Agreed, they could include dirac but I'm sure there is a cost associated with that and everyone is always about the bottom line. I also think that people that are looking for dirac are more on the HT side and not the 2 channel side.
Dirac works on a license basis. If you want to use it, pay the license with the serial of the speakers and off you go; if not, keep them as they are. That is something everyone would be happy with. Well, Dirac prices are not cheap, but I think it would be more cost-effective for both Kef to create a calibration system from the ground up and for us users, to be able to access a system with plenty of accumulated know-how.
I have no direct and continual experience with Dirac (I do with Audyssey), but many comments highlight that it is precisely at HT where the results are not as good as with stereo. I´m a bit skeptic, as we are talking about a subject that involves something as variable as listening rooms, so hard to clearly see a trend.
Considering the LS actives, it is clear they are intended to be used as an all terrain solution (KEF advertises them as music/tv devices) as the presence of the HDMI shows; but even if the user never plugged an audio-visual source, room correction helps all systems as it adresses a fundamental issue of sound reproduction, no matter the source or the amount of channels.
Hopefully, Kef will develop a way to build an integrate their LS speakers into a multichannel system and bypass the need of an AVP/AVR while at it.