50 Years of Innovation in Sound was co-authored by leading audio historian Ken Kessler and former KEF engineer Dr. Andrew Watson. They interviewed more than 30 current and former KEF employees and selected illustrations from the thousands of photographs in KEF’s archives. Kessler and Watson also reviewed documentation from the company’s records and recorded more than 100 hours of interviews. Additional support and materials were provided by members of KEF founder Mr. Raymond Cooke’s family, including a foreword written by his son, Mr. Martin Raymond Cooke.

The resulting 216-page 50 Years of Innovation in Sound tells a fascinating, in depth story of KEF’s history and progression through the last five decades.

50 Years of Innovation in Sound provides an intimate glimpse into the company’s history, featuring many interesting archive photographs and newly-captured illustrations of classic and current speaker models. It also includes comprehensive listings of every product, providing audio enthusiasts with a very detailed historical reference.

50 Years of Innovation in Sound will be available January 2012 from KEF retailers.

About the authors

Ken Kessler is the most widely published audio journalist at work today, having contributed to over 200 magazines around the world. He has written for Hi-Fi News & Record Review since 1983, latterly as senior contributing editor. His articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Esquire, GQ, Men’s Health, The Financial Times, The Telegraph and many others. Ken is the author of Quad: The Closest Approach and McIntosh – For The Love of Music, and co-author of Sound Bites, with four other audio histories in the works.

Dr. Andrew Watson’s background is in acoustics research with spells at several UK Universities. He earned his PhD from the University of Surrey, and he has several publications in acoustical journals. His experience in the loudspeaker industry includes a period at Mission and most recently 17 years in acoustical engineering at KEF, culminating in several years as Head of Acoustics and Technical Communications.