KEF Owners Thread - Page 101

I have the Denon AVP/POA combo. SJ

Hi everyone,
I am able to get the iq30 for $356, is this a good price? or you guys have had better price?

Thanks

edit: i have decided to get the iq30, and would like to get a center channel as well, will iq2c not be a good match with the iq30?
will the iq30 overwhelm the iq2c?

I would save up for the iq60c because it's a perfect match with the iQ30. I had a pair of iQ30s with an iQ60c (retired the 30s to the back and put iQ90s up front), and, once properly set-up, sounded great as an L/C/R combo. I'm still impressed by my iQ60's clarity and off-axis response.

I believe that, "speaker break-in," is your mind's response to logging more critical hours with your set-up. They probably sound great if you're overcome by these feelings.

I am thinking of IQ8D's for my surrounds; Does anyone have any feedback/comments about these?
My LCR is IQ90/IQ60C

subiefast, could you let me know what kind of wire raceway you used? I'm looking to hide mine and I don't want to drill into the walls. I should have had the house pre-wired.. but wasn't thinking about that at the time!

Also... did you bi-wire or bi-amp your fronts? I couldn't tell from the pictures.

I used wiremate brand, which I picked up at lowes hardware.

I didn't bi-wire or bi-amp the front. I just did a single wire with banana plugs. I used to have it bi-amped through the receiver before I bought my external amp.

I'm looking for a single or pair of iQ3's.
LMK by PM or email.
I have a pair of IQ3's as rears and they can and do use the iQ1 wall mounts. Small gap between the bracket and speaker but livable.
At 15 lbs vs 10 for the iQ1's make sure you have a solid stud to mount too. Upsize the mount screws in the speaker and wall.

BTW these KEF series iQ1/2/3/5/6/7/9 speakers are killer $ vs sound.

Thought you guys would like this one... Kef Reference Series Two, Three and Four. Going to sell the Three's and keeping the Two's as side speakers (although I was considering keeping the Three's as sides but that would probably be a bit overkill)

Nice. You'd probably be amazed at how different those speakers sound from the current metal-domed KEFs.

Have you tested both? Can you elaborate about the differences (out of curiosity)? The Ref 4s sound awesome and with the twin 10" woofers they go flat to 35hz. They sound awesome.

I have heard both. The older KEFs have a different sound. Worse? No, not necessarily. Better? No, not necessarily. Different.

Thanks... I think I'll stick with my Ref 4s until they die Whatever 'different' is, it can't be that much better

Your speakers sound great.

Keeping it alive - Some one should have a pair of IQ8D's... !!!

I was thinking about these.. someone recommended dipole speakers to me, not specifically the KEFs though. I went with IQ30s instead....

Just my opinion, but I would stick with direct radiating monopoles for your 'surround' speakers.

I couldn't find out if this question has been asked but which would be a better set-up for the front soundstage:

(2) IQ30's with the IQ60c, or;

(2) IQ10's with the IQ60c. I mention the IQ10's because they have the same size driver (5.25") as the IQ60, whereas the IQ30's driver is 6.25". Does that matter at all?

By the way, I will be running a sub and Audyssey room correction software from a Denon 3808.

Thanks for your help!!

Is money or space an issue? If not, you may want to look at the floorstanding Q series for your front soundstage.

No, it doesn't matter. Either way would be fine. Even though the iQ60c is equipped with 5.25" drivers, it has 3 of them; two dedicated solely to lower frequencies. Bear in mind that the iQ60c is the largest center-channel choice for pairing with the even larger tower speakers in the iQ line-up. If money is no object, get the iQ30s.

Something to strongly consider, though, would be using 3 iQ30s for your front soundstage. This would be ideal. I realize they are sold only in pairs, but in briefly perusing the web it looks to me like you could buy a pair of iQ30s for a very similar price to an iQ60c. And you may be able to find someone who also wants a single iQ30 for a center speaker.

Where were you planning on purchasing your speakers?

Great!! Thank you for the information! I don't have a specific timetable for purchasing speakers but the KEF's IQ, Atlantic Tech, and B&W's have made my short list, with the KEF's being in the lead due to affordability. I could do the IQ50's but if I'm using a sub, I'm wondering if there's any appreciable benefit over the IQ30's. I suppose I could could just disable the SW when I'm listening to 2-channel music or source direct (Denon's) with the towers. Hmmm...

BTW, if the IQ60c were a bit less in cost, I'd go with 3 of those for my front soundstage. Boy, that would look simply awesome with my set-up too!!!

Well, just realize that the only reason that might be a reasonable option is because of the KEF's coincidentally arrayed UniQ driver. With just about any other center channel design, using 3 of them for your front 3 would not be too advisable.

Why is 3 iQ30s not an option?

I won't say that it's not an option, I'll just have to think of a creative way to accommodate a vertical Center Channel.

So would you choose 3 iQ30s over 2 iq30s and the iq60?

The iq5's are 3 ways while the iq3s are not.

So Sivadselim, what do you think of this statement I made a couple of posts up: "I could do the IQ50's but if I'm using a sub, I'm wondering if there's any appreciable benefit over the IQ30's. I suppose I could could just disable the SW when I'm listening to 2-channel music or source direct (Denon's) with the towers."

I guess I'm interested in your take on bookshelves with a sub v. towers (with or without a sub).

Thanks!

By the way, this is one of the more informative threads I've seen around here in a long time. Great group participation without going too far off topic!! Kudos to all participants!!

If I could accommodate it, I would.



The iQ50s are 2.5-ways. The difference is important. The UniQ driver is not high-passed as it would be in a 3-way. It is unclear, but I think that the UniQ driver in the iQ50 is in a sealed compartment so its low-end performance requirements should be controlled and dictated by that (provided the speaker is designed properly). In other words, even though it is not high-passed, it is probably not asked to do as much as it would be were it in a ported compartment like the iQ10. Still, though, it isn't high-passed like it is in the iQ5s.



That's a kind of tough one, actually. Subiefast may be able to offer some advice. If you were asking about the iQ10s and iQ50s, it would, obviously, be a little bit easier comparison. The iQ30s are spec'd as being 1dB more sensitive and capable of 1dB more output, both of which are probably negligible differences. THe iQ50 is spec'd to go lower (45Hz versus 40Hz). For use with a sub, price differences aside, I think it is probably a wash. The iQ30s will require a stand. The iQ50 has more total driver area but both drivers will not be contributing equally, so that is not really informative (although not necessarily misleading, either). That's probably why it has the very slightly higher (and also negligible) power handling rating. IIRC, subiefast may have had to make a similar decision when he chose his iQ5s. I think he found the iQ5s to be a smaller speaker than he expected.

Of course you CAN listen to the speakers in direct mode no matter which speakers you choose. Just because you choose the iQ50s, though, doesn't mean you MUST listen to them that way. Now, if you think you WILL specifically use them that way, then I think it IS a consideration. In that case, I think that the iQ50s MIGHT be the correct choice because they go a little deeper but, again, it is still almost a wash.

It may just come down to aesthetics.

Did they change from 3 way to 2.5 way with the transition from iq5 to iq50?

First sentence here is that the iq5 is a true three way speaker

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=31330

Then when I checked on the kef site, it said the iq50 is a 2.5 way speaker.

Also with the extra driver, shouldn't it alleviate stress from the other driver to play a bit cleaner?

I've never personally heard, and iq3 or iq30. I only own iq5s, and iq1s. I previously owned an iq6c, but replaced it with an iq5 for the center. I was going back and forth between the iq3, and iq5. With the need to buy stands, the price was very close so I went with the more expensive speakers and didn't have to buy stands.

According to their respective manuals, yes.



But there is no crossover there between the upper and lower driver to parse the load based upon frequency, so there is no alleviation from stress in that respect. As I was saying, the only alleviation from stress relative to the iQ10 MIGHT come from the iQ50's UniQ driver being in a sealed compartment. So, what is required of it on the low-end MAY be naturally limited by that and the way it was designed and tuned.