Are Kef Q's a difficult load?

cribeiro

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Hi! I have made an audition comparing some speakers: Klipsch, B&W, Kef and Infinity, all with a yamaha amp and cd player, as I have at home.
I was much in favour of the Kefs, from reviews, opinions and looks, but I was disappointed. I am wondering why...
The sound was kind of dull, muffled. At least, compared with the others. Could it be that they need more power than the others? I don't understand why I felt absence of detail, when everybody talks so good about them. Could it be their sensitivity or impedance?... It doesn't seem like that, from their rating.
I hope you can give me opinions about it... Maybe they deserve a second listening...

PS: the speakers were:
B&W 603
Klipsch RF-15
Infinity Alpha 30
Kef Q3
 
The Q3 has been widely rubbished.

Look to the Q1 or Q5 for the reasons behind the good reviews. BTW, the Q3 has been superceded by a slim 3 way floorstander (Q4). My advice is to try the Q4 and see what you think then.
 
Ok, thanks... Maybe that's the reason why they stopped production and are actually being sold at the price of the Q1's... I'll try to see the Q4.
But I find it strange, because in principle the Q3 and Q1 share the same build, only the cabinet is different, and that shouldn't affect except for deep bass...
 
You're getting seduced by the looks of the Q3 aren't you.

The Q3 cost a lot more than the Q1 and didn't sound any better. Certainly didn't have the extra bass you'd expect from the bigger cabinet. So few people bought them.

The Q3 might be a limited time offer but at least listen to the Wharfedale Diamond before making up your mind. The Diamonds IMO are a bit cheap and cheesy in the build quality dept. but they sound all right.

I notice you haven't mentioned Monitor Audio yet. Is there no-one near you that stocks them?
 
:) Yes, I am seduced... And actually, although I can get them for the price of the Q1s, I won't buy them, after listening to the B&Ws. Even though they are half the price. I am also going to listen to some Magnat and Wharfedale... We will see what they sound like. Pity I can't find a dealer with all the speakers I want to listen to. I am really interested in the Wharfs and I like the looks of Magnat (I own now some Magnats already, but they are too bright, and lacking a lot of definition. They do the job with movies, though, because my center speaker is a better one from Magnat... matches tonal properties, but delivers more quality!)
I think it is possible to find Monitor Audio around here, although I've never seen them in shops around. I have seen one test made by areadvd.de. They put the Monitor Audio Bronze Series to the middle range class. Same as my center speaker, btw, and I think the B&W are far better. Not to talk about the looks :) MAybe I should look at the Silver series, to find something in the same leage... I know I can find them, but I don't know where... Yet!

I hope I can go tomorrow for some audition, although it is a little bit far from here!

Hey, thanks for all your opinions, nice input for me!
 
Do you know of eCoustics they have an index of English language online Speaker/HiFi reviews. Worth having a look, maybe it will give you some idea of what to listen for with each model. The Monitor Audio Bronze just got another five star review in What HiFi this month so I'm not sure what areaDVD.de was expecting of them to say they were average.
 
Originally posted by avanzato
The Monitor Audio Bronze just got another five star review in What HiFi this month so I'm not sure what areaDVD.de was expecting of them to say they were average.

I think you misunderstood cribeiro. The MA Bronze-Set got an outstanding review at AreaDVD. It was just ranked into the middle class in terms of pricing.

http://www.areadvd.de/hardware/monitoraudiobronze.shtml

I would go for the Silver S series. The S1 offers excellent value and stunning BQ.

Cheers,
Gomez
 
Yes I did misunderstand.

I read the areaDVD review last night and they really do like them. Well worth searching for somewhere that stocks Monitor Audio.
 
Hey, thanks for the links of ecoustics!! I didn't know that, it will be very helpful to know which products I should take into consideration! The stars are given in relation to the price, or in an absolute scale in terms of sound?

I don't think it was in terms of pricing. I meant to say what Avanzato understood, and is that they were put, in absolute musical terms, in the middle range. It could be I also got it wrong, but they way they evaluate them in the end is with the stars that tell you about the relation price to performance, and also with an absolute mark, which can go from entry level to high end (entry level, high entry level, middle range, high middle range and high end, as far as I got it).

I don't think that being "average" is nothing bad in terms of sound quality. I mean, if they were really top of the line, what would be then the Silver and Gold series? Heavenly? :)

It is only that I want something matching the quality of my yamaha amp, and it looks like I have to go for a product in the "high middle range", in terms of what areaDVD says.
 
The stars on the ecoustic consumer reviews are not in any sort of relationship to price or anything as far as I can tell. It's just what owners think of their speakers, so most of course love them or they wouldn't have bought them.

I try to ignore star ratings and just read the reviews of the speakers I'm interested in to get a feel for the good and bad points. HiFi + and Hifi News magazine don't give star ratings to their reviews anymore just a review and you make up your own mind.
 
I see... Well, I said that because that is what I read in the web site... I mean, the reviews in areadvd.de are made by one person, without taking into account any consumer...
And the stars there say "price/performance", like an attemp to evaluate what you get for the money.
Of course, in the end what counts is what you say. I keep on learning!
Thanks for your opinions.
BTW, what do you think about the reviews on Magnat floorstanding speakers that you can find in ecoustics? I didn't read many to compare with, and maybe you are more experience in "evaluating their evaluations". Does that put you off that speakers? In areadvd they rate the MAgnat Vector 77 to be as good as the Bronze's from Monitor Audio...
 
Ooops I've now added the missing 'ecoustic' to my previous post which was meant to be a warning to be careful of the Consumer rather than Editorial reviews.

As for Magnat the old generalisation about German speakers is to describe their sound as 'boom' and 'tizz'. In other words the bass and treble are slightly louder than the midrange. This gives a detailed sound with good solid bass but the 'bright' treble can possibly give the speakers a wearing/tiring sound quality. But you can't say this is the way all German speakers sound as there are so many different designs around now. Also a smooth sounding amp could sound great with those speakers but dull with a more 'neutral' design.

The review of the Magnat 77 is actually very good with the only complaint being they sound a bit 'HiFi' rather than just playing music. I think I know what that means but it's one of those ideas that has a different meaning to everyone. To me 'Hifi' speakers are the type that attracts your attention, lively and detailed but not always relaxing to listen to.
 
Ok, I understand... Thanks for the explanation.. And What would you say about the Magnat Vintage reviewed there?
I am afraid of too bright sound, because I have a yamaha amp... Maybe I should match it with something warmer, like Tannoy?
It happens that I heard the B&W and the Klipsch, which I liked but they are also "on your face", so maybe don't go well with my yammy amp...
 

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