Opinions are like booty's.....

[hizzaah]

Also wanted to ask if anyone has first hand knowledge on ordering open box or refurbished receivers/speakers from A4L? Good, bad, indifferent?

I ordered my Onkyo 7.1 from them last year as refurbished. I ordered it through their amazon account because it ended up being cheaper after shipping (I asked them if they would match the price on their site so they wouldn't have to pay commission to amazon, but they wouldn't).. Everything was packaged fantastically and in great shape. The speakers and receiver looked brand new, and the sub had some very light scratches on the front which was fine as it was refurbished..

Overall a pleasant experience, no problems with the equipment after a year (knock on wood) either..

 

[champscorner]

At some point ones own ear become the limiting device. Like scotch and a good cigar or caviar, no point spending big money if one can't appreciate the layers of flavor and finesse. In the latter case its just booze and a smoke or fish eggs... LOL!

To the OP, get the Q's, take the SO for a getaway or bank the cash. When you feel ready for a change, the hunt is on again .

So maybe you're saying my ears probably won't hear a difference between the R and the Q series??? So I can't appreciate the deliciousness difference between scotch/old crow, blueberry cush/schwag, and walleye/carp(modified in my newbie, blue collar terms...of course)

 

[champscorner]

I ordered my Onkyo 7.1 from them last year as refurbished. I ordered it through their amazon account because it ended up being cheaper after shipping (I asked them if they would match the price on their site so they wouldn't have to pay commission to amazon, but they wouldn't).. Everything was packaged fantastically and in great shape. The speakers and receiver looked brand new, and the sub had some very light scratches on the front which was fine as it was refurbished..

Overall a pleasant experience, no problems with the equipment after a year (knock on wood) either..

Thanks hizzaah! So +1 on a4l receiver refurbished. Anyone else have experience with refurbished receivers or open box speakers from a4l??? I suppose I'm more nervous of the speakers as you can buy a an extended warranty on the receiver but didn't see that option on the KEF Q900(open box) speakers???

 

[hizzaah]

Not sure how the KEF warranty works.. It says 5 years at the bottom of the A4L page, but only to the original owner. If they're open box, I wonder if they were registered to someone else..? Doubt it, but I'd email them and check if no one else chimes in

KEF WARRANTY INFORMATION

All KEF products are precision engineered and should give years of enjoyment. However, in the unlikely event service should be required, passive KEF products are warranted against FAULTY MATERIAL AND/OR WORKMANSHIP for a period of 5 (FIVE) years from the date of original purchase. Custom Installation (Ci) models are warranted for a period of 2 (TWO) years for both passive and motorized models.

Active Electronics are guaranteed against FAULTY MATERIAL AND/OR WORKMANSHIP for a period of 1 (ONE) year from the date of original purchase. Note: Subwoofers contain passive elements and active electronic elements, active elements are warranted for a period of 1 year and the passive components are warranted for a period of 5 years on such models.

All warranties are subject to the following restrictions:

This warranty is only valid in the country of purchase and applies to the first purchaser only.
That the equipment has not been disassembled, modified or tampered with by any person other than an expressly authorized representative of GP Acoustics (US) Limited.
That the equipment has not been abused or operated in conjunction with unsuitable, inappropriate or faulty apparatus.
That the equipment has not suffered mechanical damage or damage in transit.
That the Serial Number label(s) have not been defaced or removed.

 

[agarwalro]

The ringing of a metal cone near ~4khz could easily cause listening fatigue. You might not conciously recognize it, but that doesn't mean it can't hurt the experience.

I agree 100%, but, that is an egregious flaw. I was leaning more towards subtle improvements in imaging or soundstage and cleaner bass due to better speaker construction (lower distortion), as would be the case between the Q vs R series.

So maybe you're saying my ears probably won't hear a difference between the R and the Q series??? So I can't appreciate the deliciousness difference between scotch/old crow, blueberry cush/schwag, and walleye/carp(modified in my newbie, blue collar terms...of course)

LOL! Heck no . In your case, consider this. The improvements between the Q and R will be very subtle. The room and speaker placement will have a much bigger impact on the sound than the difference between the two speaker series. So, unless your speakers are going into an dedicated room with acoustical treatments, the improvements in going from Q to R will be swamped out by room generated inaccuracies. Further, you will have lost the higher volume capabilities of the Q900...

 

[champscorner]

OK guys I've been all over the net and just can't find a reason to pay more for the R over the Q(meaning gain over price). With me being a newb and all what do I really have to compare them to anyway right? I can't find ANY negative reviews on them accept a few reviews of people said they thought they were "flat" in the midrange....not enough to pay the extra cost of the R series at this point along with the fact there aren't many reviews on them. I'm 90% sure I'm gonna go with the denon 4311(refurbed through a4l) and kef q900(open box through a4l). I'm gonna holdout a week to make sure a better deal doesn't come up somewhere before x-mas. I have never ordered refurbed or open box anything so i'm nervous on that point. So the $ I HOPEFULLY will save on doing that will free me up to do the kef Q600c or svs pb12-nsd. I probably won't be adding anything until mid summer(6mons) after this. So.... should i go 3.0 or 2.1 and why??? Thanks for all your advice guys!

 

[agarwalro]

OK guys I've been all over the net and just can't find a reason to pay more for the R over the Q(meaning gain over price). With me being a newb and all what do I really have to compare them to anyway right? I can't find ANY negative reviews on them accept a few reviews of people said they thought they were "flat" in the midrange....not enough to pay the extra cost of the R series at this point along with the fact there aren't many reviews on them. I'm 90% sure I'm gonna go with the denon 4311(refurbed through a4l) and kef q900(open box through a4l). I'm gonna holdout a week to make sure a better deal doesn't come up somewhere before x-mas. I have never ordered refurbed or open box anything so i'm nervous on that point. So the $ I HOPEFULLY will save on doing that will free me up to do the kef Q600c or svs pb12-nsd. I probably won't be adding anything until mid summer(6mons) after this. So.... should i go 3.0 or 2.1 and why??? Thanks for all your advice guys!

I think you'll be just fine with the Q900. Carpe diem .

Go for 2.1 until next summer. The two towers will give you a phantom center and you won't miss it. Adding the sub will give you the low end grunt where the towers will roll off. Further, by crossing over the towers, the mids will come through clearer since the receiver and drivers are not being pushed as hard or called to produce the lowest octaves (which have relatively higher distortion for the speaker's mid and woofer).

 

[monkish54]

That cone breakup is a deal breaker for me. I've heard breakup and it is no good. I would go with the R series (assuming they used a notch filter) or the Soundfield audio monitor 1.

The R series also has better drivers with less non linear distortion.

I emailed KEF about it two days ago. I told them I can't recommend an otherwise excellent speaker because the cone breakup is not attenuated enough. They told me they would pass it on to their engineers. Let's hope they do!

I would also recommend looking at Revel.

Good luck!

 

[champscorner]

Thanks all for you opinions!!! I pulled the trigger on the KEF Q900 and the Denon 4311 today!!! I'm going to do a bit more reading but I'm about 90% sure I'll be ordering the svs sub tomorrow