The trend in the speaker industry the last few years has been toward smaller and smaller models so they go better with things like flat-panel TVs and iPods. That's why it's so refreshing to see the Concept Blade speaker from U.K. speaker maker KEF, which shows you can have sizable audio gear that still looks great. Standing more than 5 feet tall, the Blade takes KEF's Uni-Q driver tech — which combines a tweeter with a midrange driver — and sandwiches it between two pairs of 10-inch(!) woofers. The result: powerful, clean audio that sounds as if it's coming from a point source (according to KEF).

The cabinet curves aren't just for show either. The carbon-fiber composite material is curved to make the Concept Blade as rigid as possible, so all the acoustics are coming from the drivers, not the cabinet. She's definitely a beauty — we'd gladly make room for a stereo pair in our living room, but as the name implies, the Concept Blade isn't for sale, at least not yet. If you want to pine some more, though, click through to KEF's website and check out their video on the project.

KEF, via AV Guide