KEF LS50 Meta Passive Bookshelf Speakers

Pros

• Design & aesthetics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 7 reviews 5.0
  A compact, curved cabinet with a smooth baffle, contrasting Uni Q driver, and several modern matte color options gives the LS50 Meta a distinctive, contemporary look whose superb fit and finish still appear fresh years after launch; reviewers frequently praise its copper colored driver, textured paint, and tractor tire like surround as details that make it an especially beautiful standmount.
• Low-volume performance ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 1 review 5.0
• Stereo imaging accuracy ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 6 reviews 4.9
  Listeners highlight the LS50 Meta’s superb imaging, with tightly focused, stable instruments and vocals that cast a hypnotic, center locked presentation and make the speakers disappear, organizing complex mixes into a precise, coherent soundstage that rivals the spatial precision of far costlier monitors.
• Build quality ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 6 reviews 4.8
  The LS50 Meta’s rigid, well-damped MDF cabinet, extensive internal bracing, constrained layer damping, and smoothly curved baffle give it a solid, non resonant, premium feeling construction that many reviewers liken to a heavy cinder block, with a weighty base and textured finish that help keep cabinet borne distortion in check even at higher levels.
• Soundstage width ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 6 reviews 4.8
  The LS50 Meta is known for an expansive soundstage that extends beyond the speaker cabinets with good depth, strong dimensionality, and a convincing sense of sound floating free of the boxes; Meta refinements and the concentric Uni Q driver help it create a wide, coherent stage that can make much of the room feel like a sweet spot when set up well.
• Cohesive presentation ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4 reviews 4.8
• Detail retrieval ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 6 reviews 4.7
  Reviews consistently praise the LS50 Meta for exceptional midrange and treble detail, with Meta’s absorption technology and the updated Uni Q driver revealing low level information, ambient cues, and micro dynamics that make differences between front end components obvious; acoustic tracks often sound super clean with clearly rendered reverb and string texture, even if some hear a slightly metallic character on certain instruments.
• Voice clarity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 6 reviews 4.6
  Voices through the LS50 Meta generally sound natural, articulate, and tightly focused, with strong image stability that can be hypnotically engaging and a treble balance that exposes sibilance when it is present on the recording without exaggerating it, but at least one reviewer notes that lead vocals can sit slightly behind the speakers, giving a more laid back midrange presence compared with some forward competitors.
• Distortion at high volume ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 reviews 4.5
• Treble clarity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 reviews 4.4
  Listeners describe the LS50 Meta’s treble as clean, detailed, and extended, with the aluminum dome tweeter giving cymbals and hi hats a crisp, metallic sheen and bit of bite while Meta damping keeps sibilance in check so even bright recordings are revealing rather than aggressively harsh or fatiguing.
• Frequency response balance ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 reviews 4.3
  The LS50 Meta generally has a smooth, well balanced tonal character with a slightly warm midrange, weighty but controlled midbass, and enough treble energy to sound lively while Meta damping tames cabinet resonances and sibilance, but some listeners also find that vocals and upper mids can sit a bit recessed and the overall voicing can come across as polite or even boring in certain systems.
• Setup simplicity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 2 reviews 4.3
• Value for money ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 7 reviews 4.1
  While many enthusiasts regard the LS50 Meta as a reference level passive standmount whose imaging, refinement, and Meta enhanced performance can justify its premium price and make it a long term value, other reviewers feel that at a typical retail around 1600 dollars it faces stiff competition from less expensive speakers with similar or more dynamic sound, so its value is seen as highly dependent on listener priorities and system context.
• Bass performance ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 6 reviews 4.1
  For its compact size the LS50 Meta delivers surprisingly full, linear, and weighty midbass that can provide room filling energy and impactful basslines while keeping port noise and bloat well controlled, but multiple reviewers note that it rolls off around 70 to 80 hertz, benefits greatly from pairing with a good subwoofer, and while punchy and clean around 80 to 125 hertz it still cannot match the deepest extension or slam of larger designs.
• Home theater integration ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 1 review 4.0
• Loudness / maximum volume ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4 reviews 3.6