Systems vs separates

Speaker systems are in danger of killing budget hi-fi separates, but can they coexist? Managing editor Becky Roberts certainly hopes so

- Becky Roberts

The reviewing team at What Hi-Fi? has just had the pleasure of yet another all-in-one (or should I say ‘all-in-two’) stereo speaker system in our test rooms, the KEF LSX II LT (see p6). Those of you acquainted with the company’s existing LSX II may correctly guess from its suffix that this newcomer is the “lite” version of the current system – think same sound but with fewer features and different finishes. Indeed, it offers a whole system – streaming platforms, amplification and speakers – in two compact boxes.

That isn’t a novel concept, of course. For the past eight or so years, such speaker systems have cropped up to offer consumers a more space-saving and convenient alternative to a separates hi-fi set-up (that is, one with components separately housed, all connected with cables and each requiring a solid support). But the new LSX II LT is one of a few examples of affordable models that have arrived recently to offer proper – ‘hi-fi’ – stereo sound in what many people would quite rightly consider an attractively accommodating package.

We are talking as little as £700 (Triangle AIO Twin) and £900 (KEF LSX II LT) and steadily more expensive systems up to around five times that amount. And yes, it has me slightly worried about the entry-level hi-fi separates market.