KEF invited us to a preview event to reveal their brand new speaker, the LSX and listen to Tyler Hilton’s live performance of his new songs!
39 Parlor Place
Held at 39 Parlor Place in NYC, KEF threw an intimate event to show off their new speaker. KEF brought in experts to explain and talk about the product. They also invited singer/songwriter Tyler Hilton to talk about his experiences using KEF speakers in the studio and at home as well as play some live music off of his upcoming album. Starting off with a Q&A session with KEF brand ambassador Johan Coorg and Tyler Hilton. Talking about the LSX, Johan said: “We would have been crazy not to build on the platform we’ve built (with the LS50 wireless) and add to it. And now bring out the LSX, which are a third of the size volumetrically, built on the same platform with the same successes of the point source Uni-Q but shrunk it down.”
Additionally, with these new speakers, KEF wants to target a younger demographic who want high-quality speakers at an affordable price. “If I, say, think of my daughter,” Johan said, “she’s 26 years old, hardworking, lives in London, but, you know, on the path. It is still a ton of money for her to try and buy a LS50 wireless. This (LSX) is within her reach because it’s basically half the retail.”
Q&A from Billboard’s Taylor Weatherby with singer/songwriter Tyler Hilton and KEF Global Brand Ambassador Johan Coorg Photo Credit: KEF
As the little brother to their award-winning speakers, the LS50, the LSX is a compact wireless speaker set that packs a punch. The speakers connect to your phone via their KEF Control and Kef Stream apps (available for both iOS and Android) and they allow you to stream music from Spotify and Tidal via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 or they can stream from a PC or networked hard drive via DLNA. One of their engineers showed me how to connect and interact with the speakers through the app and it was very simple and intuitive. The inter-speaker wireless connection uses their own proprietary connection that allows for super low latency between the two speakers; it’s basically unnoticeable. They can also be used with a wired connection, allowing you to connect them to your TV or computer and experience virtually no latency and a higher resolution output. The speakers come in 5 colors: Maroon, Blue, Gloss White, Black, and Olive. KEF collaborated with Michael Young, a British industrial designer, to create the incredible design of the LSX. Inside, KEF brought their widely renowned, high-quality loudspeaker technology into this more accessible product. It features their Uni-Q driver array and their Music Integrity Engine to create studio quality sound. Listening to it in person was a pleasure. The speakers produce sound that has body and presence; the sound is crisp and real and the bass punches through without being overbearing or showing any signs of distortion. Plus, the speakers get very loud and are durable enough not to blow out at its max volume.
Here are some more detailed features of the new speakers:
- 2x 30W + 2 x 70W Class D amplifiers
- Proprietary wireless inter-speaker connection supports 48kHz/24bit; optional wired connection supports 96kHz/24bit transmission
- Acoustic design with 4″ Uni-Q driver: FEA designed cabinet with hidden heat-sink Apple
- AirPlay 2
- Tidal Music (via KEF Stream app)
- Dedicated apps for iOS and Android
- Bluetooth 4.2 with Qualcomm aptX codec
- KEF’s dedicated time correcting Music Integrity Engine
- Adjustable EQ settings via KEF Control App
- Supports source files up to 192kHz/24bit
- 4GHz/5GHz Dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity (DLNA/UPNP)
- Optical input (TOSLINK)
- AUX input
- Subwoofer output
- Mounting insert for supporting wall-mount
- Supports 3rd party programmable remote controls
- Supports IP Control
Tyler Hilton then demoed two of his new songs, “City on Fire” and “How long ‘til I Lose You” on the LSX speakers and performed them live along with a cover of Rihanna’s “Stay”. Tyler answered a few questions about creating his music: “With ’City on Fire’” Tyler explained, “I had written this classic murder ballad, like a Towns Vans Zandt/Johnny Cash song. When we produced it, we wanted to make something lush and western sounding; not country music, not singer-songwriter, but something western, kind of a soundtrack sound. We wanted there to be guitars like a western song but also strings like a movie soundtrack.” You can check out the music video for it below.
The KEF LSX speakers are available now and retail for $1,100. They are incredible, high-quality speakers, so you should definitely check them out! Tyler Hilton’s new album, “City on Fire” releases in January 2019.+
