KEF Q300s with an Arcam Solo Mini

[Bogester]

Hi All

I currently have an Arcam Solo Mini system with a set of Dali Lektor 1 speakers. I'm considering upgrading the speakers to KEF Q300s. Do you think they'd be a good match? Are the KEFs a little too good for the Arcam system, or is their sonic profile a poor match? I know that the KEFs are recommended to be partenered with smooth rather than bright amplifiers. In my opinion, the Arcam is quite a smooth performer, so I suspect they'd work well together.

Many thanks in advance

Bogester

 

[manicm]

What's wrong with the Dalis? Do you have enough room for the Q300 which is quite a large speaker (slightly bigger than B&W 685s)?

 

[chebby]

I'd go for something like the Castle Knight 2s.

They have that all-important extra 3dB of sensitivity compared to the KEFs*. (Both have a similar range of recommended power - from 15wpc upwards - but the Castles are 90dB and the KEFs are 87dB.)

The Castles do have a smoother sound (I have heard them when comparing with MA RX1s a year ago, and online reviews confirm a smoother sound too).

The Castles also look fantastic in superbly finished real wood veneers, whereas the KEFs...

*All the more important with your Solo-Mini.

 

[Bogester]

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the Dalis, I just think that I could do better. Regarding space to accommodate a pair of Q300s, my wife and I are about to emigrate to the US, where I hope we will have a bit more space than we currently do. (I'll be using a step-up transformer for the Arcam initially in the US, but I may end up upgrading it to something else after a while.) I'm interested to know if anyone's used Q300s with a Solo Mini and what their experiences were/are.

Thanks
Bogester

 

[Bogester]

Well the Lektor 1s are spec'd at 84 dB/W/m and the Arcam drives them well enough, so I doubt it'd have an issue with the Q300s. I'm after some speakers that are detailed but also have strong but tight bass. Being WHF award winners, it's hard not to be tempted by the Q300s. I'll look into the other alternatives suggested, though.

Thanks for the feedback so far!

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi All

I currently have an Arcam Solo Mini system with a set of Dali Lektor 1 speakers. I'm considering upgrading the speakers to KEF Q300s. Do you think they'd be a good match? Are the KEFs a little too good for the Arcam system, or is their sonic profile a poor match? I know that the KEFs are recommended to be partenered with smooth rather than bright amplifiers. In my opinion, the Arcam is quite a smooth performer, so I suspect they'd work well together.

Many thanks in advance

Bogester

Hi Bogester

Monitor Audio's Silver Audio's Silver RX1's are also worth a look as the Solo Mini forms a good tonal match with the RX1's

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi All

I currently have an Arcam Solo Mini system with a set of Dali Lektor 1 speakers. I'm considering upgrading the speakers to KEF Q300s. Do you think they'd be a good match? Are the KEFs a little too good for the Arcam system, or is their sonic profile a poor match? I know that the KEFs are recommended to be partenered with smooth rather than bright amplifiers. In my opinion, the Arcam is quite a smooth performer, so I suspect they'd work well together.

Many thanks in advance

Bogester

Focal 706. Around 91/92 dbs and sound great with Arcam.

 

[Bogester]

Hi Bogester

Monitor Audio's Silver Audio's Silver RX1's are also worth a look as the Solo Mini forms a good tonal match with the RX1's

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Hi Rick, thanks for the suggestion. I actually home-auditioned some Monitor Audio Bronze BX1s last week, and while I thought they were better in many ways than the Dali Lektor 1s, I found them a little warm for my tastes (this might have been remedied by playing with their positioning, of course, but I didn't experiment too much). Do the RX1s have a similar tonal balance to the BX1s'? I'm actually in the process of home auditoning the Q300s, so I'll have a better idea about these in a couple of days. If I decide that I'm not keen on the Q300s then I'll definitely see if I can audition the RX1s. (BTW, am I the only one who actually likes the look of the Q300s?!?!)

Cheers
Bogester

 

[Bogester]

I meant BX2s, not BX1s, in my last post...

 

[Bogester]

Well, I've been auditioning a run-in pair of Q300s on my Arcam Solo Mini system and, I must say, I'm rather impressed. The detail, imaging and soundstage of these speakers are superb. True, they're not particularly warm sounding, but neither are they lean and brittle sounding. Their midrange, in particular, is tremendous - I've never heard vocals so clear and transparent on my system as with these speakers. I also find no evidence of treble harshness when paired with the Arcam, something which

I've not auditioned the MA RX1s, and probably won't bother. From what I've read, they sound like they need even more care in their positioning than the Q300s (I can't afford to position speakers two feet from the rear wall in my current house, even if I might be able to when I move to the US).

One final comment: with the front baffles removed the KEFs look great! Of course, they're far more likely to polarise opinion than more anodyne designs, but to me they look fab.

Cheers

Bogester

 

[manicm]

Thanks for that Bogester - food for thought for my Solo Mini if I move to a bigger place. But I suspect the older iQ30s (they still make them) would also sound very good with the Arcam.

 

[manicm]

...however my first priority will be the drDock