Kef r500 or 700

[Philim]

I have a room 3.5m x 5m and listen to a range of classical, rock, dance...a wide range of music. These will be powered via a nait xs.

Question is for a room that size will i need the larger r700s?

 

[CnoEvil]

IMO. You certainly won't need the R700s, as the R500s can kick out a lot of scale.......whether you want the R700s is another matter entirely.

You may have to try both in your room.

 

[philipjohnwright]

I agree with cno.

I heard the R500s at a show when they were playing in a room that was considerably (4 x) larger than yours. They weren't lacking in scale or bass at all, and sounded superb (even after the Blades). Whether the R700s would sound even better is another question. I personally would always get the best I could afford at a given time, so as long as their bass doesn't overwhelm your room then go for it. Bigger speakers aren't just about more bass, even though that's what most people focus on. Not exactly a like for like comparison but when I was downsizing from B&W 802s I tried the 805's and was struck by how much less dynamic they were than big brother.. Even my friends 803s sounded 'gentle' in comparison to the 802s.

 

[mgkwackerd]

I have the Kef R500, being supplied with a Cyrus DAC XP+ and two mono X power amps (150w each), I tried both in my room which is 4.9 x 3.9md, the R700's overwhelmed the room, the R500 are brilliant with great soundstage and little reflection, a fantastic speaker, very hghly recommended.

 

[Covenanter]

If I can piggy-back on this thread, out of interest what type of amplifier do the R500s need to drive them sensibly?

Chris

 

[mgkwackerd]

the more current delivered to the current Kefs the better, the uni-Q's seem to respond better to good current delivery and bi-wired or bi-amped even better.

 

[Frank Harvey]

IMO. You certainly won't need the R700s, as the R500s can kick out a lot of scale.......whether you want the R700s is another matter entirely.

You may have to try both in your room.

What he said 🙂

 

[eagle123]

if you can get a freindly dealer who is willing to let you try out the r500 and r700 then your ears and wallet will decide, as for what amp to drive them the kef r series are easier to drive than the reference models for those you need a amp that can deliver higher currents something like sugden amps

i got myself a r700 the r500 were more suited to music that already deliver the punch and scale, but the r700 are worth getting as the drivers are larger so is the cabinet size and volume.

As many do later is upgrade and the kef can be a good set up for cinema 5.1 set ups

 

[toyota man]

Hi both of these speakers are great if you can try before you buy I would . I would go for the r700 better bass and image in fack better all round they were just a little to big for my lounge 4mtrs x 3mtrs you can just see them in my avatar they blocked my good ladies view of the telly while sitting at the dinning table .they excell at every type of music I listened to blues folk pop rock classical metal prog acoustic go listen and enjoy 🙂

 

[hyettdman]

I have the kef r500, i have'nt tryed the amp in question to power them though, i use a denon av amp and the denon 2012ud as a cd player. I used to have the b&w cm5 speakers before i bought the kef r500 a month ago. The b&W's are no where near as good as the r500. The r500 have to be listened to, to get a real understanding of how musical they really are, they deliver big time, reeling off every music track you play them, layer after layer with a combination of emotion,tension,exitement,etc, with a truely fantastic soundstage combined with clarity, treble definition and bass definition as well. These speakers stop for nothing, unraverling really complicated music tracks. I would recommend these to anyone who loves good perfomance .

 

[CnoEvil]

If I can piggy-back on this thread, out of interest what type of amplifier do the R500s need to drive them sensibly?

Chris

"Sensibly" is a little subjective.

IMO. You could drive them with something like an Arcam A19, but I would rather go with something like a MF M3i, or one of the cheaper Electro amps....in fact they would do justice to substantially more expensive amps as well. They sound like a much more expensive speaker than their price would suggest.

 

[traianescu]

so, the denon is a good match for kef R series? i am thinking to denon x4000 to pair with my Kef R500 in a 2.1 system

 

[chrissasfre]

go for the r700 fantastic speaker they get better and better with whatever kind of music :dance:you will not regret it :bounce:

 

[chrissasfre]

go for the r700 fantastic speaker they get better and better with whatever kind of music :dance:you will not regret it :bounce:

 

[traianescu]

well, i had purchased r500, i don't need more.. i had asked only if it's a good pair with denon x4000 :read:

 

[Supreme]

Would the Arcam Alpha 9 and 9P be powerful enough for the R500? (75w each amp)

 

[matt49]

Would the Arcam Alpha 9 and 9P be powerful enough for the R500? (75w each amp)

Pete,

I'm sure your modded Arcams would be able to drive them with ease, especially as you're bi-amping. Do you have a local KEF dealer?

:cheers:

Matt

 

[Supreme]

Hi Matt

We have a SevenOaks in Exeter who stock KEF.

I think I'll give them a call and book a demo, take my ageing (modified) Arcam Alpha gear up with me and not say anything about the upgrades 😉

I'm very interested in the R500's but would also like to hear the LS50s just out of curiosity

 

[kmlav]

I use the r300's in a similar sized room and they are really good and I never feel that I want more bass, cyrus dac xp QX with x-powers in mono. Huge scale and great sound stage, but in the interst of balance I did not try the 500's as for me it was between the 100's and the 300's (the ls50 were not released at the time)

 

[p_m_brown]

This might sound like a bit of a daft question, but are there any other differences in the r series other than extra bass weight and scale as you go up the range? Resolution, detail etc?

 

[kmlav]

This might sound like a bit of a daft question, but are there any other differences in the r series other than extra bass weight and scale as you go up the range? Resolution, detail etc?

That is certianly true of the 100's to the 300's