When a set of speakers is made this well, you don’t mess with them. And KEF has left its benchmark-setting LS50 speakers largely intact since they started blowing minds in 2012. Then in 2021, the brand surprised us by actually making them better with the LS50 Meta, one of the best-sounding bookshelf speakers I’ve ever heard, which, admittedly, has only been on the showroom floor at my local hi-fi shop because I’ve never had the scratch to pocket a pair. That might be about to change, because they can be had for Black Friday/Cyber Monday for a $1,000, or a huge $600 off the sticker price.
If you’ve never heard a set of KEF Meta speakers, their supremely pure and dynamic sound is made possible by way of some pretty sophisticated KEF tech. The first is the British company’s signature Uni-Q array of drivers that combines the tweeter and midrange/bass driver into one in-line assembly. The tweeter sits at the acoustic center to form a single source that disperses the sound evenly, eliminating sweet spots. I’ve heard them in action, and everywhere is a sweet spot.
Next is what makes up the “Meta” in the LS50 Meta — KEF’s newer Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT). Found in several speakers across KEF’s range, MAT uses a puck-sized circular disc made of a dampening material that has what looks like an intricate maze carved into it. The maze is actually made up of several channels and tubes that each absorb and cancel out a wide range of frequencies for insanely clean and distortion-free sound.
The KEF LS50 Metas are 8-ohm passive speakers that can be paired with a killer integrated amplifier of your choice with recommended power between 40 and 100 watts per channel. You can also use them as part of a multi-speaker home theater setup with an AV receiver, too.
Compact and with a modern, sophisticated design, the LS50 Meta speakers are cute and compact (11.9 by 7.9 by 11.0 inches) enough to fit among your books and shelf knickknacks, or you can prop them up on stands for head-level audiophile positioning. They’re also available in black, gray, white, and blue.
Additionally, if you’re not really a component-system type of person and would rather have a pair of great powered all-in-0ne wireless speakers with all kinds of connectivity options, KEF’s equally astonishing Buy at Amazon are also on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, down to $2,000 from $2,500.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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