User Manual
BLADE Meta
BLADE
1
Important safety information
General care of your system
Thank you for purchasing KEF Blade Meta speakers. They have been designed to faithfully reproduce
high quality sound over many years of use and should provide realist ic reproduct ion of music and
speech. Please take a lit tle t ime to read these instruct ions prior to use.
Your KEF Blade Meta speakers are tall, slim and extremely heavy. Installed correctly on a smooth, level
surface, your speakers should be ent irely safe to listen to and to live with.
However, if you live with small children, large pets, the inf irm, have uneven f looring or unusually thick
carpet ing in your home, then correct adjustment of the foot assemblies is imperat ive if safe, stable
operat ion is to be achieved.
Warning: The metal tweeter dome has a protect ive wave guide at the centre of the Uni-Q
®
driver
array; if this is compromised and the dome itself is dented, it will permanently impair performance.
1. Read this manual carefully,
especially the safety
informat ion, before at tempt ing
to assemble and operate
the system.
1. Avoid temperature extremes.
2. Avoid damp.
3. Avoid direct sunlight.
4. Clean with the KEF cloth provided.
5. Do not use spirit based cleaners.
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pleased to assist you.
4. Trailing cables are dangerous.
Ensure all cables are secure
and t idy.
2. Follow the unpacking and
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cartons. Please note that
lif t ing the system requires
two able-bodied persons.
3. Never connect the system
directly to the electricity supply.
5. When stripping cables use
only tools designed specif ically
for the purpose i.e. correct wire
cut ters or cable strippers.
3
Contents
Installat ion and oper a t ion
Unpacking, handling and af ter care 6
Adjust ing the feet and/or spikes 7
Speaker placement and room acoust ics 8
Amplif ier to speaker connect ions 10
Amplif ier requirements and power handling 11
Single, bi-wire and bi-amp connect ions 12
Specif ica t ions 15
5
Adjust Lock
Lock
Unlock
7
Unpacking, handling and af ter care
Adjusting the feet and/or spikes
BLADE ONE Meta & BLADE
TWO Meta speakers are packed
one speaker per carton. Prior to
unpacking, please ensure that
the serial numbers of the
speakers supplied match
each other.
Then, unpack the speakers
carefully following the
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carton and inspect for any sign
of damage.
Your speakers lef t KEF in
perfect condit ion. If any
damage is apparent, you should
not ify your retailer or
consultant immediately. Retain
the packaging in case a need
arises for you to transport the
speakers at a later date.
Under normal circumstances
your speakers will be
commissioned by your retailer
or consultant, who will have
been trained in their installat ion
by KEF.
KEF strongly recommends that
you do not at tempt to level
your speakers single-handedly.
Recruit the assistance of
another adult or consult an
authorised
KEF Blade Meta outlet for
assistance which
may be chargeable if the
purchase was not made
through them originally.
The spike/locking nut
combinat ion supplied is
designed to provide small
Each Blade Meta speaker is
supplied with KEF designed
substant ial spikes and locking
nuts (also in the care pack).
This enables f ine adjustment
of level, depending on your
preferred locat ion of the
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wood. In addit ion to the spikes
and locking nuts each Blade
Meta speaker also comes with
pucks to protect wood f loors.
stability of each speaker by
gently rocking it from side to
side, front-to-back and
diagonally.
Of ten, you will f ind that the
speaker is close to vert ical, but
rocks because one spike (or two
spikes diagonally) seems
too short.
If the general stability is good,
but the speaker is leaning to
the lef t, right, backward or
forward, then equal minor
adjustments to the two spikes
opposite to the direct ion of
lean should be made.
Installation and operation Installation and operation
You will not ice that a special
KEF care pack is included with
each pair of speakers.
This pack contains a cleaning
cloth and all the required
accessories for connect ing and
posit ioning your speakers. The
care pack also contains the
unique product build cert if icate.
This is a valuable document and
guarantees the quality and
craf tsmanship of your speakers.
The cabinets are f inely f inished
and should be treated with the
same care with which you
would treat f ine furniture.
A suitable cleaning cloth is
included in the customer care
pack to maintain the original
f inish and lustre.
adjustments, not to compensate
for seriously irregular f loors.
A spirit level is provided at the
rear of each Blade Meta
speaker to gauge when the
speaker is perfectly level.
A rigidly-sited speaker performs
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because it enables the cabinet
to remain f ixed while the
drive units are allowed to
move as determined by the
source signal.
Best results will be obtained if
the speakers are level and
stable. Check the general
D: 1 - 1.2 x W
9
Speaker placement
The listening room is one of the
most variable elements in the
hi-f i chain and its ef fect cannot
be emphasised too strongly, nor
can its ef fect be reliably
predicted. Spacing the speakers
approximately 2m - 3m (6f t. -
10f t.) apart will allow the stereo
images to develop fully. You
should sit at a distance at least
equal to, and preferably greater
than, the distance between
the speakers.
Posit ioning the speaker in a
corner or near to a side wall is
not recommended as the
is right and that the stereo
image is well def ined.
As Uni-Q has a wide, uniform
dispersion, we recommend that
you star with the speaker facing
f lat into the room with no
toe-in. A more focussed centre
image may be achieved in your
room with a small degree of
toe-in, but overall soundstage
width may be reduced. It is
worth taking the t ime to
experiment with what works
best for you and your room.
Installation and operation
signif icant bass boost caused
by this posit ion will af fect the
sound and cause the stereo
image to deteriorate.
It is best to place the speakers
symmetrically within the room,
relat ive to the walls, ceiling and
f loor, where possible.
Be aware also that sof t
furnishings near to a speaker
will deaden the sound -
similarly, nearby ref lect ive
surfaces may brighten up the
sound. Move the speakers unt il
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0 - 15° 0 - 15°
W: 2 - 3 m (6 f t. – 10 f t.)
A > 225 mm (9 in.)
B > 1 m (36 in.)
11
Amplifier to speaker connections
All connect ions should be made
with the amplif ier switched
OFF. Ensure the integrity of all
connect ions prior to switching
the amplif ier ON.
KEF Blade Meta speakers are
f it ted with purpose designed
silver-plated Bi-wire/Bi-amp
terminals which will accept bare
wire, spade or 4mm connectors.
Most good quality speaker
cables have some indicat ion,
such as colour coding or
‘ribbing’ on the insulat ing
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conductor is ‘+’ or posit ive.
Connect ion to the speakers can
then be made as follows:
Bare wire connect ions are the
simplest to achieve and involve
stripping 12.5mm (0.5in.) of
insulat ion to expose the
speaker wire core. (You should
twist together, using clean
f ingers, the ends of each
mult i-stranded core prior to
the next stage to ensure
a good signal contact). Having
unscrewed the lower terminal
cap, push the wire through the
exposed hole in the terminal
body and screw the cap
down t ightly.
Make sure that no stray strands
come into contact with the
opposite terminal; this could
cause a short circuit between
the terminals and may damage
your amplif ier.
Be aware that a higher quality
run of cable will always give a
more rewarding presentat ion
than mult iple runs of an
inferior cable.
Installation and operation
The lef t channel amplif ier
output terminal marked ‘+’ or
coloured RED connects to the
lef t speaker terminal marked ‘+’.
The lef t channel amplif ier
output terminal marked ‘-’ or
coloured BLACK connects to
the lef t speaker terminal
marked ‘-’. Similarly, these
instruct ions should be followed
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between the right channel
amplif ier output and the right
speaker. Correct polarity, or
phase, is vital to the proper
operat ion of the system.
If the connect ions are not
made correctly the sound will
deteriorate giving poor
bass output and a dif fuse
presentat ion of the soundstage.
Amplifier requirements
and power handling
In KEF literature and in the
specif icat ion table within these
instruct ions are listed a range
of amplif ier power outputs to
match your Blade Meta
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(room size, type of programme,
preferred listening level) and
the nature of the speaker/
amplif ier interface vary so
widely that it is not possible to
lay down hard and fast rules
about amplif iers and the
speakers they drive.
KEF speakers are built to
rigorous standards of quality
and consistency and the upper
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requirements shown are those
which the speaker in quest ion
should handle without distress
or damage when used under
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Remember it is easier to
damage the speaker by using a
small amplif ier driven into
distort ion by too much volume,
possibly with bass and treble
boost, than by using a larger
amplif ier which has power in
reserve. If in doubt,
ask the advice of your retailer
or consultant.
Installation and operation
If higher than specif ied
amplif ier powers are used, great
care should be taken to avoid
abnormal condit ions such as
switch-on surges or gross
distort ion, either of the
amplif ier or the speaker,
result ing in power peaks greatly
in excess of the rat ings
specif ied. Care should be taken
as the possibility st ill exists
under certain condit ions (such
as excessive bass or treble
boost caused by tone and/or
loudness controls, graphic
equalisers, etc.) that the
speakers can be overloaded and
damaged. The lower limits of
amplif ier power are those
necessary to give a reasonable
sound pressure level under
domest ic condit ions.
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13
Single, bi-wire and bi-amp
connections
Installation and operation
Speaker cables. Poor quality cables can seriously compromise the overall sound of your hi-f i system.
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It is good pract ice to keep the cables as short as possible.
The lef t and right channel speaker cables should, wherever possible, be the same length otherwise
there may be a percept ible change in output level between the speakers.
Single
Bi-wire
Bi-amp
15
Specifications
Model
BLADE ONE Meta BLADE TWO Meta
Design
Three-way bass ref lex
Single apparent source
Three-way bass ref lex
Single apparent source
Drive units
Uni-Q driver array:
HF: 25 mm (1 in.) vented aluminium dome
with MAT
MF: 125 mm (5 in.) aluminium cone
Bass units:
LF: 4 x 225 mm (9 in.) aluminium cone,
force cancelling
Uni-Q driver array:
HF: 25 mm (1 in.) vented aluminium dome
with MAT
MF: 125 mm (5 in.) aluminium cone
Bass units:
LF: 4 x 165 mm (6.5 in.) aluminium cone,
force cancelling
Frequency range free f
ield (-6dB)
27 Hz - 45k Hz 30 Hz - 45k Hz
Frequency range typical in room
bass response (-6dB)
20Hz 25Hz
Frequency response (±3dB)
35 Hz - 35k Hz 33 Hz - 35k Hz
Crossover frequencies
350 Hz, 2k Hz 450 Hz, 2.2k Hz
Amplif
ier requirements
50 - 400W 50 - 400W
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88 dB 86 dB
Harmonic distort
ion 2nd and
3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m)
<0.5% 40 Hz - 100k Hz
<0.2% 200 Hz - 2k Hz
<0.1% 2k Hz - 20k Hz
<0.5% 40 Hz - 100k Hz
<0.2% 200 Hz - 2k Hz
<0.1% 2k Hz - 20k Hz
Maximum output (SPL)
(peak sound pressure level at 1m
with pink noise)
117dB 116dB
Impedance
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Weight
57.2 kg (126 lbs) 57.2 kg (126 lbs)
Dimensions - with plinth
(H x W x D)
1590 x 363 x 540 mm
(62.5 x 14.3 x 21.2 in.)
1461 x 338 x 475 mm
(57.5 x 13.3 x 18.7 in.)
1590mm
(62.5in.)
363mm
(14.3in.)
540mm
(21.2in.)
1461mm
(57.5in.)
338mm
(13.3in.)
475mm
(18.7in.)
BLADE ONE Meta
BLADE TWO Meta
35.3 kg (77.8 lbs)
P/N: K290268ML Issue 1: 09/2021
GP Acoustics (UK) Limited
Eccleston Road
Tovil, Maidstone
Kent, ME15 6QP
UK
KEF.com
For product registration, please visit
kef.world/BladeMetaReg
