Skip to main content

The new KEF lineup features Porsche-styled headphones and more

KEF Lineup
Acclaimed audio company KEF has announced a vast assortment of high-end speakers and headphones during CEDIA 2017, including Porsche-designed headphones, three new subwoofers, and sets of both in-wall home theater and ceiling-aiming Dolby Atmos speakers. The new KEF lineup also features updates to the already-great LS50W monitors that give them Spotify and Tidal playback — more info on this update can be found in our full LS50W review.

Check out all the updates to the KEF lineup below, and be sure to check out our list of the best soundbars and our in-depth guide on how to buy home theater speakers if you’re looking to enhance your home listening experience.

KEF Space One Wireless

The Space One Wireless are an update to the company’s Porsche-designed Space One headphones that add Bluetooth, giving you the option to take in your favorite tunes without a cable. Qualcomm aptX technology means that audio streams in high-fidelity for supported devices, and the headphones also employ specially tuned active noise cancellation to limit outside sounds. As with the wired Space One model, the real draw of the headphones is their outstanding looks. The over-ear headphones are made of a beautiful blend of titanium and aluminum, and feature supple leather along the earpads and headband. The Space One Wireless will hit shelves on October 1, and will retail for $400.

KEF Q50a

The KEF Q50a are a set of closed-box speakers that are designed to sit atop your existing home theater speakers and fire sound upward, creating the vertical dimension demanded by modern Dolby Atmos recordings. For those who love their front channel speakers too much to upgrade to a pair with integrated up-firing speakers for Dolby Atmos playback — or those who don’t want to add a set of ceiling-mounted speakers — the new Q50a are an excellent option. The new speakers feature KEF’s well-known Uni-Q driver design, with a single 5.25-inch bass and midrange driver that has a concentrically mounted tweeter in the middle of the cone. The company hasn’t yet announced pricing or availability, but the Q50a will likely hit shelves this winter.

KEF Kube Subwoofers

The latest generation of the KEF Kube subwoofers each offer built-in digital pre-amplifiers and your choice of 8-, 10-, or 12-inch forward-facing drivers to pair with 300-watts of power. Simple, black cubes — hence the name — the affordable subwoofers also feature three preprogrammed equalization settings for corner, free-standing, or in-cabinet placement, depending on how you’ve got your home theater setup. The Kube subwoofers will hit stores in November, and will retail for $500-700, depending on your desired driver size.

KEF Ci5160REF-THX

The highest-end gear in KEF’s CEDIA lineup comes in the form of the Ci5160REF-THX, a gorgeous set of in-wall home theater speakers that retail for a staggering $10,000 each. Four 6.5-inch bass drivers and a single 5-inch Uni-Q driver join forces on these beautiful speakers, creating a THX Ultra2 certified home theater speaker with impeccable detail. Whether you’re streaming 4K content from Netflix or watching an Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the sounds of your favorite films and TV shows should be impeccably represented by the Ci5160REF-THX. While the speakers were first announced in September 2016, they’re well worth checking out for those attending the show this year. The speakers are currently available on KEF’s website.

Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
There’s a rare deal on the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones today
Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones seen in black.

The massively popular Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones rarely appear in headphone deals, so if you've had your eye on them for quite a while, you're in luck because they're currently $51 off on Walmart. From their original price of $400, you'll only have to pay $349, but only if you hurry because we don't expect stocks to last long. You're going to miss out on the offer if you take too long, so don't hesitate -- add the wireless headphones to your cart and check out as fast as you can.

Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM5
The best headphones that you can buy right now are the Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones, and it's not even close. At the heart is their outstanding wireless sound, supported by top-quality active noise cancellation that uses two processors and eight microphones to block all unwanted sound, as well as crystal-clear hands-free calling using four beamforming microphones and advanced audio signal processing. The wireless headphones also offer Bluetooth multipoint connection so that you can quickly switch between different devices, touch controls for functions like adjusting volume and calling your digital assistant, and Speak-to-Chat and Quick Attention features to stop your music and let ambient sound in without having to take them off.

Read more
Sony’s premium soundbars will finally get support for VRR, ALLM
Sony HT-A7000 Dolby Atmos soundbar close-up of top panel.

It's been a long time coming, but the wait is almost over. Sony's premium home theater soundbars are set to receive a software update that will add support for variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low-latency mode (ALLM), two HDMI 2.1 gaming features that have been absent since these products launched.

The soundbars in question are the Sony HT-A5000, HT-A7000, and the multi-wireless speaker HT-A9 system. All three are scheduled to receive the update this fall, but Sony has declined to share specific timing, saying only that there will be more information closer to the rollout date.

Read more
What is Roku? The streaming platform explained
A roku powered TV hanging on a wall running Roku OS 12.

How do you get your Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, or Prime Video fix? Chances are it's through a streaming device or smart TV, and there's a good chance that it's through a Roku device or one running its pioneering streaming operating system. At this point, cord-cutting is old news, and Roku was one of the earliest companies to drive the adoption of web-based streaming with its self-contained, app-driven devices.

Today, watching something "on Roku" is standard parlance and the company's popular platform can be found baked into some of the biggest TV brands in the world as well as in its own lineup of streaming devices sticks, and set-top boxes. Even so, that doesn't mean you totally get what a Roku actually is. What is Roku? How does Roku work? Do you need a subscription to use it? Is it just a device you buy, or is it software?

Read more