A Mixed Bag

[Frank Harvey]

..

 

[Pistol Pete1]

You got some Blades at home???? OMG!!!!

Or did you sell the home to pay for them.... :rofl:

 

[matthewpiano]

Those Blades are incredible, although I can't say I've heard any other £20k speakers to compare them to.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Yes they were......

What did you think of the R series?

 

[matthewpiano]

I was very impressed. I think they suffered slightly from being played after the Blades, as you would expect. It might have been better for the R-series to be demonstrated first, followed by the Blades. After the Blades I could definitely hear the extra cabinet colouration of the R-series, but this is by no means a criticism. For their price and, when you think how expensive the Blades are, the R-series sounding so impressive is testament to what KEF has achieved with them.

Although I am normally a stand-mount lover, I actually thought the floorstanders (R500?) sounded substantially better than the R300.

Only thing I would say is that they were some way from boundaries and still produced huge bass. These speakers might be a bit too much in a lot of modern rooms.

What did you think?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I thought it was a very bold move to play the Blades then some of the R series....

If I won the lottery, I know which one's I'd buy!!! 8)

I agree that they were quite bass heavy, and as you've mentioned they were no where near a room boundary. I'd imagine dance music lovers with love them (maroon 5 track sounds good on the R500's around 4pm-I had my feet tapping away.)but in a small room they would be too much, unlike the Q500's.

But this colouration might not be to everyone's tastes. The Blades were much more natural and realistic in terms of sound presentation. And so they should be at £20k!! :O

Would have loved to hear the Q500 next to the R500's......obviously the Q500's have ABR's so not all cones are active(3 cones and 1 uni-Q cone. 2 active, and 2 passive) This gives a good amount of bass in smaller rooms.....yet they still have the HF detail.

 

[Frank Harvey]

You got some Blades at home???? OMG!!!! Or did you sell the home to pay for them.... :rofl:

They're at work at the moment - they'll go home as soon as I sort one :rofl:

 

[Frank Harvey]

I thought it was a very bold move to play the Blades then some of the R series....

A testament to how good the R series is, following up a speaker like the Blade

I agree that they were quite bass heavy, and as you've mentioned they were no where near a room boundary.

I'm assuming this is done because of the size of the room. If the speakers are placed nearer to the back wall, the overall room response will be erratic, but if they're moved clear of the boundary, this response can be controlled, which is a good thing in a large room where around 20/25 people are listening over a large area.