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Is KEF no longer relevant?

It seems to me that 20 years ago Kef was quite a respected speaker manufacturer. Granted I knew far less back then about audiophilia, but for someone just starting out, that was my impression at the time.

Although Kef still makes speakers in the $5,000 - $15,000 range, they never seem to be the subject of serious discussion here on the 'Gon. These discussions are dominated by a group of the usual 20 or so suspects that we hear about over and over again. And no disrespect meant against that group - they are mostly, if not all, great speakers to be sure. But Kef certainly at one time was a pioneering and extrememly respected brand. What happened? Is this because they lost their "sound" after Raymond Cooke died? (an accusation I remember reading somewhere) Or are they just perceived as a "yesterday's news" brand?

No doubt there are many happy Kef owners out there who may answer this thread telling me how great their speakers are, even by today's standards, and I have no argument with them - I am a former Kef owner and very fond of the brand - but they clearly are not "darlings" of this forum. What happened?
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Showing 2 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
I always liked KEF speakers for the most part when I heard them and have wondered the same thing about why they are not talked about in these audio circles these days. They seem to target mainly the home theater markets these days is what I had gathered.

Also, I always liked the low fatigue KEF sound but it often was not the most exciting sound by US standards out there, so I assume that was part of it also.

I always found their more recent coincident driver designs interesting, but have never heard them.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
If they are not relevant then I need to check them out because somehow they manage to sell a lot of speakers. That's some trick!
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