BLADE & REFERENCE SPEAKERS UPDATE

The Blade and The Reference speakers from KEF have been upgraded

The Reference series includes two three-way floorstanding speakers, a three-way standmount speaker, and two three-way centre speakers that can be used as Left-Centre-Right (LCR) speakers.

Acoustics dictate Blade’s sculptural design. The front radius tapers from top to bottom and from front to rear to eliminate standing waves that might blur the sound are available in eight finishes, created by blending five cabinet finishes with six driver cone colours.

Constrained Layer Damping is included to turn what little vibration there is into heat.

Five finishes are available, a combination of three cabinet finishes and five driver cone colours: Satin Walnut/Silver, High-Gloss White/Blue, High-Gloss White/Champagne, High-Gloss Black/Grey, High-Gloss Black/Copper.

MAT

As for the new features? They surrounded KEF’s Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MATTM) and a bespoke 12th generation Uni-Q driver array.

For MAT each of the channels apparently absorbs 99% of unwanted sound, including distortion. So you only hear what you’re supposed to hear, apparently.

KEF’s now 12^th generation Uni-Q is paired with MAT for Blade and The Reference but has been enhanced into something called the Single Apparent Source. Add some computer-based contour twiddling around the cabinet, enhanced cross over technology and a waveguide and KEF hope to offer a more transparent sound.

Blade’s four low-frequency drivers are integrated with the Uni-Q and MAT to extend the bass while decoupling the voice coil from the diaphragm allows low order crossovers to be used. These drivers are mounted back-to-back to avoid exciting the cabinet when playing loud to cancel out kinetic forces that might otherwise colour the output.

PRICES

Out now, the prices are…

Price:

• Blade One Meta: £30,000
• Blade Two Meta: £22,500
• Reference 5 Meta: £17,500
• Reference 3 Meta: £11,500
• Reference 1 Meta: £7,500
• Reference 4 Meta: £6,500
• Reference 2 Meta: £4,750
• S-RF1 Floor Stand: £1,000
• REF 8b Subwoofer: £6,000 

To learn more, click uk.kef.com