Leading Speaker Manufacturer Receives Highest Acclaim for High-End Audio Loudspeakers Designed by Ross Lovegrove from CES Innovations
MARLBORO, NJ — January 7, 2008 — KEF, renowned British manufacturer of audiophile-quality speakers and world-class home theater speakers, received highest honors from the CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Awards Team for MUON Loudspeakers. MUON Loudspeakers were awarded Best of Innovations 2008 in the “High Performance Audio” category, in which they received the highest score.
“KEF’s MUON Loudspeakers are a one of a kind design that portrays innovation through design and engineering perfection,” stated Alec Chanin, president of KEF America. “Rarely has such a sublime union of form, function and manufacturing integrity been realized in audio technology. The result is an unparalleled loudspeaker that will produce the ultimate in sound quality, and we thank CES for taking notice and awarding the MUONs the highest ranking in its category.”
The MUON loudspeakers are a result of KEF’s world-class engineering team and visionary designer Ross Lovegrove, one of the leading industrial designers of our time. These impressive loudspeakers, standing nearly seven feet tall, were recently unveiled during the famed Milan design fair, arguably the most prestigious design gathering in the world. The central aim of the MUON project was to create the ultimate in sound technology and design innovation. The production of these speakers will be limited to 100 pairs and will be available in 10 exclusive cities worldwide, including New York and Los Angeles.
The MUON loudspeaker is made from super-formed aluminum, which uses a similar molding process to vacuum forming. Malleable sheets of heated aluminum were used to achieve otherwise impossible shapes. The eventual form of the loudspeaker was the result of a careful convergence between Ross Lovegrove’s design aesthetics and the physics of sound. The process by which it was conceived meant that, in effect, Ross Lovegrove was sculpting the sound by ‘skinning’ the technology with purposeful form.
MUON’s four-way speaker system, mounted into the front of the structure with its powerful bass drivers, is one of the elements that make it so superior. But it is also the upper mid-range and treble where some of MUON’s key technology lies in the form of the Uni-Q drive unit array, remarkable in its construction and delivering a seamless sonic picture throughout the listening environment.
KEF has also used its patented Acoustic Compliance Enhancement (ACE) technology, which enables them to effectively double the available volume through adsorption of air molecules via activated carbon granules while lowering acoustic distortion to near immeasurable levels. The two additional bass drivers mounted on the back of MUON help to produce a remarkably clean and open sound by dealing with room effects. Finally, the 6mm thick, heavily damped aluminum shell provides a totally rigid structure that minimizes any sound-distorting vibrations.
As a truly contemporary art form appropriate for 21st century living, MUON is unequivocally at the apex of speaker design and technology. Simply stated, MUON is the best you can get.
Talking Points:
• KEF receives highest honors from the CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Awards Team for MUON Loudspeakers. MUON Loudspeakers were awarded Best of Innovations 2008 in the “High Performance Audio” category
• The MUON loudspeakers are a result of KEF’s world-class engineering team and visionary designer Ross Lovegrove, one of the leading industrial designers of our time
• MUON is made from super-formed aluminum which uses a similar molding process to vacuum forming. Malleable sheets of heated aluminum were used to achieve otherwise impossible shapes
• MUON’s key technology lies in the form of its trademark UniQ driver array
• MUON’s production will be limited to 100 pairs and it will be available in select cities throughout the world including New York and Los Angeles
• MUON will retail for $140,000
About CEA
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $148 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,200 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES — Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services.
Find more information on CE, online at www.CE.org.
About Ross Lovegrove
Ross Lovegrove, a materials and technology-led industrial designer, is to those who know his work, a visionary. His career has been galvanized by the form-inspiring and poetic qualities of materials and manufacturing processes. What is unique about his work is his holistic approach to design-his aim is always to create objects in which functional and ergonomic refinement are united with a deep emotional magnetism. Lovegrove’s work features in permanent collections in design museums globally including the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MOMA) and the Design Museum in London. In 2005 he was awarded the World Technology Award by Time and CNN.
About KEF Audio
KEF Audio, a division of GP Acoustics, is a UK based company that has earned a reputation as the premier manufacturer of stunning, audiophile-quality speakers for modern home cinema, hi-fi and custom installation applications. KEF products are distributed around the globe and have won numerous industry awards from both sides of the Atlantic. The KEF brand is long associated with style, quality and technical innovation.
Founded in 1961 by a British electrical engineer named Raymond Cooke on the banks of the River Medway, KEF is driven by a passionate belief in the power of new materials, new technologies and design ingenuity. Still occupying the same riverbank site, KEF passionately remains true to its patented, proven technologies such as Uni-Q and ACE. These characteristics, traditions and above all sound quality, secure KEF’s reputation as truly world-class.
About KEF America, Inc.
KEF America, a division of KEF Audio, offers loyal North American audiophiles a stream of innovative speakers and components unmatched in the industry. Headquartered in Marlboro, New Jersey, KEF America shares the same guiding principles as its British counterpart: ground-breaking design, exceptional sound and an unshakeable commitment to excellence.
For additional information about KEF and its award-winning products, please visit http://www.kef.com.
