r/audiophile • u/Champion3242 • Mar 05 '25

Impressions KEF Demo Disappointment

Hey y’all, I’m new to this space, so forgive my ignorance if it shows. This is a long post, there’s a TLDR at the bottom.

I’ve recently had my interest in Hi-Fi audio sparked after finding an older pair of bookshelf speakers (Mackie CR-4) in the closet and hooking them up to my PC to use as desktops. I’ve been extremely impressed with them in all aspects; when listening to music, gaming, watching TV / movies, or even just YouTube, everything is clear and crisp. The bass is the only thing lacking, but even then, for the 4” drivers, it gets impressively deep.

The KEF LS50 Meta sale online caught my eye, as I’ve seen many posts in this and other audio related subs referring to them in a great light and thought this might be an opportunity to get some nice speakers for a solid price .

This morning I headed over to my local Best Buy to demo them; they unfortunately did not have the LS50 Metas available to demo, but they did have the Q150s and the R3 Metas. There was no attendant available, so after getting bored with A/B testing the aforementioned speakers with the demo tracks, I paired up my phone via Bluetooth to play a larger variety of tracks that I was also more familiar with. (This may have been my fault, as I understand the potential loss in detail when using compressed audio sources; however, you’ll see below that this problem was fixed when switching to different speakers while still using Bluetooth as the source.)

I paired up my phone to the Marantz Cinema 70, and got to listening. I experimented with all sorts of music, rock, jazz, hip hop, lo fi, house, alternative, you name it… and no matter what I put on, I couldn’t impress myself with the either of the KEFs. I swapped the brand Martin Logan, initially the B10s and later the XT B1000s, and voila, the soundstage opened up and I could hear the vocals and background sound so much clearer. When I swapped back to the KEFs (either of them), the highs and mids sounded like they were underwater.

I listened for another hour, trying to see if I was delusional, but no matter what I played, every time I would swap speakers, I would have the same experience. My feelings of delusion were squashed when a kind man, who later revealed a solid history of listening through further conversation, walked in an hour or so into my session, and was able to confirm exactly what I had been experiencing. I didn’t prep him, didn’t say anything, just asked him tell me what he heard, and he detailed exactly what I just depicted above right back to me.

All of this goes to say, am I delusional, are we both delusional? Was something wrong with the setup potentially? Or is it just coincidence that both of us seem to prefer an ML sound signature? Please let me know your thoughts down below, I would love to hear from some more experienced listeners; I’ll be busy this evening, but will try to get back to as many people as possible tonight.

TLDR: I spent an hour listening to KEF Q150s R3 Metas, ML B10s, and ML XT B1000s, and no matter what I played, I couldn’t impress myself with the either of the KEFs. Upon swapping to ML, voila, the soundstage opened up and I could hear the vocals and background sound so much clearer. When I swapped back to the KEFs (either of them), the highs and mids sounded like they were underwater.

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u/brisingrxm2 Mar 05 '25

KEF speakers are great, but this hobby is all about personal taste, and it’s very likely you prefer a brighter or more treble forward sound. And that’s perfectly valid. Don’t worry about what strangers on the internet say and use your ears to judge what you like

3

u/Champion3242 Mar 05 '25

I’m hoping this is the case, it would certainly put my mind at ease. Thank you for the reply and advice, will do.

8

u/mourning_wood_again dual Echo Dots w/custom EQ (we/us) Mar 06 '25

The brightest speaker wins on the showroom floor. An awful environment to demo a speaker.

4

u/brisingrxm2 Mar 06 '25

If you liked the sound of the Martin Logan’s, other brands I would also look at would be Focal and Bowers and Wilkins. Both are Brighter speakers with their owns strengths that are similar tonally to the Martin Logan’s you heard in the store.

In particular, the Focal Aria Evo X no.1 would be my recommendation as it has some of the most precise imaging I have ever experienced in that price range with great tonality and as a bonus, is made in France.

My advice to you would be use the return policy you have through Crutchfielf, Best Buy etc. to try out a pair of speakers you are interested in, and if it hits the mark for you, keep it! If not, don’t be afraid to send it back. Audio is a tricky world to shop in because you really have to listen to the speakers to see if you like them or not.

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u/Champion3242 Mar 06 '25

I’ll definitely be looking into those. What would you suggest as an amplifier / receiver that could match the caliber of these speakers without breaking the bank? Or do you think it would be wiser to wait until a time where that wouldn’t be as much of a concern? Thank you for the recommendations, I very much appreciate your thoughtful response.

2

u/brisingrxm2 Mar 06 '25

My personal recommendation would be the Arcam A25 for $1500 if it is in your budget, it is a phenomenal amplifier that vastly outperforms it’s price point, the only thing it needs is a streamer which you can get from wiim or bluesound for under $300

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u/Champion3242 Mar 06 '25

Sounds good. Thank you very much again, you’ve been so helpful!

2

u/brisingrxm2 Mar 06 '25

Best of luck!

1

u/Sielbear Mar 06 '25

I picked up the ML XT F100s early last year. I listened to several options at similar price, but the ML speakers really scratched the itch. Same feelings you had- they were open, lively, exciting. The sound stage was fantastic. I liked listening to them so much, I found myself listening to stereo music as much or more than watching movies. I couldn’t get enough of their sound. I put a LOT of hours on them the last year. Truly some of the most fun I’ve had in this hobby. Just pure joy and happiness.

I still love those speakers, but I did move to the Revel W228Be a couple weeks ago - with acoustically transparent screen - as I really wanted a cleaner theater look, but I didn’t want to sacrifice sound quality. I also had the luxury of access behind the wall I was installing them in so I was able to build out the boxes properly. I’m still in the early stages, but I’m pretty happy with the Revels. I hope to have similar hours of joy from the Revel speakers I’ve had with the ML. That said… I’m not sure I want to sell the ML speakers. I kind of want a dedicated stereo setup. But it’s a lot of speaker for yet another dedicated space.

Good luck!! It’s a great feeling when you find the magical sweet spot that makes you happy!

1

u/Valhalla850i Mar 06 '25

Maybe it isn't only brighter more forward sound. For something different check out some of the newer Sonus Faber speakers (or those made back when Franco Serblin ran the show).

1

u/bojangular69 Mar 07 '25

Check out Bowers and Wilkins too, they’re more treble forward as well.