KEF is a leading British manufacturer of loudspeakers. Additionally, they are renowned for their drivers which are used by many speaker manufacturers around the world. Notably, KEF continues to innovate with the present Meta Reference series. Moreover, they also make high-end headphones and accessories as well as dedicated home cinema speakers.
The original KEF reference range
The KEF Reference range of speakers has achieved legendary status with audiophiles. The Reference series is a derivation of the original BBC designed LS5/1A monitor.
KEF was founded by ex BBC engineer Raymond Cooke. Consequently, the first speakers were made at the Kent Engineering Company & Foundry in Kent. That was in an appropriated Nissan hut. Cooke was eager to work with the new materials that had been developed during the war. His aim was to create speakers that could reproduce recordings as close as possible to the original performance
The three way K1 became the first speaker manufactured by KEF and pioneered the use of synthetic materials for the speaker cones. Soon the first true high-fidelity ultra-compact two way speaker followed. That was the Celeste.
Raymond Cooke maintained a good working relationship with the BBC. This proved to be useful experience in working to tight acoustic tolerances. KEF were the exclusive manufacturers of the BBC LS5/ 5a monitor. Later, they developed the hi-end B110 and T27 Drivers for this speaker, in 1967.
By the end of the 1960’s KEF were renowned not only for their speakers but also their drive units. Likewise, the drive units were used by many speaker manufacturers around the world.
The modern KEF range
- The Muon
- The Blade
- The KEF Meta series
- The reference 5
- The R series
- The Q series
- The LS50 meta
- The T series
The Muon
The range of KEF loudspeakers is vast. The Muon floor stander leads the pack with its revolutionary shape. Additionally, this high-end speaker has a limited production of 100 units. Skilled craftsmen make the Muon the ultimate loudspeaker. Finally, The Muon is available from Audio affair at £140,000.
The Blade
The Blade is next in the range. Moreover, The blade uses Single Apparent Source technology. The acoustic ideal is to have a single point source. That is where low, mid and high frequencies emanate from one point. A single point source gives very precise imaging. The Blade also uses MAT. Metamaterial Absorption Technology. This blocks any sound from emanating from the rear of the drive unit. As a result, There is less distortion. More on these innovations later.
KEF Meta reference series
The Reference 5 Meta.
The Reference series includes floor standers, bookshelf and Surround sound speakers. The flagship is the Reference 5 Meta. The Reference 5 is a three way bass reflex design. Notably, the 5 has four 165mm bass units. These each have an aluminium cone. Additionally, the Reference 5 has a spectacular frequency range of 35Hz to 45 kHz.
MAT technology for less distortion
The Current KEF Meta speaker range uses the revolutionary Metamaterial Absorption technology (MAT). Notably, This material has a complex structure that absorbs 99% of the undesirable sound that comes from the rear of the driver. As a result distortion is reduced giving a more natural sound.
The heart of KEF speakers is the Uni-Q driver array
KEF drivers use 12th generation Uni-Q with MAT technology. Uni-Q is a complex method of making drivers by using many precisely machined parts. Consequently, the sound is more transparent and life like than ever before. Additionally, the distortion is lower and the sound is dispersed evenly throughout the room.
The R series
The R series uses several advancements such as enhanced cabinet bracing and the shadow flare. The shadow flare reduces cabinet diffraction for fine-grained high frequencies. This profiled transition surface enhances the waveguide effect of uni-Q. The tweeter does not have a direct line of sight to the. cabinet edges. This creates shadow regions where the diffraction would be higher. Asa result, Fine detail and subtle nuance are maintained.
Aluminium bass drivers are another key innovation. Notably, bass performance is important when creating impactful sound. The R series bass divers use a two part structure. Great stiffness is achieved by bonding aluminium to a paper cone. This stiffness delivers a piston like movement that gives great punch to the music.
The Q series
The Q series bring KEF innovation to a wider selection of people. Additionally, The KEF Q150 is available from Audio Affair for only £349.
The Q150 is a two way bookshelf speaker. Moreover, they use the same advanced Uni-Q driver as their stablemates. As a result the sound is big and full. However, you can extend the bass response with a Subwoofer. The KEF Kube8b is the best value subwoofer in the range, at £599. Additionally, the Kube8b is an active unit with a built in 300W class D amplifier.
The LS50 Meta from KEF encapsulates all the latest innovations, such as Uni-Q and MAT. This compact speaker is available in a range of colours and has won the What Hifi product of the year award for 2022.
The lS50 Meta builds in the legendary LS50 with enhancements such as driver performance optimisation and the off-set flexible port for immersive sound.
The lS50’s curved baffle is built around the single uni-Q driver array. The smooth curved surface radiates sound across the baffle without any hard edges that can cause diffraction. As a result the sound is precise and clean.
The T series
The T series of speakers is designed to go with flat screen TV’s and can be wall hung. They are really flat and will fill the room with high definition 3D sound. The larger models have a 25mm vented tweeter and two 115mm ultra thin bass and midrange units for a punchy bass with no compromise in sound quality.
The T305 home theatre system comprises four T301 slim speakers, for the front and rear channels, along with a T301c for the centre channel. There is also a T2 subwoofer. As a result, this is the ultimate T series system that can handle anything. The subwoofer has a built in class D 250wW amplifier with a 250mm bass driver.