I am looking for an upgrade to my B&W 685 and I was wondering if the KEF R300 are a good match for a Rotel RA-1520. Unfortunately I can't really listen to them together without actually buying the R300.
Rotel 1520 and KEF R300
- Thread starter scorpionro
- Start date
MUSICRAFT
Well-known member
scorpionro said:
Hi scorpionro
Your impression/thoughts of your current system are?
Interconnents and speaker cables are?
What genre of music do you generally listen to?
The size of your room?
Is the room lightly or heavily furnished?
Room positioning of the speakers (distance to walls, corners, will there be anything between the speakers such as a cabinet, windows etc.)?
Distance between the speakers?
Listening distance?
Will anything be in the way of the speakers?
Are your current speakers stand, shelf or wall mounted?
Do you use the bass/treble controls on the amp?
Your general listening level?
Your maximum budget is?
With a change of speakers what kind of presentation are you looking for the system to reproduce?
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
MUSICRAFT said:
I generally like how it sounds. At times I feel that the sound is not clear enough and in some cases that it doesn't have enough weight. I've heard the R300s with a different amplifier and I liked the way they sounded.
MUSICRAFT said:
The ICs and speaker cables are Chord ( namely Chord Chameleon Plus and Chord Epic )
MUSICRAFT said:
Some classical music ( Beethoven, Mozart, Enescu, Bach, Berliotz ), various types of rock ( Pink Floyd, Metallica, Disturbed, Rammstein etc ), old rave ( such as Dune ), sometimes pop
MUSICRAFT said:
Around 5m per 4m
MUSICRAFT said:
Unsure what would mean heavily furnished. The room has a big couch, a coffee table, my desk with my PC, a chair, one book shelf, a cabinet, a wooden AV shelf with the TV on it and an audio shelf
MUSICRAFT said:
I think it would be simpler to just post a picture there, but I'll try describing it as well. The speakers are located to the left and right of the AV stand on which the TV sits. They are at around 15-20cm from the wall ( made of plasterboard ). The left one has a tall bookshelf at around 15cm on the left side. The right one has a wooden cabinet on the right side ( at around 15-20cm ). The left corner of the room is at around 70-80cm from the left speaker, while the right corner of the room is at around 2m from the rigth speaker.
MUSICRAFT said:
Around 1.6m
MUSICRAFT said:
Around 2.5m
MUSICRAFT said:
A small coffee table.
MUSICRAFT said:
They are on stands ( B&W FS700 loaded with Atacama Atabites )
MUSICRAFT said:
No.
MUSICRAFT said:
Quite low ( perhaps 15% most of the time and up to 30% maximum )
MUSICRAFT said:
1500 GBP, preferably lower at around 1000 GBP
MUSICRAFT said:
Perhaps better sound stage, improved clarity, but I'm not entirely sure.
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
- Jun 27, 2008
- 567
- 1
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The R300's will work great with the RA1520.
We've had all sorts on the R300's from classical, 70's rock, electro, dub and even some stupidly loud stuff that Luke plays where you can't understand the vocals. They're just so clean they seem to deal with anything. My own R300's are performing amazingly given that they're about 6-7" from the solid wall behind them (so plasterboard will be fine), and only using the outer part of the foam bung (so not fully bunged). They sound just as good at low volumes as they do high, probably down to their high efficiency and lively presentation. You have decent stands, so you'll have a good base for them.
I hope this helps
We've had all sorts on the R300's from classical, 70's rock, electro, dub and even some stupidly loud stuff that Luke plays where you can't understand the vocals. They're just so clean they seem to deal with anything. My own R300's are performing amazingly given that they're about 6-7" from the solid wall behind them (so plasterboard will be fine), and only using the outer part of the foam bung (so not fully bunged). They sound just as good at low volumes as they do high, probably down to their high efficiency and lively presentation. You have decent stands, so you'll have a good base for them.
I hope this helps
I'm under the impression the referred combination will sound a bit bright.
To be honest, I haven't heard the new R Series yet, including the R300, but if their treble reminds KEF's XQ Series, they will not sound natural with amplifiers like Rotel and Cambridge Audio.
Anyway, you are currently using B&W 685 which is not a perfect match for Rotel 1520 (at least for my taste). If you like them, you may like the proposed combination as well.
To be honest, I haven't heard the new R Series yet, including the R300, but if their treble reminds KEF's XQ Series, they will not sound natural with amplifiers like Rotel and Cambridge Audio.
Anyway, you are currently using B&W 685 which is not a perfect match for Rotel 1520 (at least for my taste). If you like them, you may like the proposed combination as well.
its always better to listen to someone who HAS actually listened/owned the speakers in question and is not just guessing as to what they will sound like.
The R300's are indeed stunning speakers and will work very well with the rotel amp, in fact they work very well with a number of amps and are easily driven, my rega brio-r drove them without effort, for me and my room they were just too big.
The R300's will require some space to work at there best without port bungs (around 1m to the side and 1m to the rear) but if you have the space then go for it they are great speakers!
I opted for the smaller R100's as for me i found i could position them better without having to use the supplied bungs, for my size room (15ft x 13ft) they just worked better, a perfect statement from Kef which sums up these speakers "Fast, clean and agile, with a low-end performance you would expect from a speaker double its size", and IMO double the price!
The R300's are indeed stunning speakers and will work very well with the rotel amp, in fact they work very well with a number of amps and are easily driven, my rega brio-r drove them without effort, for me and my room they were just too big.
The R300's will require some space to work at there best without port bungs (around 1m to the side and 1m to the rear) but if you have the space then go for it they are great speakers!
I opted for the smaller R100's as for me i found i could position them better without having to use the supplied bungs, for my size room (15ft x 13ft) they just worked better, a perfect statement from Kef which sums up these speakers "Fast, clean and agile, with a low-end performance you would expect from a speaker double its size", and IMO double the price!
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
- Jun 27, 2008
- 567
- 1
- 18,890
I have my R300's about 6-7" from the rear solid wall with only the outer part of the bung being used - no problems
MUSICRAFT
Well-known member
scorpionro said:
Hi scorpionro
Thanks for your reply.
I am sorry for this late response as this thread slipped my mind.
Anyway, i'll recommend that you should also consider ATC's SCM11 monitors. Please have a look at the following thread as it is similar to yours.
http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/1000-1500-euro-bookshelf-speakers-for-rotel-ra-1520-amp
http://www.atcloudspeakers.co.uk/scm11.php
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
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