Steer Clear of Distortion: KEF R5 Meta Floor-Standing Loudspeaker Plays with Naturalism and Purity, Features Uni-Q Driver Array with MAT

Seamless color-toned aesthetics – whereby the speaker domes, drivers, feet, spike, and logo are matched to the finish – immediately draw your eyes to the KEF R5 Meta floor-standing loudspeaker. But what will really capture your attention is how well this 42.2 x 10.7 x 13.5-inch (HWD, with terminal with plinth) floorstander conveys musical information such as detail, tones, textures, dynamics, and soundstaging. Ideal for listeners with smaller-to-medium-sized spaces or who simply don't need the largesse (or added expense) of a bigger tower, R5 Meta shares the exact same acoustic and technological DNA of the R Meta Series flagship R11 while scaling back on dimensions and number of woofers.

Supplemented by Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) that eliminates 99% of the unwanted noise from the rear of the driver, the 12th generation of KEF's Uni-Q array – which bundles a one-inch vented aluminum-dome tweeter with a five-inch aluminum-cone midrange – leads the parade of innovations inside R5 Meta. The revised Uni-Q boasts a redesigned midrange motor system developed on KEF's in-house simulation and analysis tools. Featuring a shaped and undercut pole as well as symmetrical aluminum demodulation rings that combine to significantly reduce the inductance in the lower midrange, the assembly lessens distortion and enhances imaging.

Equally effective, R5 Meta's Shadow Flare – a forward-thinking method of diminishing cabinet diffraction – visually functions a trim ring while functionally serving as a surface that extends the Uni-Q waveguide effect. In R5 Meta, the tweeter no longer has line of sight of the cabinet edges, thereby creating a shadow region at the points where the potential for diffraction remains highest, and minimizing the acoustic impact to negligible levels. In sum: Shadow Flare greatly assists the reproduction of subtle cues and nuances in your favorite recordings.

When it comes to the low end, R5 Meta doesn't blink. Two dedicated, 5.5-inch drivers with a redesigned magnet system provide deep, punchy, soulful low bass. Each woofer is built using a two-part structure, whereby a shallow concave aluminum skin sits atop a paper cone. That stiffness – combined with the cone's unique geometry – reduces additional resonances and delivers the pistonic movement that account for superb timing. Credit also goes to the flexible ports. Molded via computational fluid dynamics, the flare and profile of each port is calculated to delay the onset of turbulence all the while the walls prevent longitudinal resonances from coloring the midrange.

Now, to those luxurious cabinets. They abide by acoustic principles that put the spotlight on sonics. Constrained Layer Damping bracing (in which the internal braces are joined to the panels by a lossy interface) helps dissipate unwanted vibrations. In addition, a revised bracing layout furthers the creation of an inert platform that allows the drivers to operate at an optimal level.

A fantastic performer in both two-channel and home-theater systems, R5 Meta knows the ins and outs of music and movies as well as KEF and its six-decade-plus history knows speaker fundamentals. If you'd like to know more, or arrange for a risk-free in-home audition, simply contact a Music Direct audio consultant at 312-433-0200.

MAT: Breakthrough Sound Absorption
Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT), a revolutionary innovation that takes the performance of the 12th generation Uni-Q driver array to another level in terms of accuracy and clarity, is a hallmark of the R Meta Series. MAT is a highly complex maze-like structure, where each of the intricate channels efficiently absorbs a specific frequency. When combined, the channels act as an acoustic black hole, absorbing 99% of the unwanted sound that comes from the rear of the tweeter, eliminating the resulting distortion and providing a purer, more natural acoustic performance.