KEF KIT100 Instant Theatre

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CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
Detailed editors' rating

Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 10 reviews
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Product summary

The good: Innovative stereo speakers provide surround sound; stylish small-footprint design; die-cast metal speakers and receiver/DVD player.

The bad The bad: Pricey; less adept with music than with movie audio.

The bottom line: KEF's luxurious KIT100 Instant Theatre makes believable surround from a pair of speakers.

Specifications: Product type: DVD surround system; Components: DVD player / radio tuner, Speaker system; DVD type: DVD player; See full specs

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Steve Guttenberg
Edited by: John P. Falcone
Reviewed on: 09/13/2004
Released on: 06/15/2004

The high-end market is continuously morphing into new forms. Just when we were adjusting to the idea that Porsche makes an SUV, KEF--the legendary British speaker manufacturer--has unveiled its first home theater in a box (HTIB). But KEF's KIT100 Instant Theatre ($1,500 list) is a radical departure from everyday all-style, no-substance plastic systems. Its die-cast metal speakers and diminutive receiver/DVD player have a luxurious look and feel. Instead of the usual array of five speakers and a subwoofer, the system creates a holographic sound field with just a pair of exotic-looking speakers and a solid subwoofer. No, it can't deliver the rear-channel effects of a full surround system, but its two speakers sounded surprisingly spacious. In fact, the KIT100's home-theater sound bettered any of the other virtual-surround HTIBs we've tested, including our former favorites from Niro, though its musical talents were less consistently spectacular.Pick up any component of KEF's Instant Theatre, and you'll instantly know it's the real deal. The die-cast solid metal speakers and receiver/DVD unit are relatively small but satisfyingly weighty. KEF's build-quality standards are extremely high--certainly far beyond those of any HTIB we've seen so far. KEF offers optional metal floor stands (at $199 per pair) and wall-mount brackets ($49) for the two speakers.

Setting up the Instant Theatre is simplicity itself: just make the video connection to your TV and plug in the specially terminated speaker and subwoofer cables and you're done. The setup menus are likewise basic, and we were playing discs in less than 10 minutes. The receiver's tiny buttons are hard to see and use, so we relied on the remote.

The silver plastic remote breaks the high-end spell, but its minimalist button count keeps things simple and easy to use. For this kind of money, we would expect the remote to be backlit, but it's not.

The system includes a pair of unique 9.5-inch tall, cast aluminum speakers. Their unusual shape was designed to reduce the resonances and vibrations that color the sound of more-conventional box speakers. Advanced technology features include KEF's Uni-Q drivers with their special 4-inch woofers fitted with integral 0.6-inch dome tweeters. KEF's engineers also fitted each of the speakers with separate flat drivers that serve two purposes. First, they direct sound out to the sides to conjure a phantom center image for dialogue, and second, they bounce sound off of your side walls to create an enveloping surround effect. As a result, KEF's virtual surround approach is a more organic system than many of its competitors--it doesn't rely on processing to synthesize 5-channel surround.

The 10-inch subwoofer contains amplifiers for the woofer and the speakers, but KEF would not supply the amps' power ratings. Just 7 inches wide, the sub won't dominate your room, but its 20.75-inch depth might be a concern for some spaces. It weighs 40 pounds.

See more CNET content tagged:: KEF,; HTIB,; speakers,; music,; CD

User reviews

Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 10 reviews
My rating: 0 stars Write review

Showing 3 of 10 user reviewsSee all 10 user reviews
2.0 stars

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

"Not bad, but Bose 321 is better"

by paulyboy on November 15, 2005

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4.5 stars

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

"Hearing is believing !"

by trainsale on November 10, 2005

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2.5 stars

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful

"Impressive sound from compact system, but..."

on October 13, 2004

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Editors' rating: 80

Summary: If you're tight on space and want a high performing home theatre, the KIT100 is a good, if somewhat pricey, option

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