KEF R5 vs JBL 570 vs KEF Q-Series

[john20182050]

Why do people even buy KEF Q-Series? It's not good enough compared to the price of JBL speakers. I have both KEF R Series and JBL 570 and 530 5.1 setups. JBL 570 almost close to the quality of KEF R5 but slightly brighter on high frequency and less mid-bass but costs only 1/3 KEF R5, and but JBL 570 is much better than Q950 and costs half of Q950. R5 is better than JBL 570 for sure though and I love it, but 20% extra quality cost 3X of JBL 570. I think KEF sells Q-series only to get the business of people who wants the KEF brand but doesn't want to pay the price R series and also make R5 series fans pay more for it. If anyone buys KEF, they should buy R series or higher. Otherwise, JBL is much better I think. I have listened to Q950 but not long enough but in my short audition I felt is not as good as JBL 570 when considering the price of 1/2. What's your thought?
Also, I think JBL 590 will be very close to KEF R5 costing less than half but I never listened to 590 though

 

[Pogre]

All good and valid points. I'd have to say I agree almost across the board with your observations. Kinda touches on diminishing returns too. Once you reach a certain level the "improvements" get smaller and smaller as the price goes up and up. The JBL 5 series are pretty popular 'round these parts so you'll find lots of agreement that they're really good speakers, especially when you catch them at 50% off!

 

[lovinthehd]

Where would the 580 fall Kef-wise? I've not had the pleasure of the Kef Q nor R series UniQ thing. I do like my 590/580/530 setup. Be a pain to get all those speakers here and setup comparisons, tho.....

 

[john20182050]

R5 is very good and It's better than JBL 570 for sure. But I wonder why people buy Q-Series instead of buying R-Series. If they want to cut the cost, they should better get JBL 570 or 590 instead of Q-Series IMO because it's better than Q-Series and very close to R5 costing 1/3 or less 1/2 of R5

 

[lovinthehd]

R5 is very good and It's better than JBL 570 for sure. But I wonder why people buy Q-Series instead of buying R-Series. If they want to cut the cost, they should better get JBL 570 or 590 instead of Q-Series IMO because it's better than Q-Series and very close to R5 costing 1/3 or less 1/2 of R5

Then again different people react differently to different speakers?

 

[Pogre]

R5 is very good and It's better than JBL 570 for sure. But I wonder why people buy Q-Series instead of buying R-Series. If they want to cut the cost, they should better get JBL 570 or 590 instead of Q-Series IMO because it's better than Q-Series and very close to R5 costing 1/3 or less 1/2 of R5

Well, you know the name "KEF" carries some authority in the audio world and not many people really have the experience to know the difference. For some the Q series might be the best speakers they've ever heard up to that point, and never even heard of the 5 series speakers. Also like HD alluded to, subjective preferences vary and what sounds good to you might not to someone else. This hobby is tricky business and it doesn't help that there are so many myths and misconceptions around it.

Bottom line is, do your homework. "Oops's" can be expensive and unrewarding. That's the reason we have forums like this. To help guide folks toward better purchases. When those JBL 5 series go on sale you can bet there will be a thread somewhere here about it and they'll get recommended a lot. You gotta keep in mind that most folks just don't know what's out there and have little to no experience listening to a well balanced hi end audio system.

 

[john20182050]

Then again different people react differently to different speakers?

Yes, I agree depends on the taste, preference and also how good their ears are.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes, I agree depends on the taste, preference and also how good their ears are.

You mean what by "how good their ears are" ? What if their ears have bad taste?

 

[john20182050]

You mean what by "how good their ears are" ? What if their ears have bad taste?

Yes, some people have bad taste, but some people like more bright, more high frequency than strong tight mid-bass or low ends. Some people can't even differentiate between very cheap vs high-end quality speakers

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes, some people have bad taste, but some people like more bright, more high frequency than strong tight mid-bass or low ends. Some people can't even differentiate between very cheap vs high-end quality speakers

Sometimes there is little difference between speakers of varying costs. Just saying not everyone will listen to the same speaker the same way, let alone in the same room and will have varying subjective opinions accordingly. Saying one speaker is definitively better than another you might do by measurements, but subjectively you'd need to gather quite a bit of consensus, preferably have done some blind listening tests too. You might also become a trained listener to up your game....this thread/video might be interesting in this regard https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/audio-blind-tests-and-listener-training-video.21026/

 

[Kingnoob]

Why do people even buy KEF Q-Series? It's not good enough compared to the price of JBL speakers. I have both KEF R Series and JBL 570 and 530 5.1 setups. JBL 570 almost close to the quality of KEF R5 but slightly brighter on high frequency and less mid-bass but costs only 1/3 KEF R5, and but JBL 570 is much better than Q950 and costs half of Q950. R5 is better than JBL 570 for sure though and I love it, but 20% extra quality cost 3X of JBL 570. I think KEF sells Q-series only to get the business of people who wants the KEF brand but doesn't want to pay the price R series and also make R5 series fans pay more for it. If anyone buys KEF, they should buy R series or higher. Otherwise, JBL is much better I think. I have listened to Q950 but not long enough but in my short audition I felt is not as good as JBL 570 when considering the price of 1/2. What's your thought?
Also, I think JBL 590 will be very close to KEF R5 costing less than half but I never listened to 590 though

I’d get 590 over kef . Money saved for same or better audio quality. Wish I had money for the jbl I’m stuck with old Klipch icons.. cause ear fatigue...

 

[kini]

R5 is very good and It's better than JBL 570 for sure. But I wonder why people buy Q-Series instead of buying R-Series. If they want to cut the cost, they should better get JBL 570 or 590 instead of Q-Series IMO because it's better than Q-Series and very close to R5 costing 1/3 or less 1/2 of R5

First the R series is much more expensive and not everyone can afford it versus the Q series. I have the Q750s Q650C combo and my HT has never sounded so good. I have never heard the JBL 500 series.

The JBL 500 series are ugly and suffer from poor build quality. I'm sure they're good speakers but after having 2 sets of horn loaded speakers in my room the sound stage I get with the Kefs in comparison makes me sure I'll never have another set of horn loaded speakers in my room.

And in the end it's all just an individual opinion as to which one is better. Every room and everyone is different.

 

[CajunLB]

I’d get 590 over kef . Money saved for same or better audio quality. Wish I had money for the jbl I’m stuck with old Klipch icons.. cause ear fatigue...

It might be me but it seems like ive heard that before..

 

[lovinthehd]

First the R series is much more expensive and not everyone can afford it versus the Q series. I have the Q750s Q650C combo and my HT has never sounded so good. I have never heard the JBL 500 series.

The JBL 500 series are ugly and suffer from poor build quality. I'm sure they're good speakers but after having 2 sets of horn loaded speakers in my room the sound stage I get with the Kefs in comparison makes me sure I'll never have another set of horn loaded speakers in my room.

And in the end it's all just an individual opinion as to which one is better. Every room and everyone is different.

No complaints with my 500 series build quality except perhaps their footings and the way they ship them installed and asking for damage (that I know some people had). Haven't experienced nor heard much else in the way of quality complaints. Not fine grade furniture, and the looks aren't for everyone but most speakers suffer in the beauty category too (I know eye of the beholder and all that but only so much you can do to pretty up a coffin box) but certainly adequate for the price. I doubt you can group every "horn" in the same category....were the others using in-house compression drivers and a well designed horn or were they Klipsch?

 

[Kingnoob]

It might be me but it seems like ive heard that before..

Tinnitus makes any speaker cause fatigue, especially tv speakers in the one room with no sound system .. maybe I’ll find a solution
Sure can’t get new speakers anytime soon ..

 

[kini]

No complaints with my 500 series build quality except perhaps their footings and the way they ship them installed and asking for damage (that I know some people had). Haven't experienced nor heard much else in the way of quality complaints. Not fine grade furniture, and the looks aren't for everyone but most speakers suffer in the beauty category too (I know eye of the beholder and all that but only so much you can do to pretty up a coffin box) but certainly adequate for the price. I doubt you can group every "horn" in the same category....were the others using in-house compression drivers and a well designed horn or were they Klipsch?

One was Klipsch and the other PSA with their newest Be (I think) tweeter. The PSA solved the harshness at high volume issue but neither had the sound stage that I get with the Kefs. I think my room and listening distance is too small/short for horns. Deeply recessed tweeters in horns are going to be more "focused" by design. It's a reason they can have greater volume. They're just not for me in my current space.

 

[lovinthehd]

One was Klipsch and the other PSA with their newest Be (I think) tweeter. The PSA solved the harshness at high volume issue but neither had the sound stage that I get with the Kefs. I think my room and listening distance is too small/short for horns. Deeply recessed tweeters in horns are going to be more "focused" by design. It's a reason they can have greater volume. They're just not for me in my current space.

With the smaller bookshelf 530 small room/short distance wouldn't be much issue I'd think. The towers, yeah, I'd prefer a bit more distance. I put my Studio 5 set (590/580/530) in a largish living room and moved my traditional Ascends (dome tweets) to the smaller bedroom. Worked out great.