Quick Summary
KEF's award-winning Q Series have been redesigned with a clever new material technology.
Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) removes unwanted resonance and distortion for purer audio.
KEF makes sensational speakers such as the five-star KEF LSX II LT, and its highly rated Q Series for audio and home cinema listening has picked up tons of awards and recommendations. That's thanks to their combination of high-end tech and relatively affordable price tags. Now that Q Series has been given a massive upgrade.
The new speakers are called the Q Series with MAT, and that acronym is short for Metamaterial Absorption Technology. According to KEF, MAT takes its speakers to a whole new level.
There are eight distinct models in the new Q Series with MAT range: the Q11 Meta, Q7 Meta, Q Concerto Meta, Q3 Meta, Q1 Meta, Q6 Meta, Q8 Meta and the Q4 Meta. That means they run the gamut from compact bookshelf speakers to floorstanders and surround sound speakers too.
What's MAT and why do you want it in your speakers?
MAT creates a kind of audio black hole, a space where unwanted frequencies go and don't come back from. As KEF describes it, it's "a highly complex maze-like structure in which each of the intricate channels efficiently absorbs a specific frequency." More channels means more unwanted frequency reduction, and KEF reckons their design absorbs 99% of the unwanted sound to eliminate distortion and deliver an even purer sound.
In addition, the new Q Series with MAT have the latest 12th generation Uni-Q driver array. Those arrays are incredibly clever bits of engineering, and they're based around an innovative design that puts the tweeter right in the centre of the bass and mid-range driver. That means all your frequencies are emanating from the same point, reducing interference and distortion.
The 12th generation Uni-Q driver arrays have been redesigned to work in conjunction with MAT, so for example the tweeter gap damper has been re-engineered with two strategically placed rings of porous material to tame more resonance, and the conical waveguide on the tweeter is coupled with a metamaterial absorber designed specifically to match the depth of the driver.
The UK prices are:
- Q Concerto Meta 3-way bookshelf speaker: £1,099 / pair
- Q1 Meta Compact 2-way bookshelf speaker: £499 / pair
- Q3 Meta 2-way bookshelf speaker: £649 / pair
- Q7 Meta 3-way floorstanding speaker: £1,399 / pair
- Q11 Meta Flagship 3-way floorstanding speaker: £1,999 / pair
- Q4 Meta 2-way on-wall speaker: £349 / piece
- Q6 Meta 3-way centre channel speaker: £699 / piece
- Q8 Meta Dolby Atmos surround speaker: £599 / pair
- PQ1 Plinth Spike Kit for Q11 Meta or Q7 Meta: £69 / set
- SQ1 Floor Stands for Q Concerto Meta, Q3 Meta or Q1 Meta: £275 / pair
- B2 Wall Bracket for Q3 Meta or Q1 Meta: £35 / pair
The release of these new speakers will be slightly staggered.
The Q Concerto Meta is available now as part of myKEF members’ early access exclusive plus at selected authorised KEF retailers. The Q11 Meta, Q7 Meta, Q3 Meta, Q1 Meta, Q6 Meta and Q8 Meta will be available from 10 October 2024. And the Q4 Meta, SQ1 Floor stand and PQ1 Plinth Spike Kit will be available this winter.
