Listened to KEF's yesterday.
pearsall001
Posts: 5,093
My dealer just took on the KEF line & he had the New Q Series Q700 floorstander & the Reference 203 floorstander. He's adding more but for now that's all he had on the floor. For starters I listened to the Q700 that were paired up with Granite Audio tube mono blocks. In fact you won't find much in the SS areana as Stephen & his clientel are all tube freaks. The Q700 was a remarkable sounding speaker especially with it's modest MSRP of $1400. In fact as new customers came in they were immediately drawn into the room where they were playing. All comments were the same...what a fantastic across the board sounding speaker. It really was bewildering how they coaxed that much performance at it's modest price tag.
Moving on to the next room where the REF 2003 were playing, paired up with a gorgeous Nightingale tube amp. At their 10K MSRP these puppies were drooling eye candy along with the sound to match their beauty. I was as if you were in the middle of the orchestra. At their price tag you would expect such performance & you were definetely not let down in the least. The REF series are just that good. The other models including a nice selection of monitors will be arriving shortly. This is another excuse for a roadtrip in the near future.
Moving on to the next room where the REF 2003 were playing, paired up with a gorgeous Nightingale tube amp. At their 10K MSRP these puppies were drooling eye candy along with the sound to match their beauty. I was as if you were in the middle of the orchestra. At their price tag you would expect such performance & you were definetely not let down in the least. The REF series are just that good. The other models including a nice selection of monitors will be arriving shortly. This is another excuse for a roadtrip in the near future.
"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
Post edited by pearsall001 on
Comments
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I regret selling my KEF iQ setup 3 years ago. Best speaker system I've ever owned. :mad: @ this economy!Display: Sony 42" LCD
Sources: Harman Kardon DVD-27,
Panasonic DMP-BDT110 blu ray player
AVR: Sony STR-DA2400ES
Amps: Sonance Sonamp 260(fronts),
Kenwood KM-894(surrounds)
Fronts: NHT 2.5
Center: NHT VS-1.2A
Surrounds: NHT Super One
Subwoofer: SVS PB10-ISD -
Been a fan/owner since 1987...where have you folks been?
CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint. -
I always enjoyed the vintage KEF's, haven't had an opportunity to demo any of the more recent offerings. Still looking for a bookshelf speaker to swap in and out with my Polk 5B's in the office rig. KEF is always at the top of the list.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
My first KEF, 1984, paid with my first Visa card...
http://www.kef.com/history/en/1980/caprice2.asp
powered by Marantz 1122DC:
http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/1122dc.htmlI am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie. -
I saw that Amazon has the Kef Q700's for $629 with free shipping, it's a sweet looking speaker but i've never got to hear one. Sounds like they're worth checking out. Thanks for the heads up.
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They have great, along with some not so great lines. I wouldn't mind owning anything from their reference series, and their "Concept Blade" makes me tight in the pants."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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Been a kEF fan since 86 with the C series. My first pair of real speakers.
Phil next time you visit Quest for Sound give me a ring. I'm 10 miles from there... -
They have great, along with some not so great lines. I wouldn't mind owning anything from their reference series, and their "Concept Blade" makes me tight in the pants.
Of course, that's every manufacturer I've heard so far. It doesn't mean they have crap but they certainly have less than stellar examples compared to others in the lineup historically.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint. -
They have great, along with some not so great lines. I wouldn't mind owning anything from their reference series, and their "Concept Blade" makes me tight in the pants.
Their New Q series actually has trickle down technology from the "Concept Blade". Maybe that's why the Q700 sounded so remarkable. I can't wait to hear the Q300 monitor & the Q600 center.Been a kEF fan since 86 with the C series. My first pair of real speakers.
Phil next time you visit Quest for Sound give me a ring. I'm 10 miles from there...
Will do Bill."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
I always enjoyed the vintage KEF's, haven't had an opportunity to demo any of the more recent offerings. Still looking for a bookshelf speaker to swap in and out with my Polk 5B's in the office rig. KEF is always at the top of the list.
H9
I'd highly recommend a pair of C-55's.--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out. -
Been a kEF fan since 86 with the C series. My first pair of real speakers.
Phil next time you visit Quest for Sound give me a ring. I'm 10 miles from there...
My second cool speaker was the C15(1986) w/ the outboard powered subwoofer they offered as an option. Neat to hear about another C convert. They were surrounds for my Polk Monitor 10 but after buying them I used them as mains since they sounded so good and I had to revisit my library for awhile.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint. -
pearsall001 wrote: »Their New Q series actually has trickle down technology from the "Concept Blade". Maybe that's why the Q700 sounded so remarkable. I can't wait to hear the Q300 monitor & the Q600 center.
Will do Bill.
What does that new tweeter do? From the pictures it looks like it has a spoke like wave-guide over the aluminum dome?
I've always liked some of KEFs point source (that's what they used to call that approach wasn't it--a lot of speaker companies in the 80s were touting the idea of sound coming from one common/or composite set of drivers). As Mark points out, though, some of their speakers could be too forward...depending.
But I remember liking the satellite system they had a while back as one of the better HTs in a box. But that retailed for close to 2Gs--if I remember correctly!
I'd definitely like to hear this new series.
cnhCurrently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!
Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
[sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
