![]() As PM explained, this is effectively the '12th generation' Uni-Q in just over 30 years. For the LS50 Meta, irrespective of the attention deservedly being paid to the labyrinthine meta-material disc, the drive unit itself has been revised extensively, as has the cabinet. KEF has now used Uni-Q drivers in all manner of loudspeakers, including the Egg lifestyle mini-speaker, but one insider tells me the technology's evolution into the 'tangerine' drivers, seen first in models like the Blade (2009), had its greatest impact in the original LS50. The rear tweeter duct has also been enlarged as a ‘waveguide’ back to the metamaterial absorber You don't have to put a crossover in – lots of different things – all in one go.'Ī 12th generation Uni-Q is fitted to the LS50 Meta with changes to the motor system, suspension, surround and cone of the midrange driver. Much more importantly, when you put it into a cabinet, it's just four screws to connect it up and the job's done. What I mean by that, if you'd ever seen the earlier ones, the crossover was on the back of the driver so you could test the whole thing separately. 'I also realised that with the Uni-Q, I could make a loudspeaker system that didn't have a box. I said, "It's so small that we can make a coaxial speaker".' It was very small and had ten times the energy, so I was intrigued. 'A dealer told me about this new magnetic material… composed of neodymium, iron and boron. So you had the problem with bookshelf speakers – were they on their side or were they standing up? They could only work well in one orientation'.įincham credits the arrival of rare-earth magnet technology as the enabler, crucial as KEF was not considering coaxial speakers the size of Tannoy's drivers. The company's long-serving chief engineer Laurie Fincham, now with THX, explained, 'When you were making a regular two- or three-way speaker, there was always a spacing between the drivers, which meant you had to make a compromise, either vertically or horizontally. That Uni-Q concentric driver is something special.ĭual- and tri-concentric units had been around for years, not least the Tannoy and later Thiel designs, when KEF first unleashed its version in 1988. I won't say I had forgotten how good they are, but it had been a few months since I had last fired up the LS50s for review purposes. To prepare for this test, I set up the standard LS50s in a system of components relative in their value and lived with the speakers for a week and nothing else before the review samples of the LS50 Meta arrived. Original LS50 featured a rose gold-coloured 130mm Uni-Q array with 25mm tweeter mounted at the centre. While I've used LS50s since they first appeared, they are one of many speakers I have for reference. I say this so as not to create anxiety in those audiophiles who think their lives have been diminished because a new model 'something' has arrived, and there are tens of thousands of owners of passive LS50s. I emphasise here that the original remains both a magnificent and affordable speaker, while pointing out that an additional £200 in this sector is a huge percentage increase for an entry-level or financially-restricted customer. This foreknowledge is the only way one can even begin to appreciate precisely what KEF has achieved here, and there is also the £200 price differential between the outgoing LS50 and the LS50 Meta to address. Please go directly to PM's technical description of 'Metamaterial', then the interview with design prodigy Jack Oclee-Brown, followed by the Lab Report. Many of you read these reviews in the order they are printed but I would ask you, instead, to pause here. The new LS50 with the Meta suffix (£999) is KEF's The Godfather Part II. In the interim, there have been active and wireless versions of the speaker, but the passive original is a much-loved default purchase in the under-£1000 sector. KEF faced this with the LS50 which (terrifyingly) will be ten years old in 2022. I don't care if you're talking about cars, cameras or cookers – whatever the classic, the follow-up is metaphorically referred to as 'that difficult second album'. Hardly a curse, but it's still a massive challenge for any manufacturer to improve on a smash hit. ![]() We compare the original with the latest 'Meta' variant After nearly a decade in production, KEF's iconic LS50 compact monitor has been comprehensively updated.
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