User Manual
BLADE
BLADE
Meta

Important safety information
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 andspeech. 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, levelsurface, your speakers should be ent irely safe to listen to and to live with.
However, if you live with small children, large pets, the infirm, have uneven flooring or unusually thickcarpet 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 ® driverarray; 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.

2. Follow the unpacking and-vv;l0Ѵbmv|u1ঞomvom|_;
cartons. Please note thatlift ing the system requires
two able-bodied persons.

4. Trailing cables are dangerous.
Ensure all cables are secureand t idy.

5. When stripping cables use
only tools designed specificallyfor the purpose i.e. correct wire
cut ters or cable strippers.

3. Never connect the system
directly to the electricity supply.

General care of your 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.
=o-u;-|-ѴѴm1;u|-bm-0o|v;মm]rķor;u-|bm]ou1-ubm]=ououvv|;lou7;-Ѵ;ubѴѴ0;
pleased to assist you.
1Contents
Installation and operation
Unpacking, handling and after care

6

Adjust ing the feet and/or spikes

7

Speaker placement and room acoust ics

8

Amplifier to speaker connect ions10

Amplifier requirements and power handling

11

Single, bi-wire and bi-amp connect ions

12

Specifications

153

5

Installation and operation

Installation and operation

Unpacking, handling and after care

Adjusting the feet and/or spikes

BLADE ONE Meta & BLADETWO Meta speakers are packed
one speaker per carton. Prior to
unpacking, please ensure thatthe serial numbers of thespeakers supplied match
each other.

You will not ice that a special
KEF care pack is included witheach pair of speakers.

Then, unpack the speakers
carefully following thebmv|u1ঞomvrubm|;7om|_;
carton and inspect for any signof damage.

This pack contains a cleaning
cloth and all the required
accessories for connect ing andposit ioning your speakers. The
care pack also contains theunique product build cert ificate.
This is a valuable document andguarantees the quality andcraftsmanship of your speakers.

Your speakers left KEF in
perfect condit ion. If any
damage is apparent, you should
not ify your retailer orconsultant immediately. Retain
the packaging in case a needarises for you to transport thespeakers at a later date.

The cabinets are finely finishedand should be treated with thesame care with which you
would treat fine furniture.
A suitable cleaning cloth isincluded in the customer carepack to maintain the original
finish and lustre.

Each Blade Meta speaker is
supplied with KEF designed
substant ial spikes and locking
nuts (also in the care pack).
This enables fine adjustmentof level, depending on yourpreferred locat ion of thevr;-h;uv_-|;;u|_;Yoou
1o;ubm]ķ1-ur;|ķঞѴ;ou0Ѵo1hwood. In addit ion to the spikes
and locking nuts each Blade
Meta speaker also comes withpucks to protect wood floors.

Under normal circumstances
your speakers will becommissioned by your retailer
or consultant, who will havebeen trained in their installat ionby KEF.
KEF strongly recommends thatyou do not at tempt to level
your speakers single-handedly.
Recruit the assistance ofanother adult or consult anauthorised
KEF Blade Meta outlet forassistance which
may be chargeable if thepurchase was not madethrough them originally.

adjustments, not to compensate
for seriously irregular floors.
A spirit level is provided at therear of each Blade Meta
speaker to gauge when thespeaker is perfectly level.
A rigidly-sited speaker performs
0;;u|_-mom;|_-|1-mlo;
because it enables the cabinet
to remain fixed while thedrive units are allowed tomove as determined by thesource signal.
Best results will be obtained if
the speakers are level andstable. Check the generalstability of each speaker by
gently rocking it from side toside, front-to-back anddiagonally.
Often, you will find that thespeaker is close to vert ical, butrocks because one spike (or twospikes diagonally) seems
too short.
If the general stability is good,
but the speaker is leaning to
the left, right, backward orforward, then equal minor
adjustments to the two spikes
opposite to the direct ion oflean should be made.

The spike/locking nut
combinat ion supplied isdesigned to provide small

AdjustLock

Lock

Unlock7

Installation and operation

Speaker placement
The listening room is one of themost variable elements in thehi-fi chain and its effect cannot
be emphasised too strongly, nor
can its effect be reliably
predicted. Spacing the speakers
approximately 2m - 3m (6ft. 10ft.) apart will allow the stereo
images to develop fully. Youshould sit at a distance at least
equal to, and preferably greater
than, the distance between
the speakers.
Posit ioning the speaker in acorner or near to a side wall is
not recommended as thesignificant bass boost causedby this posit ion will affect thesound and cause the stereo
image to deteriorate.
It is best to place the speakers
symmetrically within the room,
relat ive to the walls, ceiling andfloor, where possible.
Be aware also that soft
furnishings near to a speaker
will deaden the sound similarly, nearby reflect ive
surfaces may brighten up thesound. Move the speakers unt ilo-u;v-|bvC;7|_-||_;vom7

is right and that the stereo
image is well defined.
As Uni-Q has a wide, uniform
dispersion, we recommend thatyou star with the speaker facing
f lat into the room with notoe-in. A more focussed centre
image may be achieved in yourroom with a small degree of
toe-in, but overall soundstage
width may be reduced. It isworth taking the t ime toexperiment with what works
best for you and your room.

W: 2 - 3 m (6 f t. – 10 f t.)

0 - 15°0 - 15°

A > 225 mm (9 in.)
B > 1 m (36 in.)
D: 1 - 1.2 x W

9Installation and operation

Installation and operation

Amplifier to speaker connections

Amplifier requirements
and power handling

All connect ions should be madewith the amplifier switched
OFF. Ensure the integrity of allconnect ions prior to switching
the amplifier ON.
KEF Blade Meta speakers are
fit ted with purpose designed
silver-plated Bi-wire/Bi-amp
terminals which will accept barewire, spade or 4mm connectors.
Most good quality speaker
cables have some indicat ion,such as colour coding or‘ribbing’ on the insulat ing
l-|;ub-Ѵķbm7b1-ঞm]_b1_
conductor is ‘+’ or posit ive.
Connect ion to the speakers canthen be made as follows:

The left channel amplifier
output terminal marked ‘+’ orcoloured RED connects to theleft speaker terminal marked ‘+’.
The left channel amplifier
output terminal marked ‘-’ orcoloured BLACK connects tothe left speaker terminal
marked ‘-’. Similarly, these
instruct ions should be followed=oul-hbm]1omm;1ঞomv
between the right channel
amplifier output and the rightspeaker. Correct polarity, orphase, is vital to the proper
operat ion of the system.
If the connect ions are notmade correctly the sound will
deteriorate giving poor
bass output and a diffuse
presentat ion of the soundstage.

Bare wire connect ions are thesimplest to achieve and involve
stripping 12.5mm (0.5in.) of
insulat ion to expose thespeaker wire core. (You should
twist together, using clean
fingers, 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 theexposed hole in the terminal
body and screw the cap
down t ightly.
Make sure that no stray strands
come into contact with theopposite terminal; this could
cause a short circuit between
the terminals and may damage
your amplifier.
Be aware that a higher quality
run of cable will always give amore rewarding presentat ion
than mult iple runs of aninferior cable.

In KEF literature and in thespecificat ion table within these
instruct ions are listed a rangeof amplifier power outputs tomatch your Blade Metavr;-h;uvĺom7bঞomvo=v;
(room size, type of programme,preferred listening level) andthe nature of the speaker/
amplifier interface vary so
widely that it is not possible tolay down hard and fast rules
about amplifiers and thespeakers they drive.
KEF speakers are built torigorous standards of quality
and consistency and the upperѴblb|vo=|_;-lrѴbC;urequirements shown are thosewhich the speaker in quest ion
should handle without distressor damage when used undermoul-Ѵ7ol;vঞ11om7b|bomvĺ

If higher than specified
amplifier powers are used, greatcare should be taken to avoid
abnormal condit ions such as
switch-on surges or grossdistort ion, either of theamplifier or the speaker,
result ing in power peaks greatly
in excess of the rat ings
specified. Care should be taken
as the possibility st ill exists
under certain condit ions (suchas excessive bass or treble
boost caused by tone and/or
loudness controls, graphic
equalisers, etc.) that thespeakers can be overloaded anddamaged. The lower limits ofamplifier power are thosenecessary to give a reasonablesound pressure level underdomest ic condit ions.

Remember it is easier todamage the speaker by using asmall amplifier driven into
distort ion by too much volume,
possibly with bass and treble
boost, than by using a larger
amplifier which has power inreserve. If in doubt,
ask the advice of your retailer
or consultant.

11Installation and operation

Single, bi-wire and bi-amp
connections
LIN

LIN

SingleLIN

LIN

Bi-wire

LIN
HF

HF

LINK

LINK

LF

LF

LIN
HF

HF

LINK

LINK

LF

LF

Bi-ampSpeaker cables. Poor quality cables can seriously compromise the overall sound of your hi-f i system.
 u;1oll;m7v|_-|_b]_t-Ѵb|vr;-h;u1-0Ѵ;0;v;7=ou1omm;1ঞm]ouѴ-7;;|-vr;-h;uvĺIt is good pract ice to keep the cables as short as possible.
The left 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.
13

Specifications
Model

B L A DE ON E MetaB L A DE T WO Met aDesignThree-way bass reflex
Single apparent source

Three-way bass reflex
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 field (-6dB)

27 Hz - 45k Hz

30 Hz - 45k Hz

Frequency range typical in roombass 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

Amplifier requirements

50 - 400W

50 - 400W";mvbঞb|ŐƑĺѶƒ(ņƐlő

88 dB

86 dB

Harmonic distortion 2nd and3rd 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 1mwith pink noise)

117dB

116dB

ImpedanceƓÐŐlbmĺƑĺѶÐőƓÐŐlbmĺƒĺƑÐő

Weight57.2 kg (126 lbs)

57.2 kg (12635.3(77.8lbs)
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.)B L A DE ON E MetaB L A DE T WO Meta

1590mm(62.5in.)

1461mm(57.5in.)

363mm(14.3in.)

540mm(21.2in.)

338mm(13.3in.)

475mm(18.7in.)15

GP Acoustics (UK) Limited
Eccleston Road
Tovil, Maidstone
Kent, ME15 6QP
UKIssue 1: 09/2021
P/N: K290268ML

For product registration, please visit
kef.world/BladeMetaReg

KEF.com