The best audiophile music systems are an excellent way to achieve a hi-fi audio setup without wires, and few are as popular and stylish as KEF's LS wireless speaker series With three strong lineups of systems, the legendary British company's wireless speakers come with extensive streaming smarts in traditional-looking stereo speaker designs, ranging from the authentic LS60 high-end tower to the LX II compact desktop model But with prices ranging from $1,299 to $4,999, many may feel out of reach

Fortunately, the legendary speaker maker has just introduced a new "Lite" version of its popular LSX II wireless speaker, making one of the best sounding bookshelf wireless speaker systems more affordable

KEF's wireless speaker series has undergone some major updates for 2022, but this is the first new model since the original LSX was introduced in 2018 The lower-priced LT version ditches the wireless link between stereo speakers as well as line-in and Roon-enabled integration There are only three color options (sage green, graphite gray, and stone white) to choose from, whereas the older LSX II had a choice of six colors

The "light" version lacks the fabric speaker grilles, but the acoustic cabinet design is identical to that of the LSX II, with a distinctive curved front baffle; KEF's Uni-Q driver array consists of a 45-inch aluminum cone woofer centered by a 05-inch aluminum cone woofer It is integrated with a 75-inch vented aluminum dome tweeter for the same high level of sound Frequency range is 54 Hz to 28 kHz (±3 dB), and total output is 100 watts per speaker from the active speaker's built-in amplifier

Supporting DSD and PCM music streams up to 24-bit/384 kHz, the LSX II LT supports Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, etc, and has the same technology as its siblings to seamlessly connect to your devices for instant streaming from the best music streaming platforms Users also have wired connectivity options such as HDMI ARC, USB-C, and optical cable plug-ins for TVs, laptops, desktop computers, and consoles; LT also supports AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Bluetooth 50, devices can be controlled wirelessly from the KEF Connect app

According to KEF, the new version comes with a 3-meter cable for connecting the speakers together If more is needed, the new C-Link speaker-to-speaker cable ($59/£50/ AUD$99) can extend to 8 meters, allowing listeners more freedom in positioning the speakers in the surrounding environment

The KEF LSX II LT will officially launch on January 25 and is currently available for pre-order from the KEF website for $999/£899/1,695 AUD In addition, mounting options for the P1 desk pad ($199/£140/$300 AUD per pair) and S1 floor stand ($349/£320/$650 AUD) are available for secure installation