New Q Series from KEF
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razor4077
Member
Recently went back to ProFX to audition the Kefs again. The Q300 had been sold but the Q100 was around. I had just come off an extended audition of the Dali Lektor 2, so wasn't expecting the Q100 to impress. But man, was I in for a surprise!
The Lektor 2 was excellent. Very clear, nice mids, good sound stage... a pair of speakers one could listen to for a long time without fatigue. The only thing was, it lacked that kick in the lower frequencies.
The Q100, though, was hugely impressive across the band. Contrary to the last time, I found the lows to be very strong (but not boomy). Vocals and instruments were clear and defined, and highs were not harsh. Heard a range of music - Dire Straits, Eagles, Norah Jones, Metallica, Antaheen (a lovely Bengali movie with an even nicer soundtrack... listen to it!), etc... and thereafter came to the conclusion that I suddenly had a new favourite
The ProFX guys attributed the improvement shown by the q100 over the previous time, to proper speaker placement.
Audition the Kefs if possible. Definitely worth a listen, and serious consideration if you're in the market for sub-25K bookshelf speakers!
Found this article which has a brief review of the Q series: http://www.soundsook.com/sound/189
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I had a brief demo of the Kef Q900s last weekend. I was frankly quite impressed with what I heard. First impression: the transparency of these speakers was absolutely unbelievable at the price point. I will be going back this coming weekend for a proper demo in a proper stereo setup (the first impression is based on a listen in an AVR with a blu ray player as the source!). If the first impression carries through, I think these may well be a worthwhile upgrade to my Dynaudio Audience 52's. This is the first time I have heard a speaker with a list price of under 100k that I felt may be a serious upgrade over these. Lets see if the impression stands the test of a full demo....
razor4077
Member
Keep in mind that the Q300s are pretty big and bulky speakers. They'll eat up pretty much all the real estate on a normal sized desk
Audition the Q100s too... they're more compact, and sound pretty decent too.
razor4077
Member
So after a lot of auditioning, researching and basically driving myself (and my wife!) nuts, finally settled on the Q300. Running them off a Yamaha RX V667 AVR, in bi-amped mode.
Final contenders were the Q100, Q300, PSB Image B6 and Monitor Audio Bronze BX2. Q100: wasn't available
Image B6: nice speakers, but not overly impressed
BX2: Boomerang, the store selling them had closed by the time I made it there today. Didn't feel like waiting any more....
Auditioned the Q300s again, and was very happy with them. Took the plunge. Cost me 27.2k after discount at ProFX. Also picked up Chord Carnival Silver Screen cables for the speakers at 370 bucks/metre.
Initial impressions are very positive! Looking forward to exploring the speakers and amp more
Final contenders were the Q100, Q300, PSB Image B6 and Monitor Audio Bronze BX2. Q100: wasn't available
Image B6: nice speakers, but not overly impressed
BX2: Boomerang, the store selling them had closed by the time I made it there today. Didn't feel like waiting any more....
Auditioned the Q300s again, and was very happy with them. Took the plunge. Cost me 27.2k after discount at ProFX. Also picked up Chord Carnival Silver Screen cables for the speakers at 370 bucks/metre.
Initial impressions are very positive! Looking forward to exploring the speakers and amp more
razor4077
Member
Nope. Well defined vocals and highs, but not harsh/bright from my listening experience. I'm running them off a Yamaha and the auditions were off a Denon stereo amp and Denon AVR.
i have always been a kef fan
right from the point i auditioned the original q series a couple years ago
Kef is one of the rare companies whose same line of speakers sound differnt which each update ( some find this property good and some cant understand why they would alter their signature).many brands ive heard do have differnces across thier updated lines but in kef its much more defined and prominent.
its almost as if kef has actually made an effort rather than just tweaked their existing range
as one member had posted he liked the oriignal q series better than the iQ
for bookshleves it used to be
q30 followed by iQ30 now replaced by the Q300
each having a differnt sound
the iQ series i found was the most lively of the lot,its mids and upper were spot on,
soundstage was well defined and so were the vocals .However it did lack the bottom end.For some, like me, who loved their mids this was a fine speaker for others this was too bright. i do agree with that. Paired with a marantz this speaker did get too bright,
Denon being a laid back amp was the only one that paired well
the older q series (q10,20 etc) lacked this spot on midrange,but in made up well in other departments like clean imaging and not being overly lively
In the newer Q300 it seems kef has gone back to their older q30 roots and bettered it
The bass is there and it pairs with other amps well too.
though i still prefer the denon
looks wise the Iq's were just too tasty
right from the point i auditioned the original q series a couple years ago
Kef is one of the rare companies whose same line of speakers sound differnt which each update ( some find this property good and some cant understand why they would alter their signature).many brands ive heard do have differnces across thier updated lines but in kef its much more defined and prominent.
its almost as if kef has actually made an effort rather than just tweaked their existing range
as one member had posted he liked the oriignal q series better than the iQ
for bookshleves it used to be
q30 followed by iQ30 now replaced by the Q300
each having a differnt sound
the iQ series i found was the most lively of the lot,its mids and upper were spot on,
soundstage was well defined and so were the vocals .However it did lack the bottom end.For some, like me, who loved their mids this was a fine speaker for others this was too bright. i do agree with that. Paired with a marantz this speaker did get too bright,
Denon being a laid back amp was the only one that paired well
the older q series (q10,20 etc) lacked this spot on midrange,but in made up well in other departments like clean imaging and not being overly lively
In the newer Q300 it seems kef has gone back to their older q30 roots and bettered it
The bass is there and it pairs with other amps well too.
though i still prefer the denon
looks wise the Iq's were just too tasty
How has your experience been so far, since I assume you've been listening to the Kef Q300 for a few months now? Positives, negatives? Anything to watch out for? I am going to audition the Kef Q300/100 today and might pick one up (auditioned the Monitor BX2 yesterday which were also decent, but a bit bright/harsh/crowded). I plan to match them with my Onkyo 609.
Thanks
Thanks
So after a lot of auditioning, researching and basically driving myself (and my wife!) nuts, finally settled on the Q300. Running them off a Yamaha RX V667 AVR, in bi-amped mode.
Final contenders were the Q100, Q300, PSB Image B6 and Monitor Audio Bronze BX2. Q100: wasn't available
Image B6: nice speakers, but not overly impressed
BX2: Boomerang, the store selling them had closed by the time I made it there today. Didn't feel like waiting any more....
Auditioned the Q300s again, and was very happy with them. Took the plunge. Cost me 27.2k after discount at ProFX. Also picked up Chord Carnival Silver Screen cables for the speakers at 370 bucks/metre.
Initial impressions are very positive! Looking forward to exploring the speakers and amp more
Guys, thanks for the fantastic coverage on KEF. I have personally heard the Q300 and found it absolutely stunning. My queries are
1. How much worse will the Q100 be than the Q300 for standard music on a stereo amp? Any comparisons with the Aviano-2?
2. What will be a good budget stereo amp to go with it. Denon 510 AE or will the CA 550A?
Thanks again
Sghosh
1. How much worse will the Q100 be than the Q300 for standard music on a stereo amp? Any comparisons with the Aviano-2?
2. What will be a good budget stereo amp to go with it. Denon 510 AE or will the CA 550A?
Thanks again
Sghosh
miroflex
Active Member
Hi all,
I'm surprised that no one is talking of the earlier KEF Q reference series of speakers, the Q55.2, the Q 65.2 et al. They were no doubt expensive by the standards of those days but they delivered an astounding, integrated soundstage and almost unbelievable dynamics due to their efficiency and construction.
I was very impressed with the Q65.2s, which were slightly more expensive than the Q55.2s. With a sensitivity of 91 dB, the Q55.2s were not very demanding of the amplifier. They had what KEF described as a "two and a half way design", consisting of a 19 mm ferrofluid cooled soft dome tweeter, a 160 mm polypropylene cone midfrequency/bass unit and a 160 mm bass driver in its own tuned unit. The whole was enclosed a cabinet with a heightxwidthxdepth of 852x207x276 mm and a weight of 13 kg and was front ported. It had a nominal impedance of 8 ohms, was magnetically shielded and was biwireable. It had a frequency response of 40-20,000 Hz and the crossover frequency was set at 3 kHz. Housing the extra bass in its own unit ensured that the lower frequencies were rendered in an articulate fashion without boominess while the other two units handled the midrange and treble with great clarity and superb imaging and focus across the range.
You must listen to them if you get the chance sometime.
Regards.
I'm surprised that no one is talking of the earlier KEF Q reference series of speakers, the Q55.2, the Q 65.2 et al. They were no doubt expensive by the standards of those days but they delivered an astounding, integrated soundstage and almost unbelievable dynamics due to their efficiency and construction.
I was very impressed with the Q65.2s, which were slightly more expensive than the Q55.2s. With a sensitivity of 91 dB, the Q55.2s were not very demanding of the amplifier. They had what KEF described as a "two and a half way design", consisting of a 19 mm ferrofluid cooled soft dome tweeter, a 160 mm polypropylene cone midfrequency/bass unit and a 160 mm bass driver in its own tuned unit. The whole was enclosed a cabinet with a heightxwidthxdepth of 852x207x276 mm and a weight of 13 kg and was front ported. It had a nominal impedance of 8 ohms, was magnetically shielded and was biwireable. It had a frequency response of 40-20,000 Hz and the crossover frequency was set at 3 kHz. Housing the extra bass in its own unit ensured that the lower frequencies were rendered in an articulate fashion without boominess while the other two units handled the midrange and treble with great clarity and superb imaging and focus across the range.
You must listen to them if you get the chance sometime.
Regards.
After months of research (and ending up even more confused), I finally bought a part of Kef Q300s yesterday from ProFx Bangalore. Spent a few hours auditioning the Q100s, Polk Audio and Monitor BX2s. The Q300s sounded the best to my ears (best judge). I had concerns pairing it with my new Onkyo AVR NR 609 (due to the supposed brightness of the amps) but I "hear" no problem. It sounds incredible. Have just used it in a 2.0 (stereo) mode, and not in a 5.1 setup, which I plan to over the weekend.
As they say - this is a bottomless pit. I upgraded my amp from my Yamaha to the 609, then found myself needing a new pair of fronts. Now that I have the Kef, I feel the need for a nicer (simpler) AV rack in the room. I hope my wife is not on this forum. ;-)
Will update again after spending more time with the new darlings.
Have just used it in a 2.0 (stereo) mode, and not in a 5.1 setup, which I plan to over the weekend. As they say - this is a bottomless pit. I upgraded my amp from my Yamaha to the 609, then found myself needing a new pair of fronts. Now that I have the Kef, I feel the need for a nicer (simpler) AV rack in the room. I hope my wife is not on this forum. ;-)
Will update again after spending more time with the new darlings.
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