I would respectfully disagree with R300s being warm.
These speakers have been in my rig for 3+ years and seen a lot of combinations.
- 6 power amp sections (Marantz IA, Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Outlaw Monos, Parasound amp, AKSA amp)
- 6 preamp sections (Marantz IA, Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Schiit SYS passive preamp, Parasound preamp, Lyrita tube preamp)
- 4 DACs sections (Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Schiit Modi2 (AKM), Parasound (BB))
- 6 sources (Asus media player (OPT), TV media players (OPT), Laptop (USB), CC-Audio (OPT), Onkyo DVD/CDP (OPT/COAX/RCA), Onkyo Tape (RCA)
- 4 media types (CDs, Tapes, HDD (FLACs/WAVs/MP3s), streaming)
They have also been heard, briefly, with Sabre DACs and class D gear; won't go into these details here.
Definitely not gone thru all the above permutations and combinations, but in general they are nowhere near warm.
With the right combo, they can strike good sonic balance. With the wrong one, they shout at you.
The one issue I have noticed is a bit of errant behavior on the LF/Bass.
Bass can be loose if the the controlling amp is not up to it or muddy when boxed near walls.
Given that R3 is a upward design iteration of R300 and claims to have Reference series trickle down, it should better it.
On a demo listen of R3, the bass was definitely tighter and better textured.
The other issue, recently discovered, is I personally don't like them with Sabre DACs; bit harsh and grainy on the top end.
The electronics behind it better have tone controls.
Recently I have added a subwoofer/sub-bass unit from REL to address some of the LF behavior.
The overall system behavior and sonic signature has improved considerably with bass augmentation.
These days my go to chain for an enjoyable session is
CCA/Laptop --> Parasound NC200Pre (DAC) --> Lyrita DHT tube pre --> AKSA55 stereo pwr --> KEF R300 + REL T9i
- CCA/Laptop brings in convenience of digital/streaming
- Burr-Brown DAC brings the in the "smoothness"
- tube pre brings the "holographic image", "dynamics" and "tube goodies"
- AKSA brings incredible "depth of sound", a bit of "PRaT", and fantastic separation
- KEFs brings in that pin-point imaging and scale
- REL brings in the LF extension and "bass texture"
The "items" are my subjective impressions.
So my advice to
@metalmickey is, when auditioning, look for potential towards system behavior.
Take time to hear out as many speakers in the budget range and identify the positives and negatives.
Think how your existing electronics can harness the positives but also consider how to tackle the negatives.
To tackle what missing or "not quite right" may require:
- position/placement
- more electronics or equipment
- good source/content
- cables (maybe)
Cheers,
Raghu