Name: KEF LS50 Meta Speakers (Pair), Carbon Black
SKU: YXYUY 30742
Availability: InStock

Full Description

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2023 Best standmount speaker £800-£1000

“For yet another year the KEF LS50 Meta speakers remain the class leader at this level”

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2022 Best all-in-one system over £1500

“An innovative and entertaining sequel”

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2020 – 2021 Best standmount speaker £750-£1500

“These standmounters set new standards at the price”

“…KEF is on to something with the Metamaterial technology and can’t wait to see how it develops. As things stand, that tech and all the other work KEF’s engineers have put into the Uni-Q array has propelled the LS50 Metas to the head of the class at this level. Buy them with confidence.”

AV Forums Highly Recommended

“The KEF is able to perform feats of soundstaging, time alignment and sheer impact that are an absolute delight.”

Since 1961, KEF‘s mission has been to preserve the integrity of original sound with as little intervention as possible. The goal of every KEF product is to do one thing: provide you with a revealing listening experience that is as true to the original recording as is possible within the confines of your room.

The iconic LS50 was the physical embodiment of this singular approach. A loudspeaker that took its cues from the classic LS3/5A but was quickly recognised as a modern icon in its own right. The LS50 was born out of KEF’s willingness to think outside the box, to constantly search for new materials, techniques and technologies such as the use of computer aided design and continuous enhancement of the KEF’s signature Uni-Q driver array.

That was 2011, and time and technology have moved on. Since then our engineers have been upholding KEF’s driving philosophy and searching out new technological breakthroughs. The result is an icon in waiting : the KEF LS50 Meta Standmount Speakers. Instantly recognisable as the successor of the LS50, the LS50 Meta is born of the same KEF desire for continual development and is therefore fittingly the first loudspeaker to employ Metamaterial Absorption Technology.

Revolutionary Sound Absorption with MAT

A result of joint development with the Acoustic Metamaterials Group, using Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) breaks completely new ground in loudspeaker design, and once again demonstrates KEF’s unrelenting passion for developing new technologies to improve your listening experience. Metamaterials are specially developed structures that use existing materials in such a way that they exhibit new, desirable properties that are simply not found in naturally occurring substances. A truly revolutionary tool in the KEF acoustic armoury, MAT is a highly complex maze-like structure, where each of the intricate channels efficiently absorbs a specific frequency. When combined, the channels act as an acoustic black hole, absorbing 99 of the unwanted sound that comes from the rear of the tweeter, eliminating the resulting distortion and providing a purer, more natural acoustic performance

12th Generation Uni-Q With MAT Delivers

The tweeter in question sits at the heart of our 12th generation Uni-Q with MAT driver array. The Uni-Q point source configuration delivers a more detailed, accurate and integrated three-dimensional sound image, which is dispersed so evenly throughout the room that the ‘sweet spot’ is wherever you are in the room. Using simulation and analysis tools and decades of accumulated in-house knowledge, our engineers have developed a new iteration of KEF’s signature driver array, with a new cone neck decoupler and motor system that is precisely shaped to reduce high-frequency distortion in the mid-frequency driver. The result is reduced coloration, less distortion and a sound that is more transparent and life-like than previously possible. The same can also be said of bass performance, where LS50 Meta completely exceeds the expectations of a modestly proportioned standmount speaker to deliver room-filling sound with deep, articulate bass.

Enhancement From LS50 Lineage

Much of the engaging performance is thanks to the clarity of the driver array, but the port design is also crucial. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the flare and profile of the LS50 Meta’s patented off-set flexible port is calculated to delay the onset of turbulence and the flexible port walls prevent resonances from colouring the midrange. This leads to improved clarity, with exceptional levels of depth and detail. The LS50 Meta’s extremely rigid cabinet is optimised for the best performance, with smooth curved surfaces that help radiate sound out across the baffle without any interference. The baffle itself is engineered from an injection-moulded Dough Moulding Compound (DMC) usually found in the automotive industry. Inside the cabinet, cross bracing and Constrained Layer Damping (CLD) combine to deaden internal vibrations. The result of such meticulous attention to detail is that LS50 Meta produces the lowest coloration of any speaker in its class.

Attention To Every Detail

The LS50 Meta has inherited its distinctive good looks from the original LS50, with its low-diffraction, curved baffle precision modelled around the Uni-Q driver array. The curved front is subtly mirrored by the gently radiused rear panel, while both the port exit and speaker terminals have been elegantly recessed and softened visually. On the LS50 Meta’s underside, each corner has a threaded inset allowing the speaker to lock onto the top of the new KEF S2 Floor Stand, which also boasts integrated cable management and a mass-loadable column. LS50 Meta is available at launch in four colours, all of which benefit from a modern silky matte finish, while the S2 Floor Stands are colour matched to the models. The LS50 Meta Standmount Loudspeakers deliver on every aspect of the KEF promise. A genuine industry first, LS50 Meta utilises innovative, ground-breaking technology to provide you with an immersive, completely believable sound from a compact, stylish loudspeaker that is destined to open up whole new vistas of enjoyment in your life.

Metamaterial Absorption Technology – eliminates 99 of high-frequency distortion for pure, natural sound
12th generation Uni-Q – with MAT driver array for exceptional acoustic accuracy
Driver Performance Optimisation – for enhanced sonic performance, less distortion and reduced coloration
Patented off-set flexible port – for reduced midrange coloration with exceptional levels of depth and detail
Optimised cabinet design – for best acoustic performance
With mounting inserts – to secure on KEF S2 Floor Stand (available as separate item)

Model	LS50 Meta
Design	Two-way bass reflex
Drive units	Uni-Q Driver Array HF: 25 mm (1 in.) vented aluminium dome with Metamaterial Absorption Technology MF/LF: 130 mm (5.25 in.) aluminium cone
Crossover frequency	2.1 kHz
Frequency range (-6dB)	47 Hz – 45 kHz
Typical in-room bass response (-6dB)	26 Hz
Frequency response (±3dB)	79 Hz – 28 kHz
Harmonic distortion (90dB, 1m)	<0.4 175 Hz – 20 kHz
Maximum output	106 dB
Amplifier power (recommended)	40-100 W
Nominal impedance	8 Ω (min. 3.5 Ω)
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m)	85 dB
Weight	7.8 kg (17.2 lbs.)
Dimension (H x W x D) with terminals	302 x 200 x 280.5mm