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| Founded | 1961 |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Raymond Cooke |
| Headquarters | Maidstone, England  |
| Industry | Electronics |
| Products | Muon, Reference Series, XQ Series, iQ Series, C Series, Ci Series, KEF Home Theatre (KHT Series), Subwoofer, iPod Speakers, Concept Blade |
| Website | http://www.kef.com |
KEF is a British-based loudspeaker manufacturer with international distribution. It was founded in 1961 by electrical engineer Raymond Cooke and named after Kent Engineering & Foundry. In 1991, the New York Times characterized it as a "leading" audio company in Europe, also "well known to American audiophiles".[1]
Raymond Cooke left Wharfedale where he was Technical Director and, with his business colleagues, founded KEF Electronics Ltd with a view to creating innovative loudspeakers using the latest in materials technology. The first loudspeaker manufactured was the K1 Slimline for which the drive units used diaphragms made of polystyrene and melinex. Soon after, in 1962, came the famous B139 'racetrack' shaped woofer which allowed the design of the Celeste - one of the first truly high performance bookshelf loudspeakers.
From the mid 1960s, KEF manufactured BBC-designed monitor loudspeakers such as the LS5/1A for the Corproration and for wider distribution. Cooke had previously worked in the Engineering Designs Department at the BBC in the 1950s and this relationship continued as KEF developed through the 1960s and 70s. In the mid 1960s KEF introduced the bextrene-coned B110 bass/midrange unit and the melinex-domed T27 tweeter which were later used in the BBC-designed LS3/5A outside broadcast monitor, of which over 50,000 pairs were sold worldwide.
In the early 1970s KEF was the first company to adopt computers for the testing and design of loudspeakers [2] leading to the 'Total System Design' methodology and more sophisticated production techniques such as driver 'pair matching'. The radical Model 105 system, released in 1977, embodied this new philosophy and was one of the most highly regarded loudspeakers of its time.
Other technologies developed and brought to the market by KEF have included coupled-cavity bass loading and conjugate load matching (Model 104/2, 1984), the KEF Universal Bass Equaliser (Model 107, 1986), driver decoupling (Model 105.2, 1979) and Uni-Q (C-Series, 1988).
References
- ^ Fantel, Hans (1991-02-03). "Said a Speaker To a Living Room: 'Speak to Me'". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/03/arts/sound-said-a-speaker-to-a-living-room-speak-to-me.html. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ L.R.Fincham and R.V.Leedham. 'Loudspeaker evaluation using digital fourier analysis'. Presented to the British section of the Audio Engineering Society, London, February 1973
External links
- KEF loudspeakers
- KEF Awarded CoolBrands accolade
- UK's No.1, Home Theatre Loudspeaker systems for 5 years
- 2008 Awards
- 2007 Awards
- 2006 Awards
- KEF Muon
- KEF Concept Blade
- KEF Reference 207/2 loudspeaker review by stereophile.com
- HTB2SE-W wireless subwoofer
- KEF Muon - sound reactive installation
- Uni-Q® Technology
- Wireless Speaker Technology
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