Kef e305 Review: lacking performance at low frequency level... something to worry about??? Any advice would be great. Cheers!

[MadDog*1]

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some advice on the following. I am ready to purchase my first home cinema theatre system. After demoing a few soundbars and 5.1 systems I am leaning towards the new Kef e305 package paired with the Yamaha RX V675...however this is with some hesitation.

I am a little concerened with the updated review on WhatHiFi which dropped from 5 stars to 4. The review is mostly positive but towards the end it does state

There is one fairly big flaw in the E305, though, and that’s that it needs to be played at quite high volumes to sound its best. Reduce the levels just a bit and you quickly lose dynamism and punch, and that can make everyday listening a slightly flat experience.

I would of course be aiming to listen to the Kefs at a suitable high volume but there will be the occasion where I will need to play it at lower volumes. I do not want to pay for something that could disappoint when this is the case. This brings me to my question...

Would anyone recommend another system out there that plays very well at both high and low volumes that would be worth considering?

Price bracket around the same at £900 but there is movement if there is something that may be worthwhile getting. Use would be 80% movies 20% music.

I would particularly love to hear from anyone who has the Kef e305 up and running.

Thanks, looking forward to reading some replies!

 

[Frank Harvey]

I thought I'd reply seeing as no one else has so far

This is a tricky one. I'll leave WHF to comment on their info regarding their review, but it is quite common to find speakers that will sound great at higher volumes, and less so at lower volumes, or vice versa. One of the reasons is that speakers that produce more bass and have a tonal balance that is geared more towards bass can sound good at low volumes, but turn them up and that bass can be overpowering. Likewise, leaner sounding speakers can sound great when turned up loud as bass doesn't take over, but turn them down and the bass can become hard to hear.

Of course, then there's the set up of your system. It is quite easy to get everything nicely balanced for a level that you normally watch films at, but then when you watch something at low level you can find the whole system lacking. Other aspects can have their effect too, like background noise (do you live on a main road or out in the middle of nowhere?), room acoustics etc. And don't forget personal preference too.

KEF have done a lot of work on the integration of the subwoofer and speakers. The sub may not be the holy grail of subwoofery, but the possibility of that is unlikely anyway with a <£1k speaker package. Listening to this package sounds more like listening to a pair of hi-fi speakers (inoffensive ones at that) rather than a sub/sat package with a blatant gap in the frequency response between 100 and 200Hz.

Room placement can be a very important factor too, particularly for the subwoofer, and it is worth trying the speaker package out with AND without room EQ, as sometimes without can sound better.

 

[MadDog*1]

Hi David,

Thanks very much for the reply. Appreciate it!