KEF vs Genie

yarand

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I have a Panasonic Viera & a Panasonic ER-85 DVD, and I am looking at buying a Yamaha DSPAX750SE to provide the audio link.
2 questions:
1 - Has anyone had chance to compare KEF's 2005.2 with the new M-S Genie speakers? I am torn between the two; and
2 - The DVD only has digital optical output - do I need to buy expensive cable (e.g. QED Qunex OT) or will I notice no difference using something cheaper like Profigold?
Thanks in anticipation of helpful reply(ies).
 
Pm Tons of fun about is as he works for MS or maybe he will be arround shortly:D
 
Genie reviews start from next (Edited as I'm having a thick day) month. I'm saying nothing about sound vs the KHT due to my bias but I really would urge you to wait to give it a listen when it does come out. Mrs Tons who is one of the AP listening panel (yes my own girlfriend is and I am not :blush: ) was hugely complimentary of Genie having previously dismissed sub sats as "lumpy." All panel tests are done blind as a matter of course.
 
Can anyone tell me please how I connect QED airloc banana plug terminations to the Yamaha DSPAX750SE speaker terminals? The Yamaha has screw caps for attaching bare wires, but apparently banana plugs can be attached instead (for a better connection).
Thanks in anticipation.
 
Take the plug and push is firmly agains the end of the terminal. There will be a pop or small crack and the plastic safety guard will give way allowing the plug in :thumbsup:.
 
Thanks for that - I thought I'd wasted my money buying the plugs despite QED's (own) recommendation.
 
Just to resurrect this thread and blow our own trumpet a bit- the Genie system beat all (including the Eggs) in this months WHF with a solid 5 star rating. Company now in a pub going frame of mind :clap:.
 
Look forward to seeing that review, my copy of WHF hasn't arrived yet. Anybody else reviewing it this month?

Will the sats and sub be available seperately, I might finally replace those Elac Cinema 1 sats that I am currently using for my SBR and SBL channels. If so, what will be the retail costs of each sattelite and the sub by itself?
 
The price breakdown should be (remember we can't "fix" a price this is TSP)
Package (5 channels) £800
Pair 402's £180
404 Centre £160
409 Sub £280
 
That is great value for what you get, these things are going to sell like hot cakes :D Well done MS :)
 
Tons,

Do the Genie sats come with grills and if so are there any pictures with them on?

Did I see somewhere they are also available in black, again any pictures?

Thanks ... Pat
 
They come with grilles although I cannot find a picture of that (I might be able to wield a digital camera and snap one) and yes there is a black version with photo's available soon. The sub however does not come in black.
 
Has anyone heard or bought these yet? I am thinking of buying these to go with a Denon 3805......

Thanks
 
the genie package got 5 stars from WHF , same as the KEF 2005.2. However , overall the genie setup won the test. this could have been due to other factors rather than performance , so i would urge you to demo both before making yr decision. try to use the same sources if possible.
 
Do the Genie sats come with grills and if so are there any pictures with them on?
There was a picture in last months FHM , the one with girls aloud in and Anna Nicholle Smith :eek: :devil: . Black , whith MS in full across the middle
 
Attached is a hasty photo of a black genie for those who are interested.
Ed
 

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NC11 said:
the genie package got 5 stars from WHF , same as the KEF 2005.2. However , overall the genie setup won the test. this could have been due to other factors rather than performance ,

If the Genie didnt out perform the Kef's then why did they win? Are you suggesting What hifi is biased against the kefs as they are bored of recommending them? I havent read the article yet so cant comment.
 
From what I read of the article, the performance of the Genies was better than that of the KEF's.

I haven't heard the Genies yet though, but, going on what their other speakers can do, I wouldn't be surprised.

Ed, you guys going to be at the What Hi-Fi Show in Noivember? Would love to listen to the Genies there. You think Marantz will be showing the x500 series of receivers too?
 
As a recent purchaser of the KEF 2005.2 system, linked with a Yamaha DSPAX750, the system works brilliantly re sound effects (Independence Day, LOTR etc), but the centre satellite does seem to struggle with clarity of speech when there are other sounds (e.g. music) from the other satellites - speech is a bit muffled. I have tried increasing the centre satellite output but the problem is not really solved.
Could this simply be a case of having to adjust the KEF sub-woofer crossover etc? I am a novice in the latter field and KEF's own documentation is less than helpful here.
 
Dfour said:
If the Genie didnt out perform the Kef's then why did they win? Are you suggesting What hifi is biased against the kefs as they are bored of recommending them? I havent read the article yet so cant comment.

I'm not sure about bias , however i couldn't see where the genie package out-perfromed the KEF set , hence my comment about other factors.

Again , as I mentioned before a demo of both set is a must , and if you can use the same source(s) the better.
 
NC11 said:
I'm not sure about bias , however i couldn't see where the genie package out-perfromed the KEF set , hence my comment about other factors.

They sited better bass, integration and set up and summed up on the lines of "you'd be happy with the Kef if you hadn't heard the genie," which would imply they thought it sounded better. I think the KEF 5 star rating is valid- I've heard the eggs a great deal over the Genie developement and they haven't become poor overnight. I do however think that the Genie win was valid and given through valid reasons. We have also got a 5 star best buy in Essential HiFi and Home Cinema this morning as well so I don't think it is a one off either.
 
Kazman said:
Ed, you guys going to be at the What Hi-Fi Show in Noivember? Would love to listen to the Genies there. You think Marantz will be showing the x500 series of receivers too?

I have been subliminarily suggesting this for Manchester and WHF so we'll see what happens.
 
Jeeez,why do you guys take What-lofi? seriously,and the 5 star nonsense,go listen for yourself,who really cares for thier stars,they rated the KEF eggs 5 stars,personally I found them dire,so it didn't need to take that much for MS to sound better IMVHO.
 

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