![]() Last, but not least, I have a soft spot for white HiFi, as the biggest majority of my bookshelf speakers were white and you can already guess how I feel about these beauties. These are the heaviest bookshelves that I used so far, serving an important purpose, as a heavier cabinet would null resonance, taking the advantage of reaction cancelling and that’s why their cabinets are made out of thick MDF boards, adding massively to their weight. Weighting 18.2 kilos per speaker (40 lbs) and 8 kilos (17.5 lbs) per stand, this duo will turn heads and make a stunning first impression. ![]() Reference 1 Meta have platinum-plated brass speaker terminals that provide single and bi-wiring options. Rocking a mounting system with integrated cable management, these were specially tailored for the Reference 1 Meta and if you’re already saving for the loudspeakers, you should add to the wish list their stands that will be nulling remaining vibrations. KEF ensures that Reference 1 Meta cannot generate resonances of their own, but if you want the last drop of performance out of them, nothing beats their dedicated S-RFI stands. If you take a look at their front baffle, you can spot two aluminum plates sandwiched together, making the whole enclosure strong and rigid, nulling vibrations coming from their drivers. With constrained layer damping techniques and massive internal bracing, the enclosures are virtually inert. Their cabinets are expertly engineered to determine the ideal shape and bracing geometry and their structure minimizes both resonances from the cabinet walls and the effects of standing waves. The Reference Meta cabinets come in a choice of Satin Walnut & Silver, High-Gloss White & Blue (our review unit), High-Gloss White & Champagne, High-Gloss Black & Grey and High Gloss Black & Copper finishes. This configuration allows both drive units to operate more effectively, giving noticeably greater definition to lower frequencies. KEF has always driven innovation in sound with examples, including its iconic Muon and Blade speakers.Īs of right now, there are five Reference models: a three-way bookshelf speaker, two formidable three-way floorstanders, a three-way center channel and a powerful 1000W twin-driver subwoofer, which utilizes KEF’s ingenious force-cancelling technology. Since the company’s establishment, KEF has maintained a flair for unusual and controversial speaker engineering and design. KEF crafts most of their stuff in Asia, but their flagship series as Blade, Reference and Muon are all hand assembled locally in Kent, UK, exactly in the same building that was previously inhabited by Kent Engineering & Foundry, from which they’ve got their name. The result is a loudspeaker that performs far beyond the sum of its parts. ![]() Every component was optimized both within itself and as part of the whole, while every drive unit is given the chance to perform to the best of its considerable ability. Coming at £7.500 / €9.000 / $9.000 per pair, we’re looking at top-grade speakers, but are they worth it in the end? That’s the big question which I’ll try to answer today.Īccording to KEF, the Reference line is the physical embodiment of KEF’s Total System Design philosophy. At 40 lbs per loudspeaker, these are certainly the heaviest and the highest-performance standmounts I’ve had the pleasure of testing. While that sounds like good marketing material, after carefully listening to them for about three weeks, I can vouch for their ability to throw a gigantic picture, indirectly proportional to their cabinet size. Reference 1 Meta boasts KEF’s 12th generation Uni-Q driver array with MAT, that according to KEF are capable of delivering expansive, high-performance sound that goes way beyond what its relatively compact size would suggest was possible. When opportunity struck to have a listen to their newest three-way standmount in the comfort of my home, I didn’t hesitate for a second and here we are. My story came just on time for their 60th Anniversary that celebrated 6 decades of thinking outside the box, giving freedom to hear music as your favorite artists intended. A few months ago, I’ve wrote a story about how I’ve become a KEF Reference 3 owner, even if a smaller standmount Reference 1 was winking at me for quite some time. Sure enough, a year and a half later, KEF was retrofitting their Reference and Blade series with MAT, pushing their performance higher, while retaining the same minimalist look. ![]() When KEF announced their newest generation LS50 and LS50 Wireless II with Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT for short) that eliminated unwanted sound waves from the rear of the driver, for a purer and clearer sound…something was telling me that we’ll be seeing this technology on their higher end models at some point in time.
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