KEF Ci 100QR User Manual

The Reference for a new generation

Funny thing, sound.

As the human voice, as music and in film, it’s

one of the great joys of being alive.

But the more you enjoy sound, the more

demanding you become of how it’s

reproduced.Anything that distracts you from

the purity of the original spoils the pleasure -

and with modern recording technologies, the

quality you expect gets higher all the time.

So it is with the legendary Reference Series.

As audiophiles everywhere know, the

Reference Series has always been about

setting new standards. Using the most

advanced digital techniques to analyse the way

sound behaves, we create a new generation of

prototypes that push the boundaries of sonic

performance further still.

After exhaustive measurements under

anechoic conditions and listening tests in

many different real rooms, using various

electronics with both AV and music signals,

these then become the ‘Reference’ to which

every production version must conform, to a

tolerance of just 0.5dB.

components always perform slightly

differently. So as well as carefully matching

each set of speakers, we make sure every

single driver is partnered by units whose

output is as near identical as possible.

As the first Reference Series speakers

designed specifically for modern extended

bandwidth digital formats, the new models

deliver a more complete experience of sound

than ever before.At their heart are completely

new Uni-Q

drivers - the ultimate refinement

of KEF’s trademark technology - with a

sophisticated elliptical dome tweeter of

astonishing lucidity and a patented ‘Uni-Form’

flat surround midrange driver.A new titanium

dome hypertweeter that easily outperforms

any conventional supertweeter. Ultra low

distortion bass drivers. Radical new curved

Our obsession with audio integrity doesn’t

stop there, though - because however

meticulously manufactured, individual audio

cabinet designs.

The technical sections in this brochure explain

some of the reasons for these speakers’

phenomenal clarity and accuracy. But no

words can explain how they sound.

So having read, please do go and listen.

In every sense, you’ll find it’s a revelation.

New Uni-Q®array

The new Reference Series embodies an

approach to pure sound using technologies

found nowhere else.

Although the single point source performance

and wide dispersion characteristics of KEF

Uni-Q are well known, the new range is based

on a radically new design: the first ever Uni-Q

driver array dedicated solely to the midrange.

by a patented co-moulding process, while the

cone profile is optimised by Finite Element

Analysis (FEA) to ensure that wavefronts from

the tweeter exit the cavity cleanly.

Another KEF ‘first’ is the small, superlight

compound neodymium magnet assembly that

ensures optimum flux profiles for both MF and

HF coils. Its low mass allows effective

decoupling from the cabinet to prevent box

colouration, and the open chassis design

(in die-cast aluminium alloy for stiffness)

minimises acoustic reflections behind the cone.

Determined to set a new standard of

mechanical integrity for metal dome tweeters,

KEF engineers also used FEA to develop a

The limited movement required at these

frequencies allows a perfectly flat new

surround that dramatically reduces diffraction

and intermodulation effects.The filled

polypropylene cone and its thermoplastic

rubber surround are produced as one entity

unit whose resonance threshold exceeded

30kHz.The result is a deep drawn 25mm

titanium dome with elliptical profile and

optimised surround that substantially

outperforms conventional high-end units.

The imaging therefore becomes even

sharper, with virtually no colouration.

Integration is flawless; the off-axis response,

unrivalled anywhere.

Less distortion at lower frequencies

A lightweight neodymium magnet ‘pot’ and

relatively small cone movements allow the

lower midrange driver in the Model 207 to be

fitted with KEF’s short coil/long gap motor

system.Although this has an inherently linear

flux profile anyway, the design incorporates a

single aluminium Faraday ring around the pole

HD (dB)

10"LF unit: 2nd harmonic

FREQUENCY (Hz)

200

to eliminate any residual distortion.The

500

software, the system incorporates twin

balanced Faraday rings above and below the

coil to maintain a perfectly symmetrical flux

profile (both in and out of the gap) that

minimises flux modulation.Together with the

use of an ‘undercut’ T-pole, this configuration

has the effect of reducing second harmonic

HD (dB)

10"LF unit: 3rd harmonic

FREQUENCY (Hz)

200

distortion by as much as 20dB (for 1W input),

500

configuration also allows the diaphragm to

be thinner and lighter for increased sensitivity,

with a phase plug shaped to optimise

smooth response.

In the new bass drivers, KEF’s ultra-low

distortion motor system dramatically reduces

low frequency distortions.After extensive

research using the latest magnetics simulation

Hypertweeter™

Time aligned with the

main array and

mounted in its

own chrome-plated

and third harmonic distortion by 10dB.

An open chassis and vented poles minimise any

noise from air trapped internally, and each bass

driver radiates directly from its own subdivided

internal enclosure to avoid the standing wave

distortions that usually afflict tall cabinets.With

less damping required, you get more sensitivity

- and the result is the clearest, most open bass

you’ve ever heard.

With flat response to

50kHz and useful energy

up to 80kHz, this massively

extended performance

steel pod, KEF’s new 19mm

titanium dome hypertweeter is

essentially a scaled down version of the new

Uni-Q®tweeter, with the same low distortion

characteristics at ‘super audio’ frequencies.

envelope delivers every last

sonic detail encoded in the

latest wideband formats like SACD, SACD

multi-channel and DVD Audio.What you

actually hear is simply a sweeter, more

natural sound with crystal clear highs.

+ 9 hidden pages