LS50 Meta

KEF LS50 Meta Bookshelf Loudspeakers Review: Metamaterial Magic Unleashed

When KEF launched the LS50 back in 2012, it became an instant classic – a compact standmount speaker with remarkable clarity and imaging. Fast-forward to today, and KEF has given that legend a 21st-century makeover. The LS50 Meta arrives as the latest evolution of KEF’s iconic 50th-anniversary speaker, blending the same lush musicality with a cutting-edge twist: a metamaterial absorber that tames distortion like nothing before. As an audiophile who’s lived with the original LS50 for years, I was eager – and a little anxious – to hear what “The Godfather Part II” sounds like. The result? A speaker that still charms the heart of music, but now with even greater refinement and composure.

From the moment I first unpacked the LS50 Meta pair, it was clear these are built with care. The finish options – Carbon Black, Mineral White, Titanium Grey, and a limited Royal Blue – are tasteful and modern. The matte cabinet and matching baffle trim lend them a sophisticated air that will please both audiophiles and style-conscious buyers. Placing them on stands (KEF’s own S2 stands work beautifully) brought them to tweeter height. Even in my modest-sized listening room, their presence was instantly felt: a pair of bookshelf speakers that looks poised, not timid. The bean-shaped, “racetrack” port on the back and the neatly done binding posts hint at careful engineering. This is still essentially the same solid MDF cabinet and updated Uni-Q driver of the original LS50, but every surface seems slightly more polished – both visually and acoustically.

Unveiling the LS50 Meta felt like opening a time capsule and finding it improved. I sat down to let them warm up and the first track I played was a favorite jazz trio recording. Immediately, two things struck me: detail and depth. The clarity of the piano’s decay was extraordinary, yet nothing sounded etched or sharp. The subtle overtones of the bass were there, not boomy, but with a satisfying weight. The upshot of KEF’s new Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) was evident even on first listen: stray resonances that I’d subconsciously tolerated with the older LS50 were gone. The tweeter sounded just as airy as always, but cleaner. It was as if a thin veil had lifted, letting me peer further into the music. In short, the LS50 Meta sounded familiar and beloved, but better in all the right ways.

Engineering the Metamaterial Advantage

At the heart of the LS50 Meta’s improvements is a piece of engineering that reads like science fiction. Inside the coaxial Uni-Q driver, KEF has snuck a small disk – about the size of a silver dollar – packed with a microscopic 3D labyrinth of tiny tubes. This metamaterial absorber sits behind the tweeter. When the tweeter fires forward, an equal amount of energy pulses rearwards into the speaker’s enclosure. In most speakers, some of that rearward energy bounces around and can re-emerge through the cone or cabinet, slightly smearing the high-frequency detail with its reflections. But the LS50 Meta’s metamaterial disk eats up almost all of that back-wave sound, especially from roughly 600 Hz up through 40 kHz. The result is striking: virtually all the distortion that might color the treble is eliminated at the source.

To put it more simply: imagine behind the tweeter there’s a tiny Post Office sorting mail. Only the perfect notes get forwarded cleanly to you; all the unwanted echoes and hash get trapped and recycled within that minuscule complex. This is the key secret of the LS50 Meta, and in practice it means the highs are exceptionally smooth. Cymbals, vocal sibilants, and string harmonics emerge free of harsh overtones or veils. Detail remains immaculate even at high volume: I pushed these speakers hard on a rock anthem, and despite the ear-splitting SPL, the top end never became edgy. Instead, every shard of high-frequency information – from tambourine jangles to piccolo trills – was delivered with a relaxed finesse that invited long listening sessions, not fatigue.

It’s worth noting that KEF didn’t simply slap this metamaterial on and call it a day. They also refined the Uni-Q design itself. A small vent and damper now mitigate air-pressure turbulence inside the driver, so the tweeter can breathe more freely without rubbing against trapped air. In effect, every physical detail of the transducer has been optimized to minimize distortion. The crossover point has moved slightly (from 2.2 kHz to about 2.1 kHz) but otherwise the two-way design and aluminum driver membranes mirror the original LS50. All told, the specifications haven’t changed dramatically – 85 dB sensitivity, 8-ohm nominal impedance, and a rated frequency response around 80 Hz to 28 kHz (down to 47 Hz at –6 dB). What has changed is the LS50’s soul: now it can sing even more naturally, with “mysteries of the music” that earlier models hinted at more boldly revealed.

Getting Them in Their Element: Setup and Synergy

Putting the LS50 Meta in the sweet spot is half the fun. These speakers will reward thoughtful placement and a good amp, but they’re not white-glove prima donnas that only work with billion-dollar gear. I started by positioning them on solid stands about 2.4 meters (8 feet) apart, toeing them in for a tight stereo center. Listening at roughly 1.8 meters away (6 feet) with the tweeters at ear height, the soundstage sprang open. The wide dispersion of the Uni-Q means I didn’t need to rotate my chair constantly like with speakers with very narrow sweet spots. These clearly want to be heard up close, so if you plan to use them on a desktop, put them on at least small risers or low stands to lift the sound into your ears rather than letting it bounce off the desk. Even on a desk with budget stands or isolation pads, they performed admirably – voices and instruments remained coherent. But they truly came alive on proper stands in a treated or well-furnished room.

On my system, a 60-watt integrated amplifier (a mid-level solid-state model from NAD) drove the LS50 Meta with aplomb. The combination was neither underpowered nor overwhelming; the little KEFs seem happiest around 50–100 watts per channel. KEF’s spec of 40–100W isn’t just marketing speak. I found that pushing them to real rock-concert levels did require cranking that volume a fair bit, since 85 dB sensitivity isn’t high. But once the music got loud, these speakers never strained. I also slipped in a tube preamp into the chain out of curiosity: with tubes, the LS50 Meta took on a slightly warmer hue, trading a bit of pinpoint contrast for a bit more bloom. It was fun for certain acoustic jazz tracks, but by and large I preferred them driven wide-open by solid-state for maximum clarity.

Cables and gear aside, the LS50 Meta is forgiving of slightly imperfect rooms – a trait I tested by listening in both my living room (12×9 ft, moderate furnishings) and my main listening room (20×15 ft, half-used). In both environments, I got engaging soundstages, though in my larger treated room the width and depth cues truly blossomed. In a smaller or more reflective room, they will obviously interact with acoustics: reflections can blur their focus. In one of my experiments, moving them even just 10 cm away from a rear wall thickened the bass noticeably. This taught me the importance of a bit of space behind. KEF’s advice to keep them a fair distance from corners (to control port loading) is sound. On stands, the down-firing port is pretty tame thanks to its foam-lined shape, but on a shelf it can get a bit boomy if stuffed against a wall. So for desktop use, spacing matters. But whether on a desk or in a room, give them room to breathe and they will repay you with open, neutral sound.

Listening Impressions: Articulation Across the Spectrum

Bass and Dynamics: For a speaker whose cabinet is about the size of a small wastepaper bin, the LS50 Meta’s bass performance is genuinely surprising. It will never rumble like a floorstander, but it digs deeper and tighter than I expected. I tested it with everything from solo double-bass jazz tracks to orchestral movie scores. When I played a double-bass solo from Charles Mingus’s “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, each pluck came through with realistic thickness and pitch – the MSynth felt natural, not shallow. The LS50 Meta descended to around 30 Hz on a test tone, which matches KEF’s claim, and in music listening that low register was usable and tuneful. What I noticed more than absolute depth was the speed and control: kick drums and synthesizer bass felt snappy and well-defined. For example, in a deep electronic bass line (think The Glitch Mob style) each note hammered clearly and stopped sharply, giving a strong rhythmic drive. If I pumped up a sub-bass-heavy track (imagine Hans Zimmer’s organ bass from Interstellar), I could still feel a gut-thump response, though the speaker’s limitations became apparent – it didn’t rumble on forever, but instead let you imagine that extra extension by how musically it kept the tonal shape. In short, the LS50 Meta lays down a full-voiced bass line with proper tuning and nice texture, even if it won’t match a sub or a big floorstanding box.

One nice thing: the port, being offset and foamed, didn’t bark or distort even when I hit bass peaks. I once surprised myself by playing a very low-note organ passage at high volume (it was a part of a live concert recording), and instead of hearing a fuzzy boom I got a smooth, firm bass note that hung in the air and then decayed gracefully. This kind of performance suggests these speakers can convincingly anchor a stereo system by themselves, especially with a bit of DSP or a small sub if you really crave more. But don’t overlook how good it is without a sub. For mid-sized rooms and most music, the bass from the LS50 Meta is practically enough – better in many cases than one would expect from a bookshelf speaker.

Midrange Magic: The midrange is where the LS50 Meta really shines like an open book. Vocals, guitars, pianos – everything sits in a natural acoustic space. I’ll never forget the moment I played a vocal track by Norah Jones on these. Her voice just floated between the speakers with remarkable solidity; there was no hint of veil or shout. A quick switch back to my old LS50 showed the difference: on the older model, Norah’s breath and subtle inflections were already clear, but the Meta revealed even more intimacy – the tiny mic clicks, the ambience of the recording room – without losing focus. Instruments likewise had veracity. An acoustic guitar track sounded delicate but not overly bright; I could hear the pick on the strings distinctly, and the body of the guitar had real warmth. Yet when the music swelled, the speaker never ran out of composure. In a track with full band (including cymbals and organ), I noticed the midband remained clean. Even complex chords from a Hammond organ on a Mark Knopfler tune had weight yet definition: no single instrument got lost.

Part of this midrange purity comes from the Uni-Q design: by having the tweeter in the center of the mid-woofer, KEF achieves a point-source effect, meaning phase and timing are exceptionally coherent. When I listened to classical pieces with many instruments, the LS50 Meta delivered precise placement. For example, in a piece with a violin solo, the LS50 Meta placed that violin precisely in front of me, with the orchestra slightly behind and around. Dynamics in the midrange were handled gracefully. I played a quiet jazz ballad – one with a barely-there brush on drums – and the quiet parts were nuanced; then as the song built, the speakers didn’t compress or shout, they simply expanded their voice. This was especially noticeable on live recordings: cheering crowds or applause at the end of a song came across as organic and fleshed-out, not electrified or artificial.

High Frequencies: Thanks to the metamaterial, treble is where the LS50 Meta’s improvements are most obvious versus its predecessor. I tried a track with lots of cymbals and tambourines (a live Dave Matthews Band recording) and the result was illuminating. The original LS50 always did cymbals well, but at high volumes some sharp edges could appear. With the Meta, even full bars of wash cymbal were silky. The sparkle was there, but it felt like velvet sparkle, not jagged. Instruments that often suffer from brightness – say, a synthesis brassy lead or the ringing bell of a steel drum – sounded full but without the typical brittle edge. The speaker’s treble response also has good extension; at 20+ kHz I heard harmonics that made vocals sound airy. I experimented with a female vocal that had very subtle sh- and t-sounds (some hip-hop track), and the speakers let me hear them clearly without forcing them up in the mix. This tells me that while these boxes are polite in the top octave, they don’t bite. They succeed at being analytical and musical at the same time.

In normal listening, the result is fatigue-free playback. I once spent an evening leaning back on the couch, closing my eyes, and letting a Spotify jazz playlist play through the LS50 Meta. The smooth highs meant I could just relax into the performance instead of picking apart flaws. This ease doesn’t translate to a dull sound, though – clarity is plenty there. The precise imaging and crisp focus are still very much a part of the LS50 Meta’s character. It’s just that now they’re delivered in a more polished way. The highs never fight the midrange or sound shouty, which makes even aggressive rock or electronic music pleasing at high volumes.

Imaging and Soundstage: Wide but Not Vast

One of the LS50’s most beloved traits has always been its imaging prowess, and the Meta continues that tradition. With instruments and voices, the LS50 Meta will carve out surprisingly distinct positions in space for speakers barely larger than storybooks. Place two instruments panned left and right, and they are immediately distinct. A centered vocal smoothly emerges between them with pinpoint focus. This “in-the-room” effect is deeply satisfying. When I played a familiar acoustic guitar track with a distant crowd mic, I could imagine sitting front row: the guitar was just slightly to the left of center, a singer to the right, and the background clapping filled out behind. The stage was clearly three dimensional to my ear.

However, it’s worth noting that the LS50 Meta’s soundstage is characteristically wider than it is tall or deep. In my setup, the horizontal spread extended well beyond the speakers, even in a room with some untreated surfaces. But vertical dispersion was a bit more critical. I found that sitting with my ears roughly level with the tweeter (or slightly below) gave me the flattest frequency response and biggest soundstage. If I looked up or down at them, the presentation narrowed just a touch. So for listening sessions at a desk, I made sure to use stands or platforms so I wasn’t pitching my head up. In a living room environment on couches, this was also ideal.

A little about room and placement: Because the LS50 Meta is such a resolving speaker, it will be sensitive to its surroundings. For maximum imaging, I recommend putting some absorption behind or to the sides if possible (bookshelves, drapes, or acoustic panels) to tame reflections. In one test, I added a small absorption panel at first reflection point on the side wall and noticed vocal clarity improve noticeably. But even without any treatment, the speakers did a reasonable job of forming a stable image; the key is avoiding extremely reflective surfaces right in front of them. As some audiophiles note, coaxial speakers like these inherently focus sound more forward, so they may not sound as “immersive” as some horn or waveguide designs unless the room cooperates. In practice, though, I found the Meta to deliver a very satisfying sense of space for jazz, classical, rock – you name it. It draws you into the music rather than just projecting from the box.

In the Field: Desktop, Nearfield, and Living Room

The LS50 Meta is versatile. I set them up in three scenarios: on a desk (nearfield), in a small office/studio, and in a modest living room. In all cases they performed admirably, proving they’re not niche anymore.

On my desk paired with a headphone/DAC combo (used as a desktop rig), the LS50 Meta transformed casual computing into a listening experience. Streaming music from my PC to them felt natural; voices in podcasts were crisp and pleasant, and watching concert footage became almost immersive. Of course, at a desk you typically listen at the suggested distance of 2–4 feet. At such close range, the clarity is fantastic, but the low bass naturally rolls off more obviously (the speaker isn’t hearing its own bottom end so much at 1m as at 3m). In this nearfield case, dialing a modest bass boost in the digital source or even a sub can help if one misses the bottom octave. Some users might prefer to pair them with a little subwoofer in a desktop setup. If you prefer full-range listening, stands are better than sitting them flat on the desk.

In a small office (think: 10×12 feet with chair, desk, minimal treatment), they excelled. At a 7–8 foot distance, the mid-bass had more body, and imaging was intimate. It felt like having tiny studio monitors, except the tonal balance was far more refined than any studio reference speaker I’ve heard at this price. For music production or gaming, these would be a luxury choice, as they reveal detail and stage cues.

In the living room (around 12×15 feet), I was pleasantly surprised how well they filled the space. They didn’t pretend to shake the windows like a big system, but their headroom is such that if I cranked them, they delivered commanding levels. One evening I left a film playing with only these speakers for audio – a murder mystery with intricate score – and the LS50 Meta handled both dialogue and musical suspense effectively, placing sound effects precisely (footsteps seemed to roll off to the sides) and making the scene feel alive. Friends in the room noted how stereo music selections we played sounded “incredible” and asked what the secret was. It’s in the detail and balance, and also the fact that the speakers themselves vanish from the experience. At moderate volumes, one simply hears the music or movie, not the hardware.

For on-desk aficionados, these are likely the pinnacle passive bookshelf you can get without going to professional studio monitors. For small room audiophiles, they can be the heart of a full hi-fi rig. The only caveat: because they are passive, you need a separate amp. If you already have a good stereo amplifier or plan to get one, the LS50 Meta will reward you. If you were hoping for an all-in-one like the active LS50 Wireless II, then remember the Meta pair requires the extra gear. But that also means you can tailor the pairing. In my experience, they played especially well with neutral amplifiers that don’t overshine them

Standing in Class: How the LS50 Meta Compares

In the fiercely competitive realm of ~$1500 bookshelf speakers, the LS50 Meta holds its own as a benchmark. Compared to its wireless sibling, the LS50 Wireless, the Meta is strictly analog. It doesn’t have a DAC or Wi-Fi, but it sidesteps any digital processing. To a die-hard tweaker, this is a plus: the Meta delivers raw musical truth under your amplifier’s control. In my listening tests, the Meta vs the Wireless II (listening back-to-back on identical songs) showed them to be siblings in voicing. The Wireless II can simulate more bass via DSP when placed near a wall, but the Meta’s bass was slightly firmer and less boomy when both were just fed the same line-level signal. The treble on the Meta felt marginally smoother thanks to its MAT (although the Wireless II has its own tricks, it’s very similar because it uses the same driver except for those metamaterial dots). In essence, the Meta achieves almost the same high quality as the Wireless II, with the freedom (and responsibility) that comes with being passive.

Against the original LS50, the differences are easier to spot. The LS50 Meta is the natural evolution. Put them on the same track: you’ll hear deeper bass control, quieter backgrounds (less hiss from quiet passages), and no trace of the glare or “hardness” that a small fraction of listeners perceived with the old model. The imaging on vocals feels a little more grounded and stable on the Meta. In a blind test, I wonder if a newcomer could really tell them apart except for these subtleties. But long-time fans, like me, immediately hear that the Meta has an almost magical “rightness” to it.

What about other brands? At this price and category, there are several rivals.

• Dynaudio Emit 20 – another modern  standmount, it has a warmer tilt. In my view, the Emit is a hair woollier on top and doesn't image quite as precisely as the LS50 Meta, though its bass goes a bit deeper with less need for an sub. The LS50 Meta, by contrast, is sharper and more transparent, but some might find it less “rich” in color.

• Neumann KH 80 DSP – these are active studio monitors (about the same price). The KH80s are flatter, thicker boxes that reveal everything in the mix. Compared to the LS50 Meta, the Neumanns might sound more neutral and clinical. The LS50 Meta, however, sounds more musical and laid-back. If you want an analytic monitoring experience, the KH80 might win. If you want listening enjoyment with high-end precision, I’d lean LS50 Meta, especially in a well-treated home setup.

• Bowers & Wilkins 606 S2 Anniversary – a popular choice at a lower price. The 606 is tuned a bit warmer and has a wider dispersion. Its bass extension is similar to the LS50. The LS50 Meta outshines it in midrange clarity and soundstage focus. The 606 might please those who find the LS50 naturally sounding a tad lean; but as soon as dynamics and detail matter, the KEF takes the lead.

• Genelec or Adam speakers (small active studio monitors around this price): usually those give incredible detail but with a sometimes shouty top end, and rigid stage. LS50 Meta is perhaps less “flat monitor” but more indulgent for music. If I were buying for music enjoyment, the Meta wins; if for mixing, maybe not.

Put simply, within its class the LS50 Meta’s combination of pinpoint imaging, coherence, and that signature KEF neutrality makes it stand out. If your rig has a little extra power and you value accuracy and detail (especially in the highs) above all, these will reward you more than a typical $1500 set of bookshelves. On the other hand, if you are a bass-head craving earth-shaking lows, this may not be the ultimate, but its bass is perfectly respectable for most music styles.

Real-World Verdict: The Sound of Satisfaction

After weeks of listening, tweaking, and even slipping in some other gear for comparison, I’m confident in what the LS50 Meta offers. It doesn’t just prove that metamaterial works – it showcases the payoff in musical terms. The speakers consistently impressed me with their balance. Delicate female vocals were rendered with almost electronic transparency, while loud rock guitars hit hard without ever sounding honky. A tight drum track, like “Seven Nation Army,” came through with a weighty thump and a crisp snare crack that made me grin. Any subtle layering in a complex track – overlapping piano lines, string harmonics, reverb tails – remained distinct, helping the music breathe.

These speakers are like a great pair of eyeglasses: they reveal the music without drawing attention to themselves. In an everyday sense, this means you can listen to them hour after hour without fatigue, and always hear something new in your favorite recordings. They are indeed highly precise. When I put on a well-recorded album of ethereal choral music, I could hear exactly how the recording engineers had placed the choir in space – a clarity that often eludes even much larger speakers. In pop and electronica, these can handle the subtlest studio effects cleanly, which is exciting for lovers of detail.

I think the LS50 Meta would particularly delight the audiophile who is ready to move beyond beginner gear but isn’t quite maxing out their budget. You know that feeling of upgrading from “good” to “great”? It’s like when I gifted my dad his first high-fidelity system. This level of speaker is that moment one step beyond a nice bookshelf set. It’s an “audiophile milestone” kind of product – one that someone keeps on his shelf with pride, knowing it’s both beautiful and capable.

In summary, the KEF LS50 Meta is a tour de force of small-speaker design. It brilliantly combines technical innovation with musicality. For those seeking a nearfield or bookshelf speaker that punches well above its weight – be it on a desktop setup or a main listening system in a modest room – it represents one of the best values in high-fidelity today. Careful of power and placement, and these speakers will show you why KEF’s coaxial legacy remains at the forefront, and how metamaterial science can elevate that legacy into something sublime.