Going to Eleven: KEF Loudspeakers

Music plays a starring role in the Esquire Man’s life. His tastes are naturally eclectic and his standards are exacting. To get the full measure of clarity from his music, he demands the best audio equipment—and his speakers, the final arbiter of quality, must be impeccable. His brand of choice: KEF, the British company famous for creating astonishing works of sonic art for the past 50 years.

His impressive collection of KEF Reference loudspeakers (the 205/2 tower models in the great room and living room and the 201/2 series in the master bedroom and home office) are beautiful to look at and even better to hear. The KEF Reference series is the ultimate in loudspeaker engineering, and just like their first incarnation, created in 1973, they are still handmade by KEF British engineers in the building where the company was founded.

As reference speakers, these models are more robust than “commercial” speakers; better able to cope with the high volumes, volume changes, and acoustical definition the Esquire man requires. Specifically designed to color the sound as little as possible through superior engineering, his KEF speakers provide unparalleled clarity and acoustical response, achieving their stellar specs through KEF’s cutting-edge technology. The new Uni-Q® array, for example, is perfectly attuned to reproducing the human voice, the result being that vocals acquire previously unheard-of definition. The improved balance between direct sound, early room reflections, and the reverberant field delivers an extraordinarily realistic performance without losing any of the Uni-Q benefits. And with the latest ”overhung” long coil/short gap motor systems and lightweight reinforced diaphragms, KEF ensures that bass response is unusually open, with negligible distortion even when played loud. And we mean very loud—prolonged exposure to the floor-standing 205/2s may get you into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

These audiophile sensations come sheathed in a variety of luxurious hand-made solid-wood cabinetry, including sycamore, cherry, walnut, and high-gloss piano-black. The most award-winning product line KEF has ever created, these speakers have been described as “without flaw” by famed audio reviewers. For the Ultimate Bachelor, that sounds like a good start.

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