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REVIEW

Meta MadeKHI-FI WORLD

KEF’s popular LS50 gets a facelift to Meta form. John Pickford pricks up his ears.
EF’s Uni-Q driver arrayhas been the centrepieceof the LS50 for ten years,
the original model first
appearing in 2011. I had
the privilege of hear-ing the Uni-Q driver system slightly
earlier than that – when it featuredin KEF’s Concept Blade loudspeaker,
launched at the Bristol Hi-Fi Showin 2010. I didn’t book myself in forthe show demo – never an ideal

listening environment – as I knew
they would later be heading to theshow organiser’s acoustically tailored
listening room and an invitation
would be forthcoming. Attached to
top-of-the-range Naim electronics,

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FEBRUARY 2021 HI-FI WORLDREVIEW

HI-FI WORLD
99% of the unwanted soundproduced at the rear of the tweeter,
reducing distortion to vanishingly
low levels, for a cleaner and moreaccurate sound.
Other improvements are evident
in both the cabinet and the rearfiring flexible port, making use ofstate-of-the-art technologies, three of
which also boast their own 3-letter
acronyms.

and stylish but also ensure ultimate
performance.
Available in four silky mattefinishes; black, grey, white and theRoyal Blue Special Edition of ourreview samples, the LS50 Meta sports
a contemporary modern look quite
unlike wooden BBC-type designs.
Those who find the form and finishof the LS3/5a to be dull or even
dowdy will appreciate the more"A superb example of point
source performance, amaster-class in coherence,articulation and focus."
The 12th generation Uni-Q unit now incorporates
MAT technology to absorb 99% of unwanted
sound from the rear of the tweeter.
they produced a full-range yet utterly
focused sound that remains one of
my all-time favourite listening experiences; I’ll never forget it.
When the first LS50s became
available I made it my business tohear a pair and shortly thereafter
recommended them to a friend who
still uses them with no intention ofchanging.
The new LS50 Meta shares thevisual style of the older model but
there have been many significant
improvements, not least in theUni-Q driver array, now in its 12thgeneration. The word Meta isimportant here. One definition ofMeta is ‘referring to itself or tothe conventions of its genre; selfreferential’, which makes perfectsense when you look at the lineageof this new loudspeaker, however
that’s not the reason for its
appendage here.
Metamaterial Absorption
Technology (MAT) is the main
improvement in the Uni-Q design
and is a joint development with theAcoustic Metamaterials Group. I
could provide a lengthy explanationof this technology but it would
make your eyes water. I’ll leaveit to KEF to give the concise
report: "Metamaterials are speciallydeveloped structures that use
existing materials in such a way thatthey exhibit new, desirable properties
that are simply not found in naturally
occurring substances". All clear? Inpractice, MAT works by absorbing
HI-FI WORLD FEBRUARY 2021

Technical innovations aside, theLS50 Meta remains a 2-way bookshelf
loudspeaker inspired by thelegendary BBC LS3/5a monitor. KEF
produced the drivers for that classic
design but that’s where comparisonsend. Most LS3/5a wannabes follow
its conventional design principles separate woofer and tweeter housed
in a traditionally styled infinite baffle(sealed box) cabinet. The Meta is noordinary foursquare box design; its
curved dimensions are not only sleek

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high-tech visual appeal. They certainly
look cool in blue with champagnecoloured Uni-Q drivers, though myfriend’s original black and copper
LS50s have earned themselves a 2word nickname from me too rude toprint here. Let’s just say they remind
me of the rear view of one of ourfeline friends with its tail raised.
Dedicated stands are available
but not supplied for review so theLS50s replaced my LS3/5as atop
Target stands, 7-inches from a rear

The flare and profile of the offset port is calculated to delay
the onset of turbulence and the flexible port walls prevent
resonances from colouring the midrange.

REVIEW

HI-FI WORLDavailable at the £1,000 price point.
They are playing as I write andthe LS3/5a pair shall remain silent
until it’s time for them to go. Asuperb example of point source
performance, they offer a masterclass in coherence, articulation andfocus. That’s not a keyhole surgery,small-scale type of focus though, as
they effortlessly fill a (smallish) roomwith a wonderfully all-of-a-piecesound. The best just got better.
Foam port bungs are provided to tailor bass to room. Useful when
positioned close to a rear wall, reducing possible room boom.
wall and toed-in just enough for thecabinet’s inner surface to be visible.

SOUND QUALITY
Auditioned primarily in the allanalogue domain – Goldring Lenco
GL75, Denon DL103, Leema
Elements Ultra phono stage and thecurrent Naim Nait – I eagerly cuedup my first LP.
Out And In from The Moody
Blues’ To Our Children’s Children’sChildren (Threshold 1969) is alovely Decca studio recording with asurprisingly modern sounding stereo
mix – no wacky hole-in-the-middle
60s stereo here. Through the LS50s,
the track was masterfully delineatedin perfect proportion, presenting
a wide and deep soundstage
that betters the LS3/5a’s imaging
capabilities by some degree. Filigreedetail was revelatory, allowing meto hear a strummed acoustic guitar
usually buried beneath a sea ofMellotron, while tonal balance wasspot-on. Bass, aided by near rear wall
placement, was deep and expressive
yet also fast and fluid with no boom
or audible overhang. Midrange clarity
was outstanding too, with no disconcerting honks or artifice of any kind,
while integration of bass, middle andupper frequencies was seamless; abrilliant performance.
Laura Marling’s Alexandra fromher 2020 album Song For Our
Daughter (Partisan Records) is arecording in the style of singer/
songwriters from the Moodies’era (think Joni Mitchell) but with amodern, up-front production style.
Here, the LS50’s impeccable timing
and control was on display, with nosmearing of the leading edges ofacoustic guitar and percussion. Thiswasn’t at the expense of body andsoul as these speakers can play atune and cut a rug with the best ofthem.
Playing some forward thinking

NOEL SAYS -I listened to the LS50 Meta's
and was immediately drawn
to fabulous filigree detailing in
the treble; the benefit of Meta
technology is quite obvious. As
measurement suggests they do
not have a warm sound, but are
lively and vivacious in modern
fashion, spectacularly clean andrevealing. Impressive, especiallyat the price.

(for 1959) jazz courtesy of Ornette
Coleman’s The Shape Of Jazz To
Come (Atlantic 1959) confirmed
the LS50’s ability to faithfully
replay acoustic music convincingly.
I welcomed some honk in themidrange listening to this LP; that’s
how the recording should sound.
Smooth as they are, the LS50s do
not smooth over tone or dynamics
present in the original recording.

CONCLUSION
For my money the new LS50 Meta
is the best small speaker currently

MEASURED PERFORMANCE
Our frequency response analysis of
KEF’s LS50 Meta clearly shows thisis a very well engineered loudspeaker,
running almost academically flat from80Hz to 16kHz. The lack of peaks anddips indicates low level of narrow bandmechanical/acoustical resonances,
so low colouration. That makes theLS50 Meta technically a very accurate
reproducer. There is some slight liftaround the 4kHz-5kHz region, enough toensure a sound on the bright rather thandark side, but with strong delivery ofdetail. A modern forward sound balance
rather than a traditional one.
The port output (red trace) is tuned
to 50Hz, extending output down to 40Hz,
so deep bass is possible. The forward
response has been proportioned for nearwall use, rolling down below 80Hz tolessen the effect of room resonances(room boom). The KEFs are for small to
medium sized rooms, no larger than 16ft
long or so. They are not bass heavy ouranalysis show.
Sensitivity was as expected at
84dB sound pressure level from one
nominal Watt (2.8V) of input; a 100
Watt amplifier would be best. As a load
the LS50 Metas measured 6 Ohms withpink noise, dropping to a minimum of
4 Ohms (dcr). The impedance traceshows crossover to the tweeter occurs
at 2.5kHz and also a port tuned to 55Hz,
somewhat asymmetrically. Inserting thefoam bung supplied negated port action,
raising drive unit resonance to 85Hz.
The LS50 Meta is very accurate intonal balance, but it will come across asbright. Smoothness at high frequencies
suggests quality treble. NK

KEF LS50 META
£999£

FREQUENCY RESPONSE
Green - driver output
Red - port output

OUTSTANDING - amongst
the best.

+20VALUE - keenly priced.

+10dB0VERDICT

Superb sound far beyond theirsize and price.

-10-20-30

FOR
20100

Hz

1k

20k

IMPEDANCE50Ohms- coherence and articulation- accuracy of tone
- robust bass quality- uncoloured midrange- clean and extended treble

AGAINST30- nothing at the price10010

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Hz

1k

20k

KEF
+44 (0)1622 672261
www.Uk.kef.com

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