Thoughts on these KEF Q750's and more?

[LtDanNewLegs]

Sorry if this is long, but I've got some options here. In Canada, Visions had a killer deal that I'm having a hard time ignoring.

I'm re-doing my home theater room. Only parts left that I need are the receiver and L-C-R speakers. I WAS dead-set on waiting until I could get Paradigm Premier 700f's and the big 600c which would run me $3250 CDN locally with no tax. Then adding a receiver like a Denon 2600h for another $1000 or 3600h for $1500 (probably wait til on sale Black Friday and see what I could get), so basically $5000.

However right now I can get the following:
Denon 4500 ($2000 receiver!)
KEF Q750's for L-R
KEF Q250 for C
KEF Q150 bookshelfs
CUBE 12 sub
for $3,488 Cdn.

Sorry for the CDN numbers, no time to convert all of em...just take off 25% for the US price, that should roughly do it.

I'm thinking of 2 possibilities here:

1) I could get the package and turn around and SELL those speakers for about $3000, which is an excellent price for brand new KEF speakers of that order, then buy the Paradigms knowing I got that even better receiver for about $500. But I have to go through the hassle of selling them.

or

2) Maybe I give the KEF's a shot? That way I would have double subs (I have a SVS PB2000 pro) and an ATMOS system.

However I have NO knowledge of KEF because they were just off my radar...so opinions on KEF as a brand, and your thoughts on this problem would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mazersteven]

I have not heard the KEF's but have read positive feedback about them.
Wanted to post this to give you an Idea if your getting a deal on them.

Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

www.accessories4less.com

 

[ryanosaur]

I have auditioned the Q950s along with the R900. By reputation the Q750 is a good speaker. My experience with the other two is that they do sound good. That said, I am not a fan of KEF and would urge you to audition them before you buy them. My experience may be an outlier in the spectrum, but I found them fatiguing after about 30 mins. By the time I was done with the audition, I was done with KEF.
They are still a respected brand, and as I said: the speakers I auditioned performed well and are generally well regarded.

I would urge you to consider better subwoofage. That will be a week link in your system. I'm not suggesting you go out and blow 2K on an Uber-Sub, but shopping around may provide a better long term solution that you can grow with for several years while planning the next upgrade.
In fact, you already have the PB2000... you should keep that and plan on adding a second of those by next year. Matching Subs is a benefit when running multiples. The Cube in your list above will likely not perform on the same level as the SVS and will actually limit your usage of the SVS in the system.

Regarding the electronics, the Denon 3600 is a very well respected AVR and I would recommend that over the others. The inclusion of Audyssey XT32 makes it a pretty solid solution for room correction, especially with the Audyssey Editor App.

I've been eyeing the 3600 to replace an old Onkyo that blew just a few months ago. Usually they see a good price drop when the newer models hit (3700) but Covid is wreaking havoc with production and distribution, and I suspect that is why the 3600 hasn't seen the expected price drop.

Be patient and keep looking, learning about the gear in the meantime! You will save yourself a lot of heartache by not running out on an impulse spree!

 

[LtDanNewLegs]

I have not heard the KEF's but have read positive feedback about them.
Wanted to post this to give you an Idea if your getting a deal on them.

Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

www.accessories4less.com

Yeah, that's similar to the CDN price up here, so the same deal.

Btw the SVS PB2000 pro is fantastic. Thanks for the nudge that way in our previous discussions.

 

[LtDanNewLegs]

I have auditioned the Q950s along with the R900. By reputation the Q750 is a good speaker. My experience with the other two is that they do sound good. That said, I am not a fan of KEF and would urge you to audition them before you buy them. My experience may be an outlier in the spectrum, but I found them fatiguing after about 30 mins. By the time I was done with the audition, I was done with KEF.
They are still a respected brand, and as I said: the speakers I auditioned performed well and are generally well regarded.

I would urge you to consider better subwoofage. That will be a week link in your system. I'm not suggesting you go out and blow 2K on an Uber-Sub, but shopping around may provide a better long term solution that you can grow with for several years while planning the next upgrade.
In fact, you already have the PB2000... you should keep that and plan on adding a second of those by next year. Matching Subs is a benefit when running multiples. The Cube in your list above will likely not perform on the same level as the SVS and will actually limit your usage of the SVS in the system.

Regarding the electronics, the Denon 3600 is a very well respected AVR and I would recommend that over the others. The inclusion of Audyssey XT32 makes it a pretty solid solution for room correction, especially with the Audyssey Editor App.

I've been eyeing the 3600 to replace an old Onkyo that blew just a few months ago. Usually they see a good price drop when the newer models hit (3700) but Covid is wreaking havoc with production and distribution, and I suspect that is why the 3600 hasn't seen the expected price drop.

Be patient and keep looking, learning about the gear in the meantime! You will save yourself a lot of heartache by not running out on an impulse spree!

Thanks for the tips...I'm DEF keeping the SVS PB2000 pro, don't worry about that..the only option would be whether or not to keep the Kube12 as a 2nd sub in the system.

So by 'fatiguing' are you saying they're a bit too treble-rich? I absolutely LOVE neutral monitor-like sound. I'm a 22 year radio pro and sound is a big thing for me...so I don't like anything that isn't neutral. If you're saying the KEFs aren't neutral, then that's a big hit on them for me.

 

[mazersteven]

Btw the SVS PB2000 pro is fantastic. Thanks for the nudge that way in our previous discussions.

Congratulations glad your enjoying it.

Thanks for the tips...I'm DEF keeping the SVS PB2000 pro, don't worry about that..the only option would be whether or not to keep the Kube12 as a 2nd sub in the system.

I wouldn't even connect the Kube. It will limit the SVS.

 

[ryanosaur]

the only option would be whether or not to keep the Kube12 as a 2nd sub in the system.

Do not.

So by 'fatiguing' are you saying they're a bit too treble-rich? I absolutely LOVE neutral monitor-like sound. I'm a 22 year radio pro and sound is a big thing for me...so I don't like anything that isn't neutral. If you're saying the KEFs aren't neutral, then that's a big hit on them for me.

KEF's Uni-Q driver seems to perform well off axis, and I do not recall seeing anything on axis that makes me question their overall performance (as compared to, B&W speakers for example, which tend to have a distinct "colour" (yes, I used the British spelling just for them ))
In my audition, as I recall, the speakers were toed in pretty much directly at me in the LP. It was called out by some others that this likely shouldn't have been done. The guy that runs the shop is a big Point Source aficionado and, my guess, is that he wanted to bring that Uni-Q driver (basically a coaxial driver) to bear.
One other note is somewhere in the conversation about this experience, another member mentioned EQing his KEFs to tame that quality.
So, long story short, I found them fatiguing, but not everybody does. I do not think there is anything of concern about them overall. Of course, I also don't think I've ever seen any third party Spins done that show the performance of the Q750 or 950 towers. I've seen an anechoic measurement of the LS50, including off-axis performance, and it is solid.

As I said before, you should sit down and audition them if you can. My take is they sounded good... just something in the experience got to my ears.

 

[mazersteven]

 

[pcosmic]

Thanks for the tips...I'm DEF keeping the SVS PB2000 pro, don't worry about that..the only option would be whether or not to keep the Kube12 as a 2nd sub in the system.

So by 'fatiguing' are you saying they're a bit too treble-rich? I absolutely LOVE neutral monitor-like sound. I'm a 22 year radio pro and sound is a big thing for me...so I don't like anything that isn't neutral. If you're saying the KEFs aren't neutral, then that's a big hit on them for me.

Andrew Jones just released the Elac Unifi 2.0 series with the concentric driver btw. It should be very comforting in contrast to the KEF ear ripper.