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Newlaunches: KEF are known to be bringing forth some interesting devices every now and then. The company that’s so little spoken of these days is already 50 years old. In celebration of this amazing tenure in the industry, KEF has decided to roll out their hugely popular KEF Concept Blade for the masses. The speakers are simply stunning with, firstly, good looks, and then the cool features. Among these are the Single Apparent Source Driver Configuration, Latest Uni-Q Driver Array, Tangerine Waveguide, New Bass Technologies/4 Bass Units with Force Cancelling and Distinctive Design with Glass Reinforced Composite Cabinet. The sonic capabilities of the Concept Blade, a.k.a. the world’s first single apparent source loudspeaker are much spoken of.

The KEF Concept Blade is available starting today, in black and white. You can also get custom color jobs done in Garnet, Sapphire, Grigio, Racing Red, Racing Blue, Pale Gold, Orange Sorbet, Graphite, Stardust, Lemon Sorbet, Lime Sorbet or Snow White. £20,000 (~$32,433).

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What Hi-fi: KEF has introduced an all-new version of its Universal Wireless System with enhanced software and a more powerful transmitter, for £450.

Primarily designed for home cinema enthusiasts who do not want wires trailing across the room to rear speakers, it is ideal for 5.1 home cinema systems, and a second KEF Universal Wireless System 2.0 set can enable expansion to a 7.1 system.

The system wirelessly transmits music from your Blu-ray, CD player or other source component to your speakers. All you have to do is connect the transmitter to your source, and each of the two receivers to a speaker and power outlet.

To guard against interference from other devices such as wi-fi routers, microwave ovens and cordless phones, the KEF system uses a narrow signal band coupled with KEF’s advanced error correction technology.

It also uses Advanced Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (AAFHSS) technology: a detector constantly searches for potentially conflicting transmissions, and if any are found it ‘hops’ to a different channel. keeping the signal stable.

“The KEF Universal Wireless System 2.0 is ideal for music and movie lovers who wish to eliminate wiring between amplifiers and speakers, allowing them to create an outstanding listening environment without the need for clutter or compromising sound quality,” said Steve Halsall, managing director, KEF’s UK Business Unit.

“It can also transmit sound from devices like computers and MP3 players, with a signal capable of powering speakers in nearby rooms and even outdoors.”

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Techradar: KEF’s new T-Series range of home cinema speakers are definitely a sign of the times. They’ve been designed with a clear purpose in mind – to be an aesthetic match to newer, thinner, flatscreen TVs, enabling buyers to couple their hi-def movies with authentic 5.1 sound without their living room looking like a branch of Sevenoaks. (more…)

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T3.com: If you have a new 3D TV, you probably ought to consider a new sound system – come on, it’s only money; you can’t take it with you. There are plenty of audio options out there, from all-in-one systems and soundbars with built-in Blu ray decks, to speaker combos for those who own a Blu-ray player. Here are five of the best.

Best: Pure quality
Samsung HT-C9950W
£1,800
Love: Innovative design. Audio and visual prowess
Hate: Very expensive
 

Best: Convenience
Pioneer HTP-200
£500
Love: Convenient and quick to set up
Hate: No on-screen menus. Cheap design
 

Best: Sound quality
Denon AVR-1911 & KEF KHT8005
£1,400 (£400 + £1,000
Love: Awesome sound quality. Feature packed
Hate: High total price
 

Best: Internet content
Sony BDV-E370
£450
Love: Internet extras. Streaming. Clear audio
Hate: Dull looks. Poor sub
 

Best: Extra features
Panasonic SC-BFT800
£700
Love: Space-saving design. Wireless sub. Wide range of features
Hate: No surround sound. Lacks a certain punch

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The Audiophiliac: British speaker manufacturer KEF is now offering a range of superthin (less than 1.5 inches deep) flat-panel speakers designed to look great mounted next to flat-screen TVs. The T Series speakers all feature a radically new ultralow profile bass/midrange driver and a new tweeter. Designing audiophile-grade skinny speakers isn’t easy, but KEF might be able to pull it off. (more…)

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Engadget: Don’t get us wrong — we love subwoofers — but honestly we’ve been pretty satisfied with the formula that combines a driver, strong box and large amplifier into a more or less (we prefer less) inconspicuous cube.

Changing the physical design always looks kind of strange, even when the results are great. Horses for courses, however, as KEF has introduced its HTB2SE-W subwoofer that has us thinking of one George Jetson.

That impression is only enhanced by the wireless connection (hey, it was futuristic a few years ago) that promises “CD-quality sound,” which is probably more than sufficient for even lossless LFE tracks. If you don’t like the flying saucer look, simply put the HTB2SE-W on its side — the 10-inch driver and 250-Watt amp promise to deliver bass so non-directional that you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Available next month for $1,200 (€820).

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Electronista: The KEF Concept Blade is a set of enormous one-off speakers engineered to demonstrate the British hi-fi specialist’s technical know-how. Developed over a three-year span, these man-size boomboxes are a work of art in both aesthetics and performance.

Clad top to bottom in woven carbon fibre, these gorgeous concept speakers are capable of supporting the full audio spectrum out of the box. To achieve this feat, they employ four side-firing woofers to boost bass extensively and the company’s UniQ driver for more natural-sounding vocals.

You can’t buy these — they’re just for show — but you can read more in the company’s brochure here (PDF).

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Product-Reviews: Ever dreamed of a home cinema, but didn’t think you had the space? Or maybe you couldn’t be doing with all that installaton and wiring. Well, home audio specialist KEF has come to your rescue, providing Instant Theatre Products called KIT.

The KIT120 and 140 are billed to provide the “delights of home cinema without the normal tangle of wires, swarm of oversize speakers and complicated setup”. Sounds perfect!

The KIT is made up from four stylish boxes, replacing the unsightly satellite speakers which clog up the room. Both the KIT120 and 140 uses a combination of virtual surround sound with NXT panels, KEF’s proprietary Uni-Q devices and sport HDMI ports for easy sngle-cable connectivity.

With each system you’ll get two main loudspeakers, subwoofer with integrated power amplifier and matching DVD/CD player. They are available in both matt silver or high gloss black

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Ubergizmo: The new KEF Wireless speaker system known as the KHT5005.2W is definitely a boon to any modern home entertainment system, doing away with those pesky wires that connect both front and rear speakers in a 5.1 channel sound system.

Unfortunately, their wireless ability ends at the wireless receiver which they must be connected to by sadly, wires.

Thankfully, the wireless receiver is unobtrusive and will hardly be noticed.

The whole set up will burn a $2,600 (around €1,950) hole in your pockets, but thankfully you have to option of going wireless by purchasing it separately for $600 (around €450).

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EngadgetHD: Catering to the highest of the high-end in speakers will grab the attention of both consumers and designers, and KEF has contracted Ross Lovegrove, who designed such throw-aways as the Walkman and the iMac, to create this spendy new “Muon” series of speakers.

These curvy monsters are carved out of a six-foot block of solid aluminum using computer-aided manufacturing and take a week to create.

The four-way, eight-speaker setups weigh 253 pounds each, and will retail for £70,000 (around €100,000). If you’ve got the pocketbook, better have your butler write out a check right quick, as the edition is limited to 100 pairs.

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Gizmodo: If you’re looking for a pair of speakers that can do the same thing five speakers normally do, KEF‘s fivetwo series can surround you with sound with just two swanky-looking audio towers. Their cool euro design and the fact that you only need two of them instead of a roomful of speakers appealed to a lot of the ladies at the 2006 IFA in Berlin.The surround sound effect is achieved by using side-facing SurfaceSound panels by NXT, coupled with drivers that KEF calls Uni-Q. Those side-firing SurfaceSound panels create left and right ambient effects, while the Uni-Q drivers deliver the left, center and right channels up front.

Available this fall, the seven-driver Model 7 will be 600 £/pair (about 900 eur), and the eleven-speaker Model 11 pictured here will be 1,100£/pair (about 1660 eur)

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