''Brand New'' Kef Q Series 2017

flyingalbatross

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As many people have guessed from the heavy heavy discounting of the current Q series (seriously, even for speakers on the way out, they're priced attractively), Kef have now shown the first of the brand new 2017 Q series.

Named Q150, Q350, Q550 and so on and so forth, the new look includes a single front facing driver in a colour which matches the cabinets - available in satin black and white only. Looks like the port is now rear-facing, with optional magnetic grilles.

Can't say i'm hugely taken with them but i've always been a sucker for a nice walnut finish and I liked the slightly retro look of the old Q Series with it's horizontal line. The cabinet definitely looks er...modern

a few choice photos below, more details on Kef USA site: KEF Q Series Hi-Fi Speakers - United States

No news on pricing or availability. Most people will have guessed more detail at High-End Munich May 18-20

kef_q350_black.jpg


lifestyle_kef_q_white_bookshelf_1x.jpg

lifestyle_kef_q_black_floorstander2x.jpg
 
Interesting omissions from the line up. No Q200C or Q800ds replacements and many will be disappointed by no R50 equivalent. Only available in black or white. I think they are better looking than the outgoing model, the matching cone colour is attractive. The Q350 is a real departure from the old Q300. The KEF logo on the top reflects the R Serie design.
 
After spending a long time looking for some Q100s in a wood finish that isn't black, I finally found a nice walnut pair on eBay at the beginning of the week. They're now doing a marvelous job as rear speakers. I was a little worried when I first saw this announcement, but since there are no wood finishes and I hate black or white speakers, I'm not fussed.
 
No provisions for cloth grills then ?
 
From AVS; and now grills are optional (70$ for pair :eek: @ Kef Direct) but at least magnetically attached...

Just sent email for Kef asking about smaller center speaker, subwoofer(s), atmos modules.


The Satin Black looks very nice! Much better than the ugly black ash. :censored:
 
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Love the matching cone colour. I've never liked 'black ash' so happy they're satin. They're just a bit plain though. Extra for grills?!

Unlikely I'll get some unless they are sonically tremendous and drop in price.

Been looking at end of stock q300 5.1 packages but I think there Zensor 3 is probably a better performer for the price.
 
The grills look very similar with those that are supplied gratis with the R Serie. The magnetic capture is brilliant. Sonically they make very little, if any, difference on or off but my Rs certainly look better with them left off.
 
I wrote email to Kef and they replied back very fast. Sorry to say, but not good news as of now. I was suprised to see no Atmos upfiring speakers, cause if you think how much buzz Atmos/DTS X has been getting it`s kinda odd. Well hopefully they bring em in future. You can always put some pressure to Kef`s side, maybe they will listen us - paying customers.

Good Morning XXXX,

Thank you for reaching out to us. The new Q Series line consists of two bookshelves, the Q150 and the Q350. Three floorstanders, the Q550, Q750, Q950, and one center channel speaker the q650C.

There is no comparable model to the Q200c, the only center in the line is the Q650c. At this time there is no specific subwoofer or dolby atmos speakers as part of the new Q2017 line.

Pricing is available on KEFDirect.com

KEF Q2017 Series

If you have any additional questions please let us know.


And from AVS Forum member KenM who chatted with KEF people said;

I also mentioned the loss of the hanger bracket on the back, citing that a LOT of buyers use them instead of the Q800ds because the Q100 & Q300 are better suited to today's Dolby and DTS formats. Jason told me that's why the new series won't have a dipole. He also said the lack of a smaller center is due to sales numbers and the Q600c did better than the Q200c. How much better, he didn't know.
 
What's going on with the rated frequency response on these compared to the previous models? Seems to be similar across the range too.

Q300 - 42Hz - 40kHz (±3dB)
Q350 - 42Hz (-6dB) Free Range Field/63Hz-28kHz (±3dB)

So the Q300 wasn't really capable of that frequency response at ±3dB or the Q350 has a much narorrower frequency response?
 
What's going on with the rated frequency response on these compared to the previous models? Seems to be similar across the range too.

Q300 - 42Hz - 40kHz (±3dB)
Q350 - 42Hz (-6dB) Free Range Field/63Hz-28kHz (±3dB)

So the Q300 wasn't really capable of that frequency response at ±3dB or the Q350 has a much narorrower frequency response?
The newer model will measure a little differently to the older model due to the ports being placed differently.
Specs never really tell the full story, but with the response of the newer stuff, maybe they've gone for a response that is a bit more suitable for near wall placement. I don't have the full details as yet.
 
It seems (on paper at least), the Q150's go lower in the frequency range than the bigger Q350's and floor standing Q550's. .....[emoji32][emoji32].....very strange.
 
Ignore any -10dB ratings, and only compare +/-3dB ratings. I'm guessing KEF US have got some specs mixed up...
 
Looks like it! Rear ports don't work with the way I have my speakers. Definitely sticking with the Q100's for now.....
 
I think they could prove
Looks like it! Rear ports don't work with the way I have my speakers. Definitely sticking with the Q100's for now.....
They work extremely well on my R100s and R300s, even close to a wall. By introducing them the gap between the two ranges may narrow.
 
To be honest they look like a poor mans LS50.
 
Yeah, not sure I like the look of these as much as the previous models.
 
Looking at the pricing on the US site there is just $100 between the Q150 and Q350 and there is still a huge difference to the R models the R300 being $1799.99 whilst the Q350 is just $649.99. I wonder if KEF will keep a 55% difference between the model ranges when UK prices are announced. Makes the outgoing model a real bargain at the moment.
 
First review of Kef Q350 is out! :) Article still work in progress, so measurements will come up later and Mark might comment more about competition in the comments section, so check it also later.
KEF Q350 2-Way Uni-Q Bookshelf Speakers Review - AVSForum.com

In future it would be nice to see straight comparison to old Q serie. Hopefully they would talk about the cabinet and is it now better as it wasn`t as good as with some competitors (old Q-serie), also the 1st order audio crossover was kinda too cheap and many said it hurt their bigger tower models. But as KenM said at AVSForum, "all the money they took out of the finish is now in the sound" with new serie. :smashin:
 
Prices aren`t locked yet fully when i talked with my dealer. But example the EUR price might be tad lower than with the old serie, this is very good for competition and of course for customers.

Now that High End Munich is out we can talk about what is coming.. Atmos speakers will come later this year for Q-serie. And also some subwoofers in generally.
 
I'll be getting my hands on these soon - spent a morning earlier in the week listening to the Q150, Q350, and Q550. I'll be doing a direct comparison too...
 
What hifi have just declared the Kef Q350s to be the best hifi speakers under ÂŁ600. I'm not so sure. What about Kef's R100s?

They're similarly designed with the obvious differences being the Q350's larger main driver (165mm to the R100's modest 130mm) and larger case size (+82mm H x +30mm W x +17mm D) but the R100 should have superior construction in its favour.

What hifi don't mention the R100 even though ( to me at least) the similarities are striking. If you take into account that the magnetic grilles for the Q350s are optional extras at about ÂŁ30 a pair, the price difference is just ÂŁ30.

I would be interested to know the thoughts of those who have compared - listened to - these speakers side by side.
 
Maybe they just felt that the Q Series is a little more forgiving on the amplifier, so have a wider compatibility. And having heard them, the new Q sound much closer to the R Series than they do a Q Series...
 

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