- The KEF XIO soundbar costs £1,999 / $2,499 / AU$3,600
- Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Sony 360 Reality Audio
- 5.1.2 channels with 12 class D amplifiers
Audio legend KEF has been busy: not only did its team collaborate with Nothing on the Headphone (1), but it’s also unveiled its first-ever Dolby Atmos soundbar. The team is clearly pretty proud of it, and promises a “transcendent” audio experience.
At $2,499 / £1,999 this is clearly one for high-end home theaters. It’s a 5.1.2-channel all-in-one soundbar with 12 class D amplifiers putting out a whopping 820W of total power.
Despite that, the XIO soundbar is still shallow enough to look good on a wall. And where many soundbars are made specifically for movies, KEF says that the XIO has been made with music in mind too.
KEF XIO soundbar: key features
The soundbar has six Uni-Q MX drivers, which are smaller versions of the Uni-Q drivers you’ll find in larger KEF speakers. These are special because they’re two speaker in one – a smaller driver sits at the center of the cone of the large speaker, creating a wider soundstage between them that forms one clear audio signal.
Three of these drivers are placed on top for upward-firing audio, and the other three face forwards. They’re teamed up with four P185 bass drivers, which are rectangular drivers that KEF says have the same radiating area as a standard circular 10cm driver. The rectangular shape means the soundbar can accommodate more drivers without adding bulk – similar racetrack drivers are used in lots of the best soundbars.
Despite that serious low-end power, you shouldn’t get much in the way of unwanted vibration: KEF says the way it has arranged the drivers, with two pairs facing in opposite directions, meaning that each driver cancels out the vibration of its opposite.
The XIO also features KEF’s patent-pending Velocity Control Technology, which it calls VECO. It’s a sensor that monitors the P185 driver cones, adjusting the movement to compensate for any errors it detects in order to minimize distortion and compression.
Another key acronym is MIE, short for the Music Integrity Engine. This is a suite of DSP algorithms made specifically for the XIO to handle multi-channel processing, virtualization and object placement. The result, KEF says, is “transcendent soundscapes”.
The XIO works with all the major streamers including Tidal, Amazon Music, Qobuz and Deezer, and it has HDMI eARC, optical and subwoofer outputs. You can also add any KEF subwoofer via the optional KW2 wireless receiver.
The KEF XIO is available via early access to myKEF members from today, 8 July, and it goes on sale on the 18th of July. It’ll also be available from today in certain retailers, including Peter Tyson AV and Sevenoaks Sound & Vision in the UK, with wider retail availability starting on 8th August 2025.
