KEF LS60 Wireless Just Announced

[thewas]

Looks like a deliberate tuning to me, a very sensible one imo. Some attenuation of the frequency ranges that cause that annoying sssssibilants is not necessarily a bad thing. But some older folks will probably feel it's too dull due to less sensitive hearing in that range.

Also due to the symmetry of coaxial drivers even very small diffraction effects (like on the best ones, see Genelec and KEF) add exactly on-axis, but this isn't really audible as they disappear at small angles, that's why the listening window average is more important and is the one that should be used as EQ target which also KEF does, here is their spinorama of the LS60, see how the small imperfections of on-axis disappear (grey curve) at the listening window (blue curve):

Source: https://us.kef.com/pub/media/ls60-content/LS60W_WP.pdf

 

[Absolute]

@thewas Good points. I do think the measurements from kef are off by a bit compared to the ones posted above here, though. It'llbe interestingto see more and better measurements. @Balle Clorin commented he thought the Ls60 sounded dull, which makes sense to me looking at the posted measurements. A distinct downwards slope with a dip in the presence region and a broadband dip in the fozizzle region around 9 khz seems to match those impressions, although I'm speculating.

 

[thewas]

Yes, it seems the target voicing of the last generations of most higher KEF series models is a bit sloped downwards (warmly) which of course can be corrected easily by EQ.

 

[Tangband]

@thewas Good points. I do think the measurements from kef are off by a bit compared to the ones posted above here, though. It'llbe interestingto see more and better measurements. @Balle Clorin commented he thought the Ls60 sounded dull, which makes sense to me looking at the posted measurements. A distinct downwards slope with a dip in the presence region and a broadband dip in the fozizzle region around 9 khz seems to match those impressions, although I'm speculating.

I didnt hear any such dullness in ls60, and I used AirPlay from my phone with Apple lossless. I felt it sounded very neutral with very similar listening impression as my 8340. Its to soon to draw any conclusions.
I used the album by Anette Askvik - the song Liberty and Under the tallest tree, and some music from the latest record of the pianist Leif Ove Adsnes.
We need to see more measurements , Im sure it will come soon from both stereophile and hifinews, and also Amirm.

 

[Tangband]

View attachment 225518

I can't move it right now. My families are using it and occupied till monday.

But I have 8351b for reference so I'll post it for now.

LS60 is great speaker I have no means to harm it's value.

View attachment 225520

Do you want to share any subjective listening impressions with ls60 vs 8351 ?

 

[thewas]

It should be also kept in mind that a big part of how a loudspeaker tonality is perceived depends on the bass region which again depends a lot on the room acoustics and placement. For example if you have some wide bass dips due to SBIR you will rather perceive a loudspeaker as harsh and cold
In such cases I often used to think that there was something wrong in the mids and the highs although almost always the roots of the problem were in the bass region.

 

[Tangband]

It should be also kept in mind that a big part of how a loudspeaker tonality is perceived depends on the bass region which again depends a lot on the room acoustics and placement. For example if you have some wide bass dips due to SBIR you will rather perceive a loudspeaker as harsh and cold
In such cases I often used to think that there was something wrong in the mids and the highs although almost always the roots of the problem were in the bass region.

True.
Here is another review of the ls60 .
Personaly, I think that having the subwoofers a bit from the floor as with the ls60 and the Blade, is a good idea, soundvice. Also, crossing the uni Q driver at 300-400 Hz is a good thing.

 

[Dreamps]

Have a question for the current LS60 owners.. I am interested in the KEF LS60. Currently I have the KEF LS50WII + KEF KC62. I am quite satisfied but have the following problem with the LS50+KC62. It's about the wakeup problem of the KC62. I mostly listen to music / TV at a volume of 25 - 33. In the default settings, the subwoofer often goes into standby and does not start. For the solution there is a "workaround" on the Internet works quite well. Here, the subwoofer also becomes active when listening at >28.

How does the LS60 behave at volume 25 - 33 in particular the subwoofer? Can the subwoofer in the LS60 also go on standby? So that he only wakes up when he gets a signal at higher tone?

best regards

I had the same setup and issues with you, it got annoying and I have to say I like the 60s better. 50s and 60s are also on isoacoustics gaiai I and ii as well along with nrg z cables and ethernet in-between.

Yes the kc 62 digs deeper but overall the 60 sound is better with better imaging. If you have an open space and casually listen to music in the surrounding room it is muuuuuch better with the 60s. Mine is in family room and if I'm in the kitchen the music sounds way better.

 

[Balle Clorin]

But some older folks will probably feel it's too dull due to less sensitive hearing in that range.

Jepp, that fits me, 62 and not much hearing above 12k. Definitely dull sounding to me, in fact none of the KEFs I listen to made me want to buy them. Monitor Audio also has perfect response, did not suit me. Strangely A Graham speaker with little output above 13k I liked very much. But finally I bought a lower class Revel…

 

[Dreamps]

Jepp, that fits me, 62 and not much hearing above 12k. Definitely dull sounding to me, in fact none of the KEFs I listen to made me want to buy them. Monitor Audio also has perfect response, did not suit me. Strangely A Graham speaker with little output above 13k I liked very much. But finally I bought a lower class Revel…

I agree and I'm 40, I've always been a b&w fan/owner but the 60s shocked me at how much more treble and forward they sound compared to the ls50w2. They are definitely not the reg sounding kef speakers

 

[Vacceo]

True.
Here is another review of the ls60 .
Personaly, I think that having the subwoofers a bit from the floor as with the ls60 and the Blade, is a good idea, soundvice. Also, crossing the uni Q driver at 300-400 Hz is a good thing.

Subwoofers are always a good idea.

 

[Tangband]

I agree and I'm 40, I've always been a b&w fan/owner but the 60s shocked me at how much more treble and forward they sound compared to the ls50w2. They are definitely not the reg sounding kef speakers

This is very opposite to the measurements thats been shown, where ls50w2 measure rather flat and the ls60 is slightly down shelving in the treble. Everything one hear is however NOT depending on the frequency response , your different opinion might depend on different rooms ?

 

[Dreamps]

This is very opposite to the measurements thats been shown, where ls50w2 measure rather flat and the ls60 is slightly down shelving in the treble. Everything one hear is however NOT depending on the frequency response , your different opinion might depend on different rooms ?

The 60s replaced the 50s in the same room and same placement. I also tested blindly with friends and family and they all agree. My audiophile friend also agreed as he is a kef fanboy. They are more alive and not dull.

I was lucky enough to be able to do a/b tests via tidal and HDMI arc.

Also want to state this is a casual family room setup not for serious stereo listening. Cables go into a Niagara 3000 and Ethernet between them. Going to try the blizzards to see if they make a difference vs the nrg z. Aq carbon 48earc from the LG G2.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Apparently the ls60 is tuned like the Reference series not-meta and r series, i like that relax signature. More like the old references i guess.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

The 60s replaced the 50s in the same room and same placement. I also tested blindly with friends and family and they all agree. My audiophile friend also agreed as he is a kef fanboy. They are more alive and not dull.

I was lucky enough to be able to do a/b tests via tidal and HDMI arc

One thing, when you do blind test with 2 speakers in the same room, you basically also change the angle of listening position, so the mid-highs can change.

 

[Dreamps]

One thing, when you do blind test with 2 speakers in the same room, you basically also change the angle of listening position, so the mid-highs can change.

100% agreed! Glad I'm not the only one that thinks that. I had a buddy help me and we swapped for the tests. Blue tape is a great thing. Honestly if you hear them vs the ls50w2 in the same room it's a large difference in sound profile.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

100% agreed! Glad I'm not the only one that thinks that. I had a buddy help me and we swapped for the tests. Blue tape is a great thing. Honestly if you hear them vs the ls50w2 in the same room it's a large difference in sound profile.

It should be.. imho, they will interact different with the room, but most importantly in the high frequency it will change a lot

Personally, when I toe-in a speaker cm per cm i notice how the FR change

When I'm setup the speaker I try to listen the mid-highs until they sounds correct, more than measure them it's easier to me listen the speaker.., the first thing i prefer to do is correct the bass, sometimes because you got a dip in the bass, it can sound '' edy '' '' cold '' ''not warm'' whatever word you wish to use, but with enhancement in bass region it can sound boomy, sloow, etc. When i fix these thing i start to play cm per cm until i find the right spot when the mid-highs sounds nice

To me, when the right spot is there, there is not much difference.. even a cheaper speaker can sound really good when it's properly setup up.. imho..

 

[Vacceo]

The 60s replaced the 50s in the same room and same placement. I also tested blindly with friends and family and they all agree. My audiophile friend also agreed as he is a kef fanboy. They are more alive and not dull.

I was lucky enough to be able to do a/b tests via tidal and HDMI arc.

Also want to state this is a casual family room setup not for serious stereo listening. Cables go into a Niagara 3000 and Ethernet between them. Going to try the blizzards to see if they make a difference vs the nrg z. Aq carbon 48earc from the LG G2.

Well, the 50's are anything but dull. I guess the 60's are similar but with more meat on the bone.

 

[SDC]

Dull, warm, thin, lean is all personal preference and room difference so I won't comment more about subjective opinion than before.

I compaired it with 4367 in the living room and found the speaker quite nice.

Closer to JBL warm then Revel lean sound.
Nice sound signature for easy going living room speaker.

but I do like it's sound signature. And bass pumped out when watching movies are more than enough, very good.


BTW comparing them to 8351 and salon 2 in my room are really unfair as my room is fully treated with MSO-ish setup right now

revel

genelec

ls60 in other room

 

[Tangband]

Apparently the ls60 is tuned like the Reference series not-meta and r series, i like that relax signature. More like the old references i guess.

I didnt think the sound was ”relaxed” or colored in ls60 in the way that music sound less interesting or boring - quite the opposite. I thought it sounded clear, true to the sourcematerial and the timbre of different instrument sounded right.
The bass tunes sounded very good - but can probably be even better with more correct installation in the room.