I have just come back home having spent a very pleasurable morning at Lyric Hifi. I was picking up my Arcam remote, which they had kindly fixed after it simply died. It turned out to be a bad connection at the battery.
Anyway, I was no sooner through the door, when Michael said, "My new Kef Reference 3s are now in and connected up. They are in Copper Black Aluminium, which is one of the Kent Engineering and Foundry special additions....and they are stunning". Well, indeed they were. Then he said, "Would you like to hear them?" "Is the Pope Catholic", I replied
A picture doesn't really do them justice:
So what was the rest of the system? It consisted of the following:
Linn Akurate DS + Arcam A49 + Ref 3s
After the obligitory coffee from next door, the listening began.
We played a series of tracks, including Nitin Sawhney's Nadia.
What I heard had very strong echos of the Blade. A beautifully judged, sweet treble with incredible detail; a totally accurate, natural mid range; and unfeasibly deep bass (for the size of the two 6.5" Woofers), which remained tight and controlled.
I didn't think the Amp was quite as good as the 35i, but the Akurate DS is a good step up from the Majik DS; and I believed the New Refs to be better. As a complete system, it sounded like an improvement...even though it was much the same price, as the full list cost of what I had.
As luck would have it, he had a pair of 203/2s kicking about, so we put them into the same system for comparison. I knew they would have less impressive bass, but I was really wanting to hear the differences in the new Uni-Q driver array. Personally, and probably selfishly, I was hoping that the gap between the two Reference models wouldn't be that wide.
From almost the first note played through the 203/2s, it became quite apparent, just what a difference these improvements have made and how far the new Refs have come.
On the 203/2s, the soundstage shrank a little; the treble was more forward, less natural and surprisingly, less detailed. On their own, these older Refs gave a very good account of themselves, and after a while, I was lulled by their familiarity into thinking that maybe the differences weren't so big after all.
After half an hour or so, we swapped back.....and then, if anything, the differences were even more stark. The Ref 3s are just so balanced from top to bottom. The detail is staggering, but their neatest trick is how impressively they simply get out of the way of the music, to the point where they almost disappear. I put this down to the very natural soundfield you get with a "single source" Treble/Mid and the equally natural tone they produce.
Compared to the 205/2s, I think the Bass is much more comparible, but the Ref 3s have a bass that is a bit more powerful and digs even deeper.
A quick mention needs to be made for the Arcam A49. What a good sounding Amp this is and in my view, represents remarkable value for money at its price point. The fact that I liked it so much shows how effective the Class G is, in giving that Class A sound.
The New Refs have come of age.....and I want some......but I will have to wait until I have the requisite finances again.....by which time their will probably be a new model out!
Anyway, I was no sooner through the door, when Michael said, "My new Kef Reference 3s are now in and connected up. They are in Copper Black Aluminium, which is one of the Kent Engineering and Foundry special additions....and they are stunning". Well, indeed they were. Then he said, "Would you like to hear them?" "Is the Pope Catholic", I replied
A picture doesn't really do them justice:
So what was the rest of the system? It consisted of the following:
Linn Akurate DS + Arcam A49 + Ref 3s
After the obligitory coffee from next door, the listening began.
We played a series of tracks, including Nitin Sawhney's Nadia.
What I heard had very strong echos of the Blade. A beautifully judged, sweet treble with incredible detail; a totally accurate, natural mid range; and unfeasibly deep bass (for the size of the two 6.5" Woofers), which remained tight and controlled.
I didn't think the Amp was quite as good as the 35i, but the Akurate DS is a good step up from the Majik DS; and I believed the New Refs to be better. As a complete system, it sounded like an improvement...even though it was much the same price, as the full list cost of what I had.
As luck would have it, he had a pair of 203/2s kicking about, so we put them into the same system for comparison. I knew they would have less impressive bass, but I was really wanting to hear the differences in the new Uni-Q driver array. Personally, and probably selfishly, I was hoping that the gap between the two Reference models wouldn't be that wide.
From almost the first note played through the 203/2s, it became quite apparent, just what a difference these improvements have made and how far the new Refs have come.
On the 203/2s, the soundstage shrank a little; the treble was more forward, less natural and surprisingly, less detailed. On their own, these older Refs gave a very good account of themselves, and after a while, I was lulled by their familiarity into thinking that maybe the differences weren't so big after all.
After half an hour or so, we swapped back.....and then, if anything, the differences were even more stark. The Ref 3s are just so balanced from top to bottom. The detail is staggering, but their neatest trick is how impressively they simply get out of the way of the music, to the point where they almost disappear. I put this down to the very natural soundfield you get with a "single source" Treble/Mid and the equally natural tone they produce.
Compared to the 205/2s, I think the Bass is much more comparible, but the Ref 3s have a bass that is a bit more powerful and digs even deeper.
A quick mention needs to be made for the Arcam A49. What a good sounding Amp this is and in my view, represents remarkable value for money at its price point. The fact that I liked it so much shows how effective the Class G is, in giving that Class A sound.
The New Refs have come of age.....and I want some......but I will have to wait until I have the requisite finances again.....by which time their will probably be a new model out!
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