KEF's meta material gimmick?
Hi,
A thought just occured to me recently. Is KEF's Meta material just a genius marketing gimmick? I mean everyone and their grandmas reviewed the KEF LS50 Meta and they spent way too much time explaining the purpose of the meta material. I know white papers were published with conclusive results. KEF is beloved by the "measurements first" crowd so nobody bats an eye. The illustrations for the Meta material portray an intricate maze made of a some kind of gel. But isn't that just $1 piece of molded rubber? It's just a coaster relax.
I wanna bet real money that the 365+ cork coasters from IKEA ($2.50 for 2) would accomplish the exact same thing. Cork is a great sound absorbing material. It's complex. Just glue that at the back of the driver. Mission accomplished? Am I missing something?
@yyzsantabarbara that sounds super resolving…but is it clinical sounding like a studio monitor? My worry would be fatigue, especially on recordings that aren’t very good.
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I would ask, how is meta absorption better than using insulation type material behind tweeter? What do the Revel Salons and other engineering first reference speakers do to deal with tweeter backwave? Comparing LS50 Meta to non-Meta, the frequency response is a little different so it looks like a crossover update is going to account for at least some if not all of the differences.
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@seanheis1 I get fatigue very easily. The current office system is totally fatigue free. I do not really listen to many bad recordings though I listen for a about 12+ hours a day. I work a lot these days in the office. I do have a warmer CODA#16 amp sitting idle in my office. I flip it back and forth with the AHB2's. Though I seem to prefer the AHB2 in this system more. The AHB2 has great speaker cable while the CODA uses lower end. I cannot use the good cable on the CODA, so that has to play some role in my preferences.
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@seanheis1 I think we’re on the same page. The “clinical” sound of the LS50 is very desirable actually. I can’t fault it. This is what people expect from KEF. The modern industrial design gives it away. The LS50 delivers the goods. if that’s not your cup of tea then the OGY cost just a hair more. They’re not necessarily “gooder” but noticeably different. |
It is possible for manufactutrers to reduce distortion and breakup through the use of different cone materials. In the case of KEF Meta they put a maze shaped pad behind the tweeter to reduce back wave reflection. Car audio guys do the same thing on door mounted woofers to reduce the magnitude of the back wave. Probably does some good but likely subtle. The biggest change for the Meta series is the smoother, tapered frequency response. Voicing changes through crossover tweaks. Made a big difference. The new series do seem to minimize brightness and metallic overtones, possibly at the expense of detail from what I have heard during demos. Is there embelishment in the Meta marketing? You bet there is. |
