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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?
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Showing 1 response by mbs65099

mbs65099
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I'm definitely an audio enthusiast, but I operate on a budget. I have fairly extensive experience with Kef's Q line of speakers. I'm not sure what makes one speaker brand "relevant", but I really like the Q and iQ speakers I've owned and heard. For what they cost I am very pleased with them.

Recently I had the chance to do a fairly extensive comparison between the Q.2 series built on the 4th generation Uni-Q array and the new iQ series built on the 6th generation array. It was clear to both me and my listening partner that the iQ series offered noticeable sonic improvements over the older Q series. In my mind this is significant because the old Q series was good for its price.
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