A Famous British Hi-Fi Maker Just Released a Standout Soundbar for Audiophiles

KEF, the legendary British loudspeaker specialist, is renowned for its high-performance passive speakers and active wireless speaker systems. It has been a prominent player in the home cinema space, as well, having sold home theater speaker bundles since the early 1990s.

And now, KEF is doubling down on home theater by releasing its first Dolby Atmos wireless soundbar. You can think of it as a rival to Sonos’s Arc Ultra, but it promises even better sound and comes with a significantly more expensive price tag to match.

KEF XIO Soundbar

KEF

One box, 820 watts of power

The KEF XIO is a 5.1.2-channel soundbar with 12 total drivers, each individually amplified by its own class D amplifier. In total, it’s capable of delivering an incredible 820 watts of power. It’s a beast.

Like many of today’s popular wireless Dolby Atmos soundbars, the KEF XIO is a one-box, plug-and-play-ready home theater solution.

It can be paired with a separate subwoofer for extra bass, and while it doesn’t yet support wireless satellite speakers, KEF plans to roll out a software update for those this fall.

KEF

Proprietary loudspeaker drivers

KEF’s loudspeakers are renowned for their proprietary Uni-Q drivers, which position a tweeter at the center of a mid-range/woofer driver, enabling them to deliver a wider, more natural sound with minimal distortion.

With the XIO soundbar, KEF has integrated it with six Uni-Q MX drivers, which the brand describes as miniature versions of the Uni-Q drivers featured in its larger loudspeakers. Three are front-firing, while the other three are up-firing, helping the soundbar deliver an immersive sound.

Additionally, XIO soundbar features four P185 drivers, which have been enhanced with KEF’s P-Flex technology (also featured in KEF’s KC62 and KC92 subwoofers), to help it deliver significantly more bass than you’d expect from a single-box soundbar.

And finally, there are two full-range drivers, each positioned on either side of the soundbar, to help it deliver an even wider sound.

KEF

Switching orientations

As you can see from the photos, the XIO soundbar features a unique design that changes depending on its orientation.

When resting flat on a surface, only two of the three up-firing Uni-Q MX drivers are activated. When wall-mounted, the “top” of the soundbar is reoriented to face the listener and this third driver activates and becomes the soundbar’s center channel.

KEF explains that the XIO soundbar features various built-in sensors and is integrated with multiple technologies that enable it to automatically detect its orientation and adjust its sound accordingly.

Even though it sounds like it would make a difference, KEF hasn’t specified which orientation — be it resting flat or wall-mounted — sounds best. No matter which, the brand states that the XIO promises to deliver a “transcendent cinematic sound experience.”

KEF

Movie optimized, music ready

The KEF XIO is very much a modern soundbar that is optimized for both watching movies and listening to music.

For those familiar with KEF’s LS50 II wireless speaker system, the XIO works largely the same way. It supports high-resolution streaming over Wi-Fi — up to 24-bit/384kHz — and is compatible with basically every major streaming service, including Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, and Deezer.

The soundbar supports immersive sound formats, including Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Sony 360 Reality Audio. It also supports Bluetooth streaming.

KEF

Price and availability

The KEF XIO is one of the most expensive one-box Dolby Atmos soundbars on the market, costing $2,500. It’s 47 inches long and is probably best fit for TVs that are 65 inches or larger.

The soundbar comes in two different finishes, slate black or silver gray.

The KEF XIO will go on sale on July 18th for everybody. However, myKEF members are able to order it from the company’s website today.

KEF

KEF XIO Soundbar

• $2,500 at KEF

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