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.
Kef vs SVS
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I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I'm looking to get a 5.1 setup and would be interested to hear opinions from anyone who's heard both the SVS SBS-01 speakers and any of the KEF iQ-series speakers (the one's most comparable to the SBS-01's would probably be the iQ1's).
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67 Posts
Me too.
If you are trying to decide between them then you need to listen to both to decide what you like better.
They are both good systems, and people that own them love them.
If somebody else listened to both they could tell you which they preferred; no one can tell you which you prefer.
If you can't go hear both, go listen to one and if you like it buy it, listen and be happy.
I have KEF, I really like them. I am jealous of the system you have described (iQ7/iQ6/iQ3) as all I have is iQ1/iQ2/2001.2
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I have never heard the SVS, but people who own them really like them too.
They are both good systems, and people that own them love them.
If somebody else listened to both they could tell you which they preferred; no one can tell you which you prefer.
If you can't go hear both, go listen to one and if you like it buy it, listen and be happy.
I have KEF, I really like them. I am jealous of the system you have described (iQ7/iQ6/iQ3) as all I have is iQ1/iQ2/2001.2
I have never heard the SVS, but people who own them really like them too.
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17,002 Posts
Just buy something, already, iSSues.
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srauly, didn't you just buy KEFs? Why don't you buy the SVS setup and then you can answer the question.
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srauly, didn't you just buy KEFs? Why don't you buy the SVS setup and then you can answer the question.
Short answer: The iQ7 sounds better than an SBS-01.
Long Answer: A friend of mine recently purchased the SBS 5.1 setup and I've heard it enough to make a rough comparison to my setup.
Overall I think the SBS setup is awesome bang for the buck. Its a pretty sweet setup for the price. I feel the same way with just about everything SVS makes. I think I'm even going to get the MTS fronts and center to replace my Kef front/center.
The Kefs are much cleaner in the highs and mids than the SBS. I haven't heard an whole SCS setup but I'm fairly sure the iQ would still sound better. The SBS have better bass than the iQ3 but not better than the iQ7. The SBS's highs sound a little rolled off compared to the crisp Kef highs. The SCS center sounds a little nicer than my old Q9c. I don't think the Q series matches very well with the iQ series as the timber is noticeably off. I haven't heard the iQ6c but was about to buy one until I decided to replace my Kef's with something... maybe an MTS front three.
There are things I like and dislike about both setups. I'm not sure if you will understand what I mean, but Kef sounds British and SVS sounds American. Neither are bad, but I think Kef has the edge in sound quality. The SVS setup was less sensitive to placement and it was kinda nice.
Something else to keep in mind is that our two rooms are very different. He has hard wood floors and a large area that is completely open to the dinning area and kitchen. I have a carpeted rectangular room that's just big enough to house my setup.
On a side note, I recently added an Emotiva XPA-3 to my setup to power my fronts and it really brought them to life. I wasn't expecting it to do much, it was more of a future proofing purchase... and it was on sale. It really brought out the bass that the iQ7 was missing and filled in the gap between the sub and the mains. The mids and highs sound a lot smoother now, before they were on the edge of being a little "forward". I'm really surprised that it made as much difference as it did to be honest.
Here is a list of equipment.
What I have.
iQ7 L/R
Q9C Center
iQ8ds surrounds
iQ3 rear
SVS PB10-NSD sub
Yamaha RX-V1600 Receiver
Recently (Today) added an Emotiva XPA-3
He has
SBS L/R rears
SCS Center
PB12-NSD
Yamaha RX-V663
I hope this gives you somewhat close to what you were looking for.
-Sean
Long Answer: A friend of mine recently purchased the SBS 5.1 setup and I've heard it enough to make a rough comparison to my setup.
Overall I think the SBS setup is awesome bang for the buck. Its a pretty sweet setup for the price. I feel the same way with just about everything SVS makes. I think I'm even going to get the MTS fronts and center to replace my Kef front/center.
The Kefs are much cleaner in the highs and mids than the SBS. I haven't heard an whole SCS setup but I'm fairly sure the iQ would still sound better. The SBS have better bass than the iQ3 but not better than the iQ7. The SBS's highs sound a little rolled off compared to the crisp Kef highs. The SCS center sounds a little nicer than my old Q9c. I don't think the Q series matches very well with the iQ series as the timber is noticeably off. I haven't heard the iQ6c but was about to buy one until I decided to replace my Kef's with something... maybe an MTS front three.
There are things I like and dislike about both setups. I'm not sure if you will understand what I mean, but Kef sounds British and SVS sounds American. Neither are bad, but I think Kef has the edge in sound quality. The SVS setup was less sensitive to placement and it was kinda nice.
Something else to keep in mind is that our two rooms are very different. He has hard wood floors and a large area that is completely open to the dinning area and kitchen. I have a carpeted rectangular room that's just big enough to house my setup.
On a side note, I recently added an Emotiva XPA-3 to my setup to power my fronts and it really brought them to life. I wasn't expecting it to do much, it was more of a future proofing purchase... and it was on sale. It really brought out the bass that the iQ7 was missing and filled in the gap between the sub and the mains. The mids and highs sound a lot smoother now, before they were on the edge of being a little "forward". I'm really surprised that it made as much difference as it did to be honest.
Here is a list of equipment.
What I have.
iQ7 L/R
Q9C Center
iQ8ds surrounds
iQ3 rear
SVS PB10-NSD sub
Yamaha RX-V1600 Receiver
Recently (Today) added an Emotiva XPA-3
He has
SBS L/R rears
SCS Center
PB12-NSD
Yamaha RX-V663
I hope this gives you somewhat close to what you were looking for.
-Sean
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