KEF LSX II Wireless Bookshelf Speakers - Active Hi-Fi Audio System for TV, PC, Gaming, Streaming | HDMI Connectivity | Compact Design | Vibrant Red Finish | Home Theater & Office Use

These speakers are great for small rooms, office desktop environments and in a bedroom.The KEF LSX II speakers are an iteration of the previous KEF LSX which add a few modern changes from the slightly dated options provided in the previous version.The speakers as a whole have not changed all that much from the previous version, which have many reviews about their build and sound quality. For that reason I won't be reviewing the speakers to that extent as there is a lot to read from a simple Google search or a previous Amazon listing.** Build & Colours **The build of the speakers have not changed from the previous generation and still keep the exact same dimensions albeit with an expanded set of IO and new colour options.The LSX II speakers come in- Black- Blue- White- Red- Soundwave / BeigeThe Black, Blue and Soundwave models all have a tough fabric wrapped around the unit whereas the white and red options have a matte uniform feel. I had opted for the Soundwave variation as I found it to be the most unique with the blue tweeter inside the Uni-Q driver. The Soundwave pattern is woven in to the fabric by Danish textile designer Kvadrat and designed by Terence Conran.** Changes from previous gen **The KEF LSX II was given a few modern tweaks which would make them marketable with current technology trends.The KEF LSX II also borrow some sound algorithm changes from the KEF LS50 so there may be a slight difference in sound processing than the previous gen - sadly the LSX II's didn't gain META support which would have greatly improved the sound quality.The LSX II features a host of different wireless capabilities- Bluetooth 4.2 (a shame it's not 5.1 or 5.2)- Apple AirPlay 2- Google Chromecast- Roon- Spotify ConnectThe IO on the units have also received an upgrade, on the back of the master speaker you'll find- Buttons to reset the speaker, re-pair the speakers if used wirelessly and to enable bluetooth pairing- Optical- USB C- AUX input- Subwoofer Out- HDMI ARC (not eARC) this will allow your TV remote to control the speakers volume without extra work- An Ethernet Port to hard wire the two units for better sound quality or if you're expericing connectivity issues- Network Ethernet port to connect directly to your router/switch.- Cloverleaf Power portThe KEF Units have also been updated to work with the new "KEF Connect" app which provides a very clean set of settings (screenshots uploaded).** Setup **Setting up the units was very easy, in the box you will receive- One master speaker (with all the IO)- One slave speaker (with a power port and ethernet port)- A power cable for each speaker- A remote control which I found no need for as the app can do everything.- Ethernet cable to hard wire the two speakers together (I don't know who thought using an ethernet cable was a good idea for this)I powered both speakers and interlinked them with the provided ethernet port. As a note, the speakers will only be able to provide 24bit 48Khz but hard wiring them will allow you to go to 24bit 96Khz. Ensure to select "Cable Mode" in the Speaker Preferences on the app to enable this.Since I was using the speakers for my desktop computer I found connecting the speakers via the USB C port to utilise the inbuilt AMP/DAC of the speakers. A USB C cable is not provided in the box but you can purchase one directly on Amazon that would work.Using USB C allowed me to set the output settings to 24bit 192Khz to leverage the maximum resolution the speakers can allow.Once everything was setup I installed the KEF Connect app and set the speakers up, this is mandatory if you want to access all the capabilities of the speakers. The speakers had new firmware waiting to be updated so I went ahead and pushed the update and continued to use the speakers.** KEF Connect App **The KEF Connect app found the speakers quickly and was able to add them to my account to allow for configuration within a minute.The app provides various quick actions to manage your speakers, you can change inputs directly from the remote section in the app- WiFi- Bluetooth- TV- Optical- USB- AUXThe highlight of the app for me was the EQ settings, the app asks you for certain information about your setup and will adjust the EQ appropriately- Whether your speaker is on a stand or desk- How far is it from the desk and wall- How dampened is your room- How large is your room- If you have a subwoofer connected so you can balance the subwoofer frequency to blend between the two.The "Speaker preferences" section in the settings of the app will allow you to- Change standby time so you can specify how long the speakers would turn off when idle- The wake up source for the speakers to automatically switch the source you specify (USB for me)- Turning the Standby LED on/off- Setting the startup tone on/off- Switching to cable mode when the speakers are interlinked with the provided cable- Inverse the Master and Slave (I found this useful if all your cable are on the right side of the room/table)- KW-1 Power mode if you're using the KW-1 Wireless transmitter (not provided)** Thoughts **The KEF LSX II's are very stylish and modern speakers built for the current age of audio technology. Due to their size they are more catered towards smaller rooms such as a bedroom, home gym or office - this doesn't mean that they can't take on being part of a full living room setup but it totally depends on the size of the room you're placing them in.The speakers are very expensive when compared to the likes of the AudioEngine, Kanto, Dali equivalent but I just find the sound very warm and balanced and it just makes you want to listen to your older tracks all over again just to hear the difference.I would recommend putting the speakers on a stand of some sort to get the most out of the speakers, I had purchased the Kanto SP6HD set of desktop stands which look great with them. I have also seen the use of the Kanto S4 lower profile stands being used too.