Is KEF no longer relevant?


It seems to me that 20 years ago Kef was quite a respected speaker manufacturer. Granted I knew far less back then about audiophilia, but for someone just starting out, that was my impression at the time.

Although Kef still makes speakers in the $5,000 - $15,000 range, they never seem to be the subject of serious discussion here on the 'Gon. These discussions are dominated by a group of the usual 20 or so suspects that we hear about over and over again. And no disrespect meant against that group - they are mostly, if not all, great speakers to be sure. But Kef certainly at one time was a pioneering and extrememly respected brand. What happened? Is this because they lost their "sound" after Raymond Cooke died? (an accusation I remember reading somewhere) Or are they just perceived as a "yesterday's news" brand?

No doubt there are many happy Kef owners out there who may answer this thread telling me how great their speakers are, even by today's standards, and I have no argument with them - I am a former Kef owner and very fond of the brand - but they clearly are not "darlings" of this forum. What happened?
studioray

Showing 1 response by kef_america

We are funded by our parent Chinese company but every single item that comes from KEF is birthed and designed by engineers in the UK - our main office is in the same building its always been in!! No difference.

Peter Madsen, Dr. Andrew Watson, Mark Dodd - they've been there for 20+ years designing KEF and Celestion products.
http://www.kef.com/resources/video/gb/tseries/video.html

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20023903-47.html#ixzz19PbG7Mog