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KEF LS Luxe: Two-minute review
The LS Luxe is the new high-point — by which I mean ‘most expensive’ — of KEF’s fêted range of wireless stereo speaker systems. Having precisely nothing left to prove where products of this type are concerned in the lower $1,000 / £750 – $3,400 / £2,500 arena, the company has made a decisive move upmarket — and the LS Luxe seems to leave very little to chance where engineering, specification and aesthetic shock and awe are concerned.
You will make your own mind up about the looks, of course; for my money, the ‘eclipse black’ of my review sample is the least successful of the three available finishes, but there’s no denying the LS Luxe is an individual looker in a market where design flourishes are always at a premium. But when talk turns to engineering and specification, subjectivity ceases to be all that much of an issue.
Numerous input options (both wired and wireless), genuinely high-resolution playback (24bit/192kHz is yours if you connect the speakers together, while 24bit/96kHz is available from a wireless connection), and some proven technologies exclusive to KEF serve to make the LS Luxe look like a very serious proposition on the page.It’s only fractionally less serious when it comes to performance, too.
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Make sure you’ve positioned the speakers carefully, get beyond the slightly restricted dimensions of the soundstage it conjures… and then there’s a huge amount to enjoy here. Some of the best stereo speakers on the market? Yes.
The LS Luxe is a deftly accomplished listen, able to combine forensic attention to detail with an energetic, almost forceful attitude that brings recordings of all types bounding to life. It manages to combine analysis with entertainment in a way that’s rare at any price.
KEF LS Luxe review: Price & release date
- Launched on July 30, 2026
- Priced $3,999 / £3,499 / AU$6,399
The KEF LS Luxe wireless stereo speaker system is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it costs £3,499. In the United States it sells for $3,999, while in Australia the going rate is AU$6,399.
If you don’t want this to be the end of your spending, KEF will happily sell you a pair of its bespoke ‘S-Luxe’ speaker stands for £799 / $799 / AU$1199…
What of note at the level? The Sonus faber Duetto are the same price and also present a fantastic listen, albeit with a very different aesthetic.
KEF LS Luxe review: Features
- 12th-gen Uni-Q driver array
- Wired and wireless connectivity options
- 560 watts of Class D power plus 200 watts of Class A/B
It’s not the only thing that’s attention-grabbing about the look of the LS Luxe, of course, but there’s no denying that the 12th generation Uni-Q driver array is just as visually impactful as it was when the first generation was revealed back in 1988.
Here, it features a 25mm aluminium tweeter behind a complex waveguide, in the throat of a 165mm aluminum mid/bass cone — as always, the arrangement is designed for optimum time-alignment and superior driver integration.
A more recent KEF innovation, ‘metamaterial absorption technology’, sits behind the tweeter where it’s designed to mop up energy travelling from the back of the tweeter dome and allow for sweeter, cleaner treble response as a result.
The driver arrangement is mechanically decoupled from the cabinet, and a decoupling chassis within the assembly damps any vibrations from the motor system — in both cases, the idea is to reduce the vibration affecting the cabinet structure to an absolute minimum. Low distortion and sky-high clarity are the results KEF is aiming for.
Unusually, KEF has deployed two distinct methods of amplifying the Uni-Q array. Each mid/bass driver feels the benefit of 280 watts of Class D power, while each tweeter is driven by 100 watts of Class A/B amplification — an all-in total of 760 watts of power really ought to prove adequate. KEF reckons a frequency response of 42Hz – 28kHz results from all this very thorough engineering.
Naturally, that’s not the end of it where clever technologies are concerned. KEF’s ‘Velocity Control Technology’, first seen in the XIO soundbar, measures the speed of movement of the cone and compensates for discrepancies between actual and expected values in real time. The ‘Music Integrity Engine’, meanwhile, maintains tonal consistency at all volume levels.
In terms of getting audio information into the system where it can be had at by these various highlights of specification, your options are fairly extensive. Dual-band wi-fi is on board, naturally — there’s also an Ethernet socket on the rear of the ‘primary’ speaker for absolute network stability — and this allows the system to be compatible with Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast, the ‘Connect’ versions of Qobuz, Spotify and TIDAL, and UPnP. Internet radio is available too, and Roon Ready status is due to be confirmed much sooner rather than later.
A USB-C slot looks promising, but it’s ‘only’ a 5V output for charging. Bluetooth 5.3 is also on board as an additional wireless option – all the wireless stuff is handled by KEF’s proven ‘W2 Wireless Platform’.
The primary speaker is also home to the system’s physical connectivity. Here that means an HDMI eARC socket, optical and coaxial digital inputs, and a 3.5mm analogue input, as well as a kettle-lead socket for connection to mains power, a pre-out for a subwoofer and an RJ45 socket for connection to the secondary speaker. That secondary speaker makes do with a mains power socket, a corresponding RJ45 and a subwoofer pre-out.
The LS Luxe will support resolutions of up to 24bit/384kHz and DSD128 via its network inputs, 24bit/192kHz via coaxial and HDMI, and 24bit/96kHz via its optical input. If the speakers are connected using the supplied cable, everything is up- or down-sampled to 24bit/192kHz – if you decide the cleaner look of a wireless connection between the two is your preference, then the system tops out at 24bit/96kHz.
KEF LS Luxe review: Sound quality
- Detailed, organised and robust sound
- Eloquent midrange fidelity
- Could conceivably have greater out-and-out scale
First things first: the LEF LS Luxe is not remotely forgiving where the positioning of the speakers is concerned.
The overwhelming majority of stereo speakers I’ve tested, both active and passive, have given their best when toed in towards the listening position — in fact, off the top of my head I can only think of Dali that recommends its speakers should be pointing dead ahead to perform to their full potential. The KEF, though, like only the tiniest amount of toe-in. Too little or, especially, too much and they lose some of the width of their soundstage and a more noticeable amount of sonic height.
Even when ideally positioned, the soundstage they generate is not the biggest you’ve ever heard. It escapes the confines of cabinets quite comfortably, in both horizontal and vertical directions, but is still relatively limited.
Mind you, it’s fair to say a) the soundstage is extremely well laid-out and controlled, and b) that’s just about where my complaints end regarding the way the LS Luxe performs. In every other respect it’s a remarkably accomplished listen, and is undoubtedly one of the most effective pound-for-pound wireless stereo speaker systems around.
No matter if you listen to the avant-electronica of Arca’s eponymous debut album via a CD player connected to the KEFs digital optical input, a 24bit/192kHz FLAC file of David Bowie’s Stationtostation wirelessly streamed from Qobuz Connect or a heavyweight vinyl reissue of Takk… by Sigur Rós from a pre-amplified turntable, the LS Luxe is a remarkably articulate, utterly revealing and deftly punchy system that is likely to steal your time away.
The tonal balance is exquisitely neutral. The KEF is more than happy to get out of the way of a recording and let it dictate terms in this respect. It’s similarly balanced and egoless where frequency response is concerned, too — it digs deep into the low frequencies and hits with real authority and control, while the opposite end has the substance to counteract the brilliance of the treble response, but at no point does the system over- or understate any part of the range.
The balanced and even-handed nature of its presentation goes a long way towards creating a strong impression of fidelity. So does the amount of detail it’s able to retrieve, reveal and contextualise. At every stage it is alert to the finest, most minor occurrences in a recording, in a voice or an individual instrument — and it’s able to give these details the appropriate amount of weighting no matter how fleeting they might be.
Its transient response is thrillingly positive, and the overall sound is eloquently alive and communicative as a result.
And when it comes to communication, the way the LS Luxe resolves the midrange means it’s brilliantly informative where voices are concerned. The minutiae of timbre, texture and technique are all made available, and the KEF can describe the attitude and character of a vocalist just as directly.
Rhythmic expression is confident, thanks to the careful control the system pays to the attack of low-frequency information. It’s a deftly fluent listen at the bottom end, and marries outright punch to a huge amount of tonal and textural variation. And when it comes to the dynamic of a recording, whether that’s the big shifts in intensity and volume or the more nuanced dynamics of harmonic changes, the KEF is an assured and convincing performer.
- Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5
KEF LS Luxe review: Design
- Bulk moulding compound allows for organic shape with no seams
- Another Ross Lovegrove design
- Color makes a disproportionate difference to appearance
Q: When did you last see a pair of speakers that look like this? A: Never, that’s when.
The LS Luxe is the latest results of KEF’s ongoing collaboration with designer Ross Lovegrove and, just as with previous KEF/Lovegrove designs, there’s something almost organic about the shape of these loudspeakers.
The use of BMC (‘bulk moulding compound’) as the material for the cabinets means this smoothly curvaceous shape has no edges or visible seams, and is less prone to the build-up of internal standing waves than a more conventional box. It also means the requirement for internal bracing is minimised, so there’s greater internal volume than would otherwise be the case as a result. And there’s further visual drama at the rear of the cabinet: an elaborately shaped and channelled heatsink, fashioned from aluminium, has sufficient surface area to allow the heat from the internal electronics to be efficiently dispersed.
There’s also a fairly large bass reflex port nearby — it features KEF’s ‘Flexible Port Technology’. This means the walls of the port are not completely rigid, which should in theory help keep internal resonance to a minimum.
The LS Luxe is available in three finishes. My review sample is in ‘eclipse black’, which is my least favourite of the three. To my eyes it makes the cabinets look bulkier and heavier than they actually are. Check out the alternative ‘mineral white’ or ‘dusk titanium’ and see if you know what I mean. Regardless of the finish you choose, though, you’ll be the owner of a pair of speakers that are beautifully constructed, flawlessly finished, and both look and feel like the money’s-worth.
KEF didn’t supply me with the cost-option ‘S-Luxe’ stands developed specifically for use with this system, but unless you intend to position your speakers on a shelf or desktop (in which case I will judge you quite strongly) it’s worth factoring this extra cost in.
Other speaker stands work perfectly well, of course — I position the KEF on a pair of Soundstyle Z2, and they perform admirably. But the way the cabinet swoops and tapers towards the base means that a lot of the (regulation size) top plate of my stands is visible when the speaker is in place, and the look is not especially harmonious.
KEF LS Luxe review: Usability & setup
- ‘Wireless’ means either two or three wires
- Remote control handset and app
- A little patience sometimes required when using the app
There’s really not that much to setting up the KEF LS Luxe, and once it’s set up it’s pretty straightforward to operate — but that’s not the same as saying it doesn’t require a little attention.
As already discussed, this is a wireless system that requires at least two wires; both speakers must be plugged into the mains. After that, you can choose to connect the speakers together using a supplied cable, or you can take the hit in terms of resolution and establish a wireless connection between them.
There are a couple of control methods available. KEF supplies quite a nice, metal-fronted remote control that covers off the fundamentals like playback, power, volume and input selection — and there’s also the ‘KEF Connect’ control app that’s free for iOS and Android.
Naturally it duplicates all the remote control functions, and adds in the ability to integrate music streaming services, search for and save internet radio stations, trim the system’s response to suit your specific environment, check for firmware updates and so on. It can be a little lethargic at times, but on the whole it’s a stable and useful user interface.
- Usability & setup score: 4.5 / 5
KEF LS Luxe review: Value
If you want your fancy new wireless stereo system to turn heads on the basis of its looks as well as its sound, you can’t really argue with the value the KEF LS Luxe represents.
If you’re after great build quality and nicely realised control options to go along with the sonic performance and the visual drama, the case for this system gets stronger still. The bespoke stands are no one’s idea of a bargain, admittedly, but in every other respect there’s undeniable value for money on offer here.
Should I buy the KEF LS Luxe?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Score |
|
Features |
As fully featured as you could ever hope in such a design |
5 / 5 |
|
Sound quality |
Very fussy with placement, but get it right and they’ll reward you |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Design |
Ross Lovegrove’s stylings won’t be for everyone, but they’re refreshingly unusual |
4 / 5 |
|
Setup & usability |
‘Wireless’ means either two or three wires, but a little patience gets things all set |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Value |
Excellent in the sound-per-pound stakes, but those stands are nobody’s idea of a bargain |
4 / 5 |
Buy them if…
Don’t buy them if…
KEF LS Luxe review: Also consider
The Sonus faber Duetto is, in its own way, just as visually arresting as the LS Luxe — it’s more identifiably a pair of speakers, but the established Sonus faber virtue of outstanding cabinet-making means this system looks and even feels the part.
It’s no slouch sonically, either — it’s a composed, informative and periodically thrilling listen.
At the other end of the spectrum (at least where aesthetic considerations are concerned) you’ll find the sonically impeccable, visually challenging JBL 4329P. JBL speakers have looked like this since the middle of the last century, and there’s no denying that in terms of performance they’re a roaring success. Their appearance in your home may cause a row based on their divisive looks, though…
How I tested the KEF LS Luxe
I position the KEF LS Luxe on a pair of Soundstyle Z2 speaker stands, and plug each one into the mains.
I listen with the speakers connected wirelessly, and I also listen when they’re physically joined together.
I stream music using TIDAL Connect and also access a lot of hi-res content from a Synology BeeStation Plus NAS device.
I connect a preamplified turntable to the analog input, a CD player to the coaxial input, and an OLED TV to the HDMI eARC socket. This means I’m able to access lots of different styles of content, in lots of different digital file types, and in a variety of resolutions.
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