Soundbar

For more than 60 years, KEF has developed high performance loudspeakers for home environments. Adding to its decades-old legacy, KEF is launching its XIO Soundbar.

The global company states that its new soundbar is engineered to deliver a transformative home audio experience for TV, movies, music and gaming.

KEF says the XIO creates a cinematic soundscape, delivering realistic sound through a suite of technologies including Uni-Q MX, P185 LF driver with P-Flex, as well as the company’s patent-pending Velocity Control Technology (VECO), and its Music Integrity Engine (MIE) for Cinema. KEF emphasizes the XIO Soundbar supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Sony 360 Reality Audio to provide homeowners with an array of surround sound and immersive audio format choices.

XIO Soundbar Powers State-of-the-Art Listening Sessions

Powered by a 5.1.2 configuration (five main channels, one subwoofer channel, and two overhead channels) and with 12 class D amplifiers, the new KEF soundbar is designed to offer high-resolution spatial audio.

KEF explains to help ensure the best possible sound in any setting, the XIO Soundbar includes Intelligent Placement Technology (IPT). This built-in calibration tool automatically adapts the audio output based on the objects around the soundbar.

The soundbar also includes a dedicated dialog mode to help ensure every word is heard with detail. Located within the EQ presets, alongside night and music modes, this mode is said to enhance vocal frequencies while reducing background noise, making speech clear.

Enhancing the immersive experience even further, the XIO Soundbar is engineered to produce high levels of sound imaging, offering a realistic 3D soundscape, positioning individual sounds at different pinpoints within the room. Whether it’s a whispered conversation or a soaring musical score, KEF boasts that every nuance is faithfully reproduced.

As part of the development process for the new soundbar the company examined how the soundbar could provide a broad tonal balance with deep and detailed bass performance.  Powering the XIO Soundbar’s low-frequency performance, the product incorporates a proprietary P185 LF driver that is enhanced with KEF’s P-Flex technology, which has been adapted from the company’s KC62 and KC92 subwoofers.

KEF suggests that through these technologies, the bass performance of the XIO Soundbar is equivalent to a 4 x 4-inch, low-frequency woofer. The speaker’s large cabinet space allows for twin P185 LF drivers to be positioned back-to-back in a force-cancelling configuration that reduces mechanical vibrations. This results, the company continues, is a pure and resonant low-frequency response, free from unwanted distortions.

Not surprisingly, the XIO Soundbar features KEF’s proprietary Uni-Q technologies. In this case, the soundbar features six Uni-Q MX drivers, the miniature version of KEF’s Uni-Q driver array.  The decoupler, KEF explains is engineered as a precise crossover that separates the low-frequency cone and high-frequency tweeter dome, a design that allows the diaphragm to move freely at low frequencies while isolating the dome for high-frequency precision.

Further augmenting the performance of the new soundbar is the inclusion of the company’s Velocity Control Technology (VECO). KEF describes it as a solution that includes a sensor at the heart of the P185 LF driver that monitors cone motion and employs a negative feedback loop to significantly minimize distortion and compression.

Other proprietary technologies built into the XIO Soundbar include KEF’s Music Integrity Engine (MIE) for Cinema is KEF’s in-house suite of DSP algorithms that are specifically designed for the product. This sophisticated technology delivers multichannel processing, virtualization, and adaptive placement capabilities to help ensure high levels of performance for nearly any home space.

Soundbar Aesthetics Match its Performance

Externally, KEF point out the XIO Soundbar utilizes a sleek aluminum top plate and splash-proof fabric for style and durability.  The soundbar’s contemporary, minimal design will complement range of home spaces, and the company notes the speaker’s industrial design will integrate with existing systems, making the soundbar a subtle add-on to any TV set-up. Available in slate black and silver grey, KEF incorporates adaptive shelf and wall Equalization (EQ) modes to help integrators tailor the XIO Soundbar’s sound to just about any environment.

Supporting a choice of smart home AV activities, the XIO Soundbar offers homeowners its W2 Wireless Platform that it adapted from its LS Wireless collection of high-performance, smart-home audio products. Through this platform, the soundbar offers streaming services that include TIDAL, Amazon Music, Qobuz, and Deezer. The soundbar also provides a choice of inputs such as HDMI with eARC, optical, and an RCA subwoofer output. KEF notes that if integrators want to pair the XIO Soundbar with a companion KEF subwoofer, they can utilize its KW2 RX receiver, which it says is specifically designed to provide reliable wireless connectivity.

In addition, the XIO Soundbar allows homeowners the ability to control the product through the use of the company’s KEF Connect app. Using the app dealers or homeowners can fine tune their listening experiences with the soundbar by accessing EQ modes, as well as options such as the dialog mode and the night mode that allows homeowners to maximize their lower volume home theater activities without sacrificing audio quality.

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