ABSTRACT
Founded in 1961 by electrical engineer Raymond Cooke, on the premises of a metalworking operation called Kent Engineering and Foundry (hence KEF), the company has long had a flair for the unusual and controversial in terms of loudspeaker engineering design and use of materials. Reestablishing a previous relationship with the BBC in 1966, Cooke was interested in adopting Neoprene (an artificial rubber) to help maintain sound quality in the midband by using it as the surround to the loudspeaker diaphragm, while using new materials for the diaphragm itself. During the 1960s KEF flourished, and by 1973 the company was evolving the concept of computer assisted design at a time when even four-bit microprocessor technology was still in its infancy. Ten years of worldwide growth followed, peaking in 1985 with the setting up of KEF Electronics of America. Under new ownership in 1992, the company found itself equipped with new ideas, new personalities, and new products. Cooke died in 1995, but the company continues to follow his original precepts. [Website: https://www.kef.com./]
HOWARD FERSTLER
A record issued by the London music publishing firm, Keith Prowse and Co., Ltd., in 1927. There were just three issues, continuing a series sponsored by the firm but on the Parlophone label. The whole series was made up of jazz material from Okeh, Gennett, and Brunswick-Vocalion. The Black Bottom Stompers of Johnny Dodds, with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, are heard on two of the sides.
