KEF Q-Series Speaker System
November

Beautiful to see, beautiful to hear — is there anything else you desire from a speaker? KEF's Q-Series system ($3,500) proves that the British are still masters and commanders of transducer technology. And somewhere along their 100-year evolutionary technical path, they've learned how to design for both style and substance. "Damn, these are fine-looking!" That's what I thought as I pulled the speakers out of their cartons, running my hands across their sculpted wooden cabinets. Then when I heard their silky-smooth sound, I realized that beauty is more than veneer-deep. The iQ9, iQ6c, and iQ8ds sats provided a warm low end as well as midrange clarity and upper-frequency evenness. When goaded with my massive receiver's volume control, the system responded with crystal-clean sound at concert-hall levels. The PSW3500 sub was stoutly competent — especially given its moderate size — providing very musical bass. It also adds the considerable perk of remote control of level, phase, and crossover frequency — perfect for tweaking your LFE between movies and music. My traditionally stiff upper lip quivered when I had to pack up these speakers and return them to KEF.
kef.com
— Ken C. Pohlmann
Photo Gallery