Customer Ratings & Reviews

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.

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

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. 

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Amazing sound. Wish the style was more neutral (doesn't really go in the room) but willing to look past that...

These speakers blew all the others I tried out of the water. They were certainly more expensive, but their sound quality is just worth it. I have them on a desk and the uni-Q driver rocks hard no matter where I sit. I absolutely recommend these to anyone who moves around the room a lot, has a closer listening setup or a small/medium room. However, you're going to want a subwoofer and a powerful Amp. 100 watts if you can!

I’ve owned the non- meta LS50’s for a couple years. They are fantastic. I do a lot of research on line and bought them before I ever heard them. I’ve owned lots of better hi-fi equipment in my years and am glad that I got these KEF speakers. I now own 3 pairs. I use one pair in our main room, one pair in study and the remaining pair as a center channel in each room- all part of AVR setups. They are not bright or fatiguing like other speakers. They are very good from price/value perspective and I would highly recommend.

Can't beat these speakers for the price. I picked these up on sale and they easily beat anything close to their list price. They do take a bit of power to drive due to their "low" sensitivity. I have them paired with dual Schiit Vidar 2 amps in mono block mode and they sound amazing. Great small hi-fi speakers.

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.

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.

It was between these or going with a Sonos Arc, and I'm 100% glad I went with these over the Arc. They can't do Atmos, but the ridiculous amount of clarity and soundstage these have more than makes up for it in my room. For both music and movies, these ruined soundbars for me.

Excellent natural sound that fills the room without overpowering the listener

Good sound quality. Can't use other than with direct input from CD player. The amp connections don't work properly but that's likely an issue with the amp itself.