MARLBORO, NJ — July 25, 2005 — Continuing with its heritage of outstanding audio performance and ingenious engineering, KEF is introducing fully redesigned versions of its award-winning Q Series audiophile loudspeakers. This complete line features eight new models, each of which is built to produce stunning movie sound and music while beautifully complementing a variety of home interiors. Each speaker in the new Q Series has been upgraded with new driver materials and surrounds, as well as proven technologies from the flagship Reference line. This new family, available in mid-August, represents the cutting edge of audio entertainment with a design concept that is based on both superb function and aesthetic elegance.
“Our new Q Series exemplifies our achievement of ‘acoustic intelligence,’ which results from the combination of our proprietary technologies and inspired us to name the models ‘iQ,’ ” said Alec Chanin, president of KEF America. “The improved performance of the new family can be heard immediately. The power handling and sensitivity are improved, and the bass response is tighter yet more robust. And since we use the latest incarnation of our hallmark Uni-Q driver array, there is a new clarity to vocals that is truly stunning. The new Q Series will impress the most discerning audiophile.”
KEF’s Q Series is comprised of eight speaker models, with varieties of floor-standing and bookshelf models, as well as center channel and surround speakers. KEF engineers created a variety of models to allow for total freedom in customizing a complete home theater sound system and to complement the decor of virtually any home. Every speaker in the line features the newest version of KEF’s proprietary Uni-Q driver array.
This breakthrough design places a high-frequency driver in the acoustic center of a bass/mid-frequency driver, achieving the near-perfect, single-point-source driver that acoustic engineers have sought for decades. The result is sound that is precisely dispersed from each driver, on a single axis and over a much broader area. This greatly expands the “sweet spot” to include more seating positions and give listeners throughout the entire room a lifelike and detailed soundstage. The Q Series Uni-Q arrays have been upgraded with new aluminum dome tweeters and titanium-coated bass/midrange cones. The materials not only look stunning, they ensure silky response at high frequencies and full yet well-defined sound in the low range.
Beyond the drivers, each Q Series speaker’s outer design is built to elicit maximum performance. Each Uni-Q ‘pod’ is housed by an elliptical-section cabinet that minimizes distortion and had previously been available only in KEF’s flagship Reference Series speakers. Each speaker also has massive internal bracing to tailor each enclosure’s volume to the parameters of its individual driver complement, as well as reduce unwanted outer-panel vibrations.
KEF offers each Q Series speaker in four finishes, Black Ash, Dark Apple, Maple, and — new for the iQ models — American Walnut. All eight speakers will be available in mid-August of 2005.
The New Q Series Home Entertainment Loudspeakers Series Includes:
iQ1
Two-way bass reflex bookshelf; 5-1/4″ Uni-Q driver with 3/4″ aluminum dome HF tweeter
SRP: $149.99/each
iQ2C
Two-way bass reflex center, 5-1/4″ Uni-Q driver with 3/4″ aluminum dome HF tweeter
SRP: $249.99/each
iQ3
Two-way bass reflex bookshelf, 6-1/2″ Uni-Q driver with 3/4″ aluminum dome HF tweeter
SRP: $224.99/each HF
iQ5
Three-way bass reflex floor-standing, 5-1/4″ LF, 5-1/4″ Uni-Q driver with 3/4″ aluminum dome tweeter
SRP: $349.99/each
iQ6C
Three-way bass reflex center, 2x 5-1/4″ LF, 5-1/4″ Uni-Q driver with 3/4″aluminum dome HF tweeter
SPR: $449.99/each
iQ7
Three-way bass reflex floor-standing, 6-1/2″ LF, 6-1/2″ Uni-Q driver with 3/4″ aluminum dome HF tweeter
SRP: $499.99/each
iQ8DS
Two-way sealed rear/surround, 2x 5-1/4″ Uni-Q driver with 3/4″ aluminum dome HF tweeter
SRP: $299.99/each
iQ9
Three-way bass reflex floor-standing, 2x 6.5″LF, 6-1/2″ Uni-Q driver with 3/4 aluminum dome HF tweeter
SRP: $599.99/each
About KEF Audio
KEF was founded in 1961 by an electrical engineer named Raymond Cooke in a Nissen Hut on the premises of a metal working operation called Kent Engineering & Foundry (hence KEF), on the banks of the River Medway, near Maidstone in Kent. From the beginning KEF was destined to become a company with a flair for uniqueness and innovation in engineering, design and materials. The four cornerstones of KEF”s success over 45 years are Quality, Honesty, Dedication and Innovation.
The company is professional from top to bottom. Still occupying the same river-bank site in Kent, the company services export markets throughout the world, manufacturing high performance speakers for home cinema, hi-fi and custom installation applications. KEF firmly and passionately remains true to its proprietary, proven technologies such as Uni-Q and ACE. It is these characteristics, traditions and above all sound quality that have ensured that KEF”s reputation for audio excellence is among the finest in the world.
About KEF America, Inc.
KEF America is the wholly owned subsidiary of KEF Audio, an award winning British manufacturer of quality, audiophile-standard speakers and home theater systems. Headquartered in Marlboro, New Jersey, KEF America has built the KEF brand by offering loyal North American audiophiles a stream of innovative speakers and components unmatched in the industry. Many KEF products have won awards from both sides of the Atlantic, as KEF is a brand name long associated with quality and technical innovation.
For additional information about KEF America and its award-winning products, please visit www.kefamerica.com.
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