Original KEF LSX was one of our favorite wireless speaker systems, and the new LSX II improves on everything we loved about the original.
These stylish bookshelf speakers deliver great 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 outdo its own greatest hits, but KEF has done it once again.
Tasteful design
The LSX II shares a lot in common with its predecessor, and one of the best things it kept is the same sleek 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 entire 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 organize your living space. The color options are a modest improvement over the previous generation, which were a little less subtle, although the lack of a green option may be a disappointment to those who prefer a natural vibe.
The bottom of each speaker has a ¼-inch stand, making it easy to place them on a speaker stand. If you do, you’ll need to consider the power cable going 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 almost anywhere with minimal cable clutter.
Multiple entries
Photography: KEF
The beauty of a wireless sound system is how easy it is to connect your audio, and in that regard the LSX II has no shortage of options. Once set up, you can stream music over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but they also include a wide range of other wired inputs for anything you want to use.
There are typical options such as optical and 3.5mm 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 easier to control a wide range of A/V equipment. While testing it, I used it to run game consoles and streaming sticks to my TV and connected the TV to the LSX II. There was virtually no lag, and once it was set up, I was able to continue using the same volume controls and remote controls that I had been using all along.
It’s worth noting that while connecting a PS5 via HDMI ARC, I couldn’t get sound from the LSX II. This was the only device I had this issue with, and I think it’s a bug with the PS5 software, not the LSX II, but it’s worth mentioning if you plan to use it with a PS5, like i did