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KEF Owners Thread - Page 187

post #5581 of 6024
1/13/13 at 7:44am
Thanks for the input. I'm not really limited from back wall space but i am side wall, which is about 14'. I'll demo for sure before buying, just try to get an idea since I've enjoyed the older models I've heard in the past.. I'm thinking r300 else r700 for mains. Is the r600c a better match for the r700 than the r300? If I go r300, can I use one for the center and put it on its side. Since I listen to multi channel music, I feel each speaker will need to be as close sounding as possible. I'm a bit concerned about some one bumping into a bookshelf on a stand though, but I guess I can get a stand which can be screwed into the floor.

Thanks!
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post #5582 of 6024
1/13/13 at 8:34am
You can put a LS50 or R100 on it's side but not sure about R300 as it is a three way with single woofer. Probably not, but the R200 or R600 will match any, only difference is more output and depth from the R600. My Reference manual shows acceptable orientations for the 201s (3 way also with single woofer) so I can check. In my room which is 13' wide, 16' deep with 9 ' ceilings the Reference 202c is amazing. Guessing the R600c would be close to that.
Edit: since all but the R100s use the same Uni-Q, they all work well together, the question is best configuration for the room.
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post #5583 of 6024
1/13/13 at 12:52pm
+1
Shouldn't put the R300 on it's side because it has the Uni-Q and another driver. (You can put the Q100, Q300, R100 and LS-50 on their side because they only have one driver, i.e. a Uni-Q)
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post #5584 of 6024
1/13/13 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bthrb4u View Post

Jfoul, this videohttp://youtu.be/HKKFAGi4rZ4can give you good insight on how to truly finish off the speaker placement but the kef's that i auditioned did not need a certain specific placement. They were so good at imaging you could have one butted up against your grill on your porch and had the other speaker in the opposite corner and still feel like you were getting a live concert on your porch . Kind of makes me mad the few people doubting what i said about how the performa3 series cutting out a whole channel by moving just a simple six inches away from the sweet spot .i'm simply not about about to pay the money they ask for a speaker that sounds like it's an f-in little painting of sound when i can pay the same price for a speaker that quite literally not only images better than any speaker i've heard but the all around fidelity of the speaker was hands down just beautiful. After hearing the Kef R series i was able to simply cut out every other speaker in my price range.
f-ing love kef

i'm hooked

Alright, I've been looking around some more. I at least have my rough sizes and sub nailed down. Below are some of the configurations I'm considering. I'm leaning towards the KEF because of the front ports, but I can swing something with back ports. I would probably buy the KEF from Acessories4less, which seem to be certified/refurb... the other setups would be new. Kind of worried about the " Cosmetic Imperfection" descriptions from A4L of the KEF.

Room: 12.4 ft x 12.4 ft which opens into a dining room.
Speaker Location LR SRSL: Located closer to the wall, but I can manage 1ft clearance from the back of the speakers if I go back port.

My A/V: Yamaha RX-V673
Subwoofer: HSU VTF-2 MK4


KEF setup
LR - KEF Q300
C - KEF Q200c or KEFQ300 (Can I lay the q300 on it's side?)
SRSL - KEF Q100

ARX Setup 1:
LCR - ARX A2B
SRSL - ARX A1B

ARX Setup 2:
LCRSRSL - ARX A2B

Ascend Acoustics Setup:
LR - CMT-340s
C - CMT-340C
SR SL - CBM-170
Edited by jfoul - 1/13/13 at 5:22pm
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post #5585 of 6024
1/13/13 at 4:44pm
I just finished up publishing data from the Q100 drive unit testing:
http://medleysmusings.com/kef-q100-drive-unit-testing/


Here's a sample...




To those who remembered Zaph saying he'd like to see Klippel testing on the suspension because he believed it would show a shift... well, he was right:






This is my favorite part. I measured the tweeter's response with the woofer at rest, then fixed out via a 9v battery and then fixed in (9v battery again). This was done to see what impact this had on the tweeter's response. Here's a result:







I'll make the plea one last time for anyone who happens to own a set of the R300/R500 units to consider shooting me an email to discuss a test I'd like to do. I'd really like to test the 5" driver from the R-series Kef speakers to see how it performs against the Q100 5" driver above. Although, in order to purchase a replacement driver I have to have a serial number and I just can't afford to buy a set of these speakers to purchase a raw driver to test. If anyone here would be interested in helping me with this please shoot me a PM or email at hardisj@gmail.com.

Thanks,
Erin
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post #5586 of 6024
1/13/13 at 5:16pm
The r 600c can be used as left center and right? I would assume that it should be better then a r300 for mains?
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post #5587 of 6024
1/13/13 at 5:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by truwarrior22 View Post

The r 600c can be used as left center and right? I would assume that it should be better then a r300 for mains?
I would go R700 L/R and R600c. A horizontal speaker is a compromise.
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post #5588 of 6024
1/13/13 at 10:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfoul View Post

Alright, I've been looking around some more. I at least have my rough sizes and sub nailed down. Below are some of the configurations I'm considering. I'm leaning towards the KEF because of the front ports, but I can swing something with back ports. I would probably buy the KEF from Acessories4less, which seem to be certified/refurb... the other setups would be new. Kind of worried about the " Cosmetic Imperfection" descriptions from A4L of the KEF.

Room: 12.4 ft x 12.4 ft which opens into a dining room.
Speaker Location LR SRSL: Located closer to the wall, but I can manage 1ft clearance from the back of the speakers if I go back port.

My A/V: Yamaha RX-V673
Subwoofer: HSU VTF-2 MK4


KEF setup
LR - KEF Q300
C - KEF Q200c or KEFQ300 (Can I lay the q300 on it's side?)
SRSL - KEF Q100

ARX Setup 1:
LCR - ARX A2B
SRSL - ARX A1B

ARX Setup 2:
LCRSRSL - ARX A2B

Ascend Acoustics Setup:
LR - CMT-340s
C - CMT-340C
SR SL - CBM-170

Yes, the Q300 can be laid on it's side as a center.

All three options are very good speakers. If the KEF's have an advantage it would be slightly better imaging because of the Uni-Q drivers. But I imagine you would be happy with either set ; )
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post #5589 of 6024
1/13/13 at 10:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bikinpunk View Post

I just finished up publishing data from the Q100 drive unit testing ... I'll make the plea one last time for anyone who happens to own a set of the R300/R500 units to consider shooting me an email to discuss a test I'd like to do. I'd really like to test the 5" driver from the R-series Kef speakers to see how it performs against the Q100 5" driver above. Although, in order to purchase a replacement driver I have to have a serial number and I just can't afford to buy a set of these speakers to purchase a raw driver to test. If anyone here would be interested in helping me with this please shoot me a PM or email at hardisj@gmail.com.

Thanks,
Erin

Good work! Wish I could help you. I'd be very interested in seeing a comparison of the Q100 and R series 5" Uni-Q drivers. (Curious though - the specs list the Q100 Uni-Q as 5.25".)

Also according to the specs ...

The R300/200/500/600/700/900 use a 5" Uni-Q while the R100 uses a 5.25" Uni-Q. The LS-50 also uses a 5.25" Uni-Q.

I would also be very interested in a comparison of the LS-50 Uni-Q to the R series Uni-Q.

Have you considered calling KEF America directly?
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post #5590 of 6024
1/14/13 at 10:08pm
Do the R300 speakers have good full/clean mids and "sparkle" in the highs? I don't want hollow sounding mids and bright thin highs. The bass looks like it should be good especially since I have a subwoofer. Just trying to figure out if I should send the time trying to audition them or not. Right now I have BP7000SC which have too much bass for my room, lack a bit in the lower mids, and the highs are pretty good, but not what I'm looking for.
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post #5591 of 6024
1/15/13 at 8:50am
your first sentence describes them perfectly. Can't think of any other speaker that i could describe in such a short sentence. There's always something i would have to go into detail about.
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post #5592 of 6024
1/15/13 at 5:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bikinpunk View Post

I just finished up publishing data from the Q100 drive unit testing:
http://medleysmusings.com/kef-q100-drive-unit-testing/

Thank you for the write up.

I own a pair of LS-50's...love'em!

I usually listen at low levels, while working, and they are a perfect fit.
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post #5593 of 6024
1/17/13 at 8:55pm
Well I thought I would join in -

I have had a KEF 3005 SE (Black) for a few years now, upgarded (with money in my pocket) from a Bose IV Lifestyle - best thing I ever did. I only have a small HT room so needed some small speakers that were decent and will recommend these to anyone. I owned a mid-high level Jamo setup before downsizing and honestly these KEFs still produce better sound than that system

I run it through an Onkyo 578 (I think its 578, first gen 3d capable one).. Either way very happy with my budget setup smile.gif
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post #5594 of 6024
1/18/13 at 6:35am
Not surprised after hearing Kef speakers myself. I might have to look into those 3005's. Don't know if i should dish out the money right now for my dedicated 2.0 system or not. Thinking something cheaper, receiver and subwoofer.
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post #5595 of 6024
1/18/13 at 7:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by truwarrior22 View Post

Do the R300 speakers have good full/clean mids and "sparkle" in the highs? I don't want hollow sounding mids and bright thin highs. The bass looks like it should be good especially since I have a subwoofer. Just trying to figure out if I should send the time trying to audition them or not. Right now I have BP7000SC which have too much bass for my room, lack a bit in the lower mids, and the highs are pretty good, but not what I'm looking for.

What did you set the sub level to?

10 o'clock or even 9 o'clock ?

I think anything above 10 o'clock will muddy the midrange. HTM set the BP7000 to 10 o'clock.
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post #5596 of 6024
1/18/13 at 8:00am
The Stereophile measurement of the LS50 was so nice. Not as great as the 201/2, but I think better than any of the R-series I've seen.

I think LS50 x 5 plus Funk 18.0 unpowered sub would be a killer 5.1 system for both movies & music.
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post #5597 of 6024
1/18/13 at 11:36am
Mmm That does sound like a good setup but it will still be very expensive lol....decisions decisions
How is the bass on the ls50? I can't comprehend how it wouldn't be lacking compared to the R300.
I can't say i'm a big fan of bookshelves that are 2 way. Even though some of them do an alright job separating the bass from the mids
i could still always tell they were coming from the same driver and didn't really like it that much.
Would not be surprised if the ls50 was different somehow though as i really have grown very very fond of kef
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post #5598 of 6024
1/18/13 at 12:32pm
Hello All. New member here.

I have a pair of K-120 speakers, bought new in '87 or '88. Anyway, I recently discovered the woofer surrounds deteriorated. I am about to try do replace the foam with a kit from Simply Speakers. However, I was wondering whether anyone of you KEKophiles could recommend a replacement woofer that does not require modifications to fit?

Thanks in advance.
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post #5599 of 6024
1/18/13 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bthrb4u View Post


How is the bass on the ls50?

Not great below 80Hz, but that's what great subs are for. biggrin.gif

My TAD 2201 has 8" woofers, but it doesn't have much bass below 80Hz either. But doesn't matter. My dual Funk 18.0 subs seamlessly take care of that. biggrin.gif
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post #5600 of 6024
1/21/13 at 4:59pm
Hey guys I hope I'm not intruding on this thread, but it seemed to be the most logical place to pose this question. Has anyone heard a direct comparison between the LS50 and the Q300? I ask because I will not be able to audition the Q300 prior to purchasing, but I heard the LS50 recently and was absolutely blown away. I know it's a difficult comparison since one lists for over twice that of the other, but I'm very interested in hearing what people have to say. The thing I loved about the LS50 was how the speaker sounded so much larger than it actually was and it's source presence (I hope that makes sense!) seemed to be about 10x that of the actual speaker. Do they have a similar "house" sound? I would assume that the main difference would be the composure at lower frequencies due to the box differences, but that's just me guessing. I absolutely loved the detail and smooth upper frequencies and would hope they would be similar in that regard. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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post #5601 of 6024
1/21/13 at 6:43pm
I would have to say that the q300 will not sound AS big but still has a large image (the image will seem more like an actual person than a giant singing to you lol which neither is a bad thing). The LS50 has a curved cabinet that aids in dispersion and gives it a much larger sound. The q series tweeter will not be as detailed and will seem a little veiled compared to the ls but being a uni-q design you don't hear where the highs are coming from and they simply merge with the rest of the large sound coming from the little speakers. You can tell the tweeter is a little brother to the higher end series which are simply amazing and being that they don't do harm to the sound like some tweeters i have heard, the q series is a great design and plays well but you just don't get the awesome sauce you get with the higher end series.
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post #5602 of 6024
1/21/13 at 6:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by B-Ben View Post

Hey guys I hope I'm not intruding on this thread, but it seemed to be the most logical place to pose this question. Has anyone heard a direct comparison between the LS50 and the Q300? I ask because I will not be able to audition the Q300 prior to purchasing, but I heard the LS50 recently and was absolutely blown away. I know it's a difficult comparison since one lists for over twice that of the other, but I'm very interested in hearing what people have to say. The thing I loved about the LS50 was how the speaker sounded so much larger than it actually was and it's source presence (I hope that makes sense!) seemed to be about 10x that of the actual speaker. Do they have a similar "house" sound? I would assume that the main difference would be the composure at lower frequencies due to the box differences, but that's just me guessing. I absolutely loved the detail and smooth upper frequencies and would hope they would be similar in that regard. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Certainly not intruding, I think that is a key purpose to have the thread. I have not heard either, but based on what others who I respect and have similar benchmarks to compare have said, the Q300 would be quite good, the LS50 superb! A 5.2 system with LS50s would be killer. I have been a Kef fan for years but know of some who have never been but have been now swayed by the LS50s.
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post #5603 of 6024
1/21/13 at 7:01pm
The R100 would be the closest is you're going for similar sound but cheaper
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post #5604 of 6024
1/21/13 at 7:33pm
Thanks for all the quick and honest responses!

@bthrb4u: Yeah, even the R100 is above my budget. I'm looking at around 600 max. I figured the box would make a big difference, but for some reason I thought that the tweeter was almost identical. I guess appearances are deceiving.

@jima4a: The LS50 sent me into sonic nirvana! Maybe in a few years. I'm actually comparing them to the speakers in your sig (685), I just have a hard time going with speakers I've never heard!
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post #5605 of 6024
1/22/13 at 2:46am
While I have not heard the Q300, I did compare the 685s to the Kef IQ30s - spent an entire Saturday afternoon doing it. I don't have my notes anymore but I remember they were close but I gave the edge to the 685s mostly due to the tweeter. The 1" tweeter on the 685 had more air than the 3/4" on the IQ30. The Q300s have 1" tweeters and from what I have read my guess is the Q300s should have the edge on the 685s. However, that is still speculation and what YOU like most is what matters. The place you heard the LS50s have no Q series to audition?
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post #5606 of 6024
1/22/13 at 4:13am
Hello All:

I am posting my request once again to all you KEFphiles. I know there are many out there who can provide this advice. Thanks.

I have a pair of K-120 speakers, bought new in '87 or '88. Anyway, I recently discovered the woofer surrounds deteriorated. I am about to try and replace the foam with a kit from Simply Speakers. However, I was wondering whether anyone of you could recommend a replacement woofer that does not require modifications to fit?

I really appreciate the help.

Cheers.
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post #5607 of 6024
1/22/13 at 4:40am
Call Kef US and ask for parts. They may be able to point you in the right direction. (732) 683-2356
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post #5608 of 6024
1/22/13 at 7:51am
Maybe get on audiogon.com and do a little digging to find someone who buys, sells, trade a lot of speakers and in particular has sold KEF. Try e-mailing them and they might keep an eye open for you and might be able to point you in the direction of another seller. Best of luck
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post #5609 of 6024
1/22/13 at 8:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jima4a View Post

While I have not heard the Q300, I did compare the 685s to the Kef IQ30s - spent an entire Saturday afternoon doing it. I don't have my notes anymore but I remember they were close but I gave the edge to the 685s mostly due to the tweeter. The 1" tweeter on the 685 had more air than the 3/4" on the IQ30. The Q300s have 1" tweeters and from what I have read my guess is the Q300s should have the edge on the 685s. However, that is still speculation and what YOU like most is what matters. The place you heard the LS50s have no Q series to audition?

Unfortunately no, and they have no plans stocking them. According to them "the PSB Image B6 has more bass for the money, so it's not worth having them in stock." I actually called and/or emailed every KEF dealer within 100 miles and not a single one has them set up for audition or has plans to do so. They did have the X300A powered speakers; although I don't know if that model is based off of the Q or the R series...
Edited by B-Ben - 1/22/13 at 8:19am
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post #5610 of 6024
1/22/13 at 12:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by B-Ben View Post

Unfortunately no, and they have no plans stocking them. According to them "the PSB Image B6 has more bass for the money, so it's not worth having them in stock." I actually called and/or emailed every KEF dealer within 100 miles and not a single one has them set up for audition or has plans to do so. They did have the X300A powered speakers; although I don't know if that model is based off of the Q or the R series...

I would try hunting audiogon for a used Q300 or Q100 or anything Q. Buy it cheap, audition, then sell... I bough R300s of audiogon for $1100 about a month old, R500s for $1600 brand new, so if you lucky you might find R100s for cheap.
Look for Q300 for around $400 and you can resell them for the same price easy.

I'm sure Q300s will be good for the money, but not as clean and refined as LS50s.
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