KEF - XIO Soundbar

Currently I am enjoying my XIO Soundbar with the Kube 12 I already had. The Bass is already great without the Sub, but for the real low depth with mainly Movies/Series it enhances it further. It surpasses any Soundbar I've ever tried and it surpasses all "main" brands in terms of bass and full body sound without the Sub. But adding the Real sub, not the dinky Soundbar Subs most brands have, there's no competition. There is proper channel separation and also with a really wide sound when you use the built in DSP and Upmixers. You can still choose to use it in "Direct mode" but it doesn't sound that great that way. It's just ok and still better than other Soundbars that rely heavily on the Subwoofer to deliver any mid and 'bass' sound. Even during heavy action scenes with Dolby Atmos movies, I can still clearly hear the voices. Yes it gets real loud, haven't used it above 55% volume yet, as that's already really loud.

It doesn't sound anything like the Devialet in a positive way. And to me it doesn't look alike at all, otherwise many soundbars look alike 😅. Not much variation you can have with the boxy "bar" look. There are several others that can be wall mounted the same way. If you check the pictures of the inside the speakers are completely different and the specs are different as well. I don't use Roon, I use Music Assistant with Deezer as source. Currently I am enjoying my XIO Soundbar with the Kube 12 I already had. The Bass is already great without the Sub, but for the real low depth with mainly Movies/Series it enhances it further. It surpasses any Soundbar I've ever tried and it surpasses all "main" brands in terms of bass and full body sound without the Sub. But adding the Real sub, not the dinky Soundbar Subs most brands have, there's no competition. There is proper channel separation and also with a really wide sound when you use the built in DSP and Upmixers. You can still choose to use it in "Direct mode" but it doesn't sound that great that way. It's just ok and still better than other Soundbars that rely heavily on the Subwoofer to deliver any mid and 'bass' sound. I used the KEF Q550 + KEF Q250c + KEF Kube 12 on a Sony TN-AN1000 before. Also had the Sony SA-RS5 as Rears and Atmos, but the only advantage was that they are wireless, as I can't put wired speakers behind me. So eagerly awaiting the update to move one of my LSX II sets as Rears. As it was confirmed to me all W2 model speakers will be supported as Rear speakers with the firmware update this Fall. Already have 5x KEF LSX II and 1x KEF LSX II LT across the house for mainly music. One set with a Kube10 and one with Kube8. Rest without Sub.

What source are you using? Is it sending the signal with Passthrough so the full decoding happens in the Bar? You can check in the KEF Connect app which Codec is received over eARC. Keep in mind that Direct mode might not sound great if the source is only Stereo. Standard mode is advised + Calibration for the best Surround experience. You can select either Dolby Virtualizer or DTS Virtualizer. Do keep in mind if the source is Dolby it cannot use DTS and the other way around. This is a limitation enforced by Dolby and DTS. If your source outputs LPCM it can use both. I haven't had mine above 55% yet and I thought that was already too loud for heavy action scenes in movies. Am normally between 25%-45% depending on the source of the material i'm watching. I've heard noises coming from all around me with Dolby Atmos movies from different Streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix. I've had the Arc in the past and that sounded like shit compared to this. Very thin center channel, without adding a sub bass to the center channel it sounded way too thin. While with the XIO all the voices are clear and full directly from the Bar.

All W2 models will be supported for Surround channels later this year. They are still working on adding Front channels as well, which is planned for late 2026. Currently I am enjoying my XIO Soundbar with the Kube 12 I already had. The Bass is already great without the Sub, but for the real low depth with mainly Movies/Series it enhances it further. It surpasses any Soundbar I've ever tried and it surpasses all "main" brands in terms of bass without the Sub. But adding the Real sub, not the dinky Soundbar Subs most brands have, there's no competition. I used the KEF Q550 + KEF Q250c + KEF Kube 12 on a Sony TN-AN1000 before. Also had the Sony SA-RS5 as Rears and Atmos, but the only advantage was that they are wireless, as I can't put wired speakers behind me. So eagerly awaiting the update to move one of my LSX II sets as Rears. Already have 5x KEF LSX II and 1x KEF LSX II LT across the house for mainly music.

Never tried the Sennheiser as I haven't seen it in Hifi stores on Demo in my country (The Netherlands). They also don't support any way of extending the amount of Speakers for Real surround, which caused me to not have that much interest for it. At the time of writing KEF doesn't support the wireless Surround either, but they are committed to add it for existing speakers in the near future (Fall 2025). I have over twenty years of experience with KEF and did always come back due to loving their sound, so was eagerly awaiting a real Soundbar from them. The KEF XIO I was able to test in a HiFi store before purchasing and I was happily surprised by how great and room filling it sounded. I got almost all my KEF purchases from there in the past 2-3 years. I liked the aspect that it would integrate in the same app as my 6 other KEF sets in my Home and also able to use Home Assistant and Music Assistant with it to be able to play Music synced all across the house in sync over AirPlay in Lossless CD Quality from Deezer (44.1Khz 16bit FLAC Stereo). Even though I don't use any Apple product any more.

Honestly the best even without the option to add rear speakers as of now are probably the new KEF XIO and Sennheiser ambeo max paired with a big active subwoofer, in terms of pure sound quality you wont get better than that

The neutral sound profile does but the separation still isn't that great. Might be a different story when they release their rear speakers and there's also talks that they might allow fronts as well. Currently it's a bit buggy and a bit light on creating a nice bubble but I'm sure Kef will sort it out. Sony Bravia quads are still leagues ahead if you don't want to go wired.

Yeah, it's a nice soundbar although still say the Ambeo Max has the edge. Bonus is Kef will release rear speakers in October. You also have the Klipsche flexus 300 which has Dirac built in and a larger bar, so might be worth hanging tight for a few more weeks when proper reviews of both will be out. Could also look at the Sony Bravia quads, can easily walk mount them if lack of space as the back as they nice and slim.

I got a XIO and set it up today. What are your thoughts on the sound profiles and virtualizers? I find direct mode more natural sounding and DTS virtualizers sound better than Dolby. Dolby is very soft vs DTS virtualizer.

Hard to answer a sound question as I don't know what you are hearing and what you are expecting. Out of the box mine was noticeably better sounding than the Sonos Arc it replaced. In respect to the virtualizer I noticed DTS is louder in my testing but honestly I would like more information on the virtualizers.

I heard this KEF sound bar a few weeks ago. It sounds incredible for a sound bar. The bass that come out of is crazy. As for the price point, it is high. But its for a certain person that wants great sound and don't have the space. I will have it setup this Friday to run it through its paces.

I just got mine and unfortunately am having the same experience as you. Definitely a lack of a spatial effect. I had to put my ear up against the end speakers to see if they are even playing to give some sense of width. I don’t have a subwoofer connected yet, but have one on order. Without it, I hate to admit this, but it is quite underwhelming. Very disappointed, especially considering how much I just spent on this. Hoping the subwoofer will bring it alive, especially after seeing the impressive sounding reviews on it. It seems like some people are having early issues with it (Andrew Robinson) so maybe mine is defective as well, who knows?

I did exactly the same as you. I saw a couple good early YT reviews of it, bought it blind, and am utterly gutted by how underwhelming it is. I have a Polk Audio Signa 3 soundbar (<$300) I put next to it to do an A-B test for me & my wife. Let’s just summarize it by saying we wasted the extra $2500. If I could return it to my installer, I would. 😫

I installed mine (wall mount option) on Friday having heard it at the KEF Music Gallery in London last week. So far, I’ve been really impressed, although it’s my first serious soundbar so I have nothing to compare it too (coming from a separates system). I did recently hear the Steinway Lyngsdorf S2 - coming in at 49kg and £16,800 without internal amplification which sounded bloated in comparison. I too am looking forward to the wireless surround’s.

I've got KEF XIO yesterday, and its my first KEF. Compare with current SONY HT-A9, KEF XIO give a surprising clear ceiling to side wall surround. Happy with KEF XIO, can't wait for additonal surround speaker once it available. But still not understion much about EQ Movie and Music mode. Seem Music mode give more full? or lounder sound? comparing with setting at volume 50. While compare with Movie Mode at volume 50 is too quiet and need to high up at volume 70 to be about same level. Not sure how sound profile between Music and Movie can give different virtualizer yet, because feel both can give room filling good enought in certain volume. Hope can find more recommendation and tip from all friend in here.

I got it about 2week, still no problem with KEF Connect. But not sure seem some connect with APPLETV and have issue with CEC. Personally I connect direct with LG G4 and use NETFLIX and PLEX no problem at all.

The kef xio with your sub is the move or the Sony quads. The quads are awesome but I’d wait for a decent sale on them.

Sony theater bars 8 and 9 have built in subwoofers which could be a good option, or the sennheiser ambeo soundbars as well. The kef xio is absolutely fantastic for a soundbar. Not a soundbar but an alternative to a soundbar, you could look at the kef lsxii’s, they have pretty good bass by themselves.

TBH, Sonos is ok but I think it’s overrated. You pay a lot for the app and they ruined the app. JBL Bar 500 is really good, especially for bass. We get it for a stupid price too. If you really wanna splurge, go Sennheiser amebo plus, or Kef XIO (you can add ANY kef sub to this one) I’ve sold the Kef XIO twice and heard it once, there isn’t a single soundbar that even TOUCHES it in terms of quality.

not sure why people are saying the sonos you have with the sub mini is better🤣 this is an amazing soundbar… way way better than that sonos… you can always return it if you don’t like it! Plus, you can add any sub you want, PLUS the option for rear speakers is coming

I have the kef and paired it with the rel s/812. Def waiting on rears. It’s by far the most stylish out of the bunch if that’s a factor. It pumps with the rel but not much surround factor. I’ll buy the rears when they come out (was supposed to be this month).

Yeah I have Sonos in my living room. The kef looks amazing (best on the market hands down), gets plenty loud, dialogue is great but again it’s not going to have the surround effects as something with rears. With the rel s812 the bass shakes my whole house but not being able to do wireless bc the kw2 got pulled is annoying as well. It’s also top of the price range for everything. If money isn’t an issue and you can wait on the rears id recommend.

I think the Ls series will be for surrounds. I plan to go with the lsx ii (I think the ls 50 ii would be overkill for surround). If you care about aesthetics (which was an important factor for me) it’s by far the best. You just have to pay for. After the sub and rears all in is looking at around 7k. If you are waiting for Black Friday might as well wait and see if they announce rears by then. If they do I’d say it’s the best you can do if you pair a sub and rears.

So I paired it with the rel s/812 and got it on clearance from Best Buy for $1,800 as the new models just came out. If you are going wired just get the best one on discount you can as it doesn’t need to be a kef (if I was doing kef I’d go the KC92). I doubt the xio goes on sale or if so not more than a couple hundred just bc of tariffs. Prices seem to be going up not down.

Just replied same thing to this the other day but I just went down this rabbit hole for my new lg g5. If money isn’t really an option I just got the kef xio and paired it with a rel s/812. If you can afford it and just want two pieces this is a good option. It’s good without the sub but the sub really booms. You could do the kef kc92 too but the wireless adapter isn’t available in the US right now annoyingly.

Ehh. I’ve got a Sonos setup in my living room. The kef is def better.

I’d say the no compromise option would be KEF XIO with the KW2 sub(s). It just came out a few weeks ago. KEF is probably the most highly regarded brand in current popular audiophile circles for imaging and soundstage. There are more expensive brands but KEF is seen as a fail safe in most applications. Frequency response goes into the 35Hz range so a sub is probably overkill even if just music. That said, it’s $2500 and the sub isn’t cheap either.

It's a silly decision to not have HDMI passthrough ports. At least two HDMI 2.1 input ports should've been included.

Yeah it is silly. If someone's TV doesn't pass through codecs such as Dolby Atmos or DTSX then this soundbar may not be worth purchasing if a person watches a lot of movies that use those codecs on things like 4K blurays. If someone plays games and the TV to soundbar pass through introduces audio lag between the console, TV and soundbar then this sound bar would also not be worth purchasing. Both these potential problems would have been nonissues or mitigated if the soundbar included HDMI 2.1 inputs.

Hated my kef xio. $2500 for an overall bad sounding bar and I was really annoyed. Maybe they fixed something now, but when I got it a couple weeks after release it was just not great. Sonos is good overall as it just works out of the box - not much tinkering involved. I have the 300 and surrounds with an SVS sub. The setup is really nice and works well. DIRAC is cool and the option to get nitty gritty with it is a plus. Only thing I’ve encountered is some DD+ content when streaming is lower than others when it comes to volume. It’s really strange and inconsistent. But for Atmos (streaming and disc), DTSX, and DTSHD, the system works as should. It’s also great it upscales all non-atmos content and does a great job with it

I am gonna ask a different question this time - so I did calibration, updated firmware, and when playing content it still sounds as wide as the bar. Theres nothing fantastic coming from the bar itself like a big openness or anything like I am used to with soundbars. Seems pretty focused. I am also on volume 70 and it’s not as loud as I thought it be. Is there a setting I am missing???? Also noticed dolby virtualizer is defaulted when using anything but direct. I don’t understand that.

Nothing wrong with trying it out. The bar wasn’t very good compared to ambeo max.

Glad you replied. Yeah it was really obnoxious. I returned mine the next day. The soundbar gets resonance from its bass at high volumes as well. It vibrated a lot. The subwoofer will help alleviate some of that, but it won’t cure it nor will a subwoofer cure the issues we’re facing in terms of width of sound and you walking up to the soundbar trying to hear the side-firing speakers.

I hated the xio. Sound was tinny, flat, extremely focused even with atmos content - no width to the soundstage. Andrew Robinson’s review was exactly what I experienced. Went with the 300 full system with 3rd party sub afterwards and haven’t looked back.

I ordered the KEF XIO as a blind buy and to say I m disappointed is an understatement. I watched so many reviews praising it and I am not sure how much KEF paid these guys but it does not deliver. I did a firmware update and calibrated but the sound for music is muffled and not very detailed. Movies are very lack luster as well. I do not get the feeling I am being surrounded by any effects. A very regrettable purchase. Please listen somewhere before you buy.

I bought the KEF XIO and highly regret it. Music does not sound very good. It sounds muffled and lacking detail. Movies have a lack of spatial audio. I'm starting to think all the people giving it good revires were paid off.

New Kef XIO dethrones the Dragon

We’ve just finished testing the KEF XIO and wanted to share the results vs the Klipsch Flexus 300, since many of you have been curious about these two.   Out of the box performance is quite balanced, and it definitely pulls its own weight (pun intended; this thing weighs a ton). We were surprised by the KEF XIO’s Stereo and Atmos performance for an all-in-one. We’re curious to know what other soundbars would you like to compare the KEF to?  And what additional data would you like to see added to our reviews?

Hiya, from checking our data, the KEF XIO has better high bass/low mid performance, but Ambeo Max pulls out ahead for Low frequency Extension. Overall though, the KEF XIO still sounds balance out of the box compared to Ambeo Max. https://preview.redd.it/uc0cw03qmhwf1.png?width=1316&format=png&auto=webp&s=363922c8bd51369495927996d36875b334fb8a94

Yea we did encounter some HDMI handshake issues when testing the KEF XIO, although it is inconsistence we will made sure to include them into the review. What a coincidence that you mentioned the Klipsch with optional sub and rears, since the Flexus 300 with Sub 200 + Surr 200 kit won our last voting round, and will soon be added to our review pipeline as well ;).

XIO is really nice and support are great at diagnosing and taking feedback. There will be new speakers coming next year that have the kw2 integrated so they can work seamless with the XIO. They will be smaller so they can work as rear speakers. The sub built in is great, amazing for a sound bar with no native subwoofer. If you get it try with out a sub and buy one if you really need a sub.