Is KEF Uni-Q technology really good?

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

I don’t think so. Just because q series has a product in F502 range, it doesn’t mean entire Fyne F series can be compared with Kef Q series. Fyne is one step higher. Tannoy xt6f was classified as the best floor standing speaker under 2000 pounds. I have heard q series Q350. It is no way equal to my tannoys. Let alone fyne audio.
As of terry, I would take his advise with a pinch of salt. He once said Chord qutest with LPS sounds like Chord dave.

@DB1989

Here are some ranking list from the Stereoplay/Audio German magazine. They had tested all of the speakers we are talking about here. If you pay for the reviews, you can see how each of them measures with different parameters. The ranking is the based on the points in different categories.
It depends on which price class you are looking at, to me there are no directly comparable models here with respect to pricing. These are European pricing, which is what the manufacturers had in mind while designing them. Sorry about the potato quality of the screenshot as they are copyrighted material which is from the latest edition.

 

[ajuvignesh]

Here are some ranking list from the Stereoplay/Audio German magazine. They had tested all of the speakers we are talking about here. If you pay for the reviews, you can see how each of them measures with different parameters. The ranking is the based on the points in different categories.
It depends on which price class you are looking at, to me there are no directly comparable models here with respect to pricing. These are European pricing, which is what the manufacturers had in mind while designing them. Sorry about the potato quality of the screenshot as they are copyrighted material which is from the latest edition.

Thanks for sharing. I couldn't read it properly. What does it say?

 

[gradohead]

Low volume playability + zero fatigue + detail+ separation+ big sound stage+ sound imaging + clinical/analytical nature = what else is needed ?

Also note that given the speaker's ability to play decent at low levels allows one to pair with a decent amp and not necessarily an expensive amp. I run it with a Rotel 40W @ 8 ohm but never felt the need to upgrade the amp (though some times the upgraditis bug bites)

Low volume playability doesn't work for me. I can't play ACDC in lullaby mode.

Zero fatigue doesn't bother me because I listen to intense music for short period of time. But during that period, I want to be at the edge of my seat. If I can't feel the rage of Chris Cornell when he is singing "show me how to live", then why even turn the speakers on in the first place?

I don't care much about clinical/analytical nature. I need fun speakers.

But yes, I agree that my choice of music is pretty niche. And these speakers will be good for most of the users.

But I know there will be few people who will like the attack, the grunt I am looking for. My review is mainly for them.

 

[gradohead]

I think you might have had the misfortune of having the dealer pair it with inadequate electronics, poor room acoustics, or both. I had the non Meta version for several years and they went pretty loud without the sound disintegrating.
Soul? I was not knowledgeable at that time to think of soul and musicality but I do recall it rocking hard as well as playing delicate detailed recordings with composure and poise. Well recorded stuff sounded glorious and I do recall long listening sessions without fatigue.
You are absolutely right they do much better with a nice sub or two properly integrated as they tend to roll off @80hz. But till that limit the low frequency reproduction is pretty clean and controlled.
For small to medium sized rooms I feel they do pretty well.

These speakers can be loud, but upper-mid notes are considerably lacking. I can tag them as "frail-loud" if that makes sense. It leads to comfortable listening in low volume, but it becomes less engaging. Even when I moved to Adele, it sounded nice, but it didn't give me goosebumps.

Though I do agree that my choice of music is not very mainstream.

 

[DB1989]

I don’t think so. Just because q series has a product in F502 range, it doesn’t mean entire Fyne F series can be compared with Kef Q series. Fyne is one step higher. Tannoy xt6f was classified as the best floor standing speaker under 2000 pounds. I have heard q series Q350. It is no way equal to my tannoys. Let alone fyne audio.
As of terry, I would take his advise with a pinch of salt. He once said Chord qutest with LPS sounds like Chord dave.

Lol, have you heard the F500?

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Fyne F702 > KEF R11(non Meta) > KEF R7(non Meta) > F501SP > KEF R5 (non Meta) > KEF Q950 > Fyne F502 > KEF Q750

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Low volume playability doesn't work for me. I can't play ACDC in lullaby mode.

Zero fatigue doesn't bother me because I listen to intense music for short period of time. But during that period, I want to be at the edge of my seat. If I can't feel the rage of Chris Cornell when he is singing "show me how to live", then why even turn the speakers on in the first place?

I don't care much about clinical/analytical nature. I need fun speakers.

But yes, I agree that my choice of music is pretty niche. And these speakers will be good for most of the users.

But I know there will be few people who will like the attack, the grunt I am looking for. My review is mainly for them.

My intentions are not to whitewash KEF here, but reality is they are better when driven louder. Infact in its price class LS50 Meta, R series, Reference series - they all have the lowest distortion in comparison to other speakers. They dont compress either when driven hard. If loudness is your thing, you will be hard pressed to find a different company which offers more stability than KEF's. But again, treble is on the neutral side, so if you are user to speakers with bit extra sparkle they wont appeal you. If we have a non linear speaker, music which is recorded with all instruments almost at same levels would appear still more dynamic to you. To have it dynamic on KEF recording must have it.

 

[ajuvignesh]

Lol, have you heard the F500?

Nope. But I own Tannoy xt6F. Fyne should be better than this.

 

[ajuvignesh]

Nope. But I own Tannoy xt6F. Fyne should be better than this.

Why do you have to Laugh at me for what I told? I have listened to Q350 before.

 

[DB1989]

Why do you have to Laugh at me for what I told? I have listened to Q350 before.

Ha ha, don't take it the wrong way. I simply found your confidence in a speaker you haven't heard amusing.

 

[ajuvignesh]

Ha ha, don't take it the wrong way. I simply found your confidence in a speaker you haven't heard amusing.

Ah okay. I have read multiple times that fyne f501 is kinda the successor of tannoy xt6f. Hence…..

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Ha ha, don't take it the wrong way. I simply found your confidence in a speaker you haven't heard amusing.

I think its not safe to judge even if you have a chance to listen to both speakers if they are not connected to the same electronics and listened in the same room. Keeping both speakers at same position for listening is not important, as each of them will have design differences which would eventually let us hear their best perfomances at different positions in the room.

What their potential are, can be judged to a level from the measurements, where KEFs are more true to source in terms of freq. response and distortion characteristics. Tannoys are definitely a fun speaker to listen to without EQ. KEFs fit for the people who are looking for more accurate perspective of the sound.

 

[DB1989]

I think its not safe to judge even if you have a chance to listen to both speakers if they are not connected to the same electronics and listened in the same room. Keeping both speakers at same position for listening is not important, as each of them will have design differences which would eventually let us hear their best perfomances at different positions in the room.

You're preaching to the choir

If i may add a few tidbits from my own personal experience.

1. There'll be a general position in most rooms where most box speakers will sound their best.

2. Within that general position, one might need to adjust the speakers by a few millimeters or centimeters (1) back and forth, and (2) toe in.

3. Height of the speakers to the listener is also a crucial piece of the puzzle.

4. Solid stands help a great deal in providing a cohesive and taut bass performance.

5. Notwithstanding the same electronics, unless you have the speakers "locked in", by making the abovesaid adjustments, you won't get the best performance from any given speaker.

Some of our forum members have heard my system and they can attest to the fact that a "locked in" Mission LX-2 MK-II sounded better than a KEF Q350 and Klipsch RP600M, driven by the same electronics.

I have been cycling through my speakers in a (relatively) new room that I've built and it takes me a few days of fiddling to figure out the millimeter adjustments to "lock them in"... or sometimes I get lucky.

Currently, I'm dialling in my Dynaudio Focus 160s. In their current position, they aren't even outperforming my last set that plugged in - the PSB Alpha T20s. There is no planet where the latter should sound better Ideally except where the abovesaid rules apply. Coincidentally we do!

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

There'll be a general position in most rooms where most box speakers will sound their best.

„Most“ is very important. It won’t work for all speakers. It also depends on how the bass reflex and cabinet design is done and also the dispersion characteristics of the speaker. I had two speakers which had similar sized midrange drivers And tweeter sizes.(canton vento 890/canton reference 7k) in the same room. The ventos had 8 inch woofers and the cabinet was larger but less denser. It was downfiring. The reference 7k had down firing port but there was a wavy structure towards the base which allowed 60 percent of bass to the front and 40 to the back. It generally acted like a slotted speaker with two bass slots. Ventos needed lot of space fbetween them to have seperation of instruments right. Also keeping them closer to the front wall made their soundstage very 2 dimensional(in my room). While “upgrading” to the Reference 7K, keeping them where the ventos were did sound good, but keeping them closer to the front wall gave me the best 3dimeznional soundstage, bass definition and every other parameter that one would want. Keeping them at where the ventos made them sounded good, but pushing them towards the wall made them sound even better. I had moved the ventos literally to every inch of the room before I sold them and I am pretty sure, they didn’t sound half as good as the references when they were pushed beyond the final “resting place” there I kept them!

Also my current speakers they sound good when pushed to the wall or pulled into the room, it’s rear ported and I just have to play with the port plugs.

Keep in mind that my room now is not treated and has only a thick rug and a single acoustic panel which is kept at the first reflection point as it’s a living room shared with the family ! Also I am 38 years old and my high freq hearing definitely isn’t good as it used to be when I was in my 20s. Also, I have the capabilities to hear or focus only macro changes.

 

[Dhruv.Arora]

I own the Kef q950 and q650c and love Uni Q. Provides a huge soundscape, warm sound.