KEF iQ30 User manual
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As every hi-fi enthusiast knows, KEF is one of the industry’s great innovators. Ever since the early days of hi-fi,
our approach has been driven by a passionate belief in the power of new materials, new technologies and new design
thinking to heighten the enjoyment of recorded sound.
Of the many landmark innovations KEF has pioneered, arguably the greatest of all is the Uni-Q® point source array,
with its outstanding acoustic clarity and off-axis dispersion. The first complete product range to showcase the Uni-Q in
every model was the Q Series and now, after almost 20 years of continuous development, the latest iteration of this
award-winning line raises the bar even higher, both subjectively and objectively.
The kinship with KEF’s iconic Reference Series is obvious, from the distinctive curved cabinets to the sheer quality of
construction. But what’s really clever lies inside: the latest Uni-Q array with the addition of the ingenious ‘tangerine’
waveguide to KEF’s high performance tweeter, new dual composite bass cones, remapped crossovers and new internal
damping technologies markedly improves the acoustic response right across the frequency range.
Fashions have come and gone since the original Q Series was launched, but the objective remains the same: to fill the
room with the purest possible sound. Thanks to intelligent engineering and enlightened design, the new Q Series is
even more eloquent in this respect than its illustrious predecessors.
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intelligent innovation
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a distinguished
pedigree
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KEF has always been the purist’s brand.
Founder, Raymond Cooke, was an ex-BBC engineer whose
innovative first designs earned the respect of broadcast
professionals all over the world for their accuracy and
neutral balance.
In 1961, he founded KEF to pursue a simple but elusive
ideal: to reproduce recordings so perfectly that they sound
indistinguishable from live performance. This same
perfectionism is what drives today’s engineers at KEF’s
research laboratories in the UK.
In any technology-driven organisation, perfectionism
means constant innovation. From computer modelling
and the use of aerospace technologies to the development
of new cone materials, KEF has done more than any other
manufacturer to advance the state of the art. That’s why
the latest incarnation of the aptly named Reference Series
is as much of a benchmark today as the original was 30
years ago. Just as the groundbreaking new Muon concept
sets unprecedented standards of audio fidelity. Created in
collaboration with Ross Lovegrove, these aluminium
sculptures exemplify KEF’s ambition to achieve perfect
acoustic transparency through radical design thinking,
obsessive attention to detail and engineering excellence.
This new Q Series is the latest expression of the KEF
ethos, and provides a source of lasting pleasure and pride
for the makers and owners alike.
Founder, Raymond Cooke, MBE.
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The new Q Series features more advanced audio
technology than a few words can describe.
There’s the unrivalled detailing and off-axis performance
of KEF’s latest Uni-Q point source array, which disperses
spatially accurate sound imagery far more broadly and
evenly than a conventional speaker. The new ‘tangerine’
waveguide over the aluminium dome of KEF’s disarmingly
natural-sounding 19mm (0.75in.) tweeter, enhances high
frequency response throughout the room and helps to
deliver spine-tingling realism. With rigorously engineered
magnet systems and titanium-coated cones, the crucial
midrange combines delicacy and assertiveness in
equal measure. Dual composite bass cones are driven by
ultra-low distortion motors incorporating Faraday rings to
iron out harmonic distortion and deliver sumptuously
extended bass. Remapped crossovers (mounted directly
to shrouded bi-wire terminals for the crispest possible
signal transmission) ensure inaudibly smooth transitions.
The distinctive curved enclosures are designed to maximise
cabinet stiffness and minimise internal reflections.
The floorstanders also feature a new ‘labyrinth’ internal
damping system to eliminate colouration effects from
vertical standing waves.
Meticulously engineered, all these different KEF
technologies combine to deliver full bandwidth response
that’s exceptionally articulate, perfectly balanced and
almost completely transparent. Wherever you sit,
what you hear is what the artist intended.
high order
technology
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The iQ90 exemplifies everything that makes the new
Q Series great. Like all models in the range, it’s a bass
reflex design based on pairing KEF’s latest and most
sophisticated Uni-Q array with powerful new generation
bass drivers. All in an elegantly curved cabinet that’s
designed to maximise cabinet stiffness and minimise
internal reflections.
Immediately distinguishable by the soft titanium sheen of
the midrange cone and the ‘tangerine’ waveguide around
the tweeter dome, the 165mm (6.5in.) Uni-Q driver
reproduces the nuances of the human voice with
subtlety and real depth. Midrange response is fluid,
perfectly time-aligned with the high frequencies and
evenly delivered over an exceptionally wide area. As you
would expect from low distortion motors driving dual
composite cones, the two 165mm (6.5in.) low frequency
drivers of the iQ90 deliver lavish bass, consummately
controlled;
and with KEF’s ‘labyrinth’ damping system,
none of the accompanying distortion that so often impairs
tall speakers.
As front speakers for high-end home theatre or as a
stereo pair, the iQ90 has gratifyingly precise 3D imaging,
breathtaking dynamics and real depth to the performance.
As with the other Q Series floorstanders, a discreet plinth
is provided for even greater stability; and whichever
model you opt for, you can choose between Dark Apple,
American Walnut and classic Black Ash finishes, or the
superb new hand-matched real wood veneers in Light Oak
and Walnut.
iQ90 floorstander
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With all the benefits of the iQ90 in a slimmer enclosure,
iQ70 is an assertive full bandwidth two and a half-way
bass reflex floorstander that reproduces music and movie
soundtracks with equal clarity and flair. With the 165mm
(6.5in.) new Uni-Q point source array and 19mm (0.75in.)
tweeter partnered by a high performance low frequency
driver of the same size, it radiates a faultlessly detailed
3D acoustic image evenly throughout the room. With twin
shrouded terminals for bi-wiring or bi-amplification and
impressive power handling, faultless integration,
breathtaking vocals and heavyweight bass; the iQ70 has
the looks, engineering integrity and acoustic performance
to deliver uncompromised listening pleasure with
whatever media you choose.
iQ70 floorstander
A more compact incarnation of the same high-end
technologies and design principles, iQ50 shares the
exceptionally wide, even dispersion that characterises the
range, together with KEF’s legendary build quality.
The 19mm (0.75in.) tweeter, identical to the larger
models, is built into the 130mm (5.25in.) version of KEF’s
latest Uni-Q high frequency/midrange array. Coupled with
a new lightweight dual composite long-throw bass driver
of the same size in a two and a half-way configuration the
new iQ50 is an accomplished performer as satellites in a
5.1 package or as a dedicated two channel system.
With the inherent sweetness that makes good music sound
great the iQ50 represents outstanding value for those who
take sound seriously.
iQ50 floorstander
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If you prefer smaller speakers, the good news is that
all the essential iQ technology is available in more
compact enclosures.
As you can tell from the distinctive ‘tangerine’ waveguide
around the dome of KEF’s acclaimed 19mm (0.75in.)
neodymium tweeter and the metallic glint of the
surrounding midrange/low frequency cone, they’re all
based on the stunning new Uni-Q array. In the case of the
iQ30, the 165mm (6.5in.) version.
The result is an incredibly versatile music or home
entertainment speaker with a seductive lightness of touch.
With the same curved cabinet design minimising internal
reflections, it has a lyricism and depth not normally
associated with bookshelf speakers. It delivers an excellent
dynamic expression with a bass response that is deep and
expansive. Dispersion is characteristically consistent and
broad, so you enjoy the same extraordinary illusion of
presence wherever you sit. It’s like re-experiencing your
favourite tracks or movies for the very first time.
As easy to position as they are to drive, the new iQ
bookshelf models are magnetically shielded like the rest
of the range. They come in the same choice of finishes as
the floorstanders: Black Ash, Dark Apple and American
Walnut, with the option of real wood veneers in Light Oak
and Walnut.
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iQ30 bookshelf
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