I've had my KEF Q1's for about seven years now. I love the way they look and the soundstage they present and, since I changed from running them via a Sony AV amp to a Yamaha mini system, I've noticed an improvement in the mid-treble as well. I've also noticed the bass has been cleaned up but extension has all but disappeared. This will be partly due to the Sony having 100w per channel as opposed to the little yamaha having 25w. Now, they're small speakers so this is to be expected. I'm going to be upgrading to a Marantz CD6003/PM7004 system around xmas and although this will undoubtedly improve the bass from the little speakers, I know I'll want more. I've heard that KEF's floorstanders are notoriously bass-shy. Is the true of the most recent iQ90's ? Those twin 6.5" woofers look beefy enough, don't they ? What I want is the same sonic signature/soundstaging and styling of my Q1's but with a lot more bass/bass extension. Would I be going down the right road with the IQ90's ? Cheers Gary
KEF floorstanders
- Thread starter Quickben
- Start date
Hi Gary,
It all depends on the accoustics of your listening room.
Your best course of action is to persuade a friendly dealer to let you audition the IQ90's in your home.
It all depends on the accoustics of your listening room.
Your best course of action is to persuade a friendly dealer to let you audition the IQ90's in your home.
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Agree with paul, an audition is essential and decide for yourself.
Not heard too many Kefs over recent years apart from the IQ5s and IQ7s, and they pump out good amount of bass for their cabinet size.
Not heard too many Kefs over recent years apart from the IQ5s and IQ7s, and they pump out good amount of bass for their cabinet size.
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
Again, rumours tend to be based on other people's limited experience. If you go back to the iQ5, they were bass shy, and for me had very little bass at all. The iQ5se was almost a different speaker as far as bass was concerned, but it sill kept that KEF sound. The more recent iQ50's have been smoothed out as far as HF is concerned, and this tends to bring the bass out a little more. I found in demos against the MA Bronze BR5's that the BR5's did have more bass, but not a great deal more.
Moving up to the iQ70 and iQ90 is a totally different. With the extra cabinet volume, larger drivers to play with, they sound fuller and more like other competition. They are a little leaner - this tends to put more emphasis on the midrange and treble, which reveals more detail of what's going on in the mix. As mentioned, have a listen and see what you think.
Moving up to the iQ70 and iQ90 is a totally different. With the extra cabinet volume, larger drivers to play with, they sound fuller and more like other competition. They are a little leaner - this tends to put more emphasis on the midrange and treble, which reveals more detail of what's going on in the mix. As mentioned, have a listen and see what you think.
plastic penguin
Well-known member
FrankHarveyHiFi:
Again, rumours tend to be based on other people's limited experience. If you go back to the iQ5, they were bass shy, and for me had very little bass at all. The iQ5se was almost a different speaker as far as bass was concerned, but it sill kept that KEF sound. The more recent iQ50's have been smoothed out as far as HF is concerned, and this tends to bring the bass out a little more. I found in demos against the MA Bronze BR5's that the BR5's did have more bass, but not a great deal more.
Moving up to the iQ70 and iQ90 is a totally different. With the extra cabinet volume, larger drivers to play with, they sound fuller and more like other competition. They are a little leaner - this tends to put more emphasis on the midrange and treble, which reveals more detail of what's going on in the mix. As mentioned, have a listen and see what you think.
I think this needs to be put into context. I compared the IQ5s with MA RS5 and both are fairly compact monitors, producing bass that one would expect at £400 price bracket, no more or no less, hence why I chose the RS6s - they give more of everything.
Again, rumours tend to be based on other people's limited experience. If you go back to the iQ5, they were bass shy, and for me had very little bass at all. The iQ5se was almost a different speaker as far as bass was concerned, but it sill kept that KEF sound. The more recent iQ50's have been smoothed out as far as HF is concerned, and this tends to bring the bass out a little more. I found in demos against the MA Bronze BR5's that the BR5's did have more bass, but not a great deal more.
Moving up to the iQ70 and iQ90 is a totally different. With the extra cabinet volume, larger drivers to play with, they sound fuller and more like other competition. They are a little leaner - this tends to put more emphasis on the midrange and treble, which reveals more detail of what's going on in the mix. As mentioned, have a listen and see what you think.
I think this needs to be put into context. I compared the IQ5s with MA RS5 and both are fairly compact monitors, producing bass that one would expect at £400 price bracket, no more or no less, hence why I chose the RS6s - they give more of everything.
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