Question Upgrade dilemma

CarMad

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After many years with my rather ageing but in perfect working order Kef Q55s floorstanders and matching centre I think its time for an upgrade.

Room is around 6m wide and 4m deep and the speakers / tv are on the longest wall and everything is pretty much dead centre, oh and surrounds are horizontal to the listening position which is against the back wall.

Currently running a Denon 4300 and I've also got a B&W 1000 sub that after a repaired amp still kicks like a mule.

So what next, I'm considering staying with Kef and going for R500s or maybe Q750s.

Today I listened very briefly to the R500 and R700 and they are both creamy smooth with the R500 for me 'marginally' getting the nod, the base seemed a little more resolved and less bloated some how. But on first appearance I felt both a little polite, maybe I missed some of the edge and less cultured nature mine had. But I wondered how they might compare to the latest Q range and if anyone had tried both. The shop only had the Q550 in for demo.

Rears I might just go for some T301s (centres on each side to get a horizontal not vertical mount due to units being there) I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get away with R100 or similar I've got Kefs old Q85? wall mounted.

Thoughts or should I demo something else, I guess on the very brief listen are they worth the outlay or not and I'm torn but it really was a mini and rushed demo.
 
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I wouldn't call the R Serie polite, certainly not when hooked up to a suitable amp then they can certainly play the hooligan. Running previously from just my X6200 for film and broadcast they just seemed perfectly weighted giving excellent dialogue and ambient sounds. More muscular action scenes are quick and precise, they do make the almost perfect home cinema speaker.

Feed them some power from a stereo amp for music and they come to life. Terrific bass control, even the R300s go pretty deep, never bloated. Mids can really be punched out and for music it is in the mids that almost all receivers in stereo music fail. Using the pre outs of the 4300 will also help bring the best out of them. The centres are a real class act, very detailed and precise.
 
I think its generally acknowledged that the KEF R create a very neutral presentation which for many is exactly what they want. Many want the sound and completely un-fatigueing presentation I can see there is a lot to like. There is a youtube video of Kef r vs Eltac and they sound completely diffenent but excellent in their own right but the Eltac are again more forward and a little sharper but wouldn't be great to listen to for long periods.

I suspect my rather old KEFs are doing no such thing they might be a bit on the bright side but still give the similarly wide sound field that I've grown to love.

The base on offer by the R500 was way better than my speakers as I don't tent do use the sub when listening to music really more for movie action. Listening to the same tracks I heard I get a very different listening experience they aren't anything like as smooth, as detailed hard to tell but they do seem to be a bit more 'forward' in their presentation.

I guess having got used to that I"m questioning a move to Rs or should I look at Q. Its not the money the price is almost identical on the deals. Thus my asking if others have auditioned both.
 
I should also add the amp will always change, I've gone through a fair few. Arcam, Onkyo some well over £1k.

The Denon gave great features and bang for the buck and is way more detailed and calmer than the previous Onkyo by some margin and the Denon doesn't fry an egg with the heat it creates like the Onkyo used to.

I didn't go for the Denon 6300 as it was getting bad review due to issues and I'm looking to only get to 5.1.2. I think they had an 8500 so no shortage of power on offer to review the speakers I don't think.
 
You must trust your own ears but even in an audition setting it will be hard to tell if any speaker is going to be fatiguing over a long period. I think this is where the R Serie scores highly. You can sit for hour upon hour and they just have a presence in the room and in the soundtrack that is so enjoyable with film.

I don't use a sub when listening to music. I'm not a bass head and the R300s certainly go deep enough for my personal taste. I don't use the Denon for stereo music at all, that is primarily from my Marantz SACD player and the Rega Elicit via the 300s and that combination is superb. The 300s are capable of fast and precise bass line and there are days when I just pump out music for four or five hours and the last song is just as refreshing as the first.

You could audition the new Qs alongside the Rs but there is still a difference in the quality of the components and weight of the respective units. The gap may have closed with the introduction of the new models but I believe the Rs are still in a class of their own.

As for receivers I'd be happy sticking with the 6200 level in combination with an external stereo amp for the fronts. The 8500 would probably give me an hernia just looking at the brute.
 
My only criticism of the Kef R-Series is they can sound a little slow compared to others for stereo playback, but that's a small criticism as overall they are a very capable speaker range. My top pick for them would be the smallest floorstands as they are more musical. The 700 do require some serious power to get them under control for music as they are the flattest with an audio sound reproduction, for AV they're fine and the 900's are just big but work better than the 700 in all area's.

In order to experience what the R-Series have to offer, be kind to them and yourself by giving them a little love with a good power source (R700 a really good source) so they can deliver what Kef intended you to hear.

As others have mentioned, the larger Denon's are a good pairing, Anthem, Arcam and Marantz are also great and don't forget Emotiva range either
 
In a similar price bracket what else would you recommend speaker wise to try?

I like the sound of the Denon so could easily buy a 2 Channel power amp from Emotive or similar to drive the Kef R. How much does that change the sound as well as adding power?
 
Thanks think I will try a few alternatives, its a fairly major change for me having my current speakers so long I might as well make it the right move.

I'm more than happy for the speakers to be way better than the rest of my current system as I can upgrade everything else over time to match. No toddlers around anymore to stick fingers in speaker cones so I can look forward to spending a few pennies. :thumbsup:
 
Arendal make some well received speakers - you would do well to look at these also, many a thread on here about them as well
 
Yeah I've had a look at them and I'm struggling to get wife approval of them. If they did a smaller model then I could potentially get it past, plus they are a fair jump for the smaller floorstanders cost wise.

The reviews and capabilities seem incredible so they aren't off the radar but realistically I've ruled them out unfortunately.
 
The "S" version is smaller than the originals...
 
Yeah the S are equivalent to the R700 in size terms and I'm struggling to get wife approval for those especially in the all black that we demoed at Superfi.

I'm sure they would be incredible and yeah could look at them in white but she is being flexible enough to have floorstanders, huge sub, atmos speakers and potentially large surrounds as it is.

Plus moving to Arendal all round would be significant extra outlay over r500 and extras.
 
Will be interested in what you think of the R500 though if that's what you end up getting? I have been thinking about these myself as an upgrade recently. In my room the R500's will be more than sufficient, anything more/bigger would be overkill and I think would be spoilt due to room size.
 
My wife preferred the look of the R500s and thought that that was what I was going to get. However the right speaker would have to be pushed too far into a corner and therefore compromised. Bought the 300s which are now sitting on a heavyweight cabinet and sound really good. I doubt now that with the possibility of widening our room in the near future I would do no more than order stands for the 300s. They really are that good.
 
My room is pretty wide so that isn't a challenge for me, definitely looking for floor standers the question will be which ones.

Definitely decided that I'm going to upgrade now the question is just to what. Going to book a decent slot this time and take some of my own music to give the kit a good demo and I will report back with my findings. As others have said Hifi can be a very personal thing I'm intrigued as to what the next jump will be.
 
Until recently I also had a pair of KEF Q55.2 - had the centre Q95c replaced a long time ago for a Reference Model 100C, that gave me a much better front stage in movies. I also have a Denon receiver (4311). It was a nice, competente system.

In my stereo system, I had a pair of Q15.2 that were recently replaced by a pair of B&W CM2, and the difference was huge. It was like a veil was removed and exposed a lot of things the Q15 where simply not revealing. So I decided I would also replace the speakers in my 5.1 setup.

I had recently heard the Monitor Audio Silver 200 and 300, and really liked them - but couldn't afford to buy them new. Also had the opportunity to try the new ELAC Uni-Fi FS U5 at home, but they sounded just like the Q55.2 - a pitty, since they looked really nice. But that was no upgrade

So, having liked so much the MA Silvers, I was looking forward to find a good deal on a used pair of the now descontinued Silver 8 (the reviews suggested that they would not be that different from the new 300), but I couldn't find someone willing to post them to Portugal. The opportunity to get a very good deal on a pair of Silver RX6 was presented near me, so I took the plunge. They sound really nice. I also added a Silver Centre, and I now can say that this was a real upgrade - the sound is at a new level, way above what I had with the KEFs

I'm still looking for a pair of Silver 8s, as I find the mids a tad better and I admit, they look nicier... But for now the RX6 are still doing fine!
 
At the time I wasn't blown away with the R series like I thought I might be.

However having come home and listen to the same pieces of music I was really impressed. Maybe I want or need something that colours the music a little and injects a little emotion into it.

But I'm not sure if that is the speakers job or the components. With each new Amp / Receiver they have all had different pros and cons. The smooth warm powerful Arcams to full on raw power shouty thirsty top end Onkyo to the current Denon a happy medium between them all. Stunning at moving the sounds around in films and pretty clinical at times without an overtly warm approach.

I'm going to have a morning to listen to a few options in a few weeks time and wait for the imminent announcement of the new Kef R series then make a move. Decisions made I'm going change but to what I don't know yet.
 
At the time I wasn't blown away with the R series like I thought I might be.

However having come home and listen to the same pieces of music I was really impressed. Maybe I want or need something that colours the music a little and injects a little emotion into it.

But I'm not sure if that is the speakers job or the components. With each new Amp / Receiver they have all had different pros and cons. The smooth warm powerful Arcams to full on raw power shouty thirsty top end Onkyo to the current Denon a happy medium between them all. Stunning at moving the sounds around in films and pretty clinical at times without an overtly warm approach.

I'm going to have a morning to listen to a few options in a few weeks time and wait for the imminent announcement of the new Kef R series then make a move. Decisions made I'm going change but to what I don't know yet.
The R Serie do like power, especially when it comes to music. Since buying a Rega Elicit R amp my R300s have really come to life and have shown just how good they are at conveying all aspects of the track. I'll include bass in that as they certainly go deep enough for my personal taste. My Denon X6200 even in pure direct just could not move them and music was just fine for the occasional listen. Now with the Rega I just want to throw album after album at them.
 
So just to report back and thanks for the help all I've ordered some Arendal 1723 Tower S in a bit of a change of direction.

Just got the floorstanders ordered for now and if all is good with those I will add the matching centre and rears and might end up getting an Arendal Sub 1.5 or 2 I suspect. But Rome wasn't built in a day and after waiting years the deed is done. :lesson:

Next onto re-doing the entire lounge to do them justice.
 
My wife preferred the look of the R500s and thought that that was what I was going to get. However the right speaker would have to be pushed too far into a corner and therefore compromised. Bought the 300s which are now sitting on a heavyweight cabinet and sound really good. I doubt now that with the possibility of widening our room in the near future I would do no more than order stands for the 300s. They really are that good.
I think the R300 are a little gem and I prefer then to the R500s. I simply found thu that rear ported speaker didn't work in my room due to shape and a false wall behind the TV. So went the focal root in the end.

When I get my AV room garage conversion sorted, I think some R700 might be the just the ticket.
 
Well to round this off the new Arendals have arrived. They are quite simply sublime, the level of detail, the construction, the dynamic nature of the sound they produce are all on a different level, these are keepers and then some. Review below of the Arendal 1723 Tower S.

Arendal Sound 1723 & 1723 S Series Speakers
 

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