KEF Ci250RRM

[Recluse-Animator]

There is nothing stopping someone from using the current KEF drivers in a car audio application. In the modern era of 3D printing + DSP tuning, the physical installation and setup is easy. Coaxial tech just doesn't bring the same benefits to car audio as it does home audio. The ideal tweeter location is the A-pillar, where there is no room for a coaxial driver, so the mid-range drivers end up in the doors instead.

In modern cars with big pillars there's definitely room for a 4" coax with a mid in the door.

 

[Recluse-Animator]

It would be interesting to see what Kef comes up with when they start designing home THEATER speakers.

 

[JRiggs]

You mean OEM?

I’m not sure what he means but KEF did at one time make car speakers.

 

[Vacceo]

I’m not sure what he means but KEF did at one time make car speakers.

Back in the 90's, yes.

 

[Descartes]

It would be interesting to see what Kef comes up with when they start designing home THEATER speakers.

They have already, hopefully they will upgrade them soon!

 

[Recluse-Animator]

They have already, hopefully they will upgrade them soon!

I mean THEATER speakers and not in-wall speakers. Kef's answer to Monitor Audio Cinergy and B&W CT.

 

[thewas]

 

[Slick Minkus]

Holy shit, I just realized this is a 3-way coaxial.

Yep, my mind started racing when realising that's a big 10" lurking behind the slightly inelegant donut scaffolding.
A comparison between Kef's '12th Gen Uni-Q Meta' and Genelec's similarly aluminium coaxial was already an interesting prospect without the bass driver.
Wonder how the big 10" compares to the wisdom of Genelec's slotted racetrack woofers behind their rigid aluminum 'minimum diffraction' baffle?
I suppose some pretty rudimentary measurements would soon expose the comparative effectiveness of Kef's resonance-free LF cavity and Low Diffraction LF Aperture.
Max SPL wise it sits between Genelec's 8341A and 8351B at 111dB (presuming the specs correspond). The 8341A is currently £2,239 per unit, while the Kef Ci250RRM-THX is £1,450.
If you've got existing amplification and DSP you could throw this in a crude wide baffle cabinet with curved edges and still be up £1000 for the pair - subject to how you value the time and effort to emulate Genelec's high-tier processing.
Alternatively the 300mm cut-out specified by Kef means you could reappropriate a pre-existing 12" driver cabinet, keep the passive crossover, use whatever stereo amp you hope handles the load, sprinkle in a little upstream DSP, and boom... compelling 3-way coaxial speaker.
It's probably not worth the trouble and yet here I am, disregarding the likely middling measurements as I toy with the thought of hiding this intriguingly engineered albeit aesthetically challenged assembly in a minimally styled monkey coffin à la Trenner & Friedl.

Hmmm...

 

[Descartes]

Yep, my mind started racing when realising that's a big 10" lurking behind the slightly inelegant donut scaffolding.
A comparison between Kef's '12th Gen Uni-Q Meta' and Genelec's similarly aluminium coaxial was already an interesting prospect without the bass driver.
Wonder how the big 10" compares to the wisdom of Genelec's slotted racetrack woofers behind their rigid aluminum 'minimum diffraction' baffle?
I suppose some pretty rudimentary measurements would soon expose the comparative effectiveness of Kef's resonance-free LF cavity and Low Diffraction LF Aperture.
Max SPL wise it sits between Genelec's 8341A and 8351B at 111dB (presuming the specs correspond). The 8341A is currently £2,239 per unit, while the Kef Ci250RRM-THX is £1,450.
If you've got existing amplification and DSP you could throw this in a crude wide baffle cabinet with curved edges and still be up £1000 for the pair - subject to how you value the time and effort to emulate Genelec's high-tier processing.
Alternatively the 300mm cut-out specified by Kef means you could reappropriate a pre-existing 12" driver cabinet, keep the passive crossover, use whatever stereo amp you hope handles the load, sprinkle in a little upstream DSP, and boom... compelling 3-way coaxial speaker.
It's probably not worth the trouble and yet here I am, disregarding the likely middling measurements as I toy with the thought of hiding this intriguingly engineered albeit aesthetically challenged assembly in a minimally styled monkey coffin à la Trenner & Friedl.

Hmmm...

A bit boxy!

 

[Slick Minkus]

A bit boxy!

Nothing a Bonsai can't fix

 

[Descartes]

So what volume would I need to make these as stand alone speakers? I am seriously considering making them with just one Ci250RRM!
Could they be open baffle?

 

[617]

Did KEF really just engineer a whole-ass triaxial driver for a ceiling speaker?

Their commitment to coaxials is honestly impressive to me. For a while it seemed like a hokey design strategy to use in their branding but they keep making more and more of them and they keep getting more intricate.

 

[voodooless]

So what volume would I need to make these as stand alone speakers? I am seriously considering making them with just one Ci250RRM!

They spec 80 to 150 liters. But putting this in a box will make the crossover not work properly anymore. So tweaking is needed.

Could they be open baffle?

I doubt that would work. You’ll need way more surface area for decent bass. And the backsides is obscured by the crossover.

 

[sarumbear]

I mean THEATER speakers and not in-wall speakers. Kef's answer to Monitor Audio Cinergy and B&W CT.

What’s the difference between “a” speaker and a HT speaker?

 

[abdo123]

I am seriously considering making them with just one Ci250RRM!

This seems way too overpriced, just get a consumer grade regular KEF speaker with a dedicated bass driver.

 

[DevinCortno]

They spec 80 to 150 liters. But putting this in a box will make the crossover not work properly anymore. So tweaking is needed.

I doubt that would work. You’ll need way more surface area for decent bass. And the backsides is obscured by the crossover.

One thing I've been wondering about these, as I sketch out my home theater setup... surely they don't expect people to just mount these to drywall?? What if the drywall is on resilient channel? This seems like an absolutely horrible mounting for any speaker - put whatever wizardry you want into the speaker, when you mount it to crap like that it couldn't possibly sound good.

I thought they went into a box and sat slightly behind the drywall, with the box anchored to the internal structure of the wall, but you say the box will mess up the crossover.

 

[voodooless]

but you say the box will mess up the crossover.

Yes, because these things are made for a wall, not for a box.

 

[sarumbear]

Yes, because these things are made for a wall, not for a box.

What’s the difference?

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

What’s the difference?

Baffle step response?

 

[DevinCortno]

Yes, because these things are made for a wall, not for a box.

So back to my question... how do you build the wall/ceiling to not ruin the speaker? Resilient channel is not rated to support the load of a normal speaker, especially in the ceiling, and this is not a normal speaker. It weighs twice as much as the rest of their architectural line..