Question Unhappy with KEF R300s

[manicm]

Try the usual suspects B&W 606/607, any number of Dali standmounts,

I'd audition the 607 s2.

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm of this thinking, I had the R300's for a while and they definitely benefit from a more powerful amp to control that bass. Like advised above the whole performance jumped up a notch.

Can i ask what source you're using?

Thanks

Using his sources: Matching Yamaha CD player and a modern, affordable Thorens table.

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks for the replied, everybody. Point noted about a more powerful amp controlling bass, but I’m not talking about flabby, indistinguishable bass notes; I’m talking about boomy, floor wobbling bass that over powers everything. They are big speakers, especially for standmounts, and this and the way they are interacting with my room is causing the problem. I’ve pulled them out, toed them in, toed them out, bunged them, half bunged them, every combination of the above you can imagine and still no improvement. Sources are a Rega turntable and a Rotel CD player.
I don‘t wish to change the amplifier at the moment. I’ve heard it with other speakers and rate it highly. It also has an excellent phono stage.
Many interesting suggestions above which I will read up on. I see sense in a sealed box design as this will allow me to place them closer to a wall, away from curious little hands.

What were the other speakers?

 

[plastic penguin]

The Amphions I mentioned are available below his £800 budget.

Amphion Helium 510 Loudspeaker | HomeSound, Hifi, Audiophile & Home Cinema, Edinburgh Scotland UK

www.hsound.co.uk

The basic LS50s are within budget.

 

[SteveH72]

I’m not sure about the LS50s. My understanding is that they need a decent amount of power to shone. More than the Brio’s 50W. However, I have no experience of them. I really do t want to move the Brio on. It’s an excellent amp with a great phono stage for my Rega turntable. I on,U.K. need one more input for the Rotel CD player.
B & W 606/7 S2 sounds interesting too. Would be interested to hear from any owners.

 

[MartinEvoke50]

Hello all. I’ve been running R300s with a Rega Brio and I’m not happy. There are many good qualities but the bass is unruly and overblown. Believe me I’ve tried every tweak with positioning, bungs etc. but the sound is just not to my liking; I’ve never been a bass head.
I got them to fill a 5x4m room but hanker for a more delicate, airy sound.
Any suggestions for alternatives? Thanks

Ideally you need an amp with a high damping factor to get a grip on that bass, something like the HEGEL amplifier

 

[muljao]

There's a lot of new amp suggestions here for an OP who says they don't want to change their amplifier

 

[plastic penguin]

What were the other speakers?

(Ahem)
If you could tell us what those speakers were it might give us opportunity offer something that'll be better suited.

 

[SteveH72]

(Ahem)
If you could tell us what those speakers were it might give us opportunity offer something that'll be better suited.

Heard it with some baby Spendors. Lovely sound but too small for my current room.

 

[plastic penguin]

Heard it with some baby Spendors. Lovely sound but too small for my current room.

If you can find a pair of Spendor A3. These are mini floorstanders. They occasionally come up for sale.
Or perhaps smaller Kef R100

 

[johnfryett]

Another vote for ATC - I have the 11s and they are brilliant.

 

[rainsoothe]

Try Focal Aria 906, Martin Logan Motion 15i and Quad S2. Or, if you can find a used pair for your budget, B&W PM1 with their matching stands.

Quoting my earlier post, since I think these are all better than B&W 600 series, and I also doubt a Brio can power ATC enough for them not to sound bland.

 

[SteveH72]

Thanks for all the suggestions; there are clearly many excellent speakers available. It’s highly frustrating not being able to get out and audition a few.

 

[Surly Sid]

You're right to keep the Rega Brio and ditch the Kefs. That's a great amp!

 

[gasolin]

Ideally you need an amp with a high damping factor to get a grip on that bass, something like the HEGEL amplifier

The rega amp is fine

 

[gasolin]

If you want an affordable pair of speakers look at system audio saxo 5 , they don't have a blooted or muddy bass a little on the slim side but can play deep bass if needed, they have an open sound wide soundstage and good depth, if asked to play loud theres no problem, it can do that and sounds great not to bright if the amp you have is neutral sounding and you only play good recored songs (mine is not angled towards the listening position) 87db and 8 ohm,7 year warranty if you register (free) .

SA saxo 5, compact loudspeaker, Click to read more | SA

SA saxo 5, compact speaker, Here is your most musical friend for the next 20 years. SA saxo 5 is a charming speaker. Click to read more

system-audio.com

 

[SteveH72]

You're right to keep the Rega Brio and ditch the Kefs. That's a great amp!

Have to confess to being a little disappointed with the R300s. I’m sure there are many reasons which aren’t their fault but I find the bass response to be excessive. Perhaps they do need better amplification but the Brio is no slouch. Lots of options to investigate. Thanks to all. I’ll keep you updated.

 

[gasolin]

If you don't need a ton of bass have you considered kef ls 50 meta ?

 

[RoA]

Have to confess to being a little disappointed with the R300s. I’m sure there are many reasons which aren’t their fault but I find the bass response to be excessive. Perhaps they do need better amplification but the Brio is no slouch. Lots of options to investigate. Thanks to all. I’ll keep you updated.

I can understand that. There is a way you may be able to get them to sound right in your room.

MiniDSP 2x4HD Pocket Size unbalanced DSP Processor | Kalibrate Limited | Home Cinema products, Calibration, DVD Players, 3D Glasses | Audio Systems | Cinema Systems

MiniDSP 2x4HD Pocket Size unbalanced DSP Processor

www.chromapure.co.uk

If you have a 'problem' room that may be a good idea anyway.

Since using an active speaker with DSP I find it highly useful, even though it is usually only used and calibrated one time once in situ (until you move house or re-arrange the room).

I hope you can sort your system.

 

[gasolin]

why do many asume it's just a matter of the room, mabye it's just a synergy between the amp,speakers and how op what's the music to sound like

 

[RoA]

why do many asume it's just a matter of the room, mabye it's just a synergy between the amp,speakers and how op what's the music to sound like

Nothing was assumed. My reply included a 'may'.

The power of modern DSP, whilst not a panacea for everything, should not be under estimated (it generally has been used and appreciated in HT and Pro applications for a long time but many Audiophiles, including me in the past, baulk/ed at the thought of it). Very useful indeed.

Rooms unfortunately play a huge role but I appreciate that component changes will influence this too, hence my previous speaker suggestion.

Having said that, I now feel that most rooms benefit from DSD to some extent, some more, some less so. Room treatment also helps but not everyone likes to live in something resembling an anechoic chamber.

I guess that's a subject for another thread though.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Another vote for ATC - I have the 11s and they are brilliant.

MK1 or MK2 SCM11's please?