Latest speaker group test

[Pistol Pete1]

Without giving too much away about the new magazine and the results within, was it really fair to put the following test together:

KEF Q700's (RRP £1000)

Spendor A5 (RRp £1500)

Kudos X2 (RRP £1350)

Totem Arro (RRP £1200)

Or are you just testing out the KEF moto, 'a class above'?

Surely the Q900's (RRP £1200) would have been better placed?????

 

[Simon Lucas]

As well as testing a pair of floorstanding KEF Qs after the Q300s had performed so well, we wanted to test a group of reasonably compact floorstanders. The Q900s are not, by any stretch, compact, so we went with the Q700s instead.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I would totally agree with you that the KEF Q900's are far from compact.....

Didn't read the title correctly, and as you have mentioned it is a 'compact floorstander speaker' test.......

Saying that I would have loved the MA RX8's to have been part of that test, as they are the same price, and I assume compact enough???

As for your comments on the Q700's......I reckon the Q500's may be 'under the same banner' as them, but maybe to a lesser extent. Although I find it depends on what music your listening to.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Pistol Pete1:
I would totally agree with you that the KEF Q900's are far from compact.....

Didn't read the title correctly, and as you have mentioned it is a 'compact floorstander speaker' test.......

Saying that I would have loved the MA RX8's to have been part of that test, as they are the same price, and I assume compact enough???

As for your comments on the Q700's......I reckon the Q500's may be 'under the same banner' as them, but maybe to a lesser extent. Although I find it depends on what music your listening to.

The RX8s are bigger than compact surely. I saw the Spendors recently and they are titchy!

RX8 - 960x275x388
A5 - 790x165x250

 

[The_Lhc]

Gerrardasnails:I saw the Spendors recently and they are titchy!

The A5? Yes they are and Spendor are bringing the even smaller A3 floorstander to the Bristol show!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

the_lhc:Gerrardasnails:I saw the Spendors recently and they are titchy!

The A5? Yes they are and Spendor are bringing the even smaller A3 floorstander to the Bristol show!

Yep, I just added the dimensions in my previous post.

To be honest, they were a little too small for me. However, I can see how great they would be for a lot of people who have space issues. Very nice looking too.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Gerrardasnails:Pistol Pete1:

I would totally agree with you that the KEF Q900's are far from compact.....

Didn't read the title correctly, and as you have mentioned it is a 'compact floorstander speaker' test.......

Saying that I would have loved the MA RX8's to have been part of that test, as they are the same price, and I assume compact enough???

As for your comments on the Q700's......I reckon the Q500's may be 'under the same banner' as them, but maybe to a lesser extent. Although I find it depends on what music your listening to.

The RX8s are bigger than compact surely. I saw the Spendors recently and they are titchy! RX8 - 960x275x388 A5 - 790x165x250

Ok, the RX8's are slightly bigger than the Q700's (92 x 21 x 30).........but still maybe a tad too big for this, I guess.....

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Pistol Pete1:Gerrardasnails:Pistol Pete1:

I would totally agree with you that the KEF Q900's are far from compact.....

Didn't read the title correctly, and as you have mentioned it is a 'compact floorstander speaker' test.......

Saying that I would have loved the MA RX8's to have been part of that test, as they are the same price, and I assume compact enough???

As for your comments on the Q700's......I reckon the Q500's may be 'under the same banner' as them, but maybe to a lesser extent. Although I find it depends on what music your listening to.

The RX8s are bigger than compact surely. I saw the Spendors recently and they are titchy! RX8 - 960x275x388 A5 - 790x165x250

Ok, the RX8's are slightly bigger than the Q700's (92 x 21 x 30).........but still maybe a tad too big for this, I guess.....

Pete, that might not sound a lot but adding 6.5cm to the width and nearly 9cm to the depth is a substantial amount and they are 4cm taller. Around 30% bigger?

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

In pure volume terms 76.7% bigger- (102.43cm3 x 57.96cm3)

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Ravey Gravey Davy:In pure volume terms 76.7% bigger- (102.43cm3 x 57.96cm3)

Thanks Davy, I've never been that good at Maths!

 

[jiggyjoe]

The dimensions you have given for the RX8 includes plinth and feet. Actual cabinet dimensions are 900*185*330mm

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

It is bloody amazing, percentage wise, what a few centimetres do in volume terms(no jokes please-serious maths statement).

It isnt something you normally sit down and work out. (unless you are bored at work,ahem)

Edit -OK- 5% smaller (still bored but it has passed some time)

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Ok, maybe the Quad 22L2 speaker then.....that muct be the right size???

Simon......one more question:

Were they single wired or biwired/amped for the test???

Thanks....

 

[Andrew Everard]

As is usual, we would have tried all wiring configurations.

 

[Simon Lucas]

Yes, what Andrew said.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Great...thanks for the confirmation.....

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Gerrardasnails:Pistol Pete1:Gerrardasnails:Pistol Pete1:

I would totally agree with you that the KEF Q900's are far from compact.....

Didn't read the title correctly, and as you have mentioned it is a 'compact floorstander speaker' test.......

Saying that I would have loved the MA RX8's to have been part of that test, as they are the same price, and I assume compact enough???

As for your comments on the Q700's......I reckon the Q500's may be 'under the same banner' as them, but maybe to a lesser extent. Although I find it depends on what music your listening to.

The RX8s are bigger than compact surely. I saw the Spendors recently and they are titchy! RX8 - 960x275x388 A5 - 790x165x250

Ok, the RX8's are slightly bigger than the Q700's (92 x 21 x 30).........but still maybe a tad too big for this, I guess.....

Pete, that might not sound a lot but adding 6.5cm to the width and nearly 9cm to the depth is a substantial amount and they are 4cm taller. Around 30% bigger?

Ok the KEF XQ30's then? 860 x 190 x 247mm, which would fit perfectly into this test, and as they are similar in price as the other's too.......

Say no more.......

 

[plastic penguin]

Andrew Everard:As is usual, we would have tried all wiring configurations.

May I ask a question about wiring? looking back through many of your mags since 2004, WHFI used to highly recommend bi-wiring with most speakers, but over the past two years or so, the aforementioned wiring has appeared to have gone by the way side. Is there any reason for this?

 

[Clare Newsome]

No strategic reasons.

As we said, we try it both ways (if possible) and report on any notable findings.

Products change, too - fact is, fewer speakers these days are designed to be bi-wireable.

 

[Frank Harvey]

As Pete mentions, the XQ30 was a far more ideal candidate for this test bunch.

 

[Clare Newsome]

yet not what KEF chose to supply

 

[Frank Harvey]

Did they know the conditions of the test beforehand?

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'd need to ask the test team that. But it's irrelevant - if we'd had both sets of KEFs in, they would have gone in the test if they'd both fit the price/size criteria.

Fact is, we simply didn't rate the KEF Q700 speakers as above average - that would have been the same if we'd reviewed them as a standalone First Test; the star rating and conclusions would have been exactly the same.

I'm puzzled as to why people are being so defensive!

 

[Pistol Pete1]

More shocked than defensive, to be honest.

Shocked because:

1) The only 'compact floorstander' in the Q series, is really the Q500's.

2) I, and others, have heard the KEF 'Q' series, and I know that people are buying them instead of MA RX's, B&W 600 series, etc. All are 5 star products.

3) The KEF XQ30 are compact speakers, and are in the price point that the other speakers were. Perhaps, therefore, a better match in this test.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Pistol Pete1:
I, and others, have heard the KEF 'Q' series, and I know that people are buying them instead of MA RX's, B&W 600 series, etc. All are 5 star products.

Totally respect the opinion of anyone who's heard the speakers and decided to buy them - enjoy

But to refer to them as five-star products (in a specific WHF sense) is something only our test team can do. We obviously love the Q300 speakers - they got five stars in both their First Test and a Group Test, beating some tough competition from just the ranges your mention, but we simply didn't feel (again, after much comparative listening) that the Q700 speakers are as impressive.

It's fairly common for speakers within a range to get different star ratings. Not only are they up against different competitors at each price point, but different form-factors can mean different performance from the drivers/designs involved.

Again, going back to the B&W 600 series and Monitor Audio ranges you mention - neither received five stars across the board.

Neither, indeed, did KEF's previous iQ range - where one model was a double Award winner and another got three stars.

As I say, it's typical to encounter this kind of variation, so don't understand why this example should be seen as exceptional.