If you're putting together a home theater system with KEF's new R Series "Meta" speakers, you'll want to give this speaker a look. The R2 Meta delivers clear, accurate, and punchy center channel sound. It's the smaller of two center channel models in KEF's newest R Series — but it's no pushover. In fact, this 34-pound speaker features the same driver complement as the R5 Meta floor-stander, but in a sealed enclosure designed for placement on a tabletop or in an A/V cabinet. KEF even presents the idea of using three of these capable speakers across your home theater's front soundstage — a configuration known as "LCR" (left, center, right) — for perfectly voice-matched sound.

Revolutionary MAT technology improves performance

The "Meta" in this speaker's name comes from KEF's innovative Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) — a highly complex, mazelike structure that absorbs unwanted sound waves coming from the rear of the tweeter. The resulting sound is clearer, purer, and more detailed.

Exploded view of the advanced Uni-Q driver, with the MAT absorber at far right

An upgraded Uni-Q® driver array for better clarity and accuracy

KEF's patented Uni-Q technology places the R2 Meta's 1" vented aluminum dome tweeter in the acoustic center of the 5" aluminum cone midrange driver. This arrangement allows the sound from the two drivers to reach our ears at the same time, resulting in more natural sound. Uni-Q technology is now in its 12th generation, and the engineers at KEF have designed this version to reduce distortion caused by several factors, as well as optimizing it to take full advantage of the aforementioned MAT absorber. Bottom line: these R Series models offer even more natural-sounding performance than earlier versions, thanks to cutting-edge Uni-Q drivers.

Diffraction disarmed

The ring you see around the Uni-Q array is what KEF calls their "Shadow Flare." Its shape is carefully profiled so that the tweeter doesn't have "line of sight" to the cabinet's edges. This design minimizes a potential source of audible distortion known as sound wave "diffraction," which can occur when the high frequencies coming from the tweeter couple with the speaker's front baffle and muddy the sound. It's just one of many design elements that helps give this speaker its clarity and precision.

High-tech woofers for taut, well-tuned bass

Each of the two 5-1/4" hybrid aluminum woofers is made up of a shallow aluminum skin atop a paper cone. This hybrid design allows very precise movement for dynamic, accurate bass.

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