KEF LS50 Meta Bookshelf Speakers

Damaged after one year? Really KEF?

18 months later one is damaged. please help

Great bookshelf Speakers

Wonderful speakers deep base and balanced clear sound I just love them

0:32

O-O Zero

October 17, 2025

Transparent beautiful sounds.

Great transparent beautiful sounds; lack depth of space in sounds. Great details for low volume listening. No functional matching grill available for sale to protect the speakers.

1:19

Best of the Best in the Speaker Realm. Look no further.

Endgame stereo monitors. Period. If you want the highest quality, best sound, and pristine aesthetics, look no further than these KEF monitors. I have paid way more many other brands, but nothing beats the value for dollar of these KEFs. They are the perfect size for almost any room small to large, and I’ve ever heard of folks using them as desk monitors. You cannot go wrong with these speakers. I’m running them with a Wiim ultra and Fosi monoblocks and have had zero issue with distortion, peaking, sound quality. Exceptional speakers for any space. Would highly recommend these!

0:34

Kef ls50 best sound speakers

Nice speakers

Far Better Than Expected

The sound quality is second to none. While I also have a subwoofer, the LS 50s have very good bass for the size of their cabinets. I replaced a pair of Boston acoustic speakers for which I paid $1200 about 25 years ago. These KEF speakers are far superior. I’m very happy with the purchase.

0:12

Paint Production Issues

Consider another product if you plan to buy these speakers + S2 stands that promise the paint is a "perfect match" in marketing materials. This appears to be a quality control issue with paint on speakers and stands, and when I contacted KEF for warranty exchange they argued by email with me for weeks and said that this is expected because the speakers and stands are different materials. Really unsatisfied with this purchase and unable to return since stands were purchased several months later. I would also not trust KEF North America for other issues, and to honor the warranty given my experience with the folks that handled my case. Good luck!

Great looks, decent sound!

These speakers look really good and are very heavy yet small enough not to completely dominate your room. Coming to the sound, they are pretty neutral and nothing special or spectacular. For the price you can perhaps expect a little more. Driving them with Pioneer LSX305 and they sound pretty decent. Subwoofer is a must.

Used like new, not quite.

Not sure how these sound as they arrived damaged. Supposed to be like new but one cone was damaged. Not sure how this passes as "like new"

Alien

September 20, 2022

Bright and clear sound.

The long and narrow dimensions of my listening room helped me decide on these KEFs. I thought a subwoofer may be necessary but after several weeks of playing a huge mix of artists I'm satisfied with the bass and low end as is. Enjoying the new life the speakers have given to all my favorites.

Well worth the price

Great speaker. All the online reviews are spot on. So much detail. Huge soundstage. Pin point imaging. And decent bass from a small speaker.

Jaewoo Kim

January 31, 2022

Excellent if you have the right expectations. Needs a subwoofer for full sound.

First, as someone had already mentioned, these speakers, like most speakers, need some break-in time and sound "boxed in" and don't come alive until about 300 hours of listening.

I had purchased these speakers and rest of my audio system for my PC and Mac in my home office. Since I listen to most of my music from my home office now, I wanted an audiophile level system. Here is the breakdown of my audio system.

1)Digital Streamer: WiiM Streamer (connected to DAC using optical audio cable).

2)Computer: PC and Mac (connected to DAC using USB audio (midi) cable).

3)DAC: RME ADI2DACFS (Connected to amplifier using RCA cable)

4)Amplifier: Audiolab 6000a (connected to speakers using banana speaker cables).

5)Speakers: KEF LS50 meta

Build quality and appearance: These speakers are built like a tank. The case is a solid very thick polycarbonate-like (but better) material. You are not getting some flimsy speaker enclosed in a thin wooden box. I love the color of the royal blue with gold. These speakers are also heavier than anticipated.

Sound: These are terrific bookshelf speakers with fundamental bookshelf limitations due to its size. If you want a speaker with large sound stage and bass, then you won't get it with KEF LS50 meta. There are many floorstanding speakers at a comparable price that can give you significantly larger scale sound with more realistic bass.

Having said this, I love these speakers, and I think they are excellent for my needs. The midrange and high frequency on these speakers are unreal good. Everyone who has heard these speakers love it. It has that "musicality" that makes you want to listen for hours. The detailed imaging is at a very high level. You will be able to listen to instruments and vocals you would otherwise not hear with lesser speakers. They never sound harsh nor fatiguing. These are heads and shoulders above most bookshelf speakers, and I highly recommend them.

Pros:

1)Sound is highly excellent at high and midrange. The imaging is highly detailed and precise.

2)Very little distortion with no harshness or fatigue factor, even at higher volumes.

3)Build quality is top notch and it is lot heavier than it looks.

4)Looks like an audiophile grade speaker (and it is one).

5)High quality music recordings are especially delightfully engaging.

Cons:

1)It has great bass for a bookshelf speaker but nothing to be excited about. This something a decent subwoofer can fix (I plan to get one).

2)Sound stage, although large for a bookshelf, still can't match quality floorstanding speakers.

3)You will end up listening to music for hours and your productivity may decline.

So far so great..

I bought these to take the place of tower loudspeakers that I've owned a few years (KEF Q900w). So far, my initial impressions are positive and Im pleasantly surprised how much I like the soundstage of these speakers. The Q900s are really transparent but I've always felt like they were a little sterile too. I'm hearing good instrument separation and they're putting out a decent amount of bass. A lot of this will depend on what you're listening too. I just purchased an IOTA VX stack and that's what I have the meta's connected to right now. Before I settle for good I think I'll try them with my Denon receiver. They seem to improve with the more power you have to feed them.