KEF speakers

[kiranjoshi7]

Hi friends,
Coming back after long gap which same question.
My set up for living room of 15*10 feet is denon 1713 with KEF Q300 front speakers.
Now I want to add centre and surround in step wise manner. I don't think subwoofer is needed for small sized room.
Kindly suggest good brand and model compatible with this set up. Main criteria is good, clear SQ. But need little compact size speakers. Frankly KEF are bulky. Budget for centre with surround is around Rs 30k.
Waiting for geeks reply.
Regards,

 

[shkumar4963]

Has anyone in this forum tried KEF LS50. They are all the rage for the last 2 years. Stereophile ranks then next to 20000 USD speakers in class A. R300 from Kef are similarly priced. How do they compare.

 

[shkumar4963]

Someone talked about quality of old hindi music. And yes fir that music Kef speakers may be too revealing. But since you buy speakers for more than a few years and understanding that newer hindi recordings are much better I think KEF is a better choice for general Hindi music. They are excellent in vocal range and most hindi music is vocal predominant.

I do have one question though. I live in the US and buying hindi CD is not an option any more. Is there a site where I can buy high res Hindi Mp3 songs. Anything above 128kbps will be acceptable. Please help..

 

[shkumar4963]

To Kiran Joshi. For HT you probably should stay with KEF center channel speakers preferably in Q series. And I would also recommend a sub when budget permits.

 

[joshiks7]

hi.
Whats ideal sequence?
Centre, then surround, if needed woofer. Right?
Kindly suggest exact model please.
Regards,

 

[shkumar4963]

Yes. First center. I would say stay with Q series. Look at the website, there may be two choices. Then surround. These could be a bit cheaper may be Q100 or even another brand. But do audition if another brand. Finally sub that is ported if using for HT or sealed if for Music.

 

[joshiks7]

Yes. First center. I would say stay with Q series. Look at the website, there may be two choices. Then surround. These could be a bit cheaper may be Q100 or even another brand. But do audition if another brand. Finally sub that is ported if using for HT or sealed if for Music.

hi,
There is only one choice then if its KEF, kef Q200c
Profx - Advanced Audio Solutions
What to do?

 

[shkumar4963]

Yes. But think about this. For a HT system center speaker is the most important. Most dialog and other content will come from that. Of course for music they are not needed and two front speakers are all that is needed. I have seen a few people using two main speakers brought closer to the TV and set HT without a center speaker. But I will not recommend that. The dialogs will not be very clear and focused to the character on TV. So if you must have HT then will have to go with Q200. Otherwise focus on music and get a sub as budget permits.

 

[shkumar4963]

Also for HT you definitely need a sub. So may be combine sub with center speaker purchase and wait till budget permits.

 

[joshiks7]

Yes. But think about this. For a HT system center speaker is the most important. Most dialog and other content will come from that. Of course for music they are not needed and two front speakers are all that is needed. I have seen a few people using two main speakers brought closer to the TV and set HT without a center speaker. But I will not recommend that. The dialogs will not be very clear and focused to the character on TV. So if you must have HT then will have to go with Q200. Otherwise focus on music and get a sub as budget permits.

ok boss. I shall go ahead with this.
Thx

 

[shkumar4963]

Just auditioned B&W CM1, CM5 and PNC. Here is my take. And remember it is very personal. I did not like CM1. They just had too much loose bass at the bottom. And that loose bass was making vocals and other instruments not very crisp and clear. Dholak was ruining the vocals. Then we moved to CM5. The same problem but with both Bungs in the port, they manage to contain that bass boom somewhat. Then came PNC. That had much tighter bass and very crisp sound. We liked them best among the three. In fact CM1 was judged unacceptable for music. May be a good choice for surrounds. Then we moved on to KEF speakers. R300 were similar to CM5 but with better bass control and a bit clearer upper frequencies. We really liked the LS50. They were like PNC and may be a bit better in tighter bass. But they lacked a bit of lower frequencies. But for the clarity of music and instruments, they were the best speakers that I heard. For people looking for a better bass one can add a sub. But for me the bass was enough and very tight.

 

[shkumar4963]

PMC were PMC twenty 22. Sorry for missing that important detail.

 

[shkumar4963]

Just auditioned B&W CM1, CM5 and PNC. Here is my take. And remember it is very personal. I did not like CM1. They just had too much loose bass at the bottom. And that loose bass was making vocals and other instruments not very crisp and clear. Dholak was ruining the vocals. Then we moved to CM5. The same problem but with both Bungs in the port, they manage to contain that bass boom somewhat. Then came PNC. That had much tighter bass and very crisp sound. We liked them best among the three. In fact CM1 was judged unacceptable for music. May be a good choice for surrounds. Then we moved on to KEF speakers. R300 were similar to CM5 but with better bass control and a bit clearer upper frequencies. We really liked the LS50. They were like PNC and may be a bit better in tighter bass. But they lacked a bit of lower frequencies. But for the clarity of music and instruments, they were the best speakers that I heard. For people looking for a better bass one can add a sub. But for me the bass was enough and very tight.

Read PMC not PNC. Sorry for the auto correct in my smartphone.

 

[CryptBala]

If you are starting go with Q300 thats the right way to get started.... get a Rotel RA10 or RA12... Marantz doesn't have that analogue touch of rotel... but has digital inputs.. you can consider PM6005

 

[shkumar4963]

Thanks Bala. But why Q300 rather than R300. Also did you audition LS50. How do they compare in your opinion.