KEF LS50 Meta Standmount Speakers – Black

Here we have a pair of the British specialist speaker manufacturers KEF’s, universally acclaimed LS50 Meta Loudspeakers in the Carbon Black finish. They are in good condition noting a couple of minor dints (image 6) on one of the drive units – please refer to photographs, and come in the original factory packaging, with our standard three month warranty.
KEF says….
Great loudspeakers disappear, leaving just the music. LS50 Meta is such a loudspeaker. The incredibly immersive sound means you lose yourself in your favourite music. Savouring every nuance as layer upon layer of instrumentation is delivered with exceptional acoustic accuracy anywhere in the room.
A truly revolutionary tool in the KEF acoustic armoury, Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) is a highly complex maze-like structure that eliminates unwanted sound from the rear of driver, resulting in a purer, more natural performance.
Metamaterials are specially developed structures that use existing materials in such a way that they exhibit new properties. MAT’s tuned channels absorb 99% of the unwanted sound from the rear of driver, compared to around 60% absorption from loudspeakers using different approaches.
KEF always pushes the technological boundaries in its mission to create the best possible sound; MAT is the physical manifestation of that drive. The result of a joint development project with the Acoustic Metamaterials Group, MAT breaks completely new ground in loudspeaker design.
KEF’s many pioneering innovations are all geared towards delivering breath-takingly natural sound; sound that lets you enjoy music as it was meant to be heard. Of all these pioneering developments, it is the Uni-Q® driver array that sits at the heart of almost all our speakers.
Uni-Q technology places the tweeter precisely at the acoustic centre of the bass/midrange cone, so both act together as a single point source to disperse sound more evenly throughout the room. The result is the elimination of the limited ‘sweet spot’, therefore allowing everybody sitting at different spots in the room to experience and enjoy the same natural, detailed sound.
In conventional loudspeakers, mid and high frequencies radiating from different locations interfere with each other. Uni-Q places the tweeter at the centre of the bass/midrange cone, dispersing these different frequencies from a single point source, so interference issues are avoided, and the sound is less distorted.
With Uni-Q’s single point source design all frequencies reach your ear at the same time. The sound is therefore more accurate and realistic than with conventional loudspeakers, where the output from each separate driver arrives at slightly different times, causing the sound to be smeared and less natural sounding.
Today’s 12th generation Uni-Q driver array is the result of over three decades of continuous innovation by the KEF engineering team. The initial concept that all the sound coming from the same place delivers improved sound is as true now as it was then, and the ensemble is a masterpiece of modern acoustic engineering.
Specifications:
Design: Two-way bass reflex
Drive Units: Uni-Q Driver Array: HF: 25 mm vented aluminium dome with Metamaterial Absorption Technology; MF/LF: 130 mm aluminium cone
Crossover Frequency: 2.1 kHz
Frequency Range (-6 dB): 47 Hz – 45 kHz
Typical In-room Bass Response (-6 dB): 26 Hz
Frequency Response (±3 dB): 79 Hz – 28 kHz
Harmonic Distortion (90db, 1m): <0,4% 175 Hz – 20 kHz; <0,1% 300 Hz – 10 kHz
Maximum Output: 106 dB
Amplifier Power (Recommended): 40-100 W
Nominal Impedance: 8 Ω (min. 3.5 Ω)
Sensitivity (2.83 V/1 m): 85 dB
Weight: 7.8 kg
Dimensions: 302 (H) x 200 (W) x 280.5 (D) mm

What Hi-Fi? magazine gave these speakers a 5* rating and wrote….

“KEF has taken an excellent speaker and made it even better with its innovative Metamaterial tech. The LS50 Metas are now the class leader at this level”

To read a full review from Hi-Fi News magazine please click here

For a second opinion from Hi-Fi+ magazine please click here