KEF Blade arrived today

SCompRacer

Happy to hear you are enjoying them.

By looking at the specs, I can see where a sub might be needed. Frequency response is 40Hz - 35kHz ±3dB, 28kHz - 45Hz -6dB. 3dB are the real numbers. Room size and placement will determine how much of that 40Hz you will hear in your listening position. It may actually be a couple to double digit dB below your higher frequencies. Just because a speaker goes 25Hz to 25kHz +- 1.5 dB does not mean you get 25Hz in the room in your listening position. And that’s a fact.

I strongly disagree with your experience about adding subs to a two channel system. Matter of fact I say BS, you have more to learn. Subwoofers are highly specialized woofers that operate in a narrow Hz range. Well-designed subs do not need thousands of watts to do their job. They can be as fast or faster than the woofers in your speaker.

If you can’t get subs to enhance a speakers or room issues lower Hz voids without calling attention to them, you bought the wrong subs or didn’t do your job implementing them. Proper implementation may involve a mini DSP to further null specific frequencies. For instance it is common to have a 50Hz spike when you add subs to a two channel set up. In other words you can’t reduce that specific frequency with just the adjustments on the backs of the subs, so you have to reduce it in the signal sent to the sub. Sub placement in a two channel system can be just as critical as speaker placement due to bass cancellation issues.

I use a pair of subs to shore up my 25-35Hz range cause no speaker I know of is going to play down to 25Hz in 10,000 cubic feet of space. Some folks say it’s my speakers. When they do I know they don’t understand bass in large spaces. A true audiophile should know everything about their system, setup and interaction with the room.

The thing to do is consult a music chart for the types of music you listen to and see how low in Hz the instruments go. Yes you will get some room gain but you can also get cancellation; the bass won’t be where you are sitting. Hence the use of bass traps and experimenting with speaker placement. If your music doesn’t contain any frequencies you don’t get at your listening position you are golden. If it does contain frequencies you aren’t going to hear, you are missing something.

Unlike higher frequencies, bass is omnidirectional. It spreads and has lengths. Walk/crawl around your room and see where it is the strongest and weakest.

brianle

Thanks for the first impressions write up. So ... how long do you think you'll keep them, PFB?

polkfarmboy

Not as long as the Krell amp you sold me lol.

brianle

Put my name in the potential buyers waiting list

polkfarmboy

Ok I will put you top of the list!!

Scomp, you are right about me not knowing how to integrate subs and stuff because I dont. I just know what I hear and what I hear is eight big bass drivers that have a better quality sound than my Martin Logan subs. I think it may be due to the fact that most subs have sub par amplification.

gudnoyez

Bass panels on both side of each speaker my bad. I bet April turned quite a few heads back in the day, I still keep staring at that Kef to the right of her

gfong

Look good man, hope they work out for you.

SCompRacer

polkfarmboy wrote: »

I just know what I hear and what I hear is eight big bass drivers that have a better quality sound than my Martin Logan subs. I think it may be due to the fact that most subs have sub par amplification.

I would think for the price KEF would get that bass thing very right. Some folks felt that ML did not have the best bass implementation on their ESL's. Mine had transmission line bass modules. An eight foot long folded port in the base controlled by an active crossover. Bass was not a problem.

Like in life, in audio, you get what you accept. It takes getting the knowledge in order to get the best implementation possible. That's all I'm about. Once upon a time I considered myself an audiophile. Several years ago I demoted myself to audio enthusiast because I did not understand the interaction between the room and speakers.

Hey, if you're rich you can pay people to do the setup for you. If you're rich and smart, you'll know what the guy you're paying should be doing to set it up right.....lol

polkfarmboy

Well scomp I dont yet understand the room and am neither rich or smart so where does that leave me?. I will get into researching brisons laws and implementing them once I hang my hat.

SCompRacer

No worries Kevin, I ain't rich either so I do a lot of reading and try to understand it all. Every now and then it all clicks. Just read some of the primers the acoustics sites put up. GIK, RealTraps, etc. You don't need to be able to teach it, just the basics will help.

I've had folks here close their eyes as I remove the acoustic treatments and then put them pack. Quite a few have treated their listening rooms after they heard the differences.

boston1450

Now PFB dont be knocking them thing over throwing your scarf around your neck before jumping into the sports car of yours & hurting them skinny jeans now hope you & mrs's are enjoying yourselves breaking them in
..
J/k

iskandam

Wow congrats man! I heard the Blades at T.H.E. Show a couple of years back paired with all dCS (or was it MSB?) gear and the sound was absolutely fabulous. I just sat back and listened without even trying to evaluate anything because everything they played sounded right and effortless.

To show how inert the cabs are, he put a penny on top of each speaker and cranked out a bass heavy drum track. The bass was powerful, clean, and quick without any overhang. The penny stayed there the whole time

It was truly an ear opener and put many higher $$ rooms to shame.

polkfarmboy

Yep skip we have have gotten the point of room treatment lol, and yes I have now have some.

Today I am listening to Neil Diamond and it is a live recording and its just beautiful to hear. The KEF remind me so much of my Electrostats in some ways when I hear vocals. Isk I mirror your thoughts on these and I am gona try that trick with the coin, the bass quality just punishes. I am sittin here with the KEF ls 50 bookies and taking turns of listening to them then the Blades.

polkfarmboy

The MBL pre has just been delivered so now its party time, this should take the performance up a few notches!

brianle

PFB is on a roll lol

polkfarmboy

I cannot wait to get enough kef ls50s in so that I can have 5 of them withthe blades and then run it through ARC on the Anthem D2v and watch Interstellar on bluray.

codyc1ark

Yeah, I want to watch an awesome LFE bluray and not have 18hz kicking me in the chest. Sounds like a time.

Joey_V

MBL pre and KEF blades, you're rolling in it bro. Congrats

polkfarmboy

Joey_V wrote: »

MBL pre and KEF blades, you're rolling in it bro. Congrats

I will end up selling them then crying about it, just like the Mit oracle hd90 speaker cable. I still regret that to this day but its all part of a journey Iam on to win some loose some and experience as much as i can.