KEF Introduces the New R Series

New R Series Incorporates KEF Blade Technologies to Produce Performance Approaching Reference Series Standards at Much More Accessible Price Points

Marlboro, N.J. – September 2, 2011 – To help celebrate its 50th Anniversary year, KEF, the renowned manufacturer of innovative, reference-quality loudspeakers, has introduced its R Series range of high-performance speakers. Featuring many of KEF’s latest innovations in premium high fidelity and home entertainment loudspeaker technology, the R Series seeks 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 legendary Reference Series.

Attendees to the KEF America booth (#3351) at CEDIA EXPO 2011 will have the exclusive first-look at the all-new R Series from KEF in the U.S.

“The new R Series strikes the perfect balance between superb sound quality and affordability,” said Alec Chanin, president of KEF America. “The series incorporates many of the same technologies developed in our ground-breaking KEF Blade to offer those who appreciate great audio excellence a loudspeaker range that comes close to the performance of our Reference Series.”

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 is equally impressive. The combination of 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.

Inside the cabinets—available in a choice of classic, highly polished Piano Black and satin real wood veneer finishes in Rosewood or Walnut—every component manifests KEF’s technology prowess. 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.

With nine elegant 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, the all-new R Series represents a decisive step forward in the enjoyment of music or movies. 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 range is a fitting tribute to KEF’s 50 years of innovation in sound.

The new KEF R Series will be available in October 2011.

The R Series range includes:

Floor-Standing Loudspeakers

R500 – Three-way floor-standing speaker; Uni-Q driver array consists of 1” HF, 5” MF; Two 5.25” LF drivers. Retail: $1,299.99/each

R700 – Three-way floor-standing speaker; Uni-Q driver array consists of 1” HF,  5” MF; Two 6.5” LF drivers. Retail: $1,799.99/each

R900 – Three-way floor-standing speaker; Uni-Q driver array consists of 1” HF, 5” MF; Two 8” LF drivers. Retail: $2,499.99/each

Bookshelf Loudspeakers

R100 – Two-way bookshelf speaker; Uni-Q driver array: 1” HF, 5.25” MF. Retail: $1,199.99/pair

R300 – Three-way bookshelf speaker; Uni-Q driver array consists of 1” HF, 5” MF; One 6.5” LF driver. Retail: $1,799.99/pair

Home Theater Loudspeakers

R200c – Three-way center channel speaker; Uni-Q driver array consists of 1” HF, 5” MF; Two 5.25” LF drivers. Retail: $999.99/each

R600c – Three-way center channel speaker; Uni-Q driver array consists of 1” HF, 5” MF; Two 6.5” LF drivers. Retail: $1,499.99/each

R800ds – Three-way dipole speaker; Contains two Uni-Q driver arrays, consisting of two 1” HFs, two 5.25” MF. Retail: $1,799.99/pair

R400b – Powered subwoofer; Driver array: 9” LF. Retail: $1,699.99/each