kef

At last: A high-end wireless subwoofer

KEF's HTB2SE-W wireless subwoofer is first and foremost, a great subwoofer. The fact that it's a wireless design is icing on the cake.

The HTB2SE-W is a marriage of two existing KEF products--the HTB2 subwoofer and the Universal Wireless Kit--and I have reviewed both of them for CNET.

The subwoofer is a round design, a mere 7.7 inches thick, and yet it still manages to go deep into the bass. When it's vertically oriented, it stands 15.4 inches tall, or if you prefer, it can be horizontally oriented.

The subwoofer sports front- and rear-mounted … Read more

KEF's uber-cool concept speakers a work of art

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

Clad top to bottom in woven carbon fiber, these sexy 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 Uni-Q driver for more natural-sounding vocals.

(Source: Crave Asia via Audiojunkies)

Gadgettes 82: The Cake Tech Episode

Have you ever looked at a gadget and thought to yourself: "Self, that would make a mighty delicious cake!" Exactly. No one has. So we go where no gadgette has gone before. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 82

Lampposts mystery solved! (thanks Joe) http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/17/ padded-lampposts-in-london-not-really-being-tested/

Jeff Bezos Kindle cake: http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9899249-1.html

Icon watch (easy cake): http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2008/03/icon_watch_just.html

USB slide show for your computer’s vitals (nice-looking cake): http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9899114-1.html

eMotion’s solar-powered media player http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9899007-1.html… Read more

KEF 'Egg' speakers good enough to eat

The lads over at Home Cinema Choice recently got a sweet surprise from British loudspeaker manufacturer KEF. It came in the form of an impeccable replica of the company's popular 3000-series KHT home theater speakers, affectionately known as the "KEF Egg" among enthusiasts. Rather than the usual boring showpiece, it was a yummy dark chocolate treat that they mercilessly smashed apart and devoured. I wonder if any of our TV vendors will ever send us something similar, molded in the form of an oversized 42-inch flat panel, of course.

(Source: Crave Asia)

Speakers that are literally works of Art: the $140,000 KEF Muon

KEF, one of Britain's leading speaker manufacturers, had a press event earlier this week in New York City to show off their new Muon speakers. I was curious to see the speaker in the flesh, and now that I have I can say the pictures don't do it justice. They are the most beautiful speakers I've ever seen.

Designed by Ross Lovegrove (a top industrial designer), they are indeed works of 21 century art, fabricated from malleable sheets of heated aluminum. The process was required to produce the Muon's complex curves, dictated by the design's … Read more

Here's why wireless speakers (mostly) suck

Fact is, all of the wireless speakers I've reviewed for CNET still use speaker wires to do what speaker wires always do, deliver audio signals from power amplifiers to the speakers. And since wireless speakers have built-in power amplifiers, they need to be plugged into an AC wall outlet. So where a standard speaker has one wire, the wireless speaker has at least two! The "wireless" part refers to the system's ability to wirelessly transmit audio signals from the front of the room to the surround speakers.

The two wireless transmission systems, infrared and radio frequency, … Read more

The $140,000 loudspeakers

Yes, we know. Life as a media technophile can be so tiring sometimes.

It took forever for you to find the right home theater projector, but persistence paid off because you snagged a $10,000 model for only $99,995. And then there's the $150,000 turntable you stumbled across at a neighborhood garage sale.

But what, praytell, will you do about speakers? Apple industrial designer Ross Lovegrove has just the answer for you with his "Muon" masterpiece, which goes for a mere $140,000 a pair. These auditory wonders employ a technology that "doubles the … Read more

KEF's FiveTwo Series: virtual surround an audiophile can love

The KEF FiveTwo Series speakers got a lot of coverage when they were announced in the fall. "Two speakers, sounds like five," declared Gizmodo, and that was indeed the draw. Available in two versions--the 15-inch-high Model 7 and 40-inch-tall Model 11--the FiveTwo Series speakers are KEF's first stab at virtual surround. Using multiple drivers (each model is named for the number of drivers it utilizes), the FiveTwo speakers deliver the five (front left/right, center, and surround left/right) channels of a true surround system from just two front speakers.

CNET was able to put both FiveTwo … Read more

KEF Passive Subwoofer

Now is a good time to think about blasting out your neighbors by adding exceptional sound to your sound system with the new KEF Passive Subwoofer. It's in stock now in both silver and black at one of CNET Certified Stores and at a great price.

Oh yeah, don't forget to let CNET know how your experience was while shopping our online stores; just click the "Rate this store" link under the star rating and tell us what you think.