I. Preface
Hello everyone, this is abrams2415, I have been living in my new house for almost 2 months now, and I am slowly adding soft furnishings and related household appliances.
For the living room Hi-Fi audio and study desktop audio how to choose to make a difficult choice. How can you use two machines in one?
Living room audio.
▲ There are many professional speaker brands on the market, the choice is really quite a lot. The company's main goal is to provide the best possible solution to the problem. The use of HDMI ARC function support echo wall or the same level of audio will be sufficient.
Bookshelf audio.
▲ After moving, I worked hard to build the study environment. The left side dual screen with improve work efficiency, the right side 4K high resolution screen + Play Station 5 casual relaxation use. At present, it relies entirely on the monitor's own speakers, and the sound effect is poor.
So compared to the living room Hi-Fi audio, I more urgently need a good sound quality desktop audio.
Second, some of the problems of traditional crossover audio
The traditional audio, tweeter and bass (high-end audio and three-way separate midrange unit) units are located in different locations. The first thing you need to do is to make a crossover, which will allow the high and low frequency signals to enter the corresponding units to make them sound. Finally in our listening position to produce a superposition. In the vicinity of the crossover point, high, bass unit sound will contain part of the sound of other units, resulting in the overlap of two units issued at the same time.
For the study such a small space, close listening environment, traditional audio will create a problem: if the same sound from the high and low woofers to reach the listening position time, the order is inconsistent, they superimposed on the sound quality will change.
▲ Turn your attention again to the listening environment of the living room. We all should have heard the term "Emperor listening position", right? The same problem exists in the living room Hi-Fi audio. When the middle and high frequencies are broadcast simultaneously by each other, the "emperor listening position" is very small. (The above picture of the emperor listening position is located in the middle of the sofa)
▲ In order to get rid of the impact of placement and space on the sound effect, more and more Hi-Fi manufacturers began to make improvements. For example, the home theater of my last house, with "EQ" compensation correction function. Wearing hardware to sit in a regular position, you can optimize the sound field for that position. But other areas still can not guarantee the quality of the sound field.
How to solve the problem of crossover interference?
▲ The veteran British audio manufacturer KEF is more thorough in its approach, introducing the Uni-Q coaxial common point unit audio. It middle, high and bass can keep the same phase, which is a good solution to the just mentioned high, middle and bass due to the inconsistency of time and order resulting in the change of sound quality. So it's coaxial audio is ideal for use in small spaces and close listening. At the same time, in the living room environment, the high and medium frequencies are synchronized. Can bring a wider range of "emperor listening position".
▲ Perhaps you are not very familiar with the brand KEF. It was founded in 1961 in the UK and is one of the oldest HiFi audio brands in the industry. The company was originally based in Kent Engineering & Foundry in the UK, which gave KEF its name. KEF's home technology is the development of the revolutionary Uni-Q coaxial common point unit.
▲KEF's first generation of LSX desktop audio debuted in 2018, and it was a concern for a while then. As the new house is still in the phase house did not purchase. The new house is still in the period and not purchased. Recently, after renovation and moving, the desktop Hi-Fi audio is urgently needed, and it just so happens that its second generation LSX II was recently released. The LSX II is positioned perfectly to meet my current needs, and the upgraded sound quality is more balanced. With better ease of use and more connectivity options. And it also has HDMI input function, when the living room Hi-Fi audio use, really achieve a multi-purpose machine.
Come with me today to see what the new highlights!
III. Appearance
▲KEF LSX II is available in 5 colors. The first thing I did was to get a wave of selective difficulty in choosing the color. I finally got the Lava Red.
▲Accessory package includes: operation manual*1, remote control*1, power cord*2 and Category 6 network cable*1.
▲ This time, I chose lava red because I wanted the audio to jump some colors on the desktop and become the C position on the desktop. The moment I took it out from the package, I felt that I had indeed chosen the right one, and I loved the value of this color.
The dimensions of the single speaker are 240 x 155 x 180 mm. thanks to KEF's 11th generation Uni-Q coaxial co-point unit, the tweeter and woofer use a common axis, a design that allows the high and low sound waves to remain in phase.
Detailed technical parameters.
High frequency: 19 mm (0.75 in) aluminum dome
Low/Mid Frequency: 115 mm (4.5 inch) magnesium/aluminum cone
Amplifier output power (single speaker): Low frequency: 70W High frequency: 30W
The full magnesium-aluminum alloy structure is well detailed and petal-shaped in the middle; the surrounding rubber ring is also made in the shape of a deflector slot, which can better diffuse the sound waves.
The exterior of the ▲LSX II features two materials: a high-gloss finish on the surrounding shell; and a matte material finish on the front and back.
The LSX II has a very restrained overall design, without any fancy elements.
▲ The back has embedded flexible guide tubes, which allow for clearer tones and deeper bass dives. The right side Primary main speaker interface is rich and available for a variety of connections.
The KEF LSX II body has no operating buttons and the IR remote control can be operated without operating the phone.
IV. Interface configuration
▲ The main speaker rear interface includes.
TV port: playback via HDMI with access to the TV ARC/eARC port.
Fiber-optic ports: play sound sources through fiber-optic cables, such as when connected to a home projector to allow for significant improvements in sound playback quality.
Coaxial input jack: playback of sound sources, such as audio players, through coaxial cables.
USB TYPE-C port: Directly connect with laptop through c to co data cable to output audio source.
AUX jack: play the sound source through the 3.5 mm audio cable, the Play Station 5 audio output relies on it and the handle 3.5 mm connector connection.
RJ45 port: for connecting main and sub audio and for networking.
The main and secondary speakers can be connected wirelessly, or wired directly through the included Category 6 network cable.
The primary and secondary speakers are connected and there is a parameter to be noted here.
Wireless: 48kHz/24bit PCM repeat sampling for all sources
Wired: All sources are resampled to 192kHz/24bit PCM
V. Practical experience
5.1 Initial Connection & Setup
▲ When acting as a desktop audio in the study, the main and secondary speakers I used wired connection.
The KEF LSX II supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, so 5GHz WiFi is recommended to minimize latency. The KEF LSX II supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz.
Currently on the market several mainstream wireless speakers, in the audio transmission are using 16bit/44.1kHz, and more and more music services APP such as shrimp, QQ Music, NetEase audio quality is getting higher and higher. So KEF LSX II support higher 24bit/384kHz audio streams on the sound quality is fully guaranteed.
Once the ▲LSX II is connected to the wireless network, it will be able to use the streaming service. For example, QQ music and Apple Music, which I commonly use, are supported. Other streaming services such as amazon music are not available for some reason.
In addition, wireless streaming supports AirPlay 2, Bluetooth, etc. Support for Apple AirPlay makes listening to songs much easier. Compared to Bluetooth connectivity, AirPlay allows the LSX II to play lag-free wherever you put it in your home.
In addition, because 24bit/96kHz is high quality audio, its bit rate is often more than 1Mbps, Wi-Fi with higher bandwidth and longer transmission distance than Bluetooth can win, so it is recommended to listen to songs using AirPlay transmission.
The interface inside the KEF Connect App is also very minimalistic. You can choose the speaker 6 kinds of playback source, also can choose the cloud music service.
▲Custom EQ settings can be set very richly, even the distance from the wall and the size of the space can be customized.
▲In addition it supports a second wake-up source. This means that HDMI is connected to the TV and the TV is set as the second wake-up source, the TV is turned on and the speakers are also turned on. It is very convenient.
5.2 Sound Quality Experience
Airplay 2.
▲ First, we used AirPlay to play a song "Ferry" by Cai Qin through QQ Music (QQ Green Diamond member, using SQ lossless sound quality)
The KEF LSX II has a deeper drum sink in the intro and three drums with a thick, resilient bass sound. The mids and highs are clear, perfectly restoring Tsai Chin's perfect vocal line.
Optical fiber.
The ▲LSX II and the computer I connected using an optical cable. Optical fiber supports resolutions up to 96kHz/24bit.
▲ Here I played a section of the Zha Guided "Justice League", the villain Darkside and the Guardians of Earth melee scene is magnificent. The human race, the Atlantean race, the gods of Zeus and the Green Lantern Corps are all on the scene. The sound is well interpreted through the LSX II, giving people a sense of immersion.
USB Type-C.
▲ Simply connect your laptop to the LSX II via a Type-C cable to allow audio output from the stereo without drivers. This connection is the highest decoding rate of a wired connection.
Play Station 5.
The KEF LSX II is a great way to connect to the Play Station 5, and it gave me a headache. The system does not support Bluetooth audio.
▲ In addition to the 3.5mm connector on the handle to connect to the AUX of the LSX II, I used an HDMI audio splitter to connect to the audio via optical.
The first time I played the game was with the monitor's own speaker, which was poor enough to only hear a ring. The LSX II can only be described as "cool" when playing Battlefield series. I feel like the previous games were for nothing! The ground vehicle roar, the head piston-type warplane sweeping sound effects simply love. The sound of explosions, gunfire, collapsing buildings, and shouting make up a complete battlefield environment. I can only say that playing the game with LSX II is old and exciting!
Living Room HiFi
▲ The third HDMI port of the living room TV comes with eARC function, then you can put the KEF LSX II in your living room and act as a wireless HiFi stereo!
The main and secondary audio has a 3.5mm universal connector at the bottom, and can be used as a floor standing audio with KEF's S1 kickstand. The color of the stand and the audio corresponds to each other, the value is simply great! The KEF S1 stand is a good match for my living room.
The first of its kind is the one that has been used in the living room, and the one that has been placed on the TV cabinet. The KEF S1 Floor Stand is the best way to get the most out of your home.
▲ The bracket uses minimalist design elements, and the power cord is hidden through the bracket. The bottom rubber support corner is replaceable with third party foot pegs.
The main and secondary audio is connected wirelessly so that only a power cable is needed at the back, keeping it minimal.
▲ The TV's HDMI eARC plugs into the LSX II's HDMI port, and it's OK to select the TV in the mobile app kind. This connection solves the embarrassment of the phone casting screen to watch American drama and the TV comes with speakers with general effect.
▲ By the way, if you don't feel like having enough fun! You can also access the KEF subwoofer again later on. The wireless connection between the three devices via KEF KW-1 increases the sound effect even further. It also reduces the exposure of cables.
▲ If you want to watch Blu-ray movies, just connect your hard drive Blu-ray player to LSX II via optical fiber. Let's see how it works in practice.
The Wizard 3 OST Original Soundtrack Concert" with 4K resolution as the source file: The auditioned song "Ladies of the Woods", in which the performer outlines the mystery, wild charm and evil power of the Lady of the Woods through a host of rare instruments such as the Kenmenjer fiddle (Byzantine lira), Balamachen and Dessimachen. A large number of soprano and bass female voices are cross-presented, which is a great test of the playing equipment.
The sound quality of the LSX II can be described as solid, mellow, with deep bass dive and clear but not fluttering highs. My living room is more than 50 square feet, and I have changed several listening positions during the period. I found that the sound quality is always the same. I'm looking forward to hearing what it's like to have a subwoofer.
VI. Summary
If you want a high value, good sound effect of the wireless desktop audio, as I do. Then this KEF LSX II is not to be missed. Although defined as wireless audio, its primary and secondary speakers can also be connected via Category 6 network cable to provide higher sampling rates.
The hardware interface offers a variety of options to meet the needs of different usage scenarios. For example, I use the HDMI port to connect to the TV, the optical port to connect to the computer/Play Station 5, and the phone can connect via AirPlay or Bluetooth.
However, there is one thing to note: the problem of 2.4G WiFi feature will cause a delay in playing songs to actual playback when too many devices are connected in the LAN. So try to connect to 5GHz WiFi.
