Review: KEF LSX II

KEF's original LSX was one of our favorite wireless speaker systems, and the new LSX II improves on everything we liked about the original. 

These sleek bookshelf speakers deliver fantastic, room-filling sound from a small footprint, and setting them up with everything from a TV to your Spotify account couldn't be easier. It’s not easy for a company to top its own greatest hits, but KEF has managed to pull it off once more.

The LSX II shares a lot in common with its predecessor, and one of the best things it kept is the same stylish design. Each speaker is a single rounded block, with soft fabric wrapped around the edges. They come in black, white, red, blue, or "Soundwave"—a champagne gold with a wave pattern on the fabric and a striking blue center that came on my review unit.

The whole design hits a sweet spot where it can either disappear into your decor or be a visual focal point of an entertainment system, depending on how you arrange your living space. The color options are a moderate improvement over the previous generation, which were a little less subtle, though the lack of a green option might be a disappointment for those who prefer a nature vibe.

The bottom of each speaker has a ¼-inch mount, which makes it easy to place them on a speaker stand. If you do that, you'll need to be mindful of the power cable that runs to each speaker—and possibly an Ethernet cable, for reasons we'll explain below. But other than that, it's possible to mount the speaker just about anywhere with minimal cable mess.

The beauty of a wireless sound system is how easy it is to connect your audio, and on that front the LSX II have no shortage of options. Once set up, you can cast music over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but they also come with a wide range of other, wired inputs for whatever you plan to use them for.

There are typical options like optical and 3.5-mm auxiliary inputs, but new to the LSX II are USB-C and HDMI ARC inputs. HDMI ARC is particularly notable because it makes it much simpler to control a wide array of A/V gear. While testing it, I used it to run game consoles and streaming sticks into my TV, and connected the TV to the LSX II. There was virtually no lag, and once set up I was able to keep using the same volume controls and remotes I'd been using the entire time.

It's worth noting that while connecting a PS5 using HDMI ARC, I was unable to get sound from the LSX II. This was the only device I had this issue with, and I believe this is a bug with the PS5 software, not the LSX II, but it's worth mentioning if you plan to use this with a PS5, as I did.

The USB-C input is arguably even more interesting than the HDMI. While you'll probably be using these speakers mostly for casting music or watching TV, having the option to connect everything from your laptop to your Switch is extremely handy. Finally, there are a pair of Ethernet ports, so you can connect the speakers together for up to 24-bit/384-kHz audio output, and plug them into your network for non-wireless streaming.

There's a reason the original LSX were one of our top picks for high-quality wireless speakers, and the sound quality coming out of the LSX II only improves upon what we loved in the original. First and foremost is volume: The company's famed concentrically mounted drivers (which look a bit like flowers, with the tweeter mounted inside the woofer) are very loud for their size. Despite being only two, relatively small speakers, they can fill an entire room with booming sound. Even from across the room, I could feel the bass out of these speakers while watching a movie as though there was a subwoofer right next to my couch.

Yet they also maintain excellent clarity. It's no secret that the sound mix in modern movies often sounds terrible on home systems, leaving dialog too quiet or explosions too loud. The LSX II aren't a miracle cure for this problem—no speaker system is—but they're clear enough that voices are still crisp and distinct, even in the midst of bass-y explosions.

The speakers come with a physical remote, but you can also control them via the KEF app, which provides a simple volume control as well as some customization settings. There's a mode that asks basic questions like where your speakers are placed, what they're sitting on, and how big the room is. From there, the app will optimize your sound output for you, though you can also dive into expert settings and create multiple profiles to quickly switch between configurations. Despite being called EQ settings, though, you don't get full equalizer control over sound profiles, even in expert mode.

With so many bells and whistles on such an input-agnostic ecosystem, the LSX II is one of the most convenient, simple sound systems you can get at the not-insubstantial price point of $1,400. 

It's refreshing to see an audio device this indulgent that isn't aimed solely at experts who want to spend hours setting up their systems. Between the impressive sound and the hours of your life you get back by not having to fiddle with cables and settings, this is one of the better ways to spend four figures on a sound system. If you have the money and you love your listening, the LSX II's are a solid buy.