New KEF LSX speakers on the way

manicm

Well-known member
I never really understood this Meta drivers bit, I thought it referred to cabinet construction...

It's a kind of damping device directly behind the tweeter I think.

 

Deliriumbassist

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2011
120
81
18,670
Visit site
It's a disc made up of channels of varying lengths that has it's opening placed at the rear of the tweeter. Backwave of the tweeter goes in, one or more channels resonate in the opposite phase, cancels out the back wave. It's basically a re-engineering of a tapered tube (think B&W Nautilus) but instead of a long tube, it's something that can be put into a cabinet without affecting much else negatively (instead of, for example, rolling up a long tube and placing inside the box, robbing acoustic volume).
 
  • Like
Reactions: S14brown
It's a disc made up of channels of varying lengths that has it's opening placed at the rear of the tweeter. Backwave of the tweeter goes in, one or more channels resonate in the opposite phase, cancels out the back wave. It's basically a re-engineering of a tapered tube (think B&W Nautilus) but instead of a long tube, it's something that can be put into a cabinet without affecting much else negatively (instead of, for example, rolling up a long tube and placing inside the box, robbing acoustic volume).
So it is part of of the cabinet and not the driver itself?
 

Shildondurham

Well-known member
Feb 7, 2016
77
8
18,545
Visit site
Yeah Iv been waiting a while for these. Doesn’t seem like a drastic upgrade from the original bar the user app and hdmi? Same version of tweeter I think? I’m going to wait until I can hear them and see what Darko thinks of them first and I might plum for the originals at £500 cheaper?? I was expecting more sonic upgrade and perhaps loosing the connecting cable?
 

manicm

Well-known member
Yeah Iv been waiting a while for these. Doesn’t seem like a drastic upgrade from the original bar the user app and hdmi? Same version of tweeter I think? I’m going to wait until I can hear them and see what Darko thinks of them first and I might plum for the originals at £500 cheaper?? I was expecting more sonic upgrade and perhaps loosing the connecting cable?

While the speakers are essentially the same to keep costs down, KEF are claiming significant improvement in sound through revised DSP.

If you know what you want then yes the Mk1 is a better buy, but if you want to stream from 3rd parties, watch TV then the extra 500 is mandatory as the newer app - not backwards compatible - is far far superior, and HDMI is much more convenient than optical.

Also, the original Mk1 price was 1k, and I would expect discounts for the Mk2 to appear later in the year unless we edge closer to WW3.
 

Shildondurham

Well-known member
Feb 7, 2016
77
8
18,545
Visit site
Speakers are now tied to the price of oil!!
Yes I think your probably right it will probably come to pass that the new version sonically betters the old I suppose I’m just seeing the price difference and maybe a little disappointment at no meta.
On the old ones though, which a family member has by the way and I absolutely love the way they play music, I currently use a Yamaha wxad10 with amp and passives.
So if I use this via rca into the lsx will I then bypass the poor app usage people complain about. Ie can I use the Yamaha streamer exactly as I do now to my amp or do I need to use the kef app?
 

Deliriumbassist

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2011
120
81
18,670
Visit site
So it is part of of the cabinet and not the driver itself?

No. It is a part of the driver construction. The middle of the midrange motor makes up the tube that interfaces the rear of the tweeter to the MAT disc and the MAT disc sits on the back of that

12th_gen_Uni-Q_with_MAT-Cutaway_dark_background.jpg


So the MAT is that black bit at the bottom.
 

manicm

Well-known member
The price increase is disappointing, considering the only changes are the new streaming board, tweaked DSP, and the addition of an HDMI port.

But I'm still now seriously looking at this kit. And it looks delicious.
 
The price increase is disappointing, considering the only changes are the new streaming board, tweaked DSP, and the addition of an HDMI port.

But I'm still now seriously looking at this kit. And it looks delicious.
I thought it had the next generation drive unit too. They’re up to v.11 with this one now, but I glaze over a bit when it’s not obvious what the differences are. In any case, I trust KEF as they don’t really make a bad speaker these days imv, and several are outstanding. The finish on this new LSX looks really excellent too.
 

Shildondurham

Well-known member
Feb 7, 2016
77
8
18,545
Visit site
I think it’s the same tweeter as previously?? Might be wrong. I’m seriously considering getting the old ones and bypassing app issues with my Yamaha wxad10. I’m going to wait until I can hear them and there’s a few reviews out before deciding. I wouldn’t care Iv been waiting months for these already but they not on sale till the end of the month so plenty thought space.
 

manicm

Well-known member
I think it’s the same tweeter as previously?? Might be wrong. I’m seriously considering getting the old ones and bypassing app issues with my Yamaha wxad10. I’m going to wait until I can hear them and there’s a few reviews out before deciding. I wouldn’t care Iv been waiting months for these already but they not on sale till the end of the month so plenty thought space.

The speaker itself is exactly the same, just the streaming electronics are new, and the addition of an HDMI port.
 
The speaker itself is exactly the same, just the streaming electronics are new, and the addition of an HDMI port.
The review linked in the opening post says:-

“Many readers will ask if KEF's breakthrough META technology has been slipstreamed into the latest release, but instead, the company has opted for its 11th-Generation Uni-Q driver, which by all accounts offers significantly audible improvements over its predecessor.”

I read that to mean it’s a newer driver.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Al ears

manicm

Well-known member
The review linked in the opening post says:-

“Many readers will ask if KEF's breakthrough META technology has been slipstreamed into the latest release, but instead, the company has opted for its 11th-Generation Uni-Q driver, which by all accounts offers significantly audible improvements over its predecessor.”

I read that to mean it’s a newer driver.

WHF:

'Firstly, while the LSX II carries over much of the original’s acoustic hardware – a decision KEF says it took to keep costs (and thus the RRP) down – it benefits from completely redesigned DSP software, '

John Darko:

'KEF confirmed this morning via email that the driver and amplification have not been updated for the LSX II. '
 
Last edited:
WHF:

'Firstly, while the LSX II carries over much of the original’s acoustic hardware – a decision KEF says it took to keep costs (and thus the RRP) down – it benefits from completely redesigned DSP software, '

John Darko:

'KEF confirmed this morning via email that the driver and amplification have not been updated for the LSX II. '

Ah, well that’s rather a different take isn’t it? Now I see where you were coming from!
 

Edbostan

Well-known member
Aug 5, 2021
312
156
2,070
Visit site
No. It is a part of the driver construction. The middle of the midrange motor makes up the tube that interfaces the rear of the tweeter to the MAT disc and the MAT disc sits on the back of that

12th_gen_Uni-Q_with_MAT-Cutaway_dark_background.jpg


So the MAT is that black bit at the bottom.
Shame it is not possible to upgrade older speaker units to replace them with the MAT units. I would be interested to hear from someone who has.
 

Deliriumbassist

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2011
120
81
18,670
Visit site
Shame it is not possible to upgrade older speaker units to replace them with the MAT units. I would be interested to hear from someone who has.

It's probably a no-go from the off, to be honest, unless you're very DIY and handy with a soldering iron and crossover design. Back when I was a KEF retailer, in the long-long ago, we were shown how each range had it's specifically designed Uni-Q, even though they may have been in the same generation. That would require specific crossovers, even from model to model. Plus, at that time LS50 original, R Series etc had released, and they had started bracing the Uni-Q against the internal bracing structure with the constrained layer damping material, and MAT likely adds depth to the unit as a whole. At the very least just getting them in physically would require modification.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts