KEF Q7s

A

Alan_eye

Guest
My current setup has KEF65s for mains, Jamo 200 centre, KEF Coda 7 SEs for main rears, a couple of small Denon speakers for rearbacks and a RELQ100E Sub all connected to a Denon 3802. I've been reading some good things about the KEF Q7s and wonder if anyone has had a listen to them? Would I benefit from replacing my 65s with the Q7s, or should I really be looking for a more expensive speaker? Cheers.
Alan
 
Hello Alan_eye,

I cannot comment on whether they would out-perform your Q65s, but I have the Q7s as my front speakers, and I can assure you they are a very elegant speaker, both aesthetically and sonically.

They have a wide sound stage, bass is tight and focused yet they have the ability to perform well at lower frequencies (<50hz as I am without a sub at the moment), with the tweeter mounted in the middle of the mid range cone their sound is quite unified without separation.

I also have the Q1s as rears, Q9c as centre, and Mission M5ds as sides. To my ears this combination works extremely well, everything is timbre matched to a degree (although better timbre matching would be achieved with identical speakers); the overall sound stage is very clear and realistic. I am also using a Denon 3802.

I auditioned these against the Mission M5 series and they were definitely the superior speaker. I now find that Kef are making a dipolar side/rear speaker called the Q2ds, and will probably replace the Mission M5ds with these.

It took around 30 hours to "break them in" as they did sound a little bright when I first listened to them, but now they are sounding very sweet indeed :D .

I hope I have helped, let me know if you have any other questions.

bibooo
 
Thanks for the info bibooo, I have a friendly Practical HiFi dealer who will let me audition these speakers at home. I think I will have a listen. What I'm looking for is clarity, detail and transparency, and these speakers sound as if they will do the job. My Jamo 200 centre is very open and clear and I have noticed a slight alteration when the sound is panned left or right to the 65s. That's not saying the 65s are poor speakers, they are very good, but I auditioned the KEF reference speakers a couple of years ago (I couldn't really afford them at the time and went for the 65s instead) and was most impressed with the clarity and detail of the sound produced by them. Hopefully, the Q7s will match the quality I heard then, because KEFs new reference range of speakers are mad prices! Cheers
Alan
 
Oh wow! Got a loan of of the Q7s until Thuesday and I'm sold already! They beat the KEF65s hands down. They have the openness and the transparency I am looking for and are a very good match for the Jamo 200. The bass is just as you described it, tight and focused - makes the bass on the 65s sound very sloppy indeed. I'm hearing things I never heard before. The space shuttles roaring passed in Armegeddon is unbelievable! The room just seems to be filled with sound. I will be ordering the dark apple version on Thuesday. Thanks for the help.
Alan
 
Glad you like them Alan. I don't think I have heard a speaker like them before, very wide soundstage, very tight bass, very nice indeed.

Dark Apple, interesting choice, I went for the Maple/Silver finish.

I'll have to try Armageddon, I like to be blown away :eek: by a film's sound track. I think T2 is the best track I have listened to so far, although I have Blade 2 arriving soon, DTS ES Discrete should sound earth shattering!

I hope you have many hours of sonic indulgence ahead of you.

Take it easy,

bibooo
 
Yeah, the maple is real nice (the ones Ihave on loan are maple/silver) but unfortunately they don't fit in with the rest of the furniture or equipment.
Cheers
Alan
 
I second that, I also have Dark Apple Q1s with the Q9 ctr, very classy
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom