Manual KEF Reference 206-2 (page 16 of 19) (English)

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By 1973 the company was developing the

concept of computer assisted ‘Total System’

design, at a time when the world’s very first 4-bit

microprocessor was still in its infancy.

KEF engineers, using a given set of parameters,

could for the first time actually “see” what the

response characteristics of a loudspeaker system

would be. KEF was the first loudspeaker

company in the world to take the new

technology seriously in order to achieve this.

Now it was the use of computers and digital

test methods which provided the KEF engineers

with the relevant crossover and drive unit

data at a glance, thus dramatically improving

their ability to produce loudspeakers of

outstanding accuracy. Amongst other benefits,

KEF loudspeakers could now be computer

matched as an almost identical pair - to within

one-half of a dB.

1973 then saw the introduction of the first KEF

Reference Series Model, the 104 which swept

reviewers, distributors, retailers and customers

off their feet. The archetypal ‘domestic monitor’

104 provided the standards of a broadcast

monitor loudspeaker in a domestic package,

probably for the first time.

With the installation of a Hewlett Packard

computer at the Maidstone Head Office in 1975,

the Corelli, Calinda, and Cantata were all

designed under the total system concept and

with them came a second Queen’s Award for

Export in the same year.

1977 saw the most radical KEF design yet in the

Model 105 which apart from setting new

standards for flat frequency response introduced

a design by which the mid and treble were split

from the bass box and placed within a contoured

moulded enclosure above the bass enclosure.

The added ability to angle the separate unique

head unit provided the opportunity for the user

to tailor the 105 to his or her own environment.

The loudspeaker was of such general importance

and consumer interest that a leading quality UK

Newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, featured the

Model 105 on the front cover of its magazine

supplement. More Reference Models were to

follow. 1978 saw the launch of the 101 and

103 and, in 1979 a further refined 105/2

Model appeared.

Ten years of growth world-wide followed,

peaking with a massive onslaught on the lucrative

and influential US market in 1985 with the

setting up of KEF Electronics of America, seen as

the appropriate recognition of this important

market-place.

1986 saw more activity amongst the now world

famous KEF Reference Series; the 104/2, always

regarded as one of the world’s truly outstanding

loudspeakers since its 1984 launch spawned the

107, in reality an evolution of the 105/2 but with

KEF’s coupled-cavity bass loading, a system

which positions the drivers internal to the

enclosure, each separately loaded and firing into

a third common chamber which delivers very

tight and accurate bass to the listening area via a

substantial front-mounted port. This combines

the taut sonic character of a sealed box with the

higher sensitivity of a reflex design and succeeds

in providing a huge boost to bass performance.

Also came the 102 and the 103/3, both accepted

by recording and broadcast engineers as

ideal monitors. KEF’s reputation as

loudspeaker engineers was set in stone.

As well as the coupled-cavity bass loading

system, KEF Reference loudspeakers boasted

such highly sophisticated features as a conjugate

load network technique, which makes even a

complicated loudspeaker design simplicity itself

from the amplifier’s perspective and a heavily

damped midrange module which preserves low

coloration and fine stereo. A force cancelling

rod, fitted between the vertically opposed bass

units was an added introduction, eliminating the

possibility for coloration caused by woofer

vibrations exciting the enclosure panels.

Amidst all this excitement, 1988 also brought in

the birth of the KEF Custom Installation

loudspeakers, a move made in response to new

world market demands. The same exacting

engineering standards were naturally applied to

the range and the CR200F and its sub-bass

partner, the CR250SW set new standards from

in-wall/ceiling units.

Then, again in 1988, came Uni-Q. A design

process, painstakingly evolved by KEF over

several years, by which a single point source at

last became a reality. The HF units made use of

a rare-earth magnet material, Neodymium/

Iron/Boron which was developed for the NASA

Space Programme.10 times more powerful than

a conventional loudspeaker magnet, this material

allowed KEF engineers to make a tweeter small

enough to fit within the bass unit coil former at

the precise acoustic centre of the cone.

KEF’s Uni-Q technology delivered well-defined

stereo imaging over a much wider listening area

without the need for the time honoured sacred

“hot-spot” in the listening room. The 105/3 was

a massive success, bringing together, not just

Uni-Q (now in its second generation form),

but all of KEF’s magnificent technology -

coupled-cavity bass loading, conjugate load

matching, force cancelling rod, computer

matched crossovers and drive units, even hand

pair-matched veneer finishes - in fact almost

everything by which KEF had made its name as

the world’s foremost loudspeaker company -

in to one product. It was voted Best Imported

Speaker by the Japanese Press in 1992.

‘Total System’ design testing equipment

The Model 105/3

The 1970’s The 1980’s

Uni-Q Technology

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KEF Reference 206-2 Manual

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