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The holy grail of loudspeaker design has always been to generate big bass from small boxes.
The trouble is, the laws of physics make this almost impossible to achieve, as bass extension relates directly to efficiency and cabinet size.
Continuing a 40-year tradition of genuine design innovation, KEF engineers have now developed a way of overcoming this apparently insoluble limitation.
It´s called Acoustic Compliance Enhancement (ACE), and it works like this: In conventional speakers, cone motion is restricted by the acoustic pressure in the enclosure as the air is alternately compressed and expanded by the cone moving in and out.
The smaller the enclosure, the greater the pressure that acts on the cone.
By dramatically reducing this pressure, ACE allows the cone to move as freely as it would in a much larger cabinet, generating bass extension out of all proportion to its actual size.
This is achieved by introducing granules of activated carbon into the enclosure - a material containing millions of pores ranging in size from visible fissures to holes a few molecules across.
Centre stage is a Uni-Q array with KEF´s latest aluminium dome tweeter set into a 75mm (3´´) midrange cone, so you know that vocals are going to sound clear, warm and beautifully balanced wherever you sit.
With a line-up of no less than four 75mm (3´´) long-throw bass drivers with ultra-low distortion motors, you know that the sound image will be so real you can almost touch it.
The separate Uni-Q enclosure utilises ACE technology to move the enclosure resonance below the working frequency range and absorb higher frequency acoustic modes.
Not that you actually notice it after the first few minutes - you just find that you start enjoying music and movies more than you used to.
What you might not expect is the ease with which they can be positioned in the room and around your screen.
Because at the back of those slender elliptical-section anodised aluminium enclosures you´ll find the ingenious new Selecta-mount concealed wall brackets; or, if you prefer, there´s always the neatly cable-managed standard shelf or desktop stand and the option of ´Bass Extender´, a reflex ported floor stand to further enhance the bass output.
Whichever you choose, you´ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you have a speaker system that brings out the best in whatever you play.
