KEF 3005SE or B&W MT-25

[admin_exported]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to decide which Style Speaker Package to go for - 3005SE (not the K2) or MT-25 - and the waters have obviously been muddied by the KEF's price cut, though I'd rather buy now than wait for the revised review! My setup is:

• Denon AVR-2310
• Smallish room (~4mx4m)
• Mainly watch TV (so must be good at stereo, at least until FreeviewHD arrives), then a good chunk of movies from Blu-Ray (PS3 for now, will upgrade later, once I have a screen capable of 24fps), music longways third

While I'd obviously prefer the MT-30, the £550+ upgrade price is just too much, especially given the size of the room, so I'm taking a sensible pill and going for one of the above... Which do you think?

Many thanks - and Happy New Year!

TH

 

[Anonymous]

Have an auditon to see which you prefer..

I thought KEF hade better sounding speakers due to a dedicated centre but the MT-25 a better sub. I opted for the Kef 3005SE in the end as mine is in my bedroom so did not want something that would shake the house too much!!

Although I was nearly tempted to buy the Acoustic Solutions 2000 Cinema as that was brilliant for the price!! Except I wanted something more pretty

Shop around as I was able to get the Kef 3005SE for £750 from Superfi.

 

[Selby]

I have the kef 3005 satellite speakers and a Kef XQ50C Centre. The satellites sound great and what's more they look good and are easy to live with.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the Kef 3005SE and the Denon 2310 and love them. Go for it!

 

[Anonymous]

Wow - 3-nil to the KEFs... Anyone on the other side?

Thanks all for your replies so far...

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

I went for the M1's but not the MT25 set up as I already had the REL Strata subwoofer.

I didn't audition either as a kit and preferred the M1's.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Anonymous]

KEF 3005SE all the way, very stylish, sound great and good value all round performer!

Regards> M

 

[Sonic Dreamer]

TH, I had the same dilemma in April 2009. As is said elesewhere the main advatnage of the KEF 3005SE package is a dedicated, purpose designed centre speaker, which the B&W MT-30 lacks. Remember the centre speaker is where all the dialogue comes from when watching 5.1. I opted to stretch my budget more and get the best of both worlds, the KEF 3005SE satellite speakers combined with the B&W MT-30 PV1 subwoofer.

Sevenoaks Hi-Fi (Holborn branch), were flexible enough to sell me the KEF 3005SE set without the KEF subwoofer at a reduced price, the difference of which I put towards the B&W PV1 sub. This is a superb and engaging combination, which I am delighted with.

Cheers,
SonicD

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

Many thanks for your responses and advice. I demoed the two systems back-to-back with an amp like mine on Saturday (with the exception that Sevenoaks wouldn't even let me demo the KEF amp - they say they have had so many problems with them that they wouldn't recommend them to anyone as they stand), and for AV I have to say that my ears couldn't detect an enormous difference.

On music, I thought the B&Ws dealt with multi-layered and complex sounds with more cohesion, while the KEFs handled single instruments with more detail. Overall, I don't think there's a huge amount to choose between them, but I suspect that the amp combines marginally better with B&W than KEF.

Thanks again all,

TH

 

[Garth Man]

HIFIX do the Silver ones with the original (Better) Black Sub for £650

Kef 3005SE

 

[Anonymous]

thr32:
with the exception that Sevenoaks wouldn't even let me demo the KEF amp -

A KEF amp ?

I'd say the 3005SE's are more suited to movies than music - and the detail they deliver is spot on for a lifestyle package. I'm biased as an owner, but I'd go for the Kef's.

 

[Big Chris]

The latest mag has just the group test you seek.

Yay for B&W!! (Yes. I am biased!)

 

[Cofnchtr]

Big Chris:
The latest mag has just the group test you seek.

Yay for B&W!! (Yes. I am biased!)

Hi,

Given the big guy's reaction I'll YAY!!! too...although I haven't bought the mag yet I've been influenced by the Sherlock Holmes movie from last night and worked out the result.

1 - 0 B&W.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Anonymous]

I too was deciding between those two speaker sets about 3 months ago, and asked my dealer for a demo of both. Ended up watching the 'attempted kidnap of Harvey Dent' scene from The Dark Knight on both those systems. I thought the KEFs sounded decidedly better, and promptly bought them. Three months later I am still loving every minute of usage with the KEFs.

 

[kinda]

I've demod the MT-30 against the 3005SE and without going into detail ultimately thought that the satellites in the KEF were better with detail / high frequencies, (which I found poor for the B&Ws), but the KEF sub lets them down badly for music.

Demoing the 3005SE sats with the PV1 much improved the music. The KEF 5005 sats with PV1 was better still though, and althouh hardly anyone else seems to rate them these days the Tannoy Arena was even better all round.

 

[Anonymous]

Selby:I have the kef 3005 satellite speakers and a Kef XQ50C Centre. The satellites sound great and what's more they look good and are easy to live with.

Hi Selby,

Im thinking of doing this myself, was this a big improvement over the standard 3001 centre ?

Cheers,