KEF Owners Thread - Page 57

Do you still hear the sound if you listen over headphones? Trying this would take the amplifier in your Onkyo (and your speakers) completely out of the system to help you isolate the problem. I'm asking this because I have a classical recording where there is a high-pitched crackling noise from one speaker, and isolating the problem (starting with headphones-only, then trying a different CD player) proved that the crackling was on the original recording.

I know it "theoretically" in terms of what happens to the waveform, but I have no idea at what volume level it should appear. Are there any rules of thumb to help avoid it?

Hehe never use Receivers/integrateds/power amps at full power
More seriously the volume (power) is not a consistent as each receiver or amp will have different specs.
Moreover clipping can be voltage or current just to add to the discussion, and speakers can affect this due to their impedance and phase.

Here are a links that do a nice job explaining it:
http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/am...s_vi_plane.htm
Worth reading as it gives a nice background about voltage and current clipping, might touch briefly on phase angle.

These are quite a bit more complicated and might be easier to ignore unless really wanting to get to the nuts and bolts.
http://sound.westhost.com/soa.htm
http://sound.westhost.com/patd.htm

Hope everyone having a Merry Christmas so far
Cheers
DT

Also, there's a calculator on the crown audio site to help you estimate. Be conservative though...the advertised watts for your amp may or may not be accurate.
http://www.crownaudio.com/apps_htm/d...ct-pwr-req.htm

Hello all, I've been jumping around in various threads over my search for a 5.1 system for the last two years. We just moved again and I'm anxious to finally pick something. I was considering PSB speakers (Image B15's or B25's), SVSound's 5.1 system, Infinity Beta 20's, and now I'm considering the iQ speakers, largely because there are some big discounts on them online now, and I'm thinking that I should just hurry up and buy something and stop wasting so much time researching everything. I'll likely be pairing them with a very capable sub (may go with a B-stock AV123 MFW-15 or an Energy s12.3).

One thing about the KEF's is they don't seem to advertise their specs at +/-3dB, so I'm not sure how much to trust their claims. So, for example, the PSB B15 (5.25" woofer) has a spec of 50Hz - 23,000Hz @ +/- 3 dB, whereas KEF states that their 5.25" woofer iQ1's are 50Hz - 40kHz. Because there's no mention of what decibel level they're at at those extremes, the spec seems pretty worthless to me.

Has anyone directly compared any of the speakers listed above?

A buddy of mine has just purchased IQ3s and will be wall mounting 2 of them and ceiling mounting 2 of them. (IQ9s and IQ6c for the fronts) Do the IQ3 speakers have "key hole" mounts? His HT setup is going to be tucked in the corner of a large room so the right side speaker and the rear speakers are going to need to be suspended from the ceiling somehow. Does anyone have any photos of creative ceiling mounts or wall mounts? Or are there any mounts that would work well with IQ3s?


Due to small children, he is deciding against speaker stands.

I own KEF 3005SE. 7.1 system is paired with Onkyo TX NR-906. When I connect the sub to my receiver, I am not getting any sound at all. I tried different cables, but no help.

The most puzzling part is when I connect one end of the cable to the sub and make the other end touch any of the metal area behind the receiver in stead of actually plugging it in, then I get sound.

Any insights? Is this is a defective receiver?

I never had these mounts, but there's a picture in the manual for the new iQ series speakers:

http://www2.kef.com/resources/Curren..._manual-en.pdf

Hey all whats up.... Just to let you know as far as the HTB2 goes your the 2nd person that i have heard in just weeks that has happened too i don't know if it is a bad run they got what.... On the PSB VS. the KEF speakers yeah heard em both been in this business for 6 years now... KEF beats PSB everytime... PSB is just kinda chinsy honestly.... KEF is inexpensive but nice!

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Which PSB speakers are you referring to? I am deciding between the PSB Image T45's or the Kef iQ7's. Also the PSB C60 center or the Kef iQ6c. I am only concerned for HT, not music. Which one is better and why?

Well when i was comparing them it was the Q series and PSB, the KEF's have always been more open more dynamic and more revealing... thanks to the Uni-Q driver... be happy get some KEF's they are just a better speaker

--- GET YOUR HIGH END A/V BUZ HERE! ALL KEF PRODUCTS BRAND NEW 25% OFF OR MORE!! CALL FOR DETAILS!

Psted on the main board aswell just incase it gets moved fast I posted it here aswell.

I'm going to place my order soon and wanted to hear what you guys think. The set up with be 100% HT. I'm down between KEF IQ7 front,IQ6C center and IQ3 on the rear on a book shelf Or SVS SCS 01M. The price is only off by a few bucks. I will have a denon 2309ci for a AVR and this will be my first HT. The sub will be a SVS pb Plus/2. IF you can help that would be great. My room is 12x10x^9.

Well, you know what we're going to say in the KEF thread.

I have never heard the SVS speakers. I have heard other ID speakers and they left MUCH to be desired on the high-end, detail-wise, especially compared to KEFs. Very dull high-end. Very. My understanding is that this is a common feature with many of the ID speakers.

So, I vote for the KEFs. Especially since you are getting such a deal on them, now. And save yourself some dough and get the iQ5s and iQ1s.

Does anyone know where I can find replacement parts for a KEF HTS6000? I just purchased one to use as my center speaker and realized that when it got here it does not have the center table top stand. I have searched KEF's site but am not finding much. Thanks in advance for the help!

Well, if you were going to assemble a 5.1 system that was 100% for movie-watching, which KEF speakers would you suggest for the front L/C/R and surround L/R? Because I'll have a subwoofer and will likely be setting the crossover at 80Hz, would 5 iQ1's be enough? If not, would there be any benefit to using towers (e.g., iQ5's, iQ7's, or iQ9's) in the front vs iQ1's or iQ3's in front?

If you scroll up in the thread a bit, you will see some discussion of this and my thoughts regarding the towers versus the bookshelves.

Basically, with the towers, you'll get some of the bass frequencies out of the UniQ driver. I do not remember where all the towers' lower drivers are crossed in, but even with an 80Hz crossover, the lower drivers in the towers will still be responsible for ~1.5 to 2 octaves that the UniQ driver will not be responsible for reproducing were it the lone driver, as in the bookshelf speakers. Theoretically this should free up the UniQ driver to more accurately and cleanly reproduce the higher bass and midrange frequencies that it IS asked to reproduce. And since the cone will move less, and since it acts as a baffle and radiating surface for the tweeter, the tweeter's performance should be more smooth. Whether this is all actually true in practice, or even really audible, I do not know. But I think that if you plan to listen really loud, the UniQ driver can probably benefit by passing off the lower frequency duty to the lower driver.

The downside, again theoretically, to adding another driver is that the speaker is no longer a true single point source radiator, which is the whole benefit of the UniQ driver in the first place. You could probably argue that since it is the lowest frequencies that are no longer "in" the UniQ driver that it shouldn't make much difference. But, again without remembering exactly what the lower drivers' crossover points are, the lower drivers are still responsible for output up to ~250-300Hz or so, which is not insignificant.

Prior to my current XQs, I had a setup that consisted of 4 Q1s (comparable to the current iQ3s) and a Q9c (not comparable to any iQ center, but with a single 6.5" UniQ driver, instead). So, I had 5 identical 6.5" UniQ drivers around me. I have always felt that this setup, with 5 identical and true single point source radiating speakers, did a great job of melting away, or disappearing, so to speak, which is one thing that a single point source speaker is capable of doing better than more conventional speakers.

On the other hand, as low as the prices are now, when you factor in the cost of stands, depending upon which models you are comparing, the savings of the bookshelves over the towers is not so substantial.

If you want to go the all-bookshelf route, I think that whether you choose the iQ3s or iQ1s depends upon how big your room is and how well your sub will perform near the 80Hz crossover.

Thanks for your input. Because this room will only have a front-projection setup (at this point, I'm not planning on having an LCD or Plasma), I'm able to put a tower in the center position as well, if so desired. Given that flexibility, would you recommend using a speaker identical to the L/R speaker, or would there be any reason why I should opt for one of their horizontal center speakers?

On that note, which speaker(s) in their iQ line might be better/best for center-channel duty. By that I'm thinking that I'd want a speaker that handles the frequency range of dialog the best.

I'm thinking that since I don't *need* to use a horizontal center channel speaker, I may go for a speaker identical to the L/R speakers (whatever those end up being). I'll likely go with iQ1's for the surrounds, but I could be swayed to use iQ3's for that if there was a compelling reason. So, for the front three speakers, I guess I'm debating between iQ1's, iQ3's, iQ5's, and even iQ7's. Assuming an 80Hz crossover setting, I'm wondering which of those four speakers might send best at 80Hz and, more specifically, which might offer the best clarity for the frequency range of speech.

I've been researching speakers ad nauseam for the last couple of years (though I'm ashamed to admit that it's mostly all been via online research, as I've auditioned very few speakers). The positive side to all of that is that I'm reasonably certain that no matter what I pick, I'll probably be happy, because I've gone without anything for so long.

Definitely skip the horizontal center. Even though KEF's have fewer problems than most with regards to the horizontal centers, its still preferable to have a center that matches your L/R speakers.

I can't think of a compelling reason to recommend the iQ3 over the iQ1, or the iQ7 over the iQ5. So really it comes down to the iQ1 vs iQ5. Since you sound set on the iQ1's as surrounds, why not go ahead and order those. But set them up in the front at first with a phantom center. See how the dialog sounds to you. If its acceptable, order 4 more iQ1's (or 3 if you can find someone to split a pair with). If not, then go for 3 iQ5's.

I have iQ5's as my L/R, and ran them with a phantom center until I got my iQ6c (I would have gone for a third iQ5, but that wasn't an option with my setup). I never found dialog to be lacking.

Sivadselim broke down the pros/cons of the extra driver above, and it really seems to be a toss up. Like you said, if you don't have quality speakers right now, you're going to be happy either way.

I am thinking of buying stands for the KEF3005 satellites on the sides and rears in my 7.1 system. However, I read that these stands are only about 3 feet tall and not adjustable. Isn't this height too short for surround satellites? To place the surrounds 2 feet above ear level when seated, one would need a stand taller than 3 feet. Am I missing something here?

Couldn't agree more. A perfectly matched front array is IDEAL.



Any speaker that is suitable for L/R duty should be just as suitable for center duty. Except for people's placement limitations and/or aesthetics, there shouldn't even really be such a thing as a "center channel speaker". A speaker is a speaker. If it is a good speaker, it is good for everything. Technically, there is nothing unique about dialog. As mms pointed out, the UniQ driver in a horizontal cabinet doesn't suffer from the pitfalls of most traditional horizontal speakers. Still, it is not as ideal as a vertically oriented speaker. If you do not HAVE TO use a horizontal speaker, then definitely don't.



Honestly, I can't think of too much of a compelling reason.




Of those choices, given your possibilities, if it were me, I would use either 3 iQ3s (which are NOT available individually) or 3 iQ5s, and I would probably lean toward the iQ5s. 3 iQ5s up front and 2 iQ1s in back would be a great setup. I do not think that the iQ7s are necessary unless you will be listening to 2-channel music without the sub, often. But even then, they do not go much lower than the iQ5s. And the iQ5s, with the smaller UniQ driver, may very well be a better choice, especially with a sub. There is a thought that smaller midwoofers may be more accurate in the upper bass and midrange.

Thanks for all the recommendations. I'm mulling it all over now. Here's what I'm considering:

Option 1) 3 pairs of black iQ1's delivered + $100 (at least) for necessary stands up front = $450 + $100 (and I could probably sell the extra iQ1 for $75-100, bringing the final cost down to about $475).

Option 2) 1 pair of black iQ1's, 2 pairs of black iQ3's + $100 (at least) for necessary stands up front = $750 + some shipping costs (and I could probably sell the extra iQ3 for $125-150, bringing the final cost down to about $625).

Option 3) 1 pair of black iQ1's, 3 iQ5's (either black or apple) = $750 + some shipping costs.

So, the iQ5 option is certainly the most expensive. Even though you can't buy iQ1's or iQ3's as singles, the overall cost for 2 pair of iQ3's plus stands is about the same, but ends up being about $125-150 cheaper if I sold the extra iQ3.

Decisions, decisions.

Well, I finally did it. I bought some KEF speakers online today. I went with three Dark Apple iQ5's for the front L/C/R at $200/each, and a pair of black iQ1's for the surrounds. I went with black for the surrounds because they were only $150/pair, and iQ1's in Dark Apple were hard to find online and would have been more than twice that price at $330/pair (in fact I could have gotten Dark Apple iQ3's for a bit less at $300/pair).

So, total cost was about $765 shipped. Having never heard any of the iQ's, hopefully I'll be pleased with them.

Not done yet, though, as I still need to get a subwoofer. I *thought* I was going to be able to get in on the AV123 MFW-15 B-Stock special, but they stopped responding to my emails, so I'm pretty sure I missed out on that.

Good luck,I'm about to go with the almost the same set up. For subs I would go with a SVS sub I had mine for a year and it rocks. www.svsound.com

Yes, SVS is high on my list. I'm especially leaning towards a front-firing subwoofer (because my movie room is in my loft and the kitchen is below with no sound insulation in between), and SVS's low-end models are front-firing. The AV123 MFW-15 is also front-firing, and would seem like a great option if I can score one. Beyond that, I'm not sure what, if any, low-cost front-firing subs are highly rated. But this is the wrong forum for that discussion, so I don't want to sidetrack this thread. If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to PM me.

Congrats. Let us know your impressions once the giddiness of having new speakers wears off.

Hi, my set-up is...

RDM 2`s front and rear
200C center
Servo-15 sub

I was thinking of upgrading to a RDM 3 for the fronts is it worth it ?

Thx Dave

Hi!

The clearance prices for the old Kef IQ line have gotten my attention, but there's nowhere around here for me to audition them.

I was hoping some of you with experience can try to characterize the different sonic qualities of the Polk RTi A line and the KEF IQ line of speakers. I've read that they have very different sonic personalities, but haven't read how they are different. I've also read that many think that both have a somewhat bright and forward presentation. - If so, is one more bright/forward than the other?

I'm most interested in how the floorstanding models (Polk RTi A7 versus the KEF IQ7 or 9) sound for music rather than HT and am not too concerned with deep bass because I'll be using a sub with dual 10' drivers.

Can some of you knowledgeable people try to characterize the differences in sonic attributes for these speakers?

Thanks,
Dave

Would you say that the iQ3 is a better center than the iQ6c to match with a pair of iQ7's or 9's?

I'm still debating on either the iQ7's or 9's. I plan to listen to them at my local retailer this weekend, but what should I be listening for when I get there? As I've stated before, I have a SVS Ultra sub so I have plenty of low end bass. Would the iq9's be unnecessary then? I would save $160 if I got the iQ7's instead.

Oh, and it would be used almost exclusively for movies, tv, and gaming...no music.

Wow, I had to go back several pages to see that post in context. I'm really not sure why I didn't say anything about the iQ6c as a center, there. I think that it was the iQ3s that were being considered by someone, and I recommended a 3rd one for the center with iQ3 fronts, mainly.

But, no, I would not say that an iQ3 would make a better center than the iQ6c. Nor would I be willing to say, though, that it wouldn't. The iQ6c has smaller drivers, but IS a 3-way speaker, so the woofers take some of the low frequency load off of the UniQ driver. I think with iQ3s as the fronts, a 3rd iQ3 would be a great choice over an iQ6c. But with the iQ7s and iQ9s,............... I don't know.

Of course, if you can accommodate it, a 3rd iQ7 or iQ9 in the center would make the best center channel speaker for those speakers.



I think you'll have to give them a listen. But there is not much of a reason they should sound too different when used with a subwoofer and run as SMALL (w/ 80Hz xover, for example). Never know, though. And if this is not for music, and with a PB13U, there is not really any good reason to get the iQ9s. Except that they look cooler.

Interesting that the dealer will have both the iQ7s and iQ9s in the showroom. If the iQ5s are there, I would consider them, too. They are more similar to the iQ6c than the iQ7 and iQ9. And what speakers will you use for surrounds? Consider an all iQ3 setup, too, especially if the dealer has them to listen to as well. Hey, why not? Might as well keep all the options open.

Actually, I have no idea if the dealer with have the iQ7's and 9's. I guess I'll have to see. And yes, after reading through the last 10 pages of this thread, I've also thrown in the iQ5's as an option as well. I think as of now, I'm ruling out the iQ9's. That seems to be the logical step (unless I'm planning to listen to a lot of 2 channel music, right?) So right now it's between the iQ5's or 7's. How would you comment based on that info?

I will be using my current 3005 speakers as the side surrounds (no 7.1 yet). Right now I am using the 3005's all around along with the Ultra sub and it sounds great. Obviously I'm assuming upgrading to the iQ's as my frontstage will sound better.

I know you think the iQ5's match better with the iQ6c so I'll definitely consider those. But if I get the iQ7's, should I look into another brand for the center? Perhaps a center that has the same size driver as the iQ7?

Oh and fyi, my room is 30x15x12 with hardwood floors and no room treatments.