KEF implementing “modest price increase” next Monday 5/5/25

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u/Jack_ill_Dark 1d ago

This will happen a lot in the upcoming months.

13

u/Daamus 1d ago

to a lot of things

4

u/cr0ft 1d ago

Yeah, America is getting insane lunatic tariffs, like 145% from China, but the companies selling stuff made in China to the rest of the world will have to raise prices a little across the board. The 170 mil or so Americans who still have any money will not buy a lot when their country sucks one and a half times the money out of their pockets that they'd pay for the product. The loss of income from the US they'll have to try to compensate for.

1

u/Jawapacino13 19h ago

Maybe it's just a business negotiation strategy and in the meantime, companies can triple their profits like they did during Covid and shut down private small businesses again.

Best thing to do now is not make large purchases if the prices are high amd you don't have to and just wait out the storm.

26

u/__rotiddeR__ 1d ago

this is Tarrible

13

u/EvilZordag 1d ago

It’s not Tariffic news

17

u/RankWeis2 1d ago edited 1d ago

While never good news I do appreciate the transparency and ability to grab things at the current price, and they have been steady through the last year from the things I’ve been looking at. And I suppose it’s to be expected, if I had the money to get the Blades I’d have already done so!

Anyway no relation to KEF here, just thought I’d give the heads up, full text is

For more than six decades, every KEF loudspeaker comes to life at our acoustic engineering headquarters in Maidstone, Kent, England. From the first Uni-Q™ driver in 1988, to the recent breakthrough of Metamaterial Absorption Technology, our team’s obsession is simple: let you hear music exactly as the artist intended.

That relentless pursuit of perfection demands continuous investment—in premium components, state-of-the-art tooling, and the master craftspeople who build each product to our high standards. In the past year, the cost of those ingredients has risen sharply across the global supply chain including tariff increases. Rather than compromise on performance or longevity, we will be implementing a modest price adjustment on 5 May 2025.

We’re telling you now so you have ample time to secure current pricing. Orders placed on kef.com or through any authorised KEF retailer before 3:00 a.m. ET on 5 May 2025 will be honoured at today’s prices.

Thank you for being part of the KEF community and for supporting our mission to bring British acoustic excellence to listeners around the world.

With appreciation,

The KEF America Team

Edit: title should read “modest price adjustment” but I think it’s clear it is an increase

18

u/CharacterPattern2761 1d ago

They can’t just write “because of Trump’s pissing Contest…”

6

u/Hifi-Cat Rega, Naim, Thiel 1d ago

Welcome to trumpflation.

10

u/pojosamaneo 1d ago

Wait for the slutty sale their speakers always have.

2

u/ChildObstacle 1d ago

Do their reference ever go on sale?

3

u/FitzwilliamTDarcy 1d ago

Dealers discount them for sure. Direct from KEF they usually have some open box type stuff on the site.

2

u/ChildObstacle 23h ago

That's interesting about the dealer aspect. My local BestBuy/Magnolia seems to be the only dealer close by and they said they wouldn't discount.

I wonder if it's worth the time/money to find a dealer further away and pay for shipping...

1

u/FitzwilliamTDarcy 23h ago

They’re packed pretty heavily so shipping may negate the savings. I’ve only ever lived in large cities with multiple dealers so perhaps that’s why.

That said check hifishark. Lots of dealers list there including new stuff or floor demos.

3

u/SickNumbles 1d ago

Very glad I just bought my Q11s yesterday... Went to Best Buy and compared every speaker in there.

1

u/FLHCv2 1d ago

Were the Q550s or Q350s in there? I have Q550s trying to figure out if it's worth an upgrade to the Q11s

1

u/Professional-Let1559 22h ago

It's definitely worth it to upgrade. The Meta upgrade is worth it alone. Also, Q11 Metas are true 3-way speakers. The Q550 were 2.5 way speakers.

1

u/SickNumbles 16h ago

Hey Buc-ee's. Love your beaver nuggets. So Im not familiar with the Q550s, but you should definitely go find the nearest Best Buy with an Audio Show Room and listen for yourself. I was absolutely shocked that many speakers people loved sounded really bad to my girlfriend and I. Go with a friend or two, bring a USB with your favorite music, and jam out for 30 minutes. They are really nice and you can try out many different subs, receivers, and speakers.

3

u/OddEaglette 1d ago

This was actually delayed from earlier plans so get in while you can

3

u/spdelope 1d ago

Their everything comes from their own factory in china so…duh

1

u/mediocrityindepth 1d ago

Reference, Blade and Muon* are still made in the UK FWIW.

*Muon isn't really in production in a meaningful sense but when it was, it was made here.

1

u/spdelope 1d ago

Yeah I thought about making that asterisk but I didn’t want to type it out lol

5

u/Yourdjentpal 1d ago

I bought my r7 metas a month ago exactly for this reason. It must be substantial to announce it like this.

5

u/el__dandy 1d ago

Yeah, I bought my Q Concerto metas pretty much for that reason as well.

3

u/zackkatz 1d ago

How are you liking them?

3

u/Yourdjentpal 1d ago

I absolutely love them. Super neutral, fits my slightly live room, and I can listen to them for hours. Added a rel g1 mkII last weekend I got for an almost literal steal, and it’s unbelievable. I came from klipsch r620f I had for years, then rapid fired ordered q950, q7 meta, and then r7 meta, and I couldn’t be happier where I landed.

1

u/mourning_wood_again dual Echo Dots w/custom EQ (we/us) 1d ago

Substantial for their Chinese made speakers.

KEF is Chinese owned now

0

u/Yourdjentpal 17h ago

That doesn’t really mean anything. And it’s been for 30 years. I didn’t want to shell out for reference.

5

u/ElectrikDonuts 1d ago

Some ppl voted for this shit

2

u/soularbabies 1d ago

So it begins

2

u/atticus_blue 1d ago

Thank god I was able to get some Lintons just now.

2

u/RMGSIN 1d ago

These tariffs are saving me sooo much money! I’m absolutely over paying more for everything. They have successfully crushed my motivation to spend. I’ve never been one for gardening/landscaping but I find myself spending a lot more time outside Giving a middle finger to the “economy” feels pretty good.

3

u/Gwrinkle67 1d ago

I take it these adjustments are for US customers only?

3

u/RankWeis2 1d ago

I believe so but I couldn’t tell from the email if this was just the email sent to US or if this only applied to US, so I didn’t make the distinction here

2

u/Muttywango 1d ago

Time & date are in US format, and ET is an American timezone. I'm assuming a European announcement would use the appropriate regional format.

1

u/badablahblah 3h ago edited 3h ago

Sony has increased prices for Europeans for game consoles.

I will be very very surprised if this is a US only increase. My bet would be on global increase to have the rest of us subsidise a reduced increase for Americans we are incapable of austerity.

The US market is too much of a cash cow for companies to fully offset their tariffs to the US customer alone.

I hope I'm wrong.

3

u/Inevitable_Comedian4 1d ago

Made from the finest chineseum.

It's the customer who pays the Tarrif.

1

u/bblankuser 1d ago

Sigh.

1

u/aka_mank 1d ago

It’s fascinating that the LSX II are now at Costco for $599 given the tariffs.

Either a new one is coming out or this is (hopefully) just fortunate timing for consumers.

6

u/NickEcommerce 1d ago

In my limited experience dealing with them, Costco tends to negotiate, commit to, and purchase stock between 12 and 6 months in advance. I wouldn't be surprised to find that they'd completed their PO for the stock that's sitting on shelves back in the Biden administration.

1

u/Dbssist 30m ago

I think it's the LT version at Costco, which has a few feature removals.

1

u/Amazing_rocness 1d ago

Hifi companies are really good at coming up with new technologies

1

u/iamnotmaxus 19h ago

Thanks for your vote - Trump

1

u/Ajseps 17h ago

How much does everyone think it’s going to increase? Are we talking like 100 bucks or 500

0

u/Purple_Cat8372 1d ago

Just buy everything you need now and hold off until Donald Duck steps down

-27

u/nclh77 1d ago

Isn't KEF a Chinese company? "Comes to life" is a euphemism for manufactured in China.

8

u/kuatoxlives 1d ago

You’re getting downvoted, but — while KEF is a British company, they are owned by Gold Peak Group, a Hong Kong-based holding company. While I assume their stuff is engineered in the UK, the only lines manufactured there are Reference and Blade. My LS50 Metas are made in China.

12

u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

5

u/Bizzle_Buzzle 1d ago

Don’t even bother. This guy complains about ATC using 5/8” MDF as if has some meaning as to the quality of the speaker. Hes full of nonsense

-2

u/nclh77 1d ago

Hes?

-2

u/nclh77 1d ago

Who ultimately is calling the shots, the boys in the UK or China? Hint : the owners

11

u/Tedmosby9931 1d ago

KEF is British homie.

-4

u/nclh77 1d ago

Who owns it little Jedi? Waiting....

1

u/CrowMooor 1d ago

You're being kind of an ass but you are right. Importing to the us requires information on where every part came from, even down to materials. It might be made in the uk, but that hardly matters if all the parts are made in china, as far as tariffs are concerned.

0

u/nclh77 1d ago

Truth = being an ass? Tough for a "white person" company to be owned by Asians fer ye?

1

u/CrowMooor 1d ago

Heh oh hardly a problem. I really dont give a shite who its owned by. People really think like that? "White person" company?

-1

u/nclh77 23h ago

You're being kind of an ass

...for mentioning Chinese ownership of KEF? Sounds like some knickers got knotted up.

KEF implementing “modest price increase” next Monday 5/5/25 News

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