What could be better than a pair of Kef The Reference 3s? Or 5s? Only a pair in a limited edition finish, of course! To celebrate the long awaiting – and highly anticipated – release of KEF’s latest Reference series, they have released some exceptionally beautiful finishes: the lovingly dubbed the KEF the Reference Foundry Editions.
Pretty huh?
Those finishes have been dubbed: Blue Ice White and Copper Black Aluminum. The more eagle-eyed among you may recognise these finishes which were initially debuted on KEF’s critically acclaimed LS50s which were released to celebrate KEF’s 50th Anniversary. They went down an absolute treat, and that gorgeous finish lives on, this time crowning some of the finest speakers the world has to offer!
Underneath that undeniably alluring exterior will be the real treat: the workings of a KEF The Reference 3 or 5 (depending on what you fancy, or how steep you want to go) and all the delights that that incredible attention to detail and precision engineering offers. We’ve gone into huge detail about KEF References before, so here is a succinct version of what those offerings are.
Every item within the KEF the Reference series (including the 3 and the 5) benefit from the following:
– Uni-Q Driver Array – a state-of-the-art 25mm (1in.) vented aluminium dome tweeter at the exact acoustic centre of a highly sophisticated 125mm (5in.) midrange driver, which act as a single source that fills the listening space evenly. Deep, powerful and room-filling
– Bass Drivers – a new 165mm (6.5 inch) LF driver with a massive vented magnet assembly and a large aluminium wire voice coil. Together, they drive an exceptionally light, stiff and strong alloy cone with allows for controlled, tight and immersive bass at any volume
– Composite Front Baffle – constructed from a remarkably strong laminated aluminium and resin composite and secured via high-loss pads and high tensile bolts, the drivers sit within this precision engineered baffle adding tremendous stiffness to the cabinet
– Flexible Ports – Pioneered for the multi-award winning LS50 innovative, this technology features adjustable ports for fine-tuning bass output
– Crossover Design – every high grade component is auditioned in order to find the combination with the lowest distortion and smoothest response
– Cabinet Design – the shape and bracing is are computer-optimised to minimise secondary radiation from the cabinet walls, and then they are finished by hand. They are precision engineered to eliminate panel resonance, stray reflections or box colouration
– Stands & Plinths – as with everything else Reference (and indeed, KEF), the tiniest details are painstakingly explored and perfected to achieve absolute optimisation, right down to a spirit level built into the plinth and spike sets easily adjusted by neatly concealed screws
The result is something truly remarkable, and well worth every penny. If you want your Reference speakers to stand out even more than they could have before, maybe consider taking the Foundry route?