This article is on the brand new KEF Q series, featuring a complete update to their most affordable speaker line.

Brand & Product Overview

In 2022, we reviewed our first KEF product, the LS60, a floorstanding powered speaker with just about every input you could imagine, tons of technology packed inside, and an overall sweet and lively sound. Since then, we’ve also brought you reviews of many of their other powered and passive speakers, including the R Series Meta, Blades, and even home theater showcases with their impressive THX Reference in-wall speakers. And while these speakers are all outstanding in their own applications and price points, they aren’t what we would consider “budget friendly.” For someone looking for a more affordable passive speaker option but still wants the KEF technology and sound, their Q Series has been a massive success since it first launched in 1990. In typical KEF fashion, they have continued to update their Q Series by trickling down the technology found in their reference-level speakers every few years. With the last iteration being released in 2017, we are happy to see the 9th generation of their Q Series speakers get a full refresh with new models that feature the revolutionary Metamaterial Absorption Technology.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on a few of the models for an early look to review them for this video. First, we’ll walk you through the features and technology that KEF has spent years developing. Then, we will go over each new model to help you decide which ones would be best for your two-channel or home theater setup. And then, if you have more questions, you can always reach out to our team of experts at audioadvice.com or stop by one of our award-winning showrooms to give them a listen for yourself. Plus, if you want to be among the first to get yours, you can order them now and get free shipping, lifetime support, and a price guarantee.

In the new Q Series lineup, KEF has included eight new models, including two floorstanding speakers, three bookshelf speakers, a center channel, an atmos speaker, and an on-wall speaker. At this time of this video, they will start at $500/pair and go up to $2,200/pair for the flagship model in the lineup.

Now, let’s get into all the cool tech that KEF has developed to make their speakers sound so good.

Features & Technology

Metamaterial Absorption Technology

First up is the addition of KEF’s revolutionary sound absorption technology called Metamaterial Absorption Technology, or “MAT” for short. MAT was first implemented in their LS50 speaker in 2020 and then expanded to some of their high-end speakers, like their Blades and R Series. And now, MAT has trickled down into all eight new models in the Q Series for the first time.

MAT is essentially a maze-like structure with intricate channels that absorb a specific frequency, acting as an “acoustic black hole,” absorbing 99% of the unwanted sound that comes from the rear of the tweeter. With MAT, you get a tweeter that measures flatter and has a more natural and pure sound quality.

Including MAT in the new Q series is a pretty big deal. We visited the KEF USA facility back in 2022 and were impressed with the dedication the engineers and their entire team have to push the state of the art of sound to its limits. They have put a ton of time and effort into their research and development of all of their technology and, most recently, MAT. So it would make sense to see MAT in only their high-end speakers to justify the cost of developing it. However, in typical KEF fashion, they’ve found a way to trickle down this tech into the affordable Q Series to give them an incredible sound that punches well above their weight.

Uni-Q Driver

Another part of these new Q Series speakers is the 12th generation Uni-Q driver array in each model. Once again, KEF has utilized its own in-house knowledge and state-of-the-art simulation and analysis tools to create a driver that pairs with the MAT for better performance. Specifically, the conical waveguide that couples the tweeter dome to the metamaterial absorber has been specially designed for the driver based on its depth. Plus, they re-engineered the tweeter gap damper which strategically places two rings of porous material to tame the resonances and imperfections, which will give the sound more clarity and detail. In addition, they redesigned the entire tweeter motor system by increasing the rear chamber vent area behind the tweeter by 250% to allow more sound to reach the MAT, allowing it to be even more effective.

In the Q11, Q7, Q6, and Q Concerto, KEF has included a flexible decoupling chassis used in their flagship Blade and reference models. This works by decoupling the midrange motor from the Uni-Q chassis, therefore dissipating its vibration before it can travel to the cabinet and add any unwanted coloration to the sound. This is all super cool tech that, to us, really brings these speakers up to a whole new level!

By having the tweeter sitting inside the mid/bass driver, KEF gives you what mimics a point source, which many people consider speakers' holy grail. This is one of our favorite reasons we love the Uni-Q driver tech so much is its ability to eliminate a “sweet spot” and disperse the sound evenly throughout the room for everyone to enjoy due to it being a single-point source design.

Better Bass

To improve the bass performance, KEF has updated the floorstanding models, one of the bookshelf models, and the center channel model from a 2.5-way design to a 3-way design. This lets the Uni-Q driver handle the high and midrange frequencies and the newly designed bass driver to handle the low end. Anytime you can take away the low-end duties from a tweeter or midrange driver, you allow those drivers to perform better in the highs and mids, so this is a welcomed addition to not only get better bass, but also clearer mids and highs.

The new bass driver design is a hybrid structure with a shallow, concave, aluminum skin atop a paper cone that gives it a stiffness to achieve piston-like movement for better punch and speed. Plus, the ported speakers have a flared port that was modeled with computational fluid dynamics which minimizes turbulence and reduces chuffing for cleaner and more controlled bass.

Refined Crossover

The other big upgrade is the new refined crossovers inside. KEF’s engineering team took over 1,000 specific measurements of each model using a custom-built array of microphones inside their anechoic chamber located in the UK. What this allowed them to learn was the acoustic interactions of each model and then design precise crossovers based on those measurements. This gives each model the best signal path optimization for the best possible performance. Although no one will ever see these, the fact that they went through this time-consuming and advanced process speaks to just how dedicated they are to continually improving their speakers with each new line.

Shadow Flare

Finally, one of the other cool features they improved was the area around the Uni-Q driver. The new area that KEF calls the “Shadow Flare” is essentially a smooth transition surface that acts as an extended waveguide for the tweeter. This means that the tweeter no longer has a line of sight to the cabinet edges, creating a “shadow region” where the potential for sound diffraction is at its highest. This new Shadow Flare region eliminates that diffraction, giving you even more clarity in your sound. They’ve included this on the Q11 floorstanding speakers, the Q Concerto Meta bookshelf speakers, and the Q6 Meta center channel speaker, giving those a slightly better high-frequency dispersion than the rest of the models.

KEF Q-Series Meta Speaker Models

Now that we’ve covered the new features and technology of the Q Series, let’s take a look at the eight models in the lineup. Each model is available in Satin Black, Satin White, or Walnut and has a detachable magnetic grille. In addition, each floorstanding model can be paired with their SQ1 Floor Stands in Slate Grey or Mineral White. The Q3 and Q1 Meta have optional B2 wall brackets to allow you to mount them on a wall for more flexibility in placement. We have to say, we are really pleased with how KEF has set up this lineup of Q Series speakers, allowing you to build an awesome two-channel setup or a full Dolby Atmos home theater with on-wall and Atmos topper speakers. Plus, the detail they put into the design of this entire lineup really shows. They have a minimalist design that we think will blend in with most decor but also look really premium from afar and up close.

Floorstanding Models

First up are the Q11 Meta and Q7 Meta floorstanding speakers, which replace the Q950 and Q750 from the previous generation. Both of these models are upgraded from being 2.5 to 3-way with the new bass drivers inside, giving them a huge advantage in the lower end. This has allowed KEF to give them smaller drivers for more accuracy with even more bass due to their design. The Q11 Meta stands 41.8 inches tall and features a 4” Uni-Q Driver with MAT and three 6.5” bass woofers, while the Q7 Meta stands only 39.4” tall and has the same 4” Uni-Q driver with MAT but just two 6.5” bass woofers. You also save about 3 inches in depth with the Q7 Meta’s, so if you have a smaller space and want floorstanding speakers instead of bookshelf units, these would be an optimal choice for you. However, if you have an open concept space or just a larger room in general, the Q11s will help fill out the room much easier and provide you with a bit more bass. In our testing, we were blown away with what the Q11s were capable of, so if you’re able to stretch your budget to just $400 more, we would highly recommend it.

Bookshelf Models

Next up are the three bookshelf models: the Q Concerto Meta, Q3 Meta, and Q1 Meta. Let’s start with the Q Concerto Meta since that is a first for this lineup, and we think it is just so cool that KEF included it.

Back in 1969, KEF created their first 3-way bookshelf speaker that brought professional high-performance speakers right into people’s homes, making high-fidelity even more accessible. Having a bookshelf speaker that is a 3-way system means that you have three drivers and a crossover that separates the audio signals into three different frequency bands so each driver can handle their own frequencies that they are designed for. In this case, the tweeter in the Uni-Q driver handles the high frequencies, the mid-frequency cone handles the midrange, and the woofer below the Uni-Q driver can handle everything on the low end. This will allow for less movement in the mid-frequency cone, and the Uni-Q driver can focus on the mid and high frequencies where it performs best, ultimately giving you less distortion and a significant improvement in clarity and detail.

In honor of the first KEF 3-way speaker from 1969, they named the first-ever 3-way bookshelf speaker in the Q series the “Q Concerto Meta.” They come in at 16.3 inches tall, so they are rather large for bookshelf speakers. Similar to the floorstanding models, they have a 4” Uni-Q driver with MAT and one 6.5” bass woofer. So when you line up the Q11, Q7, and Q Concerto, you can see that they have all the same drivers. The only difference is the amount of bass drivers and the size. Even though the Concertos are smaller and are bookshelf speakers, in our testing, even when directly compared to the Q11s, they produced a ton of bass and had the same incredible sound. These would be great for someone who can’t fit floorstanding speakers in their room or just have a smaller space and don’t want to add a subwoofer to their system. However, when you add a KEF subwoofer to the Concertos, you get yourself an outstanding setup that rivals the Q11s. The extra woofer handling the bass allows these bookshelf speakers to compete with models well above their price class.

Next up are the Q3 Meta and Q1 Meta bookshelf speakers. The Q3 features a 6.5” Uni-Q driver with MAT, and the Q1 steps down to a 5.25” Uni-Q driver with MAT. These are great entry-level bookshelf speakers for someone just getting into the world of high-quality audio separates. Or they can serve as surround speakers in a home theater setup. Since all the models in this lineup have the same tech and Uni-Q drivers, the sound signature for immersive surround sound will be matched up, and the Q3 or Q1 will provide you with phenomenal speakers for your bed layer. Plus, if you really want to save some space, the Q1 Metas are only 11.9” tall and 10” deep. Both can be used on their SQ1 stands or wall-mounted with their custom brackets to save even more space.

Home Theater Speakers

To round out the lineup, KEF has included a Q6 Meta center channel speaker, Q8 Meta on-wall or atmos speakers, and a Q4 Meta on-wall speaker. With these options, you can create a truly immersive and tonally matched home theater system that has a seamless soundstage. Let’s start with the center channel.

Q6 Meta Center Channel Speaker

We all know just how important the dialogue is in movies. If you can’t hear the character's voices, it can make a film really difficult to watch. The Q6 Meta center channel speaker, as we said, has the same Uni-Q driver as the main speakers, so they pair up perfectly with the rest of the lineup. They are also a 3-way model with a 4” Uni-Q driver and two 6.5” bass woofers. This is similar to the Q Concerto model but adds one more woofer and is a closed-box speaker design. This allows you to fit the speaker in a cabinet like many people do with their center channels. And another unique advantage of this is if you want to put your front left and right speakers in a cabinet or against a wall, instead of using a bookshelf model in the lineup, you can use the Q6 Meta as your front left, right, and center speaker! This gives you a ton of flexibility as the Q6 Meta can act as a really solid front left and right speaker in addition to being a center channel speaker.

In our testing, this center channel gave us that clear dialogue that really elevates a movie-watching experience. Paired up with the Q11, Q7, Q Concerto, or even two more Q6 models, it will give you a really solid front left, right and center speaker performance.

Q8 Meta Dolby Atmos Speaker

Many people designing a home theater today are adamant about making sure it can playback Dolby Atmos movies. This is for good reason. Dolby Atmos can make a movie that is extremely fun and engaging to watch. It brings music and movies to life with the sound effects swirling all above and around you. KEF included the Q8 Meta atmos speaker, which is a 2-way closed box design with a 5.25” Uni-Q driver with MAT in the new Q series lineup. This speaker is angled so you can simply place it on top of your front left and right speakers and bounce the sound up off your ceiling and back down to you for the height effects. Or, you can mount them on the wall angled down towards your listening position as your atmos speakers. And again, these feature the same drivers as the other models, so you get a totally seamless sound experience with a Q series home theater setup.

Q4 Meta On-Wall Speaker

The final model in the lineup is the Q4 Meta on-wall speaker which is the first time KEF has included an on-wall model in the Q series lineup. Like the Q8, the Q4 features a 5.25” Uni-Q driver with MAT. However, this one is shaped like a rectangular box that will fit against your wall nicely with its slimmer design. It’s only 5.6” deep, so we think this makes a really great surround speaker that you can attach to your wall that won’t stick out too far and take up no floor space. In addition, it features a side-ported bass reflex port for a great low-end in a very thin speaker. You could even use these as your front left, right, and center speakers if you want a very minimal setup with on-wall speakers for your flat panel TV!

Overall Thoughts

We are pleased to see KEF continuing to innovate and trickle down the technology that they spend countless hours developing down to the Q series speakers. We think this entire lineup of speakers, especially now that they include their famous MAT, will be very popular for someone who wants to build a powerful system for a reasonable price.

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