KEF Speakers and the BBC, In Pursuit of Perfection

Kef Speakers StoreKEF Speakers and the BBC have been very closely linked since the early days of KEF. First of all, Raymond Cooke, the founder of KEF, worked in the BBC Engineering Designs Department in the early 1950s. There, he worked with other influential sound engineers. Then, in the early 1960s, KEF agreed to manufacture the BBC designed LS5/1A monitor. Other well known monitor speakers were also manufactured by KEF for the BBC well into the 1970s. KEF’s meticulous approach to production engineering and attention to detail fit perfectly with the task of manufacturing speakers to very tight tolerances (which of course is what the BBC needed).

One of the early decisions was the use of new type materials for loudspeaker diaphragms and surrounds. KEF utilized various components out of polystyrene and aluminum foil. The BBC was experimenting with plastics. The result of the experimentation and utilization process led to the bookshelf speaker concept. Smaller speakers, still with great sound, could now be produced without sacrificing sound quality.
Another result of all the modelling and innovation was the 2-way speaker system. This was a result of producing a smaller sound source that would still produce controlled acoustics all the way
to 100kHz. Further work allowed a unique addition for the bass to this smaller configuration, and so a 3-way speaker version was introduced. One of these models was the KM1 KM1 Studio Monitor.

This 3-way active studio monitor was designed to address the BBC’s desire for a system that could deliver accurate reproduction at high levels. The bass section comprised four 12” drivers (SP1196), two midrange units and a tweeter. From the outside the system looks impressive enough but on the inside was a absolutely genius set of engineering solutions to the problem of reproducing high output levels with low distortion. The first system went into operation at the BBC’s studios in 1982.