Listen and Believe – an audio journey with KEF
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Music has the power to move us. It releases our emotions, stirs our memories and allows us to escape to another world. Sometimes it even reminds us who we really are.
It can also bring us together and connect us. This year, at a time when we haven’t been able to travel to other places as easily or as often as we would like, or experience togetherness in a way we once took for granted, music been especially important to me. During the early months of lockdown we spent many long spring and summer evenings outside in the garden enjoying our favourite music. Now that the colder, darker months are here and we’ve all retreated indoors it is lifting my spirits and helping me stay positive.
This winter I’m proud to be partnering with KEF to experience their new LS50 Wireless II speakers. Over on their blog I’ve written about what’s on my festive playlist and shared some thoughts on how to make Christmas special even during a pandemic, or at least how I’ll be approaching things this year anyway.
Founded in Kent in 1961 by Raymond Cooke, KEF have been committed to excellence in sound for more than half a century, combining innovative engineering with an obsession for design. In their new LS50 collection – comprised of the LS50 Meta loudspeaker and the LS50 Wireless II HiFi speaker – they have created the first speakers to feature Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT). This is essentially a synthetic material with a complex maze-like structure which absorbs unwanted sound and reduces distortion. The result is a magical acoustic experience in which the sound is more transparent, has a deeper tighter base and is dispersed evenly around the room.
The speakers are thoughtfully designed and housed in an elegantly curved cabinet. I love how they complement and blend in with our home. They are available in three matte finishes – carbon black, titanium grey and, as shown here, mineral white. There are also a couple of special edition colours – royal blue for the LS50 Meta and crimson red for the LS50 Wireless II. There’s a bespoke floor stand too, or you can of course mount them to the wall or attach a desk pad to the base if you are using them on a desktop or cabinet.
They are easy to set up via the KEF Connect app and incredibly intuitive to use. You can stream directly from all the major music streaming platforms, seamlessly connect to your Apple or Android device, or hook them up to your TV, turntable, CD player or games console via an HDMI cable. We’ve connected them to Graham’s turntable in the living room and dug out some old vinyl, used them to elevate our Netflix experience to another level and turned up the volume to enjoy our favourite dance tracks in the kitchen. The sound is so pure, pristine and authentic that you almost feel you are connecting with it at its source. It’s as if the artist or musician is in the room with you.
There is something about exceptionally high quality audio that makes you listen differently. You really connect with the music in a way that you may not have done before. Every word, every note, every tiny detail of the track is heightened and brought into focus and you become totally immersed in whatever you are listening to.
This winter has been all about creating extra special moments at home. With so much of our world turned upside down at the moment, we’ve had to discover new ways of creating pleasure and enjoyment in our daily lives, and for us, audio has played an important part in that.
Close your eyes and allow the music to transport you.
#listenandbelieve
