Hi-res: KHT 3005 SE home theatre system

In 2006, when the KHT 3005 home theatre system was unveiled, punters looked at the egg-shaped speakers and thought KEF was sacrificing sound for design. How wrong they turned out to be. The world's audiophile and design press gave it kudos for not only its groundbreaking acoustic technologies but also its design.

KEF has topped that with a special edition. The 3005 SE contains four satellites, a centre speaker and a subwoofer. The four satellites stand on little pedestals and are connected with a ball joint, enabling them to be aimed precisely. If space is in short supply, they can be wall-mounted.

Each satellite stands 245mm high and is 125mm at its widest point. The centre speaker is about twice the size of the satellites, but still retains the same egg-shaped profile. The satellites and centre speaker weigh 2kg and 2.9kg respectively. They come in high-gloss piano black or silver.

The circular sub has to be seen to be believed. It features a 250mm subwoofer controlled by a 250-watt class-D active amplifier as well as a SmartBass 'bass boost and phase control'. A 250mm passive radiator mirrors the woofer on the opposite side of the enclosure. The amazing thing about the sub, despite its circular shape, is that it can be placed vertically or horizontally, allowing you to put it under a table or behind a sofa.

The SE version features some innovative changes. The biggest modification is the addition of a 'crown-horn' optimiser, which means a smoother response and greater sensitivity at very high frequencies. The subwoofer has had tweaks to its equalisation and the satellites and centre speakers feature modified crossovers.

The KEF 3005 SE sounded very natural when auditioned. On REM Live, Michael Stipe's vocals were up front, and I was surprised at the mid-range depth in such a small driver. On the bass front, it lacked a bit of punch, and you may have to do some tweaking with the amp and placement of the sub. After fiddling about with speaker placement I discovered the bass could be improved, duly tested it with a DVD of Spiderman 3 and found the results remarkably encouraging, especially the floor-shuddering explosions.

There are a lot of home theatre speaker systems available, but the 3005 SE pips the competition with its sound and design, even though rounded speakers may look out of place in the square world of audio visual components.

The KHT 3005 SE 5.1 home theatre system starts at HK$13,800, which is value for money.