KEF Reference Loudspeakers at Home Media

KEF REFERENCE LOUDSPEAKERS AT HOME MEDIA

The KEF Reference loudspeaker range is recognised by many for its ability to deliver musical expression, emotion and detail. Having spent time with the KEF Reference 1’s, our team were impressed by the scale of the sound stage, as well as the lack of colouration. The latter is one of the most compelling characteristics of the product. The Reference 1’s appear to have no influence on the presentation of the music, allowing your chosen artist to project with greater realism than we have experienced with other loudspeaker designs.

The following quote is taken from KEF’s White Paper detailing The Reference development. ‘To reproduce the most realistic listening experience, the sound needs to come purely from the drivers and not from the cabinet. Any resonant vibration from the cabinet panels will add unwanted distortion to the music. This means that the cabinet walls of a loudspeaker ought to be as inert as possible. The construction of The Reference cabinets has always been a strength of the range.’

The Reference 1’s have an efficiency of 85dB/1M, meaning they are best suited to amplifiers of the ‘six or eight cylinder’ variety. The amplifier of choice during our listening session was the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800, partnered with Tellurium Q Graphite speaker and interconnect cables. The Nu-Vista 800 integrated amplifier is one such model to feature a multiple number of cylinders and as a result forms a beautiful pairing with the Reference 1’s.

The Reference 1 is a stand mount design weighing 18 kilos, with a cabinet size of (H)440 x (W)205 x (D)430 mm and is capable of producing bass that will embarrass other designs. Here is another quote from KEF’s white paper. ‘A common misconception is that only large drivers are able to efficiently produce deep bass. This is not the case, Thiele and Small (formerly of KEF) showed in their seminal series of papers in the 1970s that it is only the cabinet volume that limits the efficiency of the bass output of a loudspeaker.’ You can read more by following this link.

Other models in the range include the Reference 3 and Reference 5, plus two centre channels and an active subwoofer.

If you would like to learn more, please contact a member of our team to arrange a demonstration.