KEF R Series Loudspeakers

KEF introduced its R Series range of high-performance loudspeakers aiming to make higher-end audiophile standards of sound reproduction more affordable. Fluent new Uni-Q driver arrays combine with new bass drivers and several additional innovations to create a rich, spacious sound image of such accuracy that it approaches the benchmark standards of KEF's Reference Series.

The KEF R series is comprised of nine models including three floorstanding, two bookshelf speakers, two fully-specified and timbre-matched center channels, dipole surrounds and a powerful twin driver, 500 Watt subwoofer. By incorporating the high end technologies of KEF Blade in a classically elegant format, R Series gives serious audiophiles surprisingly accurate reproduction that, in keeping with founder, Raymond Cooke's philosophy 'neither adds to nor subtracts anything from the original recording'.

The new Uni-Q MF/HF driver array ensures that midrange response is fast and clean, thanks to a braced magnesium/aluminum alloy cone, with KEF's Z-flex surround smoothing the transition to the front panel and a sturdy, decoupled, die-cast aluminum chassis that prevents resonance being transferred to the cabinet. At the acoustic center of the midrange cone is the same sophisticated vented tweeter that endows the KEF Blade, the world's first Single Apparent Source loudspeaker, with such pure HF response. With a large neodymium magnet and a computer-optimized dome structure so stiff that it operates pistonically over its entire working range, the upper registers are articulated with precision. To capitalize on Uni-Q's point source characteristics, KEF's “tangerine” waveguide helps to disperse the higher frequencies evenly across a wider angle to flood the room with an intricate and natural soundfield. Operating together as a single, perfectly integrated voice, the array as a whole delivers an accurate sound of great clarity.

The new bass driver combines a massive vented magnet assembly and a large, lightweight aluminum voice coil driving a light, stiff and strong hybrid cone assures clean, deep and uncompressed bass output with excellent dynamics and power handling.

Computer-designed crossovers allow the level of each driver to be fine-tuned for a smoother, flatter response. Constrained layer damping panels prevent cabinet vibration from muddying the mid-range and bass. Even the airflow through the reflex ports is managed using computational fluid dynamics to optimize acoustic integrity.

Price and Availability
The new KEF R Series will be available in October 2011 and come in classic, highly polished Piano Black and satin real wood veneer finishes in Rosewood or Walnut.