KEF ci250RRM-THX In-ceiling Speaker Review

[Laniciffo]

Thank you for the great review, again.
I especially appreciate your very honest comment about your inability to perform listening tests.
Very few reviewers would restrain from composing a lyrical evaluation although they could not test the loudspeaker properly.

 

[jcbenten]

Perfect rear deck speakers for the large, American car! Oh wait, everyone drives SUVs now...

 

[juliangst]

Perfect rear deck speakers for the large, American car! Oh wait, everyone drives SUVs now...

I‘m surprised that they don’t make car speakers anymore (only for Lotus but nobody really buys them).
The coaxial design would be perfect for the off axis placement.

 

[thewas]

I‘m surprised that they don’t make car speakers anymore (only for Lotus but nobody really buys them).
The coaxial design would be perfect for the off axis placement.

Yes, guess the market of aftermarket car audio has shrunk so much in the last decades as due to high integration its more difficult to modify anything , the high spec factory options are often already highly advanced and also peoples priorities and owing habits (leasing vs buying) have changed.
I remember even B&W, Infinity etc offering aftermarket loudspeakers, at least Focal still does but unfortunately really no coaxials AFAIK which is possible a true market gap/chance.

 

[voodooless]

The foam bits are actually the bulk of the magic here. They really make sure that there is little to no diffraction of the mirdage coaxial, and little to no resonanses from the woofer into the vality that holds the midrange. It's really a nice setup!

I wonder how easy it is to translate this to a DIY project? Might be something to explore at some point in the future

 

[amirm]

Wouldn't it be interesting and possible to build a very simple wooden housing with the appropriate volume and then listen to and measure the loudspeaker?

The volume and baffle would need to be massive to simulate actual application in ceiling.

 

[beagleman]

10" woofer

4" mid

.75" Tweeter


111db max output.

I mean it sounds great "on paper" but $2,500 EACH, sure I HAVE the money to buy Dozens of these, but its just too much in my audio/value brain thing I see in products.

 

[zorax2]

I'm thinking that design might be a whole lot cheaper without the woofer. Most home theaters are using subs anyway. A version with just the Mid-High unit which would be something like a ceiling mounted LS 50 Meta might just be the ticket for most aspiring home theater owners.

Those speakers are indeed a heroic effort by KEF, and if I ever win Powerball, and want something to pair with my 8 Blade Metas plus whatever center Ker recommends, they would certainly my choice.

Still don't know how I'm going to get a house in Big Sur with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Pacific and still have a good sounding home theater in it, though. Maybe have to settle for headphones for that use case and build the theater in the bunker, Guess you can't have it all, no matter what.

Very good review, Amir.

I use what may be called the baby brother to these - the Kef Ci200R-THX (also reviewed by Amir - Amir's Review of Ci200R-THX).

Quite a bit less expensive and a fantastic ceiling speaker to go with the rest of my Kef setup. The ci250RRM-THX takes it to a whole new level by comparison. As others have mentioned, it's actually priced very competitively considering what it is and the likely relatively low sales volume. Yet another great speaker by Kef!

 

[eddantes]

I'm a bit confused about the 45 degree thing.

So... does the grill have some sort of deflector in the center to prevent the on-axis mountainrange; or are we saying that it's tough luck to whomever is sitting in that position?

 

[voodooless]

or are we saying that it's tough luck to whomever is sitting in that position?

This

But when using room correction and using these as overhead Atmos speakers, this should be corrected just fine.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Nice to see a performant option for households restricted to the ceiling placement of loudspeakers in the listening space.

 

[Marin]

I'm thinking that design might be a whole lot cheaper without the woofer. Most home theaters are using subs anyway. A version with just the Mid-High unit which would be something like a ceiling mounted LS 50 Meta might just be the ticket for most aspiring home theater owners.

Those speakers are indeed a heroic effort by KEF, and if I ever win Powerball, and want something to pair with my 8 Blade Metas plus whatever center Ker recommends, they would certainly my choice.

Still don't know how I'm going to get a house in Big Sur with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Pacific and still have a good sounding home theater in it, though. Maybe have to settle for headphones for that use case and build the theater in the bunker, Guess you can't have it all, no matter what.

Very good review, Amir.

Yes, but I think the focus here is more on musical performance in the sense of 4 stereo speakers in the ceiling directed at the couch (MLP)
After all it's a 10 000 dollar for 4 unit
And there's no need for a woofer.
So this will be for those who don't want big boxes around the room.
Or the woman holds them by the

 

[dogmamann]

I‘m surprised that they don’t make car speakers anymore (only for Lotus but nobody really buys them).
The coaxial design would be perfect for the off axis placement.

I think full ranges also does the same and many cars do have factory fitted full ranges

 

[SuicideSquid]

$10,000 USD to put four in the ceiling for a 7.1.4 setup... that's $14,000 CAD. That's not happening.

Shame because those are some damn impressive measurements.

 

[Marin]

Hm but these are plotted relative to the on-axis response, right?

If we take 45° as reference axis like intended, then the e.g. -6dB line would be further off-axis (with a +x dB "hot" center of course).

Can Klippel plot it like this?

Yes, if you sit 45 percent from the ceiling speaker axis, you lose "hot highs" that exists at axis.
But again, if you walk, the image changes more than with normal floor speakers

 

[Marin]

$10,000 USD to put four in the ceiling for a 7.1.4 setup... that's $14,000 CAD. That's not happening.

Shame because those are some damn impressive measurements.

It could be "the end" game for some one that doesn't want speakers laying around.
4 unit 45 degrees from sofa(MLP) and you are good .No Subs either
Not to mention the gain of edge effects in the bass and less interaction with the back wall! That doesn't exist buy the way.

 

[Marin]

I must say price i ridiculous!

 

[Marin]

I must say price i ridiculous!

We all know the most expensive part of the speakers is the box, so come on KEF Open that pocket.

 

[MCH]

Good news: only 1700eur in Europe!
Bad news: concrete ceilings.They are charging us 500eur/unit for installing light spots less than half the size of this speaker... Damn!

 

[Puddingbuks]

Would be nice if they mounted one in a normal cabinet, with that 10 inch woofer. Or maybe with 4 extra 10 inch woofers a la blade.