KEF's Jack Oclee-Brown on the KEF Reference 5 Speaker | Stereophile

KEF's Jack Oclee-Brown (Head of Acoustics) and John Atkinson (Editor, Stereophile) talk about the KEF Reference 5 loudspeaker in John's listening room. Filmed in Brooklyn, NY July 2017.
JA's Review of the Reference 5: po.st/xtMduI
Read the written blog post: ‪po.st/JioCBj‬
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[@MrCatalysis101]

Kef has always been a leader in speaker research and it's good to see the company is still in very safe hands. Impressive.

[@voophing154]

sorry i don't think KEF is like it use to be ever since Raymond cooke has pass on n now this company belong to someone else is just another making money company using it name only

[@stevenswall]

Genelec got rid of the air gap problem and now has multiple, active three way coincident driver speakers while KEF is stuck downgrading the LS50W to the LSX when they really need to make and active version of the R3 that goes down to 30hz.

[@glbernini0]

I like the cat staying warm on the audio equipment in the back. Probably the most expensive cat bed on the planet.

[@kalijasin]

@glbernini0, Lol

[@arune.s.5017]

great chat...thorughly enjoyed... the way JA asked his questions, its with enthusiasm with a wisdom that comes from a veteran who had seen/heard quite a lot in audio.... and with respect for a young tech pro.. great.....kudos

[@wow151]

Very enjoyably and illuminating interview. Mr Oclee-Brown was very eloquent in answering the questions, amazing how much symbiotic design and engineering goes into the drivers and the cabinets. Keep up the good work JA!

[@MattOatesUK]

that's Dr Oclee-Brown >;3

[@raymondleggs5508]

The cat is a great room treatment.

[@CarvalhoCaldeira]

The perfect spot, right height and right temperature.

[@SpaghettiKillah]

Kudos to KEF for producing some of the best speakers on the market! I remember the 1st speaker I listened and dropped my jaw was the LS50. The imaging on that speaker is insane and unmatched even for speakers that cost x4 times more IMO Great technical explanations by Jack, thoroughly enjoy it.

[@robbie4860]

I'am watching this on my 1970 Kef Cadenza's . 50 years old and they will never leave my house. Ive bought a pair of 1968 KEF Concord, and i'am in the proces of restoring these baby's. Missing the B-139 on the newer models. The lowend on a B-139 is still breathtaking..😎👌

[@zenrapp3834]

Loved the cat more than the Kef's. Priceless!

[@ttues]

Very interesting and Informative video. I love to hear the thought process behind things engineered very well. Great job KEF, great job Jack and great questions and rapport John.

[@awsomenesscaleb]

Fascinating interview. KEF has engineered a remarkable loudspeaker with nearly perfect measurements. I love learning about how they went about it.

[@ChristianRThomas]

I liked the dusty LP12 - on a Sound Org stand from about 1983! It obviously hasn't seen much use of late, and I understand why. Mine sat there as an ornament for about five years too.

[@arpeemac]

I have the C85 and it still sounds fantastic. Driven through a NAD 1000 and a NAD 2400. All these are 20+ years old. Still kickin. 🙂

[@alb.1911]

Waiting for the review! Thanks.

[@RobertKohut]

Love the cat.....

[@kalijasin]

@Robert Kohut, cat 🐱 found a nice warm cozy resting place on audio equipment 😆

[@Nile49]

Awesome segment John. I've been really enjoying the video content from Stereophile.

[@calaf_725]

I love the lazy cat on equipment at the background lol. I don't know what it is about hifi that attracts cats.

[@mndlessdrwer]

I recently picked up some iq90 towers and I can confirm, even their older Uni-Q drivers provide impeccable mid and high frequency reproduction with solid imaging. I so wish I could afford to pick up any of their reference line, but I'll content myself with what I've got.

[@proffski]

Fascinating, some good physics here. Thank you!

[@oturgator]

Marketing stories you meant I suppose

[@ct5006360]

I loved my KEF 103.2s back in the 70s !

[@ryanstratton1925]

What a dumpy looking room. I wish I had never seen it. I've been reading these reviews for years and I had something else in mind.

[@Stereoeditor]

The listening room is an optimized machine for generating reviews. It is not necessary for it to look beautiful.

[@Acoustic_Theory]

I don't understand why it is that the audio hobby in particular seems to attract the most critical, cynical, and generally unpleasant people on the planet. The goal is to generate enjoyment, and not this critical attitude. No wonder Esquire magazine once wrote, "Nobody likes an audiophile, even other audiophiles".

[@shiitakestick]

rorybz .. oh, but we sure love YOU !

[@thomasedison1114]

Great interview! While KEF has always pushed the boundaries of loudspeaker reproduction & design, I have yet to notice mention of the KEF driver Meridian M10 / M100 when their Blade products are described.

[@gboates]

Dear John, A quick comment on audio quality. Not sure if you are body mic-ed or how your record setup is configured but please remember you are not having an intimate conversation with your guest less than a meter away but you are addressing us as home, and doing so through all manner of intermediate signal conveyance - please speak up and try not to swallow your words. Much appreciated if you give this consideration.

[@OriginaLTrzin]

New R5’s are unreal.

[@bubuli]

great explanation. one question though: what is the name of the cat?

[@Stereoeditor]

Violet. She and her sister Scout were part of a feral litter Michael Fremer found in his backyard

[@RobertKohut]

Great interview. Nice young man that isn't "full of it"...LOL

[@Bunno1177]

He's not American

[@HowDareYouu]

i'm here for the cat

[@kalijasin]

That cat 🐱. Lol

[@tritiumglo4699]

Love the cat on Ayre.

[@hellobooom]

I love KEF, I get all their stuff at retailer cost.

[@moonphaser3304]

Great video guys

[@dennisraymond4339]

Hay that's a good kitty cat. My Cat Monst likes chicken, cheese & Green beans. And to the JBL L7's. Monst sleeps by them most of the time. The kitty in this vid is a Audio Claw like Monst. Good nickname yeah.

[@simeonbanner6204]

Guy told me in the hi-fi shop in the UK all the old British names had been bought up by some mega Taiwanese corporation. He said stick with your old, first version, Mission Cyrus One. He was saying it would be about £1000 to get something of the same quality now. Sad how everything has been sold off. Typical Britain: no support for engineers, sound, music etc.

[@michaelgordonharper4536]

How better are the reference 5 over the R11 ?

[@Lego6980]

I have the Uni-Q in my LS50s and it was very interesting to hear this. Particularly about compression and the tangerine- I had assumed that ‘grid’ was just to protect the membrane, so I was interested to find out it was actually to control how much of the vibration is allowed to escape. Thanks

[@mndlessdrwer]

If I understand it correctly, it is partly to function as a wave guide and partly to provide resistance to the tweeter to augment its usual frequency response to push its response flatter into the upper frequency range. Additionally, as they developed that further, they also broadened the tweeter surround to improve isolation to prevent the mid-woofer from interfering with the sound wave.

[@thomasandersen1784]

Maybe it's the camera view, but it seems like the speakers are too close to each other, as what must speakers are set up? What is the distance now? Cheers Thomas

[@salvadorrodenas3071]

aluminum or aluminium? ha ha, I've enjoyed the video a lot with two people who know what they are talking about. keep doing more like this. This young enginier has a great future ahead I dare say and I'd bet he earns a little bit less in salary than Andrew Jones for instance. I listen in a japanese room in europe.

[@arune.s.5017]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2OnoXiJYrSXjtU

[@marcellominasi41]

1.04 OMG THE CAT😱!!!

[@frankgeeraerts6243]

Kef started fine tuning their already good sounding speaker with computer aided design in the seventies.........to suit the music . Today , Kef and other companies design high end speakers primarily with computer and the music is supposed to suit conform to their designgoals.......if it measures good , it will sound good. WHERE DID I HEAR THAT BEFORE ???? Very high performance...........but i listen to the designs made by very gifted and talented engineers ....Of the past. They suit More My taste of music rather than today's products just like industrial and sterilized food.tasteless and without life within..but perfect for the modern consumer.

[@joeldoxtator9804]

Why does every manufacturer use multiple drivers for the woofer? The only thing you accomplish is amplifying the errors present in the woofer driver. I would much rather see a single larger driver used so that the drivers errors can be easily remedied by crossover components and enclosure design.

[@myronhelton4441]

THe tweeter makes the woofer smaller in area

[@arongatt]

did they ever review the Q350 series or they left it out? i cant seem to find the review

[@zerocapacitance1]

Let’s get some lav. Microphones in the production? Since the show is about high-quality audio? Hey!! Get that Cat off the gear :-).

[@mikeunivers]

little jack learned from the best , Andrew jones.

[@holdenafart7372]

how do these compare with the Ci5160RL.

[@kloss213]

KEF floorstanders all make me slump in chair to get image right

[@rich1051414]

The 'balloon' analogy just gave me a terrible idea. I should try making a speaker out of an air pump and electronic valve.

[@arune.s.5017]

refer the sound radiating style of MBL RIDIALSTRAHLER.......

[@jesuiskiwi4033]

Very cheeky cat :)

[@jamesmorton81]

speakers way too large for the space.....

[@glennewdick]

I was thinking they pulled them close to be in the shot not for sound as one speaker is obviously at a different angle then the other.

[@chasevineland1508]

Have never gotten into Kef because each series and model are eclipsed by B&W. However since 2010-ish B&W has quickly lost its vision (sound) and mission. B&W is all about “theatre” sound these days and 2.0/2.1 systems are now their step children. I may start exploring Kef’s.

[@arune.s.5017]

I think for b&w its the lack of innovation...except some revisions on cabinet design.. driver material.. no major breakthrough in terms of design.. on the other hand kefs really flourish innovation with blades..muons .. who redefines cabinet colorations.. point source performance etc....

[@myronhelton4441]

I have had B&w's. The soft ass Kevlar woofer has unclear &less bass. Sorry as hell speakers. The newer ones with the tweeters on top of the cabinet, the tweeter is brighter

[@dipsyfriday]

meow, meow nice & warm - meow I think I'll HACK, HACK, HACK, (hairball) - Bad kitty!

[@flappospammo]

nice speakers , for that dough i'd get some meridians also how the hell can you demo speakers with all that clutter ??

[@macroblockingone]

That cat

[@moonphaser3304]

Even better cat

[@kalijasin]

What’s with the Cat 🐱??

[@AndrewAHayes]

to say this is a video aimed at audiophiles the sound is piss poor

[@Audfile]

"Right.....yeah....I knew that.....right"

[@AtomicAutopsy]

That is one bored cat.

[@kalijasin]

cat 🐱 found a nice warm cozy resting place on audio equipment 😆

[@MrSoymilk2]

If only they had 8" and 10" drivers like Tannoy.... Paying that kind of money for 6" drivers....Not for me.

[@StephenBrennanGuitar]

yeah interesting interview but what an awful room for that equipment and interview

[@iwaswithyourmom9410]

why do these speakers slant?

[@Stereoeditor]

It's an artefact of the wide-angle lens used

[@suzesiviter6083]

One of the worst speakers I had was Kef M3's, they seem to be hype over substance to me.

[@salvadorrodenas3071]

I can´t imagine how JA can let his cat go around among electric apliances that in any moment can streak the cat if the poor animal decides it is a good place to piss on them and set off a fire, and besides, I couldn't sleep quietly at night thinking that the paws of the cat or its teeth could scracht the surface of the components. these thoughts are only mine or anyone else thinks the same? please aks me this question? Later, when I finish watching the video, I'll make a comment more related with audio.

[@NawMan357]

Salvador Rodenas... I AGREE!!! 😣

[@salvadorrodenas3071]

very well dude, I'm not alone!!! at least ha ha ha

[@iwaswithyourmom9410]

why do these speakers slant?

[@Stereoeditor]

My cat wouldn't piss on the audio gear, though she did throw up on an amplifier's heatsinks once :-)

[@salvadorrodenas3071]

Stereoeditor 😲😉😻

[@chirpingbluebird]

Rahul Gandhi's replica

[@82ivaylo]

I was fan of previews series from KEF. The sound of new speakers is too aluminium to me. I've had the Q300's and R300's, sold both for a half price. I will stay away from KEF, until they use aluminium bass/mid range drivers!

It doesn't look like speakers any more, a well designed piece of furniture sooner. As a proud owner of a pair of KEF 104 AB I don't believe in KEF any more. They are no longer UK speakers. Made in China by chinese, of chinese made component is nothing english on any more except computer design perhaps.. Can engelsman build loudspeakers? Yes, and name is Harbeth

[@fredriksvard2603]

Editor of snake oil enthusiast. Stereophile is almost like a parody.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

I'd make that cat disappear real quick. A brick and a rope White speakers are ugly, they look like the type of speakers a "yachtie" would buy, you know the type, cardigan around the neck polo shirt beige pants and boat shoes wearing folk.

[@damaster692]

Hes a little young , Wonder who he knows to get that job.

[@richardsinger01]

I imagine he got the job because he's a acoustics engineer and he knows what he's talking about.