KEF R Series Meta
The essential for any audiophile. Hand built by the masters who set the standard for audio quality, The Reference has been the benchmark for loudspeakers and sound reproduction. The Reference is an embodiment of KEF’s philosophy and the relentless pursuit of perfection. Now with Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT™).
So Pure. So KEF
The latest version of The Reference benefits from our latest acoustic innovation: Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT™). MAT™ is a highly complex maze-like structure that absorbs 99% of the unwanted sound from the rear of the driver, eliminating the resulting distortion and providing purer, more natural sound.
Sit anywhere, hear every detail
Refined through iterations, Uni-Q® driver array for The Reference is the 12th generation Uni-Q® with MAT™. Uni-Q® acts as a single point source to disperse sound more evenly throughout the room. The result is the elimination of the limited ‘sweet spot’, therefore allowing everybody sitting at different spots in the room to experience and enjoy the same natural, detailed sound.
"A description was needed to convey the idea that every loudspeaker is subject to scrutiny at all stages of assembly, culminating in a final test comparison with a laboratory maintained reference standard. Hence the method became the name: Reference. "
- Raymond Cooke OBE, KEF Founder
Finished to Perfection
The expertly engineered cabinets are finished in a sumptuous high-gloss or richly detailed, pair-matched wood veneer to complement the strikingly distinctive front baffle. Five finishes are available, a combination of three cabinet finishes and five drive unit colours: Satin Walnut/Silver, High-Gloss Black/Copper, High-Gloss Black/Grey, High-Gloss White/Blue, and High-Gloss White/Champagne.
A Flare for Detail
Derived from The Reference, Shadow Flare is an innovative way to cut harmful high frequency cabinet diffraction. It's a carefully profiled transition that extends the waveguide effect of Uni-Q®. The treble escapes naturally because the ‘shadow region’ stops it getting to the cabinet edges. The result is vastly improved fine detail.
Performance critical damping
A solid platform is imperative for great sound. The R Series benefits from constrained layer damping, a system that uses internal braces joined by a ‘lossy’ interface. This material converts unwanted vibration into heat, ensuring that the cabinet makes the only sound it needs to: the sound of silence.
True Bass Definition
R Series bass drivers have a two-part structure with a shallow, concave, aluminium skin atop a paper cone. This stiffness, combined with the cone’s unique geometry, achieves a piston-like movement for punch and speed. The drivers’ magnet system creates a broad and uniform magnetic field which means more impressive and impactful bass.
Flexible port for cleaner bass
We only want to hear the drivers, not the resonances or turbulence created by a bass port. The R Series ports have innovative flexible walls. Using computational fluid dynamics, the flare and profile of each port is calculated to delay the onset of turbulence and the flexible port walls prevent resonances from colouring the midrange.
