KEF new R speakers in February 2023?

[onalswina]

Hi everyone, recently I went to a store, to get new speakers and noticed all KEF R 3 speakers were on clearance sale. Anyway KEF wasn’t my priority, and upon listening I liked them was not completely my type of sound. the store manager was very helpful, he knew I kind of liked it, but he also didn’t understand what part I didn’t like. He told me just to wait a month until the new version comes out, currently they are clearing the current stocks, for a new version with Meta in February. Is it worth waiting a month for them ?

 

[lovinthehd]

I'm not much of a Kef fan, just sounds like a salesman talking to you in an audio store....

 

[ryanosaur]

Makes sense they are bringing Meta to the R series. I hope they work on improving the Speakers, too. The old Flagship of that line, the R900 was legitimately a good Speaker. Compared to the R11 it was an amazing Speaker.

Overall, I respect what KEF has done, in general. The Speakers usually sound good, but you need to be off-axis for a good listen. I ended up with some listening fatigue from my time with the Q950 and R900. Head on, they are just a little too forward in some regards... too much energy intensity. I don't recall measurements showing anything amiss, but definately a strong... "presence."

I haven't checked out any of the Meta gear. I've got great Speakers and no desire to play with KEF anymore. Word is good about them. But not enough to urge me to re-evaluate them.
If you aren't down with the KEF sound, I don't think the Meta is going to change anything so dramatically that it will set a new paradigm.

 

[Kingnoob]

Makes sense they are bringing Meta to the R series. I hope they work on improving the Speakers, too. The old Flagship of that line, the R900 was legitimately a good Speaker. Compared to the R11 it was an amazing Speaker.

Overall, I respect what KEF has done, in general. The Speakers usually sound good, but you need to be off-axis for a good listen. I ended up with some listening fatigue from my time with the Q950 and R900. Head on, they are just a little too forward in some regards... too much energy intensity. I don't recall measurements showing anything amiss, but definately a strong... "presence."

I haven't checked out any of the Meta gear. I've got great Speakers and no desire to play with KEF anymore. Word is good about them. But not enough to urge me to re-evaluate them.
If you aren't down with the KEF sound, I don't think the Meta is going to change anything so dramatically that it will set a new paradigm.

Kef being so popular why does my best-buy never have it ? They got it online only or something.. I like the Klipch sound but kef is a different sound I’d imagine coaxial is closer to pro gear ? As I’ve not heard them, but people always rave about them on audio sites .

 

[onalswina]

Hi everyone, recently I went to a store, to get new speakers and noticed all KEF R 3 speakers were on clearance sale. Anyway KEF wasn’t my priority, and upon listening I liked them was not completely my type of sound. the store manager was very helpful, he knew I kind of liked it, but he also didn’t understand what part I didn’t like. He told me just to wait VidMate Mobdro a month until the new version comes out, currently they are clearing the current stocks, for a new version with Meta in February. Is it worth waiting a month for them ?

I got this,..

 

[highfigh]

I'm not much of a Kef fan, just sounds like a salesman talking to you in an audio store....

How many models have you listened to?

 

[highfigh]

Kef being so popular why does my best-buy never have it ? They got it online only or something.. I like the Klipch sound but kef is a different sound I’d imagine coaxial is closer to pro gear ? As I’ve not heard them, but people always rave about them on audio sites .

Not all manufacturers want to be sold in stores where the sales staff know as little about AV as most Best Buy employees. Best Buy stores are also about as far from a good demonstration site as you can get. If you want to listen to speakers in a sound demonstration, make sure the room is at least similar to what's in some homes, as far as size. Listening inside of a giant box isn't going to let you hear them in any way that approaches a realistic situation.

 

[DigitalDawn]

Not all manufacturers want to be sold in stores where the sales staff know as little about AV as most Best Buy employees. Best Buy stores are also about as far from a good demonstration site as you can get. If you want to listen to speakers in a sound demonstration, make sure the room is at least similar to what's in some homes, as far as size. Listening inside of a giant box isn't going to let you hear them in any way that approaches a realistic situation.

That's very true.

 

[KenM10759]

I don't know if it's February. That is possible, though I've only heard "1st quarter 2023."

As I've owned both the original LS50 and the LS50 Meta at the same time, I'm of the opinion that the Metamaterial treatment is of minimal impact. Some reviewers comment that it's very obvious improvement in smoothness of the high frequencies. I do know they had to rework the crossovers on all Meta version speakers, so any percieved improvement in other areas could be just a product of that tweak.

No secret here, I'm into KEF and now own the 2019-2021 Reference 1 (non-Meta) speakers. I came off those LS50's and a full set of original R series (2012-2018) and I still don't know how they manage to make the R series sound so damned good yet Reference series takes it up several notches.

They are all somewhat more sensitive to good room acoustics than some other speakers to sound their best. They have historically been among the worst demo'd speakers at a Best Buy/ Magnolia because reflective rooms accentuate their worst traits.

 

[JohnMadsen]

Makes sense they are bringing Meta to the R series. I hope they work on improving the Speakers, too. The old Flagship of that line, the R900 was legitimately a good Speaker. Compared to the R11 it was an amazing Speaker.

Overall, I respect what KEF has done, in general. The Speakers usually sound good, but you need to be off-axis for a good listen. I ended up with some listening fatigue from my time with the Q950 and R900. Head on, they are just a little too forward in some regards... too much energy intensity. I don't recall measurements showing anything amiss, but definately a strong... "presence."

I haven't checked out any of the Meta gear. I've got great Speakers and no desire to play with KEF anymore. Word is good about them. But not enough to urge me to re-evaluate them.
If you aren't down with the KEF sound, I don't think the Meta is going to change anything so dramatically that it will set a new paradigm.
I also like KEF speakers. They are the best. I don't have enough money to buy them. And that is why I want to earn money and I found https://casinosters.com/no-wagering-casinos/ website which helps me in finding those sites where I can play online real money games and by winning those games, I can earn real money while staying at home only.

I also like KEF speakers. They are the best.

 

[cpp]

I've been into Kef since the 70's when I bought my first Kef speaker 104ab. Since then I have owed a Coda 7, Kef 140, and I still have my 140's and 202/2. The 104ab is in a box in storage.

 

[KenM10759]

Before the year is out, that Metamaterial technology will be part of the Q series as well. I've owned LS50 and LS50 Meta at the same time in the recent past and it really does smooth out the treble response, though if I hadn't gotten such a great bargain on the Meta version I wouldn't have bought them.

I can only guarantee one thing about the upcoming implementation: There will be an overabundance of owners of the current R series asking "Is it worth the price increase to change." The answer will be the same: Only if you've heard them and think it's worth the spend.

That's why I'm sitting tight with my Reference 1's and don't own the Meta version yet.