Why £3,500 Hi-fi Speakers are a hard sell - Even when they’re this good

The KEF LS Luxe are among the best-sounding wireless speakers money can buy, wrapped in one of audio’s most striking designs.

KEF’s new speakers are, according to the Kent-based UK audio company, a “new definition of luxury”.

I’ve already featured this review on YouTube, and a common theme within the comments section is “they look like your head”. For anyone who hasn’t seen me before, I’m follically-challenged, and according to those comment section dwellers, my bald pate is apparently rather reminiscent of the LS Luxe design.

My head isn’t a new definition of luxury, I can tell you that. Equally, I think those comments are rather unfair. Not for yours truly, but for KEF, who have, in my opinion, created an utterly beautiful pair of wireless home speakers in the LS Luxe.

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Thankfully, the majority of commentary left so far against that video is extremely positive. I make no bones about being a bit of a KEF fanboy, and that has clearly rubbed off on others.

The big question is: why should you spend £3,500 on a pair of wireless speakers that are huge, heavy, and which require another £800 spent on them (I’ll get to that later) if you want the absolutely perfect setup?

KEF LS Luxe Wireless Speakers: £3,500

Pros: – Stunning, award-worthy organic design by Ross Lovegrove – Exceptional sound quality with incredible low-volume detail retention – Impressive stereo imaging and immersive listening experience – Incredibly easy to set up and live with – Versatile connectivity: Bluetooth, AirPlay, Google Cast, HDMI eARC, and more

Cons: – Very expensive at £3,500 — plus £800 more for optional floor stands – Large and heavy, requiring significant dedicated space – KEF’s ecosystem is dangerously addictive for your wallet

The design

The LS Luxe are designed by a guy called Ross Lovegrove. A Welsh industrial designer based in London, Lovegrove is nicknamed “Captain Organic” because his designs are derived from nature. Indeed, rather than saying he ‘designed’ the LS Luxe, KEF proudly presents him as the sculptor. No, really.

He’s done a fair bit of work with KEF already. He was behind the Muon floor stander, the Muo portable speaker, and the Mu3 headphones. Outside of audio, he’s designed water bottles, chairs, and lighting.

I know nothing about design, but Lovegrove is clearly a force to be reckoned with, and the speakers sitting in front of me are utterly lovely. Comparisons with my head aside, the finish is incredibly premium. The dome-like (stop laughing at the back) cabinet is immediately eye-catching, while the rear of the speakers features lovingly crafted vertical metal lines that few people are ever going to see. That’s the sign of a designer who cares.

There are no flat edges anywhere. Every part of the LS Luxe design flows into the next. The only element that breaks that is the speaker itself, which features a copper ‘flower’ centre. It’s unique, high-end, and clearly means business.

If you’re spending this much money on a pair of speakers, you’d want them to look like the LS Luxe.

However, it doesn’t stop there. While not required, there is the option of adding a pair of floor stands to your LS Luxe setup. They look great, hide the cabling, and I do not doubt that they are engineered to make the listening experience even better. But they’re also £800.

The KEF Game is an expensive one. If you’re tempted, you’d better be ready for it.

About the Floor Stands

KEF’s optional floor stands for the LS Luxe cost an additional £800. They hide cabling, enhance acoustics, and are engineered specifically for the speakers — bringing the all-in cost to £4,300.

The important specs (and fancy tech)

The LS Luxe feature 12th-generation 6.5-inch Uni-Q drivers. For context, these are larger than the drivers featured in the LS50 Wireless II. As previously noted, the Uni-Q tweeter sits proudly within the centre of the cone, ensuring every frequency comes from one point.

Behind the driver sits KEF’s MAT (Metamaterial Absorption Technology), which is designed to soak up 99% of unwanted sounds. Impossible to test, obviously, but nice to know it’s there.

MAT is joined by VECO (don’t these audio brands love their acronyms?), which stands for Velocity Control Technology. Patent pending, VECO implements motion sensing tech with a feedback loop to help cut distortion. This essentially means that the driver is constantly ‘listening’ to itself and correcting any issues that might result in less-than-pleasurable sound reproduction. Once again, I have no idea how to prove its effectiveness, but it can’t be a bad thing.

Then, we have the Music Integrity Engine, which wins the award for coolest name ever. It’s KEF’s DSP (digital signal processor), which is what takes the source audio and turns it into the sound that emits from the speakers. It’s an important job, and the word ‘integrity’ suggests that KEF is doing all it can to relay audio that is true to the artist’s intention. It’s also developed specifically for the LS Luxe, which is yet more comfort.

When it comes to connections, there’s good ol’ Bluetooth, HDMI (eARC), optical, coax, 3.5mm analogue, and RJ45 ethernet. A second ethernet port is available if you want to connect the speakers physically to one another. This is an interesting point, because while they operate quite happily entirely wirelessly, if you’re a musician, DJ, or anyone who needs zero latency, you’ll want to use the included RJ45 cable to connect them together.

If you fancy it, there’s also sub outputs on both speakers, although I’m not convinced most people will need them — which brings me to the sound quality.

If you’re weighing up premium audio options, our Sony WH-1000X ColleXion review is well worth a read.

The sound

Acronyms and awesome DSP names aside, what do the LS Luxe actually sound like? KEF has certainly done its job when it comes to perceived attention to detail from an engineering perspective, but that means little if the LS Luxe sound like a cheap PA at a village fete.

They don’t. Obviously. They sound utterly lovely.

Obviously.

I’m a long-term KEF user. The ‘egg’ home theatre system powered my living room for a long time, and I still use the brilliant HTB2 subwoofer to this day. On my DJ setup, I have a pair of LSX II speakers which are simply unbelievably capable despite their diminutive presence.

I’m therefore aware that KEF has a very distinct signature sound, but it’s one I struggle to describe. You’ve got to hear it. Everything is just so rounded, full, and wide. It is absolutely EQ’d, but in a way that seems to work for virtually any type of music.

The LS Luxe are the epitome of this. They go loud as you might expect, given the size of the drivers and the cabinet volume, but that isn’t their party trick. That’s reserved for the LS Luxe’s ability to retain all of their detail, width, weight, and clarity even at low volumes. And don’t get me started on the stereo imaging; this is what separates regular speakers from expensive speakers, and the LS Luxe make the listening experience so immersive.

These are easily some of the best speakers I’ve ever heard. Which they should be, for the price.

KEF Uni-Q Driver Technology

The Uni-Q driver places the tweeter at the acoustic centre of the mid/bass cone. This single-point design ensures all frequencies radiate from the same location, resulting in a more detailed and consistent soundstage across a wider listening area.

Living with the LS Luxe

Once your credit card has been paid off and you’ve re-centred your financial situation, the LS Luxe are incredibly easy to live with. Shockingly so, in fact.

Just unbox them (with some help — they’re heavy), plug each speaker into a power outlet, and use the KEF app to set them up. From there, you can stream high-res audio from countless sources, chuck audio to them via AirPlay or Google Cast, or simply use them as Bluetooth speakers. A member of the Audiophile Fraternity told me off in the YouTube comments for suggesting that these are, essentially, expensive Bluetooth speakers.

But they are. So there.

As noted earlier, you don’t even need to connect them physically together unless your use case demands zero latency.

The HDMI eARC connection on the back means that the LS Luxe could, conceivably, replace your TV soundbar, and I don’t doubt that they’d look rather posh next to a nice TV in a lovely living room. And boy would they do the job asked of them, too.

So, they look great (in my opinion), sound delicious, and are as easy to live with as a Labrador.

It’s not all roses, though.

The honest problems

There are three problems with the LS Luxe.

The first is that they are, as noted, huge and heavy. This means — particularly if you don’t fancy stumping up for the dedicated floor stands — you need somewhere appropriate to place them. I’d originally intended to use the LS Luxe on my aforementioned DJ gear, but my own speaker stands were built for the LSX II. Now that I’ve experienced the size and weight of the LS Luxe first hand… well, it would be an incredibly expensive, depressing day if I were to attempt that.

Before you commit to the LS Luxe, make sure you have the space for them. They just about make sense on my desk at the studio (check out the YouTube review to see what I mean), but even that is pushing it.

Secondly, there’s the price. Don’t get me wrong — you’re getting a lot for your money with the LS Luxe, but that should absolutely be the case. They’re three and a half grand. We live in an extremely expensive world these days, and I can’t help but feel the LS Luxe are only going to be bought by wealthy individuals to whom such figures are genuinely pocket change. If that isn’t you, I’d highly recommend looking at something like the LSX II, which are still expensive, but a third of the price of the LS Luxe.

Lastly, once you go KEF, you’ll want to keep going KEF. I’m living proof of this. After buying the LS Luxe, you’ll want a full-on KEF-powered cinema setup. And their headphones. And a pair of LSX II for your spare bedroom listening room, which you’ve just decided to create. It’s a lovely rabbit hole, but your credit card won’t thank you for it.

Hunting for something more wallet-friendly? Check out our Nothing Headphone (a) review to see how much you can get for less.

Verdict

If the price of the LS Luxe sits within your budget, and you want a pair of home speakers that do everything you could ever want them to do while looking and sounding out of this world, buy the LS Luxe. You will not be disappointed.

If you’re just reading this out of wonderment - I’m totally with you, and I certainly sit on your side of the fence.

Keep doing what you’re doing, KEF. But don’t forget about the rest of us.