Speaker advice KEF R900 & R600C

[LondonStan]

Hi all, its that time of year again and I am thinking about upgrades but I am a little undecided on what to do so looking for guidance from you fine folks.

I am no expert when it comes to home theater although decisions to date seem to have worked out for me, thanks partly to forums and testing kit in store.

My room is around 26 ft by 16ft, I sit around 14ft away from TV and Projector screen. Current amp is the Marantz 7011, speakers are Monitor Audio RX6 RX Centre, RX 1 and CD265 in the ceiling. sub is SVS pc12 NSD.

I was thinking about upgrading the sub (looked at SVS 3000) but then stumbled across some KEF R900’s and KEF R600 Centre which I can get all 3 for £2000 GBP as the new models are now out so they are clearing the KEF’s

trouble is I cannot visit the store and listen to them so will buy blind, I think the results will be great but not 100% convinced it’s the best upgrade for the money.

personally, I like to black gloss look and KEF’s look great imo.

appreciate any guidance you can provide.

oh, was also looking at power amp, which might be better if I do decide to get the KEF speakers.

thanks.

 

[PENG]

Hi all, its that time of year again and I am thinking about upgrades but I am a little undecided on what to do so looking for guidance from you fine folks.

I am no expert when it comes to home theater although decisions to date seem to have worked out for me, thanks partly to forums and testing kit in store.

My room is around 26 ft by 16ft, I sit around 14ft away from TV and Projector screen. Current amp is the Marantz 7011, speakers are Monitor Audio RX6 RX Centre, RX 1 and CD265 in the ceiling. sub is SVS pc12 NSD.

I was thinking about upgrading the sub (looked at SVS 3000) but then stumbled across some KEF R900’s and KEF R600 Centre which I can get all 3 for £2000 GBP as the new models are now out so they are clearing the KEF’s

trouble is I cannot visit the store and listen to them so will buy blind, I think the results will be great but not 100% convinced it’s the best upgrade for the money.

personally, I like to black gloss look and KEF’s look great imo.

appreciate any guidance you can provide.

oh, was also looking at power amp, which might be better if I do decide to get the KEF speakers.

thanks.

If brand new, £2000 GBP would be a great price for all 3 speakers, I paid at least that much (Converted to C$ and that was with a great discount at the time) for just the R900s.

The R900 does have impedance dips to below 4 ohms but are quite easy to drive so the SR7011 should be a good match. Sitting 14 ft away from the TV seems a little far if you like listening loud like that in the cinema but those speakers (R900 or RX6) are not designed to play very loud anyway and cannot handle much more than 250 W so adding a more powerful amp won't help much but you may get significant Placebo effects.

I don't know about the RX6 but based on my experience with the Silver 8 that should be better, I would say the R900 would be an upgrade.

 

[LondonStan]

Thanks Peng, much appreciated.

 

[KenM10759]

That's a killer price for all 3 speakers! I've seen used ones sell for more. The R600c is an outstanding center speaker, so you won't be disappointed.

Which subwoofer would you use for movies? Most music won't need one, almost every movie today has low frequency effects that even the R900's big drivers can't touch.

 

[everettT]

Noticed the closeout pricing here too. If the 900s measure as good as 500, should be a great setup, especially for the price.

SoundStageNetwork.com | SoundStage.com - NRC Measurements: KEF R500 Loudspeakers

www.soundstagenetwork.com

 

[LondonStan]

That's a killer price for all 3 speakers! I've seen used ones sell for more. The R600c is an outstanding center speaker, so you won't be disappointed.

Which subwoofer would you use for movies? Most music won't need one, almost every movie today has low frequency effects that even the R900's big drivers can't touch.

current sub is the SVS pc12 NSD, also could do with upgrading but think the current KEF R deal would be something not to miss given the price.

 

[LondonStan]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I just purchased the speakers so I will report back post initial listening.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

I paid the same for R500 + R200c few years back so that is a killer deal. Also I don't think that the new models are so big of upgrade from the old R series, so for value that deal is really good.

 

[KenM10759]

I paid the same for R500 + R200c few years back so that is a killer deal. Also I don't think that the new models are so big of upgrade from the old R series, so for value that deal is really good.

I think that's even less than I paid for my R500/R200c in 2015. They were still current speakers then, so I was (an still am) happy to have gotten them for $2625 US. List price for the R500 then was $2600, and the R200c was $1000.

 

[LondonStan]

Oh boy, these speakers are pretty big. Look great tho and initial impressions are great. Going to hit the 4K movie set this weekend but overall very happy with the deal.

in the end I managed to get R900, R600, R100 for £2200 and sold my much loved RX6 set for 620. Be sad to seem them go but upgrades are part of life.. least thats what I tell myself.

just need to work out if I stop for a year or look at other goodies.. it’s almost Christmas after all.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

I think that's even less than I paid for my R500/R200c in 2015. They were still current speakers then, so I was (an still am) happy to have gotten them for $2625 US. List price for the R500 then was $2600, and the R200c was $1000.

I think I got mine in 2014 and got pretty nice discount as well as I got some other stuff at same time. Through the years I also saw that the R500 alone went up in price for 450€.

 

[KenM10759]

Oh boy, these speakers are pretty big. Look great tho and initial impressions are great. Going to hit the 4K movie set this weekend but overall very happy with the deal.

in the end I managed to get R900, R600, R100 for £2200 and sold my much loved RX6 set for 620. Be sad to seem them go but upgrades are part of life.. least thats what I tell myself.

just need to work out if I stop for a year or look at other goodies.. it’s almost Christmas after all.

Have you got a subwoofer to boost the movie LFE (low frequency effects) that the R900's are just shy of being able to reach?

Very lucky to have gotten a pair of R100's! They're getting to be hard to find here in North American markets. What a fantastic bargain you got on the whole package too, incredible savings!

 

[LondonStan]

sub is pretty old, SVS PC12 NSD. Still seems to do a decent job tho. Just playing with crossover ranges now I have better front speakers.