment 301837

LS60 Wireless Lotus Edition

LS60 Wireless is our vision of high-fidelity sound for the future. An all-in-one speaker system that allows you to stream from any source and connect to any home audio devices with audiophile-grade power. Inspired by the British Racing Green of the Lotus heritage, it was created to bring the...

kef.com

funnily they named it lotus but it's neither lotus's flower nor leaf color. Not intrigued by the color, but I must admit KEF did a great job on this one. Clean, simple design (that is very appealing to me), and superb objective performance.
only if i were richer, or if it was cheaper...

 

[thewas]

funnily they named it lotus but it's neither lotus's flower nor leaf color.

Because it is a special version painted in british racing green for their cooperation with the car brand Lotus.

KEF x Lotus Partnership

View KEF's wireless HiFi audio system speakers. Drawing on decades of acoustic expertise, each provides outstanding clarity with several connectivity options.

uk.kef.com

 

[killdozzer]

I used to do marketing for an audio manufacturer (with some overlap on support) and frankly, if my users expected hi-fi sound and someone suggested building in a PEQ, I'd at least make them promise to bury it in a developer-mode menu somewhere.

EQ is fine when people don't have specific expectations for sound. The typical audiophile doesn't really know how to use a PEQ and there are JUST enough of them that will 1) make things worse and then 2) return the speakers or burden support staff with their user error that it's not worth it.

People who know what they're doing (us) also know enough to set up PEQ some other way. We're going to buy the speaker anyway... and so our convenience doesn't outweigh KEF's inconvenience here, unfortunately.

A good answer.