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 have an Ambeo Max and Plus on hand, and I did listen to Kef Xio at showroom for about an hour with my own music and movie scenes which I familiar with. Ambeo Max has the best immersive experience, you can easily tell by the side speakers placement, Ambeo Max and Plus has some angle to deliver sound to the optimal places, Kef Xio has only an 90’ side speakers so the sound has a hard time to deliver to the ideal places, this is physic. It has also a recent firmware update for few levels of vocal clarity, I have no problem to listen to the dialogue. Bass for music? Still Ambeo Max, but I suggest you to get a sub to unleash it for better audio quality by cutting low frequencies and focus on mid and high. The only thing to bear in mind is the Ambeo Max drivers is design by Neumann, whose well known in design of studio monitors, result is the audio quality is more like a monitor than multimedia speakers, it’s a plus point if you appreciate some original sound than artificial additions in sound.

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.