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KEF Music Gallery London
- Published , by Steve Chase
KEF Music Gallery London
42-48 Great Portland Street London W1W 7NB, United Kingdom
Store and café are open TUE-SAT 10am-6pm
Kent Engineering & Foundry, better recognized by audiophiles as KEF, was established in the UK by BBC acoustical engineer Raymond Cooke, grew to become one of the world’s most renowned manufacturers of high-performance loudspeakers, subwoofers, architectural loudspeakers, wireless loudspeakers, and headphones. When KEF made plans to open their latest KEF Experience Location, the global retail flagship KEF Music Gallery London, AudioControl was selected to help deliver superb audio performance in critical areas of the facility, which opened officially 08 June, 2024.
The Gallery features a music/podcast studio, a lounge, and a café open to public access. The technology integration throughout the space was managed by Durgesh Sinh of Nucleus, based in London.
As KEF has noted, “our design philosophy for KEF Music Gallery London was to create an exquisite backdrop that brings alive our core belief that great sound is genuinely life-enhancing. The whole space has been designed to be an unfettered celebration of the visceral power of sound beautifully delivered.” The Gallery enables music enthusiasts to listen and immerse themselves in their favorite recordings, free of distraction.
Within KEF Music Gallery’s 5000 square feet of exploratory and immersion zones, AudioControl components have been employed in both the Living Room and the Portal, a name given to the magical staircase leading from the street level to the elegant subterranean suites below.
The Living Room
The Living Room has been designed with the feel of a contemporary residential space, welcoming and enticing visitors to engage in an inspirational listening experience as they might replicate within their own homes. AudioControl’s legendary outboard power amplifiers, the theater-themed Pantages G4 and Avalon G4, deliver refinement and detail accompanied by the visceral energy required to highlight KEF’s Dolby Atmos immersive surround system. Within this space, KEF has utilized deftly concealed architectural loudspeakers and subwoofers, enveloping enthusiastic listeners with a lifelike sonic experience. Also displayed in the Living Room and powered by AudioControl is a dedicated music system comprised of a selection of KEF’s décor-friendly freestanding and bookshelf loudspeakers.
The Portal
KEF curated special content in Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos to create an immersive and unique experience as people transport themselves through this unique, double-height staircase between the discovery and immersive spaces in the KEF Music Gallery. Integrated within the Portal, KEF deployed their Ci160RR-THX architectural loudspeakers. The Ci160RR-THX is an ultra-high-performance, THX® Certified, 4-Ohm loudspeaker featuring KEF's signature Uni-Q technology designed for discreet in-ceiling or in-wall installation, capable of exceptional sound quality and high output capability. To provide the clearest signal to these loudspeakers throughout the Portal, KEF selected an AudioControl Concert XR-6S audio/video receiver (AVR) as well as a pair of AudioControl Pantages G4 five-channel Class H amplifiers.
The AudioControl Concert XR-6S AVR
The AudioControl Concert XR-6S is cutting edge, high-performance, AVR offering 9.6.1 decoding to support the most sought-after immersive surround formats such as Dolby Atmos, Auro-3D, DTS:X, and IMAX Enhanced. 16 channels of unbalanced outputs, including four that are user-configurable, complement seven onboard amplified channels each delivering 100 watts Class AB power per channel. Next-Gen ready, the HDMI 2.1 Concert XR-6S is 8K/60p and 4K/120p game console compatible and effortlessly handles all 4K Dolby Vision and HDR10 sources. With the latest in audio and video processing technology, including Dirac Live® room correction to overcome acoustic anomalies in any space, AudioControl’s XR-6S delivers state-of-the-art fidelity through all channels from processing by SABRE ES9026PRO DACs that ensure unprecedented levels of detail and clarity along with earth-shaking, authoritative bass response. Connectivity options are vast, with intuitive app-based control. Apple® AirPlay 2, aptXHD® Bluetooth, and Google Chromecast are built-in and supported, and the XR-6S is Roon-ready, along with Wi-Fi streaming connectivity for all streaming options. Integrated web-based configuration and control make for easy setup and daily use.
The AudioControl Pantages G4 Amplifier
The AudioControl Pantages G4 amplifier is a cool-running design that effortlessly produces a minimum of 300 watts per channel, with all-channels driven. AudioControl Pantages G4 amplifiers feature balanced and unbalanced inputs with four of the five channels bridgeable for configuration flexibility. The dual-stage Class H design tracks signal power demand for unparalleled energy efficiency while AudioControl’s LightDrive Protection System safeguards all connected loudspeakers by monitoring the input signal wave-peak point, preventing the amplifier reaching a dangerous distortion plateau and maintaining a linear output state – a perfectly reliable and ideal
choice for the all-day demands of the KEF Music Gallery.
The AudioControl Avalon G4 Amplifier
The AudioControl Avalon G4 is a favorite of A/V professionals because it is a highly versatile amplifier that may be configured as a four-channel amplifier, bridgeable into a powerful two-channel amplifier, or as a 2.1 solution without any need for DSP management. The Avalon G4 is capable of exceptional detail and clarity from its innovative and highly efficient Class H design, with a specified output power of 230 watts per channel, all channels driven. Each pair of channels features hi/lo/bypass crossover controls, balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) inputs as well as RCA loop-outputs to achieve multiple configuration options. Independent channel level controls, remote power control triggers, and audiophile-grade 5-way binding posts, features commonly found on higher-priced amplifiers, are also included. AudioControl engineers have refined the Class H design topology to provide superb audio quality and bullet-proof reliability while reducing heat dissipation from a compact form factor.
AVPro Edge EXO-X Fiber Extenders
To ensure the best possible video quality throughout the KEF Music Gallery, Nucleus deployed two AVPro Edge EXO-X fiber optic extender kits. Each device-pair flawlessly transports UHD video signals from source to projector in the dedicated cinema, and from source to TV in the Living Room. A go-to must have, the EXO-X is the world’s first future-forward 8K HDMI 2.1 compatible fiber extender, providing A/V professionals and their clients with unmatched Next-Gen audio and video fidelity over distances as great as 300 meters at the speed of light—perfect for any project.
