R300 / R3 with sub vs R500 vs other

drieswal

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I have a Hegel H90 int. amp. and considering now which speakers to buy.
I have listened to a lot of speakers recently (Dali Opticon 6, B&W 704 & 705 S2, Audiovector QR3, MA Silver 200+300, KEF R3 & R7, Piega Classic 5.0 and XTZ 99.36 FLR) but all without subwoofer.
I will probably buy a subwoofer anyway later on so my question is whether a good bookshelf like the R3 or R300 would be a better deal than buying the larger floorstanding models.

The previous R series are extremely cheap now compared to the new R-series (R300 €700 per set vs. €1500 per set for the R3) so I am wondering whether the new R-series is worth that price difference. I haven't been able to compare them A/B. I heard that the old R-series can be a bit too clean and miss some excitement /warmth. I found the new MA Silver's a bit too boring and clean so if the KEF's are even more bright then I don't think I will like them.
 
I have a Hegel H90 int. amp. and considering now which speakers to buy.
I have listened to a lot of speakers recently (Dali Opticon 6, B&W 704 & 705 S2, Audiovector QR3, MA Silver 200+300, KEF R3 & R7, Piega Classic 5.0 and XTZ 99.36 FLR) but all without subwoofer.
I will probably buy a subwoofer anyway later on so my question is whether a good bookshelf like the R3 or R300 would be a better deal than buying the larger floorstanding models.

The previous R series are extremely cheap now compared to the new R-series (R300 €700 per set vs. €1500 per set for the R3) so I am wondering whether the new R-series is worth that price difference. I haven't been able to compare them A/B. I heard that the old R-series can be a bit too clean and miss some excitement /warmth. I found the new MA Silver's a bit too boring and clean so if the KEF's are even more bright then I don't think I will like them.
I have a pair of R500 front left and right as part of a 5.1.2 system. I use an old B&Q pv1 sub with them at the moment but when I auditioned them I listened to MA silver floorstanders and B&W 7series floorstanders, all without sub at the time. I love the extra warmth and bass that floorstanders give over bookshelf speakers. The R500 replaces M1 satellites and are in a different league.

When comparing b&w with Kef R500 and MA silvers I found the MAs too harsh and preferred the warmth of the others. In my opinion they were just a much more fun and yet relaxing listen. I found the MAs became a little taxing after a while.
The Kefs and B&W were more similar in my opinion. If I were honest the B&W were the better but were so much more expensive. The kef’s were close enough that I was very happy to take them and the spare change.
I haven’t heard the new r series. I’m sure they will also be a great listen but I’m so pleased with what I have and think they’re were a bargain as well. Double win!
 
I use an old B&Q pv1 sub with them....

Was that down the lighting or the power tools isle? :)

I have a similar predicament at the moment in that I’ve always preferred floorstanders to bookshelf’s. But in the room I plan on using for music listening I fear that floorstanders will be too big and won’t get going. So I’m thinking of some bookshelves and a small musical sub. I believe the PV1 is quite good in this regard?

Not been a fan of Kef previously but I haven’t heard any for some years, not sure what path to go down, possibly B&W, maybe Dynaudio, PMC, Dali... Too much to chose from!

Would love to hear what the OP goes with and feedback as well as @TimC view on the PV1

Cheers
 
Power tool of course!

I’ve had a PV1 for many years now. It is a good sub although I’ve not heard the newer digital one.
It is great in our 4x4m room. Good amounts of bass. Not quite chest thumping amounts but sounded great when I played the uhd of Bladerunner 2049 through my Atmos Yamaha 1070 amp.
When it eventually bites the dust I’ll be auditioning some with a deeper bass just to hear what - if anything - was missing but in mean time I’m very happy with it.
I do tend to run just the Kefs when listening to music as they go plenty deep enough for this.
 
I have a pair of KEF R300s and for music I do not run them with a sub. For me, personally, they go deep enough. The beauty of them is that they are fast and articulate with bass when teamed up with the right amp. Bass guitar notes sound like notes, they start and end and don't drift into the next chord. Perfect partner with Rega, not so with Naim. For film and TV the 300s are backed up by a sub for effects.

Had room allowed I would have gone with the R500s but in reality there is little difference between them for bass quality, maybe more depth, but certainly not enough to lose any sleep over.
 
The beauty of them is that they are fast and articulate with bass when teamed up with the right amp.

Do you think these will go well with the Hegel H90? Do you find them bright or lacking excitement in any way?
 
yy7gwMw

This is my living room, the right part of the living room is only used as dining area. The speakers will be put next to the TV cabinet and will be mainly listened to in that part of the room.

Will the R300's be sufficient for this space?

Gy75yZd.jpg
 
Do you think these will go well with the Hegel H90? Do you find them bright or lacking excitement in any way?
The Hegel has enough power at 60 watts into 8 ohms to drive them, although I have never listened to Hegel so I'm certainly not qualified to say how they would sound with the amp. I don't feel that the R300s are in any way laid back.

They certainly are energetic when mated to my Rega Elicit that has 105 watts at 8 ohms but the dial on the Rega has never gone past 12 o'clock.

The 300s are very detailed in the mids which very much suits my taste. Treble is well controlled and the 300s are more than capable of taming Joni Mitchells often shrill higher range and I don't notice any clipping in that register.
 
yy7gwMw

This is my living room, the right part of the living room is only used as dining area. The speakers will be put next to the TV cabinet and will be mainly listened to in that part of the room.

Will the R300's be sufficient for this space?

Gy75yZd.jpg
I would say yes, the room in it's dimensions is not too dissimilar from my own room except I listen on a long L shaped layout and they certainly fill my space. They are very good of axis.
 
The r300 I think provide a very good sound stage and from what you describe would do the job very well.

Some might want some more low bass and the for sun would be ideal partner. I have r700 and they super powerful.

Sub wise the pv1 was mentioned. I had one in the past. Very powerful and good quality for small size l, but expensive and can be matched with cheaper alternatives. I would say if you have the space an Rel or
If you want smaller but room eq the the paradigm sismic with bass kit work very nicely but again expensive.
 
Hegel generally partner with kef at shows. they work very well together. Having had both the r300 and r500, there is not much in it for bass imo. If your planning on adding a sub then the r300 is a no brainier
 
Thanks everyone for the information. I'm gonna try to audition both the R3 and R300 next to each other. Hopefully I can still find a store that has them both in stock.
 
I have a pair of KEF R300s and for music I do not run them with a sub. For me, personally, they go deep enough. The beauty of them is that they are fast and articulate with bass when teamed up with the right amp. Bass guitar notes sound like notes, they start and end and don't drift into the next chord. Perfect partner with Rega, not so with Naim. For film and TV the 300s are backed up by a sub for effects.

Had room allowed I would have gone with the R500s but in reality there is little difference between them for bass quality, maybe more depth, but certainly not enough to lose any sleep over.
How do you find the r300s compared to passive ls50s? Would you consider it an upgrade over the ls50s? Don't know whether to keep my ls50s or upgrade to r3s or r300s
 
How do you find the r300s compared to passive ls50s? Would you consider it an upgrade over the ls50s? Don't know whether to keep my ls50s or upgrade to r3s or r300s


the question is do you feel like something is missing from your ls50's?

the r300 is a 3 way speaker and has a dedicated woofer for the lower frequencies. it's a more "complete" speaker that handles more of the frequency range.

Ls50's need a subwoofer. some people do not mind them without but the reality is they roll off pretty early and everything below 75hz is lost.

the r range is a tad warmer than the ls50's but i wouldnt say either is better, just slightly different sounding.
 
How do you find the r300s compared to passive ls50s? Would you consider it an upgrade over the ls50s? Don't know whether to keep my ls50s or upgrade to r3s or r300s
I think @dollag has covered the points well about the difference between the two speakers. I certainly enjoyed the LD50s in an audition it was just that I though the R300s gave a more accomplished sound. Perhaps it just suited me personally as I thought the LS50s could prove to be a bit waring with a lot of the emphasis on the higher register than that of the R300s. As dollag has said then that is probably down to the R300s three way design of the LS50 that the mids and highs were 'warmer' if you like.

The R300s also dug a bit deeper and have excellent bass control when partnered with the right amp. The LS50s are rightly lauded as a very capable speaker, just not for me. If you audition against the R3 that difference may be more apparent between the two models. It's down to which one you prefer, that's the beauty of this game we are all different.

My other consideration was that the 300s would need to be used for both music and film and in the film department the 300s certainly have the edge.
 
Thanks that's very helpful. When you say partnered with the right amp could you elaborate a bit on that? From what I've read in threads on this forum and elsewhere is that all amps should sound the same, and that in blind abx tests not even trained listeners can tell the difference. Is this not right? I'm currently powering my LS50s with a beringher a300 but am considering a new cyrus one, would that be considered an upgrade?
 
all amps should sound the same
If so then in an audition why do we all walk out with the amp that puts the biggest smile on our faces. The KEFs like a good power supply, they dip to 3.2 ohms. Certainly with my R300s there was a big improvement in bass control with a Rega Elicit-R over the more expensive Naim Nait XS2. Maybe amps all sound the same and differ in the way they control the speakers, ergo the sound difference as a result. The Rega and the R300s had me grinning like a Cheshire cat......I still do.
 
If so then in an audition why do we all walk out with the amp that puts the biggest smile on our faces. The KEFs like a good power supply, they dip to 3.2 ohms. Certainly with my R300s there was a big improvement in bass control with a Rega Elicit-R over the more expensive Naim Nait XS2. Maybe amps all sound the same and differ in the way they control the speakers, ergo the sound difference as a result. The Rega and the R300s had me grinning like a Cheshire cat......I still do.
I'm a relative newbie at all this so just like to get peoples opinions on stuff like this before I pull the trigger on a new product

Interesting stuff!
 

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