We listen to Adrienne Lenker's Symbol and it is a more captivating affair through the Wireless IIs. The extra space between her vocal and the strings is in relative contrast to the originals, where it sounds as though they're fighting against one another for attention. That extra spaciousness isn’t at the expense of cohesiveness either – a hallmark quality of the Uni-Q driver’s tweeter-inside-the-mid/bass-cone design. We’re happy to report that the LS50 Wireless II stereo speakers continue to provide the phenomenal audio quality offered by their predecessors – and then some. In our review of the original LS50 Wireless, we noted their “clean and precise” manner and “neatly layered and nicely defined” soundstage. KEF has taken these attributes to another level here. Whereas the 150mm driver in the passive Meta makes demands (and considerable demands too) on an external amplifier, the Wireless II brings that power on board and quite a bit of power too. My comments in the passive review that the LS50 benefits from a bit of driving might benefit from the framing that each wireless version has no less than 380 watts of power. This is split with 100 watts allocated to the tweeter and 280 to the mid bass. Famed for their striking design, balanced sound and complete connectivity, the original KEF LS50 Wireless speakers swept the board. Now featuring new MAT technology for superior sound, a brand-new wireless platform and new KEF Connect app, the LS50 Wireless II is more impressive than ever.

As well as offering the dynamic range to make the most of Hi-Res music, the LS50 Wireless II also supports many associated formats. MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) – as used by TIDAL Masters – is compatible. ROON Endpoint status means it’s compatible with the award-winning music player – including Hi-Res files. The brand-new dedicated KEF Connect app controls LS50 Wireless II on a day-to-day basis, including intuitive sound settings so you can tune the sound to your own personal tastes. You can even select your favourite source to wake up LS50 Wireless II whenever it comes on, allowing you immediate access to the best sound.Thanks to its HDMI, optical and coaxial digital, plus analogue 3.5mm inputs you can also connect up other sources, such as your TV, games console, CD player or turntable (with built-in pre-amp).

The KEF LS50 Wireless II is the second generation of active LS50. When KEF released the original LS50, it did so as a passive design (and very good it was too). The company then proceeded to surprise quite a few people (myself included) with an active version. The surprise was twofold. Firstly, with the honourable exception of its subwoofer range and the curious - but rather good - Egg Digital Music System, KEF has largely focused on passive speakers. For the firm to go active after many decades of happily not doing so was a surprise. I am an old audiophile, brought up on components so heavy, you could only ever live in ground floor accommodation. Every aspect of LS50 Wireless II has been considered for acoustic benefits and from a design perspective. The low-diffraction, curved baffle is precision modelled around the Uni-Q driver, while eye-catching heat sinks and colour-matched ports are located on the well-equipped rear. The top-mounted control panel is designed to be stylish and functional. The obvious question is whether the KEF LSX II would have been a better solution, and I think they would have been a very good choice too, but the LS50W2 had a bit more clarity and depth to them. I did not want to compromise.

Conclusion

Audiophiles will be pleased with support for streaming files up to 24-bit/384kHz, as well as MQA and DSD256; but even if you eschew the wonders of Hi-Res Audio in favor of some simple Spotify streaming, you won’t be disappointed by the sound. A truly revolutionary tool in the KEF acoustic armoury, Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT™) is a highly complex maze-like structure that absorbs 99% of the unwanted sound from the rear of the driver, eliminating the resulting distortion and providing purer, more natural sound.

Solid all-rounder I'm using these in a smaller room as desktop speakers, and I wasn't sure if I would have enough space for a separate amplifier. In the end I decided on the all-in-one solution to save space. As a product following in the footsteps of such a huge success, the KEF LS50 Wireless II arrive with a world of expectation on their shoulders – but they well and truly meet those expectations. Make no mistake, this is a sequel of rare quality. Sound-wise, these speakers are extremely balanced, with a good depth and soundstage. They are not too warm or too harsh, but sit nicely in the middle. They certainly produce a strong bass but do not go as deep as some speakers, so are pushing you towards adding a subwoofer. They control quite well at higher volumes. There is a good level of detail and presence, and the ultimate test is that I can actually close my eyes and sink into the music. For the money it's good. Connecting the computer was a bit more work. I would have appreciated a USB input, but instead I needed to use an external sound card with a TOSLINK output.All aspects of the LS50 Wireless II’s performance is aided by KEF’s bespoke Music Integrity Engine. This collection of bespoke Digital Signal Processing algorithms is optimised for the Uni-Q driver, enabling it to deliver a perfectly timed performance, for better imaging and a tighter sound. The soundstage, the grip on the music, Jeff’s vocals bringing tears to my eyes, the depth of bass (no sub-woofer); everything from these two small boxes - really? Yes - really! Simon Davies led the KEF Industrial Design Team from 2000 through to 2018. He was responsible for key product designs including LS50 and LS50 Wireless, The Reference and R Series. Since 2018, Simon has acted as a design consultant for KEF, and continues to work very closely with the KEF Industrial Design Team. The manner that this is integrated into the top of the cabinet is beautifully realised and it’s details like this that help the KEF to be genuinely user friendly. The fit and finish is every bit as good as the passive version too. Do be aware that there some unavoidable quirks of placement that the KEF can’t easily nullify though. Any HDMI or optical connection from a TV is going to have to come out to the master speaker and both of those speakers need mains power. If you can dress it correctly, a setup based around the Wireless II will look outstanding… but you’ll need to put the effort in. Feature-wise, the speakers set up very smoothly using an iPhone, and within minutes you are able to stream to these speakers using AirPlay from your phone. It was a great setup experience. I like the touch-panel on the top of the speaker, but it is by no means necessary. The remote works well, but is not quite as well built as the speakers themselves.