We're big fans of the KEF XIO. Not only did we give KEF's first soundbar a What Hi-Fi? Award, but our Editor-in-Chief recommended purchasing the XIO on Black Friday even though it wasn't discounted.
Well, I'm pleased to report the KEF XIO sales drought is over. You can currently get the KEF XIO for £1799 at Peter Tyson, netting you a nice saving of £200.
Please bear in mind that this is a cashback deal, meaning you'll pay the full £1999 before claiming £200 back directly from KEF. Full T&Cs can be found here.
We appreciate that this is still a premium price, but you'll be rewarded with a premium performance. As our Editor-in-Chief said: "If you’re looking for the best possible audio from a Dolby Atmos soundbar and aren't interested in expanding to a system, let alone a full-fat multi-speaker 5.1.2 setup, just buy the KEF XIO."
After months of testing the XIO and several of its rivals, our expert review team is convinced that the KEF XIO is the one to get if you want the best audio possible from a single-box soundbar. So much so that we give it five stars, a 2025 Award and the premium spot in our best Dolby Atmos soundbars guide.
While there are cheaper soundbars that might offer better value, from a purely performance-based perspective, the KEF XIO is the current benchmark.
"KEF says that it wants the soundbar to effectively act as a hi-fi package wrapped up in one product, and it has achieved that," our KEF XIO review reads. "Put simply, it is one of the best soundbars we have heard."
Low-end performance is tight and agile, while the overall sound is detailed, precise, and, to put it simply, exciting.
KEF has said that the XIO is designed to excel with music as well as movies, a duality that most soundbars struggle with.
The KEF XIO achieves this with ease, though – listening to Radiohead’s Codex, voices sound natural while the bass and midrange meld together well. We feel like the XIO can easily serve as a standalone music system, unlike most soundbars.
There's no shortage of music streaming options, including Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Deezer and, of course, through a smartphone via Bluetooth.
Physical connections include HDMI 2.1 eARC, optical and USB.
For serious movie and audio enthusiasts, the KEF XIO is quite simply the best experience possible for home cinema immersion. If you're not quite that dedicated, you may want to consider the Sonos Arc Ultra, itself a fine soundbar that is half the cost of the XIO.
If you are a cinephile, though, you might want to take advantage of this cashback offer while it lasts. KEF has stood firm on the pricing of the XIO so far, so there's no telling when or if there'll be a better deal on the best premium soundbar option, now £1799 at Peter Tyson.
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