Marlboro, N.J. –
KEF will go to the CEDIA Expo with square and rectangular in-ceiling speakers
to complement the round in-ceiling speakers that shipped earlier this year.
Four rectangular speakers
and six square speakers will ship in the fourth quarter, all with ultra-thin
bezels and magnetically attached grilles for a non-obtrusive look. All also
feature tangerine wave guides for the tweeters to widen dispersion. They also have
woofers mounted as closely as possible to the plane of the ceiling so that,
when combined with a special trim ring, the speakers effectively eliminate
diffraction distortion, said product manager David Kroll. All are two-way
models.
Six of the new
models also feature proprietary Uni-Q driver design, placing the tweeter in the
acoustic center of the woofer to deliver wider sound dispersion than speakers
with pivoting tweeter/woofer combinations, the company said. The design allows
for more flexible placement of speakers while delivering balanced off-axis
response, the company said. The other speakers use an asymmetrical tweeter
island to deliver near UniQ performance at lower prices.
Prices haven’t
been determined.
The new speakers
join round in-ceiling models that brought ultrathin bezels, smaller footprints,
and improved tangerine waveguide to the company’s in-ceiling lineup.
The ultra-thin
bezels’ deliver a “modern look is in high demand with architects and
designers,” said product manager David Kroll said, and Uni-Q gives consumer the
benefit of “placement-friendly, wide off-axis response and small visible
footprint.” The speakers also feature proprietary grille treatments to make
them suitable for use in humid and moist areas, including bathrooms, boats or
home near the ocean.
In UniQ-equipped
speakers, there are four square and two rectangular models. The square models
are the Ci100QS with 4-inch woofer, Ci130QS with 5.25-inch woofer, Ci160QS with
6.5-inch woofer, and Ci200QS with 8-inch woofer. All feature 0.75-inch tweeter
except for the 8-inch Ci100QS, which features 1-inch tweeter.
The two
rectangular models with UniQ are the Ci160QL with 6.5-inch woofer and 0.75-inch
tweeter and Ci200QL with 8-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter.
Among the four
speakers with asymmetrical tweeter island, two are square and two are
rectangular. The square speakers are the Ci130CS with 5.25-inch woofer and
0.75-inch tweeter and the Ci160CS with 6.5-inch driver and 0.75-inch tweeter.
The rectangular
speakers with asymmetrical tweeter island are the Ci160CL with 6.6-inch woofer
and 0.75-inch tweeter and the Ci200CL with 8-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter.
The new speakers
join the three round in-ceiling models in the two-way QR series with UniQ
driver configuration at $249 to $349 each and four round in-ceiling two-way CR
series speakers that use asymmetrical tweeter island to deliver near UniQ
performance at lower prices of $179 to $274 each.
