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Company History
KEF celebrates 60 years of acoustic innovation with the release of a speaker that is what they consider “The Future of Wireless HiFi” – the LS60 Wireless Tower Speakers. When Raymond Cooke founded KEF in 1961, he set out to create products that could reproduce recordings to sound as natural as the original performance. With a background in electrical engineering, he used his prior knowledge to experiment with new technologies and materials. Continually innovating has always been a strong spot for KEF as in 1988 they designed and patented the very first coincident source speaker driver – the Uni-Q. Uni-Q technology has allowed KEF to build on their signature sound with their single-point source design which allows all frequencies to reach your ear simultaneously, leaving you with a more accurate and realistic sound than conventional loudspeakers. Further pushing the limits in 1988, they used Neodymium-Iron-Boron magnetic alloy – a very advanced material at the time.
Since 1988, they have created 12 new iterations of the Uni-Q technology with the latest one released in 2020. The Uni-Q technology has been an essential building block in the KEF signature sound and is present in the LS60 speakers. Their 12th generation Uni-Q driver array acts as a single point source which in turn enlarges the “sweet spot” and disperses sound more evenly, allowing everyone in the room to hear clear, natural sound no matter where they are sitting.
KEF LS60 Wireless Overview
The KEF LS60’s sit in the wireless speaker category along with their LSX and LS50 II bookshelf speakers. However, the LS60’s are the only floor-standing speakers in this category and do not replace any previous models. The KEF LS60’s mission is to bring high-fidelity sound to more people in their homes. With their unique and striking look, these are definitely not the traditional floor-standing speakers that you see every day. They stand out compared to most speakers not just because of their side-firing drivers or their Royal Blue finish – their abundance of features may just make these some of the best wireless floor-standing speakers we’ve reviewed.
Design & Build Quality
KEF has released the LS60’s with 3 different finish options – Mineral White, Titanium Gray, and Royal Blue. These are all matte finishes and feel extremely high quality to the touch. You will not have to worry about fingerprints or being able to scratch these very easily. We do have to say, once setting these speakers up, they felt like a breath of fresh air with the way they stood out from the pack of most speakers. We tested the Titanium Gray — which had a very nice understated and elegant look that we really enjoyed. Most of our team agreed that once set up in person, they thought they looked even better than the photos online.
At just 5.1 inches wide, these are extremely slim towers that don’t take up much space but make a statement with just how much sound comes out of them for their size. KEF is looking toward the future of HiFi-Fidelity sound and this is their attempt to say that you don’t necessarily need a receiver, speaker cables, amps, and large speakers to enjoy HiFi sound in your home. Every detail was considered when it came to the design and making sure these slim towers have the best acoustic benefits possible. The speaker floats above an 8.3-inch plinth giving it enough stability to be secure with no worry of knocking them over. The gap between the speaker and the plinth is a cool design that also has functionality as it draws air in through the bottom and exits out the back above the I/O panel, cooling the amps inside. The overall weight of each speaker is 69 lbs with most of it being at the bottom where those amps are located.
Features & Technology
The sound coming from the LS60’s 5.1-inch wide cabinet simply wouldn’t be possible without the advanced technologies they have implemented. As we mentioned before, KEF’s philosophy is deeply rooted in innovation, and this is absolutely true when it comes to these impossibly slim speakers. At Audio Advice, we love when companies utilize what they have learned and designed in their highest-end speakers and trickle that technology down into the rest of their products. Much of the same technology in KEF’s high-end $30,000 Blade speakers has landed in the LS60’s.
LS60 Uni-Q & Uni-Core Technologies
The Uni-Q technology sits at the heart of the LS60’s. In a traditional loudspeaker, low, mid, and high frequencies radiate from different locations which interfere with each other and can cause the sound to be muddy. Uni-Q places the tweeter at the center of the bass/midrange cone which disperses the frequencies from a single point source so there is no interference, resulting in a much cleaner sound. Ultimately, this eliminates the “sweet spot,” spreading the sound throughout the entire room evenly so everyone can enjoy the same natural sound no matter where they are located in the room.
The Uni-Q driver houses a .75” aluminum dome tweeter in the middle and a 4-inch aluminum cone mid-range driver. On each side of the speaker, there are two 5.25-inch Uni-Core Force Canceling Drivers which are actually the same design used in their KC62 subwoofer. KEF’s patent-pending design of their Uni-Core technology aims to redefine sizes versus performance. Two back-to-back mounted bass drivers are mounted together in a force-canceling arrangement which eliminates vibrations from the cabinet.
P-Flex Driver Surround
KEF has also engineered their P-Flex Driver Surround to better resist the acoustic pressure inside the cabinet without limiting the sensitivity in the same way that traditional surround designs do. What we find really neat is that KEF was inspired by the art of Japanese paper folding and used a unique pleated design, which has consequently given itself the nickname “Origami Sound.”
Smart Distortion Control
Smart Distortion Control is also present in the LS60 which is a motion feedback system that helps correct any small abnormalities that could occur. This is achieved by measuring the current in the voice coil and detecting and correcting any ono-linear distortions, thus reducing the total harmonic distortion by up to 75%. When you combine the P-Flex driver surround and the Smart Distortion Control Technology, these speakers are able to create detailed, deep, and balanced bass. As a matter of fact, their 3 dB down point, according to the specs, is 31 Hz.
Single Apparent Source Technology
The LS60’s have precise and clear sound across the whole bandwidth thanks to their Single Apparent Source technology — made possible by working together with the Uni-Q technology. Drivers that are perfectly calibrated all radiate from the same source providing a coherent and immersive sound. This technology has trickled all the way down from their flagship Blade speakers.
Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT)
The technology inside these speakers isn’t over yet. KEF also utilizes Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) – one of their latest acoustic innovations. This highly complex maze-like structure sits behind the tweeter to absorb 99% of unwanted sound from the rear of the driver, eliminating the resulting distortion and providing purer, more natural sound. This isn’t just a bunch of fancy tech that doesn’t live up to what it says it does. KEF developed this with the help of the Acoustic Metamaterials Group (AMG) – a company dedicated to developing smart materials to change the way we interact with sound. AMG has spent the last 16 years researching and developing applied physics which has led them to develop a proprietary algorithm that enables them to effectively optimize the acoustic design in any situation.
The LS60s have a dedicated Music Integrity Engine which is the brain behind all of this tech. It is finely tuned to drive all the tech we’ve previously discussed and also has a low-frequency phase correction feature to help deliver pinpoint timing to produce that natural sound you hear when listening to them.
All the drivers are powered by a mixture of bespoke Class AB and Class D amplification with 1400 Watts of power with amplifiers dedicated to high, medium, and low frequencies in each speaker. The amps sit towards the bottom of the speaker, giving it a good amount of weight towards the bottom to allow them to not be easily tipped over since they are extremely thin.
High-Res Streaming
Out of the box, you can stream from virtually any platform with their wide range of compatibility. The KEF Connect app was a breeze to set up and configure and allows you to connect directly through Wifi. Other options include Apple Airplay 2, Google Chromecast, and Bluetooth. The KEF Connect app has Amazon Music, Qobuz, Deezer, radio, and podcasts to stream through Wifi, which is the highest fidelity option. You can also stream directly from Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and QPlay, and will soon be Roon Ready. You can also stream PCM files up to 24bit/384kHz as well as MQA decoding and DSD. We absolutely love when companies give you a wide range of options allowing you to use any platform you desire and even if you change or add a platform, your speakers will always be compatible.
Best Hi-Res Music Streaming Services
HDMI eARC
They didn’t allow just a wide range of streaming options – their input/output panel located on the main speaker at the bottom backside is chock-full of ports. HDMI eARC allows you to connect these to your TV with one cable and control the sound with your current remote – an extremely easy way to add killer sound to your TV. It reminds us of most new soundbars that connect via one HDMI eARC cable, except these outperform any soundbar on the market, and actually don’t even take up much more space. There is also an optical input, coax input, RCA input for plugging in your turntable or CD player, and a subwoofer out. Delivering deep bass is the hardest feat to do well within a small space. So for people who want more than what these provide, adding the KEF KC62 subwoofer will give you a substantial amount of additional bass. And since each speaker has a sub out – you could add a second sub and really fill your room with powerful bass.
Home Theater Subwoofer Placement Options
There are also two Ethernet ports – one that will connect directly to your network, and the other is an optional connection to the other speaker. While these speakers do not need to be connected to each other using a simple ethernet cable, you will get higher resolution if you do this. They resample all sources resampled to 24bit/96kHzt PCM if used wirelessly but if you connect them sources are resampled at 24bit/192kHz PCM.
Room EQ
We have saved the best feature of the LS60 for last. Speakers that are self-powered have so many advantages. The engineers know the exact characteristics of the speakers and can design the amplifiers to be made to perform perfectly with that speaker driver. You also then get the ability for them to use digital signal processing to improve how the amp section controls the speakers. KEF takes things a big step further by giving you room eq settings. They have two ways to do this, one is called normal mode and the other is expert. Normal mode will ask you questions about room size, how damped your room is, the distance the speakers are off the wall, the distance you are sitting from them, and if you have a sub connected. The DSP processor then takes all of this into account to match the speaker's sound to your environment. Expert mode gives you individual control over a multitude of settings. You can adjust treble roll-off, bass boost, the crossover frequency of the subwoofer and the speakers, the gain of the subwoofer, its polarity, its delay, and more. What is even neater is you can save multiple profiles which is great for things like late-night listening when you don’t want to disturb the neighbors. Most people will probably find the normal mode easy to understand, but if you are an audio geek like us, you will really love the expert mode.
Performance
We downloaded the KEF Connect app on our iPhone and followed the steps in the app to connect to the speakers. We decided to use the normal eq system and answered the questions to match the listening room we had the LS60 set up in.
After the first few seconds of music playing, you can instantly tell these speakers have an almost magical quality in how they present the sound. The very narrow cabinet width coupled with the Uni-Q driver gives you imaging that is just incredible. Every single instrument is presented with pinpoint accuracy in a very wide and deep soundstage. When we played tracks we knew a great system would make it sound like the music was outside the speakers, the LS60’s did this extremely well.
The Uni-Q also gives you perfect time alignment which allows you to hear all the harmonics of any instrument with no smearing of any of the textures you might hear in other speakers. You can hear textures in vocal overlays that reminded us of what you get out of speakers that cost far more than the LS60. When you shut your eyes and get into the sound, that super precise imaging coupled with the subtle timbre details makes you think you could almost reach out and touch the instruments.
As we moved on to some of our favorite rhythmic music to test how well they got us tapping our toes, we were not disappointed but even more impressed. As a general rule, most powered speakers get this part done right, but the KEF LS60’s really shined. Of course, having a perfect phase presentation with the Uni-Q driver also helps get you more involved in the music too.
KEF’s promise of great off-axis listening with a larger sweet spot also came through very well as we still got a very nice three-dimensional space even off-axis, but what is really great about the wide listening area is you can still hear all of the little subtle sounds that draw you into the music even sitting far off-axis.
The bass they produce is just like the rest of the sound, super fast and detailed with great accuracy. We did test them in a room that would probably warrant the addition of a subwoofer as it was quite large. The bass was full of texture and sounded super realistic with never a trace of boom or disconnection from the rest of the sound but it just did not grab us at the very low extremes. But just like the midrange and treble, everything just sounds so together and cohesive that you just want to keep pulling out your favorite cuts to be enveloped in beautiful sound.
Overall Recommendation
KEF has done exactly what they set out to do with the LS60 — which is to deliver a speaker made for the modern music lover. With the LS60, you just need your smartphone to enjoy all kinds of music via streaming or on your network. The extra analog, digital, and HDMI inputs mean you can connect up even more sources if you want.
Their appearance is also striking and will look incredible as a design element in a modern living space or could blend into the background in a more traditional environment.
But, when you shut your eyes and get into the music, that is where the LS60 really shines. They present music in a way that just draws you in and just feels right. Their sound is natural and never fatiguing. And with their very wide listening area, it's not just a single listener that will get to enjoy their great musical presentation. All of your friends will hear how great they sound no matter where they are sitting in your room.
We feel this will wind up in a lot of living spaces where walls may be shared which actually makes their bass character a bit of a plus. And should you want more bass you can easily add one or two subs, but we feel most people will love the sound as they are unless the room is pretty large.
For their price, the LS60 might seem expensive at first glance. But once you hear them, and learn how flexible they are for getting the best performance, with their multitude of inputs, and wide listening area, they start to look like a speaker you want to have for yourself.
Check out our free home theater design tool to help you build your home theater or media room. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to give us a call at 888.899.8776 or chat with us about anything audio or video related, we’d be happy to help. Be sure to check out Home Theater Central where you’ll find design guides, installation videos, inspiration galleries, and everything home theater.
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