KEF Reference3 vs b&w 804 D3

[PENG]

Until auto eq blows out 8 804 d3 woofers and 2 HTM2 D3 woofers

Haha, in your case, I am just speculating and taking an educated guess . Further , here I referred to eq'ing high frequencies and cuts , not boost , very different !
Don't forget too , you play reference level with small speakers not designed to play so loud in a large room .

 

[Turk]

I wish the audyssey pro app would let me eq just 500 and up.
It lets me cut the high off and do only low but not the opposite.
Unless there is something that I’m missing...

 

[PENG]

I wish the audyssey pro app would let me eq just 500 and up.
It lets me cut the high off and do only low but not the opposite.
Unless there is something that I’m missing...

The benefits of room eq is mainly if not only for frequency below 500/600 hz though.

You should accept the fact that you can't expect a cat to roar like a lion does .

 

[Turk]

Haha I’ll keep that I’m mind

 

[PENG]

Haha I’ll keep that I’m mind

As TLSG suggested , you need the 800 D3. I think the 802 D3 will also work, so will the kef R900, Focal 1038 be , the big rbh towers , or Polk audio's large LSIM rowers , among others .

An alternative is to reduce your spl requirement by about 6 db or 3 db but sit much closer.

 

[Turk]

As TLSG suggested , you need the 800 D3. I think the 802 D3 will also work, so will the kef R900, Focal 1038 be , the big rbh towers , or Polk audio's large LSIM rowers , among others .

An alternative is to reduce your spl requirement by about 6 db or 3 db but sit much closer.

Haha I moved the couch closer by 1’ and got yelled at by the wife

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Haha I moved the couch closer by 1’ and got yelled at by the wife

Lol! That’s why you move it like 2” at a time...

 

[PENG]

By the way did you get those woofers replaced?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Haha, in your case, I am just speculating and taking an educated guess . Further , here I referred to eq'ing high frequencies and cuts , not boost , very different !
Don't forget too , you play reference level with small speakers not designed to play so loud in a large room .

Did we ever establish exactly how loud in terms of SPL?

 

[Turk]

By the way did you get those woofers replaced?

They are in the mail I believe.

 

[PENG]

Did we ever establish exactly how loud in terms of SPL?

Not exactly but sort of, because in his post#1 in the other thread he said he had the volume at 80-83. So assuming he ran Audyssey correctly, 80-83 is the same as 0 to +3 on the relative scale, that means he should be getting 85 to 87 dB at his main mic position when watching movies by THX standard.

In the other thread, he just told TLSGuy he used another mic so now that just introduced another unknown. D&M and Audyssey are very clear about the need to use the mic that came with the AVR, not just any mic.

 

[Turk]

Not exactly but sort of, because in his post#1 in the other thread he said he had the volume at 80-83. So assuming he ran Audyssey correctly, 80-83 is the same as 0 to +3 on the relative scale, that means he should be getting 85 to 87 dB at his main mic position.

In the other thread, he just told TLSGuy he used another mic so now that just introduced another unknown. D&M and Audyssey are very clear about the need to use the mic that came with the AVR, not just any mic.

I have 2 different marantz at my house so I just happen to have 2 mic both have same part number and everything.

 

[PENG]

I have 2 different marantz at my house so I just happen to have 2 mic both have same part number and everything.

Then you should be fine, thanks.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...he should be getting 85 to 87 dB...

That's not too loud.

To blow speaker drivers, especially woofers, I expected a lot higher volume than that.

 

[PENG]

That's not too loud.

To blow speaker drivers, especially woofers, I expected a lot higher volume than that.

It's the dynamic peaks, he said it blew during explosion scenes iirc.

 

[KenM10759]

I just saw some photos of the 6-1/2" woofers from both the KEF R700 and Reference 3. The difference is profound. I would say the photos of the failed B&W woofer were more like the woofer in the R700. The woofer from the Reference 3 was built just SO much more robust it was unreal.

I'm glad to see it was that way, given the 3.7x cost differential. It would take severe abuse for anyone to blow the Reference 3 build. Huge voice coil, looked like Kevlar spider, thicker leads, everything was overkill.

 

[PENG]

I just saw some photos of the 6-1/2" woofers from both the KEF R700 and Reference 3. The difference is profound. I would say the photos of the failed B&W woofer were more like the woofer in the R700. The woofer from the Reference 3 was built just SO much more robust it was unreal.

I'm glad to see it was that way, given the 3.7x cost differential. It would take severe abuse for anyone to blow the Reference 3 build. Huge voice coil, looked like Kevlar spider, thicker leads, everything was overkill.

I agree, that's why I recommended the R900 instead because the R700 won't likely take much more abuse than his 804 D3 can.

 

[KenM10759]

The R900 is nice, but still won't have the incredibly robust build of what I saw in the Reference 3's woofer.

There photos are posted in the KEF Owner's Group thread on avsforum.com

 

[PENG]

The R900 is nice, but still won't have the incredibly robust build of what I saw in the Reference 3's woofer.

There photos are posted in the KEF Owner's Group thread on avsforum.com

No, the R series are not in the same category at all. It's like comparing a base model Camry L to a Leus ES350 excecutive package, and some.. In listening session though, I doubt the R900 would yield much to the 804 D3 in a blind test, in fact the R900 would win in the bass department especially at reference level in a larger demo room.

Not relevant to this thread, I would say the LS50+two nice subs will sound better (and more accurate for sure) than the 804 D3 even in a medium sized room.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

No, the R series are not in the same category at all. It's like comparing a base model Camry L to a Leus ES350 excecutive package, and some..

Will the Lexus play louder than the Toyota?

My Lexus LX570 has the Mark Levinson sound system, but while driving (wind noise, road noise, car noise), it might as well be a JBL system in a Toyota.

The Lexus will have a better aesthetic and a quieter interior cabin, though.

Not relevant to this thread, I would say the LS50+two nice subs will sound better (and more accurate for sure) than the 804 D3 even in a medium sized room.

I'm sure Eargiant will have a few words to say about that.

But I definitely agree with you. Not that I think the LS50 sounds better than the 804D or 805D, but because there is no way even the $30K 800D3 can sound as good as 2 nice subs in terms of the BASS.

But the 805D + 2 nice subs will probably subjectively sound about as good as the LS50 + 2 nice subs, even if the 805D doesn't measure well and has a gigantic 7dB peak around 10kHz - unless you have hypersensitivity to high frequency.