Kef R Series subwoofer???

[scoobysteve]

Have any of the retailers had these in to try yet and if so whats it like?

Are there better £1000 subs out there?

Want eventually to have the R series centre fronts and rears and makes sense to eventually get the same sub i would of thought, but for that kind of money would you choose a different one?

Kind regards.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Unfortunately, the R400b will be the last product out, which should be the end of November, so no dealers have had these in yet.

It'll be interesting to see how it performs - I can't think of another force cancelling sub under £1k, maybe more - the only one that springs to mind is the £3,300 B&W DB1.

Of course, you don't have to have the same manufacturer's sub. Sometimes a smaller, or maybe larger sub may be required to service a particular size room or volume requirement, so it's just a case of choosing one to suit your room or your volume needs.

 

[Anonymous]

That's interesting Dave, I was speaking to the dealer I use with regards to listening too and then purchasing the R100 (as per my thread you replied to recently) and he tells me that they are currently in manufacture and won't be available to the end of November too, is this true? It doesn't sound like it if the sub will be the last item out.

 

[Frank Harvey]

It really depends how much stock KEF want to build up before shipping them. Don't forget that the whole range is made in one place, and the stock will be distributed all over the world, so they can't just make 100 and share them out. I believe there is about 68 R series dealers, so they need to make in excess of 100 to cover dealer's demo stock and back up stock the dealers have already ordered. And that's just the UK. They may need to make a couple of thousand or more before they start sending out stock worldwide, but I'm just guessing. I've had no update other than the end of this month, but if I hear any different I'll post up.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

We have the same info and expect the sub to be the last item to arrive. I am looking forward to testing it against the Paradigm Seismic 110 - our current £1000 choice. KEF have gone to town on the rest of the range so I am sure the sub will be a winner and worst case I doubt there will be much in it against the competition. It has the added advantage of looking the business!

 

[scoobysteve]

It does look fantastic!

Has anyone got any of the R series up and running in a familiar room yet to give a view on what they think of them?

They sounded fantastic at Manchester show but so did a lot of things!

Would be interesting to hear what any of the retailers on here think of them if they have them running yet?

Had an interesting phone call with a dealer on the What hifi top 20 retailers list today and asked him if he stocked Kef?

His reply was quite interesting as he said "we don't bother with Kef since they sold out to the far east as everything they make is rubbish and B&W are miles better in every way"

Seems strange when everyone else is raving about them.

 

[Anonymous]

It does look fantastic!

Has anyone got any of the R series up and running in a familiar room yet to give a view on what they think of them?

They sounded fantastic at Manchester show but so did a lot of things!

Would be interesting to hear what any of the retailers on here think of them if they have them running yet?

Had an interesting phone call with a dealer on the What hifi top 20 retailers list today and asked him if he stocked Kef?

His reply was quite interesting as he said "we don't bother with Kef since they sold out to the far east as everything they make is rubbish and B&W are miles better in every way"

Seems strange when everyone else is raving about them.

Everything is made in china, thats why we have record youth unemployment.

MADE IN ENGLAND ......................... :shame:

 

[Frank Harvey]

Has anyone got any of the R series up and running in a familiar room yet to give a view on what they think of them?

Would be interesting to hear what any of the retailers on here think of them if they have them running yet?

I'm using 5x R300's in a 5.1 setup at home, which I managed to set up finally last night. Music is sounding amazing at the moment, and I'm going to let them run in a little more before trying out the likes of Tron, The Social Network, Seven, and Fight Club. I have to say though, the R300 is one of the finest speakers I've ever heard under £2k.

Had an interesting phone call with a dealer on the What hifi top 20 retailers list today and asked him if he stocked Kef?

His reply was quite interesting as he said "we don't bother with Kef since they sold out to the far east as everything they make is rubbish and B&W are miles better in every way"

:wall:

Well that's one way to ensure your fate - ignore major brands! Does he do Monitor Audio or B&W?

All three of those manufacturers have their products assembled in China except for their flagship ranges which are built in the UK, so I'm assuming he's talking about KEF being owned and funded by GP Acoustics. It's this funding that has allowed KEF to produce the Q and R series, and one of the best sounding loudspeakers currently on the market. For the record, all KEF products built in China are built by GP Acoustics own factory, not by some third party factory where they have no control.

 

[scoobysteve]

He does B&W, place is in Chester.

Hate it when people slag things of that they don't sell, makes you not want to trust a word they say.

To completely dismiss a company like that was rediculous!!

Frank how come your not using the 200c or 600c?

Is the 600c only for very large rooms or does it give a better sound?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hate it when people slag things of that they don't sell, makes you not want to trust a word they say.

It's not uncommon Steve....

Frank how come your not using the 200c or 600c?

David

For many years I've used Miller & Kreisel (who are sadly no longer with us), and their philosophy was based on identical loudspeakers all round, including the centre (as they do in mixing/mastering studios). The benefit of this is that it doesn't matter what sound passes from speaker to speaker, it will always sound the same (depending on wall proximity). While 'matching' centres do a good job, they're designed to be more room/space friendly, hence the 'lying on it's side' type of design - the drawback is that the driver layout is different, and sometimes the bass/mid drivers are different! Because of what I've been used to, I always go for a truly matching centre - exactly the same as all the other speakers. Uniformity and consistency is the name of my game

Is the 600c only for very large rooms or does it give a better sound?

The 600c will give you a larger scale and more effortless sound, and is designed to be used with the R300, R700 and R900 models.

 

[scoobysteve]

Sorry David, So to match driver sizes it would have to be R600c R300&R700 they are all the same arent they?

My lounge at the minute is only small so wouldnt really need the 600c but would like to go for it anyway as when we move eventually my lounge will be bigger.

Is it too simple to think that if I just turn the volume down on the larger speakers in a small room it will be ok or is it more complicated than that?

 

[Frank Harvey]

So to match driver sizes it would have to be R600c R300&R700 they are all the same arent they?

Yes

Is it too simple to think that if I just turn the volume down on the larger speakers in a small room it will be ok or is it more complicated than that?

Unfortunately, it is more complicated than that, but there are things you can do, if you feel the need. If you're using a sub, you can set larger speakers to 'small' (which I'd recommend anyway), limiting their lower bass output so they don't become overpowering - as an example, my Onkyo 5509 processor set the crossover point of my R300's to 40Hz (and to prove the point of consistency, all five of the R300's were set to 40Hz). I've upped that to 80Hz, as I don't want the speakers becoming stressed at high volumes, as this will cloud their abilities, and I want them to sound as clean as possible. Also, using the provided port bungs will help too - I'm currently using them for movies, but removing them for music. I'll probably have some thicker foam bungs made to tighten them up further, which will help when they're placed close to room boundaries.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

It does look fantastic!

Has anyone got any of the R series up and running in a familiar room yet to give a view on what they think of them?

They sounded fantastic at Manchester show but so did a lot of things!

Would be interesting to hear what any of the retailers on here think of them if they have them running yet?

Had an interesting phone call with a dealer on the What hifi top 20 retailers list today and asked him if he stocked Kef?

His reply was quite interesting as he said "we don't bother with Kef since they sold out to the far east as everything they make is rubbish and B&W are miles better in every way"

Seems strange when everyone else is raving about them.

I dont bother with B&W as they sold out years ago blah blah blah what I stock is much better ........Ahem. Everyone has there own way of selling but back on track.

We have the R-series set up in 7.1 ( paradigm subwoofer) while we run them in a bit. The 900s are at the front and they are quite a treat. We only have the small 200c centre at the moment and it doesnt really match in as you would expect. It still delviers but when things really get going it sounds small in the system with the 900s. I am sure the 600 will address that nicely.

It is a bit too early to rate the sound quality as we havent sat down to properly audition but intial impressions are good with a real lift over the old XQ. We have only got the black finish but the build quality on these cabinets is as you would expect for the price point.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I dont bother with B&W as they sold out years ago blah blah blah what I stock is much better ........Ahem. Everyone has there own way of selling but back on track.

Yet again, if this thread deteriorates into inter-retailer bickering, it's going to get pruned. And can all retailers now take this as a final warning, and a notification that zero-tolerance is now in effect in this regard.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

A little bit of humour from me that obviously doesnt translate that well in text. Apologies.

 

[Andrew Everard]

A little bit of humour from me that obviously doesnt translate that well in text. Apologies.

Too many examples of this retailer v retailer stuff of late...

 

[Excitable Boy]

Andrew - with all due respect, have to say I don't get you on this one at all. I think it's great when retailers passionately stick up for products they sell. Those who chose to slag off products they don't, say much more about themselves, and we can all chose to interpret what they say accordingly. What's the harm ??

 

[Andrew Everard]

Andrew - with all due respect, have to say I don't get you on this one at all. I think it's great when retailers passionately stick up for products they sell. Those who chose to slag off products they don't, say much more about themselves, and we can all chose to interpret what they say accordingly. What's the harm ??

There's a difference between 'sticking up for products they sall' – which is understandable, even if it can get very tiresome at times – and trading insults, which is what has been happening of late between a very small group of salespeople on here.