KEF R11 Meta Speakers
The R11 Meta is the largest floorstanding model of the R Series. For a breathtaking listening experience, its combination of 12th generation Uni-Q® driver array with MAT™ and four 6.5" hybrid aluminium bass drivers allow it to pick out the subtle details of a recording, while also delivering raw power and agility.
Whether in stereo for music or in a home theatre set up the R Series makes exceptional acoustic performance more accessible. Now with the ground breaking Metamaterial Absorption Technology, the R Series reveals exquisite detail and incredible insight: truly an experience to savour.
Born From The Reference: Since 1961, KEF's quest to reproduce immaculate sound has led to many acoustic innovations. The Reference is a case in point. Distilling decades of experience into an acoustic performance that is nothing short of exceptional, it is a design that continually sets the benchmark for loudspeakers and sound reproduction. Now the latest technological innovations have also made their way into the R Series.
Metamaterial Absorption Technology: At the heart of the R Series is Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT™). MAT™ is a highly complex maze-like structure that absorbs 99% of the unwanted noise from the rear of the driver, eliminating the resulting distortion and providing purer, more natural sound.
Uni-Q® Sit Anywhere, Hear Every Detail: A 12th generation Uni-Q® driver array with MAT™ is found in all models of the R Series. Uni-Q® acts as a single point source to disperse sound more evenly through the room. The result is the elimination of the limited 'sweet spot', therefore allowing everybody, wherever in the room they may be, to experience and enjoy the same natural, detailed sound.
Performance Redefined: The R Series is engineered to be acoustically exceptional. Every element of the design has been precisely tuned to deliver more detail and deeper insight, recreating the exhilaration of hearing an original music performance, with all the emotion and nuance that goes with it.
A Flare for Detail: Derived from The Reference, Shadow Flare is an innovative way to cut harmful high frequency cabinet diffraction. It's a carefully profiled transition that extends the waveguide effect of Uni-Q®. The treble escapes naturally because the 'shadow region' stops it getting to the cabinet edges. The result is vastly improved fine detail.
Performance Critical Damping: A solid platform is imperative for great sound. The R Series benefits from constrained layer damping, a system that uses internal braces joined by a 'lossy' interface. This material converts unwanted vibration into heat, ensuring that the cabinet makes the only sound it needs to: the sound of silence.
True Bass Definition: R Series bass drivers have a two-part structure with a shallow, concave, aluminium skin atop a paper cone. This stiffness, combined with the cone's unique geometry, achieves a piston-like movement for punch and speed. The drivers' magnet system creates a broad and uniform magnetic field which means more impressive and impactful bass.
Flexible Port for Cleaner Bass: You only want to hear the drivers, not the resonances or turbulence created by a bass port. The R Series ports have innovative flexible walls. Using computational fluid dynamics, the flare and profile of each port is calculated to delay the onset of turbulence and the flexible port walls prevent resonances from colouring the midrange.
Beautiful by Design: Driven purely by acoustics, KEF believe there is a certain beauty even to the internal engineering fixings. The R Series has been created to be beautiful on the outside, and these finely tuned workings are protected behind a minimal exterior designed to fit seamlessly and elegantly into any interior scheme, whether traditional, modern or contemporary.
Dedicated Microfibre Grilles: The R Series has been engineered to perform with or without grilles. The dedicated microfibre grilles are crafted from multiple layers of material and have a suede-like feel. With 1801 precision-cut holes for each driver, performance is ensured even when the drivers are covered. The magnetic fixings provide a secure and precise fit, in keeping with the clean styling of the R Series.
EISA Loudspeaker Series 2023-2024 - KEF R Series - Best Product
"Whether used for music or movies, across the speakers there's a dynamic, detailed and thrillingly natural sound combining controlled, extended lows with open, wide-reaching highs."
KEF R11 Meta Review
"The more familiar the recordings that I listened to, the better I understood why I was glued to my seat, intensely focused on the music. There seemed to be a complete lack of electromechanical artifice associated with the KEFs that's rare at any price point and allowed the musical meaning of whatever was playing to flow unimpeded from my stereo system. There may have been fewer audiophile thrills-and-chills but plenty else was provided in return—less deep bass, yet a fully satisfying foundation to music of all kinds; less ultra-dramatic spaciousness but more in the way of natural dimensionality; less in the way of "life-like dynamics" but more life. In terms of the sort of reality cues that will matter to a listener who has broad experience with the real thing, there's an exceptional ease to the R11 Meta's presentation that should wear very well.
My conclusion is that we have good old trickle-down to thank for this level of performance from an AUD$11,500 loudspeaker. KEF's Metamaterial Absorptive Technology has migrated from the substantially more costly Reference line to the R Series products, where it has been effectively integrated into a driver design that the manufacturer has stuck with for 35 years. You can spend AUD$11,500 for a floorstander that will impress your dinner party guests playing "Money for Nothing" and Fanfare For the Common Man while the table's being cleared, or you can get R11 Metas and commence a journey of musical discovery that could last a lifetime. Which one makes more sense? I think you know the answer to that." The Absolute Sound
Our Take On The KEF R11 Meta
The KEF R11 Meta is the flagship in the range and is ready to do battle with even the largest listening space. Mind you, you'll need a decent amplifier with plenty of current delivery if you want this, or any high quality speaker, to really sing, but the rewards are definitely there if you take care to power them properly.
Of course they also feature plenty of KEF's cutting edge tech including Metamaterial Absorption Technology (hence the "Meta" in their name), which basically means they're like sound wizards, eliminating unwanted vibrations and resonances for super clean and crisp audio. They also sport KEF's 12th Gen Uni-Q driver array which acts as a single point source to disperse sound more evenly through the room. The result is the elimination of the limited 'sweet spot', therefore allowing everybody, wherever in the room they may be, to experience and enjoy the same natural, detailed sound. And with four, yes four, bass drivers the bass impact is prodigious, to say the least.
If you're serious about your sound and want to turn up the volume on your musical experience, the KEF R11 Meta is where it's at.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers
- 1" (25mm) Vented Aluminium Dome Tweeter with MAT absorber
- KEF's exclusive MAT (Metamaterial Absorption Technology) absorbs 99% of the unwanted sound coming from the rear of the tweeter, for clearer, more natural performance
- 5" (127mm) Aluminium Cone Midrange Driver
- Tweeter and Midrange use KEF's Uni-Q technology, which places the tweeter in the centre of the midrange driver
- Creates a large listening "sweet spot" in your room
- Four 6.5" (165mm) Hybrid Aluminium Cone Woofers
- Frequency Range: 30-50,000 Hz (-6 dB)
- Typical In-Room Bass Response: 26 Hz (-6dB)
- Frequency Response: 46-28,000 Hz (±3 dB)
- Sensitivity: 90 dB
- Impedance: 4 Ohms (Minimum 3.2 Ohms)
- Recommended Amplifier Power: 15-300 watts
- Bass-Reflex Cabinet with Constrained Layer Damping to reduce resonance
- Dual Rear-Firing Ports with flexible port technology for precise bass
- Two sets of input terminals allow bi-amping or bi-wiring
- Detachable Magnetic Microfibre Grilles
- Included Plinth and Carpet Spikes provide added stability
- Included Accessories: Microfibre Grilles, Plinth & Spike Accessories (Including Floor Protectors), Port Bungs, User Manual, Warranty Information
- Available Finishes: Gloss Black, Gloss White, Walnut
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 200 x 1,249 x 384mm (Without Plinth)
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 311 x 1,296 x 384mm (Including Plinth)
- Weight: 36.5kg each
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 5 Years + 1 Extended Year When Registered at KEF.com
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE.