B&W 685 theatre vs Kef 3005 se

[admin_exported]

hello everyone,

I read your 2008 guides. I would like to buy a home cinema system but i can't make my choice.

My budget is around 2000euros (av receiver included).

1-Between these 2 systems recommended by your site : the Kef 3005se (around 1300 euros) & the B&W 685 theatre (around 1400 euros), which one do you think is the best for home cinema.

2-Is there really a big difference between them in term of sound quality, reproduction, and power ?

3-what av receiver do you recommend with them please ?

thank you

 

[True Blue]

Can only comment on the KEF's. I have paired them as below with a Denon 1909 and smile every time I turn them on. Enough said

 

[kinda]

I demod the 3005SE amongst other style speakers and I think there are more detailed and more musical sets out there.

Never heard the 685s, but usually the full size speakers offer more sound quality for the price, if you can accommodate them.

I'd try and have a listen to both.

 

[Anonymous]

I had the same decision.

Obviously have a listen, and depends on how much room you have.

But the B&W's win hands down. The kef's were good, but i found them quite flat and heavy on the mid's.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your help.

My room is 25 square meter.

Unfortunately i can't have a listen on the B&W system.

 

[Anonymous]

If you have enough space for the larger speakers (B&W 685) and dont mind paying the additional money for the stands that you will need for the 685's then they are a good buy. However, the Kef 3005se's are really good. When I heard both sets of speakers before buying I could not really tell any difference at all. Therefore, went for the Kef's as smaller and easier to set up in room.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The 3005's do respond well to amplifiers in the £1,000/1,500 proce point, so it's worth taking it into account when auditioning the 3005's.

 

[Anonymous]

Is there much of a leap between the 3005se and the 5005.2 ?

 

[Anonymous]

B& W 685's Hands Down! Full size speakers that would be a more thrilling listen (my dream speakers too!)

 

[Anonymous]

I had a listen to a set of the KEFs in Sevenoaks before trying the 685 system. The KEFs sound good, and you probably wouldn't be dissapointed with them, but it didn't take me long to decide to go with the B&W's. There are a lot of compromises made in the design of egg type speakers, and they're very dependent on the sub to fill out the sound.
In the end I went for the 685's at the front, M1's for the rears (due to lack of space for the 686's), the HTM62 centre and 608 sub. It all works really well for home cinema use, but just as importantly to me the 685's are superb hi-fi speakers on their own. I've got the option of using the sub for music, but most of the time I prefer the sound the 685's give on their own.

 

[Anonymous]

I had KEF 2005.2 's and was very happy with them unlike the mrs ! So laid low for two years then just got the 685 HT package ( with an upgrade on the Centre speaker - CM 1 ) A much better music and movie sound. Granted the kef 3005's are well reviewed and presumably better than the 2005 's I had. But even the B and W MT 30 system at 1600 can't compete witht the 685's according to some.

Style systems are good for space and you do have to factor in speaker stands if you go the non style package route which takes the the B and W 685's close in price ie for me it was Soundstyle Z2's - but you can pay a lot more than that

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

I went to a local "auditorium" today. The guy only had b&w mt-30 to show me.

He combined it with an onkyo 806 (not the 606 cause he told me it was not thx). I brought the Dark knight blu-ray.....

Man, the pv1 subwoofer: what an outstanding product !!! And it was 100% waf approved.

Unfortunately the whole mt30 pack is around 2500euros!!!!

I think won't take the b&w 685 theatre.

My question : is there a whole difference between the mt30 compared to the 3005 se ?

 

[Anonymous]

2 or 3 pairs of Mordaunt Short Mezzo 2 from richer sounds and a Epos ELS sub on offer at Superfi.

 

[Anonymous]

at what cost pls ?

 

[Anonymous]

Will Harris:Is there much of a leap between the 3005se and the 5005.2 ?ÿ

The 5005.2s resolve a little more detail than the 3005s, as long as your source/s and amp are up to it. I'd expect the B&Ws to beat both of the Kef packages.

 

[kinda]

I demod the 5005.2 and 3005SE amongst other packages and agree with the above comment. The increase in detail was obvious with the 5005.2 compared to the 3005SE, demoing with a Marantz SR6001.

There was also more musicality, but not quite enough, and the subwoofer seemed to be a big factor in this, (tried the 5005.2 satellites with the PV1 and this improved things a lot).

I thought the PV1 was good, but for me the MT-30 satellites weren't OK, as there was a deader sound at high frequency all round, and for some music they seemed as if they were straining at the top end. For satellites I'd put the 5005s and maybe even the 3005SEs in front of the MT-30s.

The 5005s are very cheap at the moment though, so they might be worth trying, and maybe you'd have some spare cash to improve the subwoofer if needed.

For what it's worth, I finally decided on the Tannoy Arena, which for me beat all the packages mentioned above, including 5005.2 satellites with PV1. The Tannoys are also on cheap deals at the moment, and might be worth a try.