Customer Ratings & Reviews

So my situation was a reconfiguration of our small room, so my tower speakers (tannoy platinum) had to go. After many weeks of research and reading I decded on the LS-50 Meta's. I listened to the next model down in the store and was well impressed (Q1 Meta). Ultimately I chose to spend the extra money on these. Specs can be deceiving, so I listened to both in my room. I am running a Marantz Model 40n to power them. This produces the lower end of what I would power them with. Its about 100watts plus at 4ohms, but the can handle WAY more power and from what I have read will just sound better and better with more quality power. Remember these are actually a 4ohm minus speaker dipping to 3.2 so feed them as well as uou can. One reviewer ran them with 300watts per channel 8ohm and 600watts per channel 4ohm. His words were that these speakers really "woke" up with the extra current. This is one of the reasons I chose them. I have probably 30+ hrs on them but thet will need 200+ hours to be broken in and sound optimal. The one thing I can say, is these spekers deliver what's in the recirding. They are very revealing and can dissapear when properly setup. I am running them with dual 6" sealed aubwoofers. Many times I listen without the subs and have been suprised by the dynamics and bass. If you want small bookshelf's that can grow with any upgrades to your system (and power you give them), look no furter than KEF. LS-50's for the win!!

Almost bought the q350 until I saw it in the store. The finish looked a bit cheap. So I got the meta instead. Much better finish quality. I actually had the original ls50 a few years back. I was originally a bit disappointed with the sound at first. Image size was a bit small and vocalists seemed a bit recessed. But after switching out a modern integrated amp with a vintage marantz 140 power amp directly feed by a wiim mini and smsl Dac the sound is now big and spacious. Small 8 inch sub adds just enough bass.

Phenomenal product!! Kef never lets me down! Crisp and clear sound. Also, packs a punch.

For the sale price these are amazing. They look as great as they sound as well.

Amazing speakers sounds very good I do love how sounds with my smsl pa200 is a very good pair with that amp

These speakers look nice and sound even better, but if you are looking for high SPL, look somewhere else. They are all about naturalness and not loudness.

Polk r200 is too muddy. Sounds submerged. Focal Chora was nice at low volume, but when loud, ears get irritated because of its treble, sounds hissy. Elac UBR62 had a hollow, weak sound. This kef, sounds the best, clear, fills the room with ambient sound, and tv voices sound good too.

Compared the LS50 Meta to the B&W 606 S3. The LS50’s need to be paired with a Subwoofer while the 606’s can be manageable without due to driver size. Both are very clear and precise. Will defiantly spend many hours listening to Tidal to figure out what Sounds better to me.

It sounds phenomenal. I will definitely recommend. 

I reviewed these in another color so what follows is my review of the pair in grey: This speaker is among the top bookshelf speakers. The sound field is wide and extremely coherent. The build quality is excellent and the appearance is beautiful. It comes in a wide range of colors allowing for ease of fitting into any decor. It can be very difficult to find audiophile level speakers that can fit a wide variety of decors and thus please a discriminating spouse. The size of these is not obtrusive yet they sound much larger than they are. The build is solid and heavy. They measure very flat and smooth. You do need to add a subwoofer for the low end so that should be part of your budget. At roughly $1,500 a pair, they are not cheap but you definitely get what you pay for as there aren't many speakers at this price point that sound as good or are as well made.

You’ve read and seen all the online reviews. And yet you’re still on the fence, looking for reassurance on a decision you already made. I’m here to tell you: just do it. You’re going to love them. The soundstage, the clarity, the crispness and the definition of sound is all there, right in front of you, line never before. I replaced my beloved Elacs Uni-Fi UB5 with these bad boys. It’s just another existential level: from wanting to, to actually being able to experience music with you soul. In retrospective, I needed the entry level Elacs for a few years in order to be ready for the LS50 Meta. But there is no turning back. Actually, there’s now other place to go, at least for me. The Search Is Over, as Steve Perry would have said. A few of things I learned from endless hours of research, and which I can confirm are true: 1) The LS 50 Meta are very efficient. The Elacs were power hungry, the Meta just go way further with less power. 2) I’m sorry, but you’re going to need a subwoofer. There’s no way around it. For all their magic, the Metas need that extra help. And you should not just take your son’s subwoofer. You don’t want to put ketchup to this kind of premium meat. You’re going to have to make space in your budget for some descent SVS, and then you’ll taste the ice cream and melt it with chocolate fudge. 3) Wireless II or Meta? If you already have the receiver and accessories, just bring your favorite Blue Jeans cables and go Meta. They are the real future proof option. I mean, how many changes in Bluetooth technology have we seen in the last few years? You get my point. Now, if you just want to Spotify from your iPhone (because you don’t even do Tidal) and have no other equipment, well then, I don’t think you’re ready for either, but if you must and you can, then go Wireless II. You’ll save money in total and they will last you longer than your current iPhone 12.

I am using these as near field speakers on my computer desk. You need a big desk for this and you should put them up on stands but they are fantastic for this use. The coaxial drivers give a wide soundstage and large sweet spot. I do not need to toe these in at all they sound best straight on or even slightly toed out. They are at their best when paired with a subwoofer but are fine on their own especially in a near field setting. If they are near a wall the bass can be too loud and boomy so use the port plugs to tone it down. When I play music with my desktop DAC and digital monoblock amps it sounds amazing. For gaming they are incredible. The wide soundstage allows noises in the game to sound almost surround like. These are terrific speakers. If you are on the fence just buy them!!!

This speaker is among the top bookshelf speakers. The sound field is wide and extremely coherent. The build quality is excellent and the appearance is beautiful. It comes in a wide range of colors allowing for ease of fitting into any decor. It can be very difficult to find audiophile level speakers that can fit a wide variety of decors and thus please a discriminating spouse. The size of these is not obtrusive yet they sound much larger than they are. The build is solid and heavy. They measure very flat and smooth. You do need to add a subwoofer for the low end so that should be part of your budget. At roughly $1,500 a pair, they are not cheap but you definitely get what you pay for as there aren't many speakers at this price point that sound as good or are as well made.

I really do love these speakers. I got them on sale and I think they're fantastic, especially for the price paid. I also bought the KEF stands. They're a bit pricy but they work well and look good. The sound of these speakers is definitely high end. Very good imaging IMHO.

I love these little guys. I use them for listening to music and occasionally mixing music. You will need decent amplification and a good subwoofer to get the full experience. Also why are they so prettyyyy

These were paired with an NAD M10V2 - 100 watts. Listening mostly to Qobuz high-res music. I started my speaker journey with Martin Login Motion 4i's around Christmas and returned them for not enough bass. I didn't expect a lot but just wasn't enough. I traded those for KEF Q150s. They were a big improvement but did not have not enough detail. After reading audiophile reviews on the Sony SSCS5s, I thought I'd try those, and took them back the next day after listening. Not sure why the rave reviews on those. Sounded flat to me. Then I purchased the KEF LS50 Meta's in beautiful blue and gold, The blue was lighter than expected but still very nice. Wish they were a darker slate blue to match the online pictures. The speakers sounded really good at low volume but seemed to get a little muddy at higher volumes. There is a preponderance of midrange and the roll off sound of voices and high notes was just not what I was looking for. There was plenty of detailed bass produced in my home office environment, in fact I had to plug the ports due to placement near the wall. There is also great soundstage. Something I hadn't really experienced before and is really pleasing. Compared to the Q150s, these are much clearer, but maybe not as much depth to the music. If you prefer midrange sound I think you will love the KEFs. I think I'm more of a two-way vee shaped listener so returned the LS50 Metas and bought the JBL L52s instead. Much happier with the JBL sound and musical depth for my setting. The JBLs sound much bigger than they are. Better separation of bass and treble. Cool retro look. Great bass. Will I keep the JBLs? Can't say yet but I like these best out of what I have sampled.

The little driver in this speaker is just amazing. A bit directional. But on female vocals and chamber music the sound stage is so good you will feel like the musicians are right in the room with you. Add a subwoofer, or two, and you are set.

The amount and quality of the sound out of these LS50 Meta’s is stunning. I would disregard any comment that says “at this price” or “no bass”. The LS50 hold their own tonally and sheer size and presence arguably better than Harbeth and certainly better than the Sonus Faber towers I am now selling…. The voices… so real. Couple of comments- they will reveal all flaws in your upstream sources and despite some people’s narratives, these put out a tremendous amount of clean and satisfying bass. I am powering with a Naim Supernait 2 and a Chord DAC and the combination is stunning so your mileage may vary. I suspect I would get similar results with my other Arcam amplifier. Also, they are really nice off axis- meaning you don’t have to point them toe in…. The sound seems to spread everywhere. Simply a fabulous piece of audio technology. Zero regrets.

These speakers have been a great step up in my music setup. Previously, I had the Q150s, which were nice, but the clarity and soundstage of the these blow the Q150s out of the water. That said, I would not suggest these speakers for those looking for a lot of bass unless you intend of pairing them with a subwoofer.

Amazing Speakers. Had the KEF Q300 bookshelf and while I loved it. This is leagues ahead of quality music. Paired so far with a Denon receiver 4300H in bedroom and a Arcam S20 integrated amp in the living room. Both sound amazing. The Arcam sounds better, but you would enjoy it either way. Separation, reverbs, decay and image are things that come to mind. Using Tidal Masters as its source streaming through Roon to my Arcam Receiver and to the S20 at the moment.