KEF has an interesting history that started with Raymond Cooke. He used to work at the BBC as an electrical engineer. He started KEF and set up headquarters near Maidstone in Kent. This company was located on the banks of the River Medway. It also happened to be on the premises of Kent Engineering & Foundry, a metalworking company. This gave Cooke the chance to experiment with new materials and new technologies. It was his goal to produce sound with the resonance of a live performance.

KEF was the first company to experiment with Bextrene as a cone material. This material was incorporated into a series of drivers. KEF also had another breakthrough a few years later as they were the first company to design and test loudspeakers with computers. This became the industry standard in using digital analysis to improve speakers.

These combined efforts created a pair of KEF matching speakers that provide within half a dB for flawless audio reproduction. In the following decade, KEF also created the Uni-Q point source driver array. These utilized NASA-developed magnets that had the distinction of being ten times more powerful than standard ones.

KEF also stayed ahead of other speaker manufacturers in the 1990s with the first dedicated centre speaker in the UK. This was the Model 100 benefitting from Uni-Q that worked in a 5.1 home cinema setup. KEF has continued to stay ahead of the game over the years with the development of advanced acoustical, magnetic and mechanical modelling techniques. Particularly notable is the Finite Element Analysis, released in 2005. This resulted in an accuracy in sound that hadn’t previously been available.

KEF continues to be the forerunner five decades later. They are well-known for their premium audiophile products and continue to lead developments with the latest and best technologies. Their current line includes active speakers, headphones and earphones with range, the Q series, LS50, R series, KEF Reference, KEF Blade and custom install speakers with 5.1 speaker packages. Their two flagship products are the KEF Blade and the KEF Blade 2. They are renowned for their excellence in amazing sound reproduction.