Skip to main content

Hi-Fi Corner: KEF puts big sound in small packages with the Egg

Can you really get just one speaker system that fulfills multiple needs? British speaker maker KEF thinks so. It might be hard to imagine how the KEF Egg digital wireless speaker system would make a better choice than a portable Bluetooth speaker or multiroom wireless system, but you’d be surprised to learn how well it fits just about everywhere. Connect them to your TV, your computer, or just place them in a room where you want music.

As a fully self-contained speaker system, the Egg comes with both a high-quality 24-bit/96kHz DAC capable of playing back many high-resolution digital audio files, and a 50-watt digital amplifier, all built right in. The USB connection will be useful when connecting to a desktop or laptop computer, while the digital optical/3.5 mm hybrid jack allows digital connections to televisions and analog connections to nearly anything else you can think of.

Recommended Videos

Related: Audeze goes direct to Lightning with the new EL-8 Titanium

For streaming, the Egg offers a Bluetooth 4.1 wireless connection with aptX decoding for devices that support the codec.

With the Egg system, the right speaker plays master and commander while the left speaker acts as a sort of slave. All of the Egg’s guts and inputs/outputs are built into the clearly marked right channel. The left speaker has a stout speaker cable terminated with a four-pin plug that connects to the rear of the right speaker. For management, the left speaker cable can be wound and tucked into its base … to a point, anyway. There will always be about 1.5 feet of cable left dangling. The cable does extend to nearly five feet, but considering how large the Egg speakers can sound, we almost wish it went a bit longer for even more stereo separation.

When it comes to performance, the Egg is refined, crystal clear, punctual, and straight-up luxurious. Also, the Egg sounds far larger than it has any right to. Of course, if you want to add a subwoofer, the Egg accommodates with a built-in subwoofer output jack. KEF makes a very nice line of subwoofers (we’d recommend the Kube 1), but any subwoofer of respectable quality would work as well.

Part of the excitement the Egg imparts is the unexpected scale of its soundstage and the brilliant effect of its stereo separation. It excels in almost every aspect at which even the most advanced one-box speakers fail. And underscoring it all is KEF’s unmistakable, impeccable sound signature.

Those are all great things, but they are things that will likely only appeal to those who are very serious about sound quality. Fortunately, those are the same sort of folks who won’t balk at the notion of $500 for such a versatile speaker system. You can pick up KEF’s new Egg speakers in stores or online now.

A version of this post first appeared on our “brother site” Digital Trends.

Don’t ruin your cigars: here’s how to properly season a new humidor
Seasoning secrets every cigar lover could use
faceless man presenting a cigar humidor with cigars inside with gloved hands

If you're a newcomer to the world of cigars or just bought a brand-new humidor, you'll need to season it. And no, I'm not saying to add salt and pepper to it. If you've never heard of it, you might ask, "What is seasoning for a humidor?"

Don't think you need to flavor the box or anything — seasoning is really about getting the wood inside your humidor so as not to rob your cigars of precious moisture. Easy to understand, and getting it done is relatively straightforward as well. The trick is figuring out the "why," and we'll get into that in a bit. But let's first discuss seasoning a humidor.

Read more
The NBA’s ultimate celebration tool: The victory cigar
A look at the players and coaches who smoke to celebrate
Jordan smoking a cigar image on a bag

Sports are synonymous with celebration. After winning the biggest trophy of their lives, athletes want to indulge in the payoff that comes with seeing their dreams realized. Teams go into the locker room, where a waterfall of champagne hits them in the eyes, and swimming goggles seem to be a requirement, lest you walk around on the best night of your life half blind. While drinking is often the activity of choice after winning a championship, the NBA has an alternative symbol of greatness that other sports don't use nearly enough: the victory cigar.

Basketball is a team game, but it's also an individual canvas for solo superstardom. After winning an NBA championship, the coaches and players who sit atop the throne have long smoked a cigar in the locker room, during the parade, or even on the bench before the clock has hit zero. There's nothing quite like a good stogie to signify the ultimate win over the rest of the league, but how did the victory cigar get so ingrained in NBA championship celebrations? We want to take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the historical moments and people who made the cigar what it is within the NBA today.
Red Auerbach's victory cigar on the bench
Red Auerbach: The Story Behind the Victory Cigar + His Disdain of NBA Officials - Red on Roundball

Read more
The best medical shows of all time to binge now
From ER to The Pitt, these are the best medical shows ever made
Noah Wyle in the Pitt

Throughout TV's long history, the medical drama has occupied a somewhat unique place in the landscape. Medical shows are often some of the most reliable on TV precisely because there's so much drama built in to working in a hospital.

Personally, I've found the medical drama to be deeply comforting for years, even if I have no desire to be a doctor myself. Understanding the stress of people in the healthcare profession is fascinating in and of itself.

Read more