KEF Muon Captures CEA Mark Of Excellence Award

Created in Partnership with Visionary Industrial Designer Ross Lovegrove, Extraordinary Speaker Honored with Coveted Industry Award

Marlboro, N.J. – March 26, 2008 – KEF, renowned British manufacturer of audiophile-quality speakers and world-class home theater speakers, has announced that the Muon loudspeaker has been named the 2008 TechHome® Mark of Excellence Award winner in the “Best Speaker – Freestanding Speakers” category.

“The Muon is truly a one-of-a-kind loudspeaker and we are honored to have it recognized by the Mark of Excellence Award,” said Alec Chanin, president of KEF America. “With its seamless integrity of function and form, the Muon loudspeaker is the ultimate embodiment of the superlative engineering and innovation through design that define KEF.”

The Mark of Excellence Awards program, presented by CEA’s TechHome Division, recognizes the best in custom home electronics products, services and installed technology and represents only the most recent among KEF’s countless accolades. Mark of Excellence Award winners were recognized at an awards dinner held March 14th at the spring 2008 Electronic House Expo (EHX) in Orlando, Fla.

Standing nearly seven feet tall, the Muon loudspeaker, created by a partnership between KEF’s world-class engineering team and industrial design visionary, Ross Lovegrove, is made from super-formed aluminum, by means of a sophisticated molding process similar to vacuum forming. Using malleable sheets of heated aluminum to achieve otherwise impossible shapes, the eventual form of the loudspeaker was the result of a careful convergence between Lovegrove’s design aesthetics and the physics of sound. The process by which it was conceived meant that, in effect, the Lovegrove “sculpted” the sound by ‘skinning’ the technology with purposeful form.

Muon’s powerful bass drivers — mounted into the front of the structure — are among the elements that makes it so superior. But it is also in the upper mid-range and treble where some of the Muon’s key technologies lie in the form of the Uni-Q® drive unit array, remarkable in its construction and delivering a seamless sonic picture throughout the listening environment. The Muon also incorporates KEF’s proprietary Acoustic Compliance Enhancement Technology, which effectively doubles the available cabinet volume through adsorption of air molecules by activated carbon. And the two additional bass drivers mounted in the back successfully tame “room effects” issues, resulting in a remarkable clean and open sound.

A total of only 100 pair of Muon will be available in ten cities worldwide, at an MSRP of $140,000 per pair.

Talking Points:
• The KEF Muon has been named 2008 TechHome® Mark of Excellence Award winner.
• The Muon was recognized in the “Best Speaker – Freestanding Speakers” category.
• The Mark of Excellence Awards program, presented by CEA’s TechHome Division, recognizes the best in custom home electronics.
• The Muon is a state-of-the-art, ultimate speaker created by KEF in partnership with industrial design visionary, Ross Lovegrove.
• Only 100 Pair of Muon will be available worldwide.
• MSRP $140,000 per pair.

About KEF Audio

KEF Audio, a division of GP Acoustics, is a UK-based company that has earned a reputation as the premier manufacturer of stunning, audiophile-quality speakers for modern home theater, hi-fi and custom installation applications. KEF products, distributed around the world, have won awards on both sides of the Atlantic. KEF is a brand name long associated with style, quality and technical innovation.

Founded in 1961 by a British electrical engineer named Raymond Cooke on the banks of the River Medway, KEF is driven by a passionate belief in the power of innovation and quality. Still occupying the same riverbank site, KEF remains passionate about its patented, proven technologies such as Uni-Q® and ACE®. These characteristics, traditions and, above all, quality, secure KEF’s reputation as a world class manufacturer of the best speakers in the world.

About KEF America, Inc.

KEF America, a division of KEF Audio, offers loyal North American audiophiles a line of innovative speakers and components unmatched in the industry for quality and innovation. Headquartered in Marlboro, New Jersey, KEF America shares the same guiding principles as its British counterpart: ground-breaking design, exceptional sound and an unshakeable commitment to excellence.

For additional information about KEF and its award-winning products, please visit www.kef.com.

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