KEF Instant Theatre

Pseudo surround has long been the “Holy Grail” of the home cinema arena. Many have tried to convince us with their Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Virtual and SRS true surround systems, all with varying degrees of success and failure. The advent of Dolby Digital and its accompanying trailer in the cinema made us want more of what we heard at our multiplexes.

Of course this meant a having five speakers and a subwoofer invade our homes along with an amplifier or home cinema system. Combine this with our DVD players, Tivos and Sky boxes and the whole thing got messy. Whilst Sony, Bose and Kef, to mention but a few, all worked on miniaturisation we still had to face up to a spaghetti trail of wires in order to achieve cinema perfection.

KEF, the creator of the now famous “Egg” KHT 2005 system, now aims to deliver us their solution with the KIT 1000 or KEF Instant Theatre as they call it. The system consists of a DVD player, subwoofer and just two speakers which aim to reproduce that surround sound experience. The theory is a good one. Combine traditional satellites with flat panel arrays that aim to bounce the rear channels around us and fool us into the illusion of proper surround sound. In fact, this system goes one step further. It dismisses the centre channel, instead relying on “toe in” from two front speakers to create a phantom centre channel.

The KIT retails for £1199.99 which is certainly a considerable price. Sony’s flagship all in one systems come in at a top level of about £800. Of course KEF might argue that less is more and that the unique selling point (two speakers not five) is what the consumer is paying for.

What’s in the box?

The KIT arrives in two boxes housing a dedicated DVD player, two speakers, subwoofer, remote and all the cables needed to power and connect the system. Even a scart is supplied. None of your cheap supermarket rubbish either. This is a beefy, well constructed scart that even has inserts in the box to protect its gold plated ends.

The design of the speakers and DVD player are absolutely magnificent. Stylish, eye-catching and a superb example of design matching convenience. The DVD player itself merits special praise. It feels as if it were hewn from a block of aluminium. This is the heaviest DVD player I’ve picked up since some of the very earliest Sony and Pioneer examples. This one is about a quarter of their size so it’s clear that KEF have invested in solid construction. The DVD player has a multitude of connections to allow (for example) TV and Satellite sound to be amplified when not watching your DVD collection. You can also connect other kit such as your hi-fi.

Connecting the KIT together is very straightforward. The DVD player is connected by a serial cable to the subwoofer. The speakers are then connected by one cable each to the subwoofer. Finally, the subwoofer is connected to your mains outlet. This is a very neat solution. However, I had two problems with this. First, because the DVD player relies on power via the serial connection it cannot be used in isolation. That’s a shame because, as we will see later, this really is a stunning DVD player. Second, the wires themselves are rather chunky and coloured grey. It’s not a difficult job to hide them away but because of their proprietary connections you can’t opt for anything else. Having connected up the system I powered it up and tried to ascertain just how good this thing was.

Video Quality

The KIT is supplied with RGB scart and component video outputs as well as the lesser connections of composite and s-video. Having used the intuitive on screen display to select the system set up I embarked on discovering whether the DVD player part of this system performed as well as it looked.

I used Region 2 discs of Finding Nemo and Return of the King and the Region 1 Star Wars Trilogy and utilised both RGB and Component Video in progressive scan mode. I did not test the composite or s-video connections as I assumed that most people would be using this KIT with a decent display device.

In short the performance of this DVD player is breathtaking. It is amongst the best I have ever seen. The picture is vibrant, colourful and pin sharp without ever looking digital or forced. There is no evidence of smearing or blocking during Finding Nemo and the above water scenes are filled with superb amount of detail. Similarly, the battles of Return of the King are stunning. Finally, the star battles in the Trilogy look as good as I think it possible to look on the equipment I have. I cannot imagine how they might look on a well set up plasma or LCD screen. All of this before I even turned to component and progressive scan. With that accomplished the pictures are even better. Smooth, film like and simply brilliant. There may be better DVD players for this price, I would be surprised if there were not but KEF have done a superb job of putting a great DVD player at the heart of this system.

It’s clear that KEF are commanding a premium for this system. However, I consider that the DVD player is a brilliant piece of KIT (sic). It’s a shame that it cannot be used in any other system but then its very purpose is to be at the heart of this system.

Sound Quality

First, whatever is played - DVDs, CDs or MP3s, the system automatically recognises what’s been loaded. The decoding circuits also give the full benefit of Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS surround sound from any other equipment played through the system. The unit also has an AM/FM radio with RDS, alarm and sleep functions.

This is it then. Can two speakers with flat panels ever come close to full surround sound?

I am happy to say that they can. This is a system that takes some setting up to deliver optimum sound quality. Once you have adjusted the bass and treble you have to move on to “toeing in” the speakers. It is this “toe in” that creates the illusion of a phantom centre. It is quite sensitive to positioning so some experimentation is required. Once up running the illusion of a centre speaker is very good indeed. It isn’t quite as good as a dedicated centre but then you don’t have another box perched on top of the television. Subjectively, it does the job very well indeed. Once you have got over your initial expectations the sound is inclusive and cohesive.

After you’ve achieved that balance the rear surrounds should fall into place almost automatically. Can you get rear effects from front speakers? Again, the answer is a resounding yes. The effects placement at the beginning of Die Another Day when Bond shoots at the gun barrel is excellent. Similarly, the surround steering of Tomorrow Never Dies’ opening sequence is also superb.

The subwoofer (which of course provides all the power) is very capable, certainly up there with the sub that’s attached to the Kef 2005.2 Satellite system. It isn’t the last word in timing or floor shuddering bass and sometimes sounds a tad detached from the rest of the experience. Again, good placement and setting up alleviates most of this.

Overall the whole sonic effect is excellent. KEF should be applauded for coming up with a lifestyle system that can still scare the cat but won’t scare the wife. Criticisms? Only a few. Integration needs to be worked at and the power output could be higher.

Conclusion

A winner? I think so. The KEF is more expensive than similar lifestyle systems but then it is aimed at a different type of customer altogether. There is no escaping the price as being expensive but then you have a mid to high end DVD player included in that price which produces some staggering images. I would certainly accept that you could get a pretty decent system of 5 speakers, Sub, DVD player and Amp for this price. But that would be missing the point. The KEF Instant Theatre achieves the impossible, looks lovely and advances technology to a whole new level. You should still audition those other options but don’t dismiss this little two speaker wonder from KEF.