The KEF LS50 Meta Speakers are the first to employ KEF’s Metamaterial Absorption Technology, a maze-like structure at the rear of the driver which absorbs 99 per cent of unwanted sound (distortion). This innovation, combined with the 12th generation Uni-Q driver array, ensures exceptional acoustic accuracy with minimal colouration.
A patented offset flexible port, cleverly designed using computational fluid dynamics, contributes to reduced turbulence. The rear position of this port ensures the cabinet is robust and deadens internal vibrations with the help of additional bracing. Curved cabinet surfaces help minimise interferences even further. KEF offers the LS50 Metas in four silky matte finishes, any of which will make an elegant and modern addition to your home.
PERFORMANCE
Revolutionary sound absorption with MAT
A result of joint development with the Acoustic Metamaterials Group, using Metamaterial Absorption
Technology (MAT) breaks completely new ground in loudspeaker design, and once again demonstrates KEF’s
unrelenting passion for developing new technologies to improve your listening experience. Metamaterials
are specially developed structures that use existing materials in such a way that they exhibit new, desirable
properties that are simply not found in naturally occurring substances.
A truly revolutionary tool in the KEF acoustic armoury, MAT is a highly complex maze-like structure, where
each of the intricate channels efficiently absorbs a specific frequency. When combined, the channels act
as an acoustic black hole, absorbing 99% of the unwanted sound that comes from the rear of the tweeter,
eliminating the resulting distortion and providing a purer, more natural acoustic performance.
12th Generation Uni-Q with MAT delivers
The tweeter in question sits at the heart of our 12th generation Uni-Q with MAT driver array. The Uni-Q
point source configuration delivers a more detailed, accurate and integrated three-dimensional sound image,
which is dispersed so evenly throughout the room that the ‘sweet spot’ is wherever you are in the room.
Using simulation and analysis tools and decades of accumulated in-house knowledge, our engineers have
developed a new iteration of KEF’s signature driver array, with a new cone neck decoupler and motor system
that is precisely shaped to reduce high-frequency distortion in the mid-frequency driver. The result is
reduced coloration, less distortion and a sound that is more transparent and life-like than previously possible.
The same can also be said of bass performance, where LS50 Meta completely exceeds the expectations
of a modestly proportioned bookshelf speaker to deliver room-filling sound with deep, articulate bass.
Enhancement from LS50 lineage
Much of the engaging performance is thanks to the clarity of the driver array, but the port design is also
crucial. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the flare and profile of the LS50 Meta’s patented off-set
flexible port is calculated to delay the onset of turbulence and the flexible port walls prevent resonances
from colouring the midrange. This leads to improved clarity, with exceptional levels of depth and detail.
The LS50 Meta’s extremely rigid cabinet is optimised for the best performance, with smooth curved surfaces
that help radiate sound out across the baffle without any interference. The baffle itself is engineered
from an injection-moulded Dough Moulding Compound (DMC) usually found in the automotive industry.
Inside the cabinet, cross bracing and Constrained Layer Damping (CLD) combine to deaden internal
vibrations. The result of such meticulous attention to detail is that LS50 Meta produces the lowest coloration
Technical Specification
Model LS50 Meta
Design Two-way bass reflex
Drive units Uni-Q Driver Array:
HF: 25 mm (1 in.) vented aluminium dome with Metamaterial Absorption Technology
MF/LF: 130 mm (5.25 in.) aluminium cone
Crossover frequency 2.1 kHz
Frequency range (-6dB) 47 Hz – 45 kHz
Typical in-room bass response (-6dB) 26 Hz
Frequency response (±3dB) 79 Hz – 28 kHz
Harmonic distortion (90dB, 1m) <0.4% 175 Hz – 20 kHz
<0.1% 300 Hz – 10 kHz
Maximum output 106 dB
Amplifier power (recommended) 40-100 W
Nominal impedance 8 Ω (min. 3.5 Ω)
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) 85 dB
Weight* 7.8 kg (17.2 lbs.)
Dimension (H x W x D) with terminal* 302 x 200 x 280.5 mm (11.9 x 7.9 x 11.0 in.)
