KEF R3 Speaker Review

[TimVG]

Is that lateral ER DI?

Yes. You can calculate them in REW by dividing the LW by the Sidewall curve from the horizontal reflection txt file. Then apply the needed offset and voila.

 

[QMuse]

Yes. You can calculate them in REW by dividing the LW by the Sidewall curve from the horizontal reflection txt file. Then apply the needed offset and voila.

Well done!

I suggest you add a comment that explains that in your post with graphs so it is clear what you did.

 

[maty]

Crossover frequency is 2.9 kHz or quite a bit higher than 1 kHz. Why should a dip be there?

There is not one in KEF measurements either.
View attachment 54162

KEF coaxial with woofer, in soundstagenetwork.com measurements: KEF R500, KEF R11, KEF Q750... have the dip. KEF Reference 3 too.

 

[BYRTT]

So the wires go from the back to the coaxial driver, and then from the coaxial driver to the other terminals that then connect to the woofers? Can't really understand what you're saying.

My understanding is that there are 4 posts on the back. Two go to a simple crossover for the tweeter/midrange, and two go to the woofer. You can power them separately, or together, in which case the woofer is getting the same signal the coaxial does, filtered by a crossover.

Sorry my bad if it wasn't clear i was joking about that the user by mistake had no electric signal going to woofer and no signal to woofer is same as bad woofer integration isn't.

 

[maty]

Can expensive x-over components actually make a measurable difference in the sound as long as nothing is being overloaded?

PURIFI SPK5 crossover
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/revi...and-1et400a-amplifier-technology-review-r866/

 

[daftcombo]

1. Warm, fantastic mid to upper bass. I can't emphasize enough how much difference this makes and how it impacts my subjective reviews.

Isn't it because that kind of speakers with a bump around 100Hz make up for a floor cancellation in your room at your listening position?

 

[TimVG]

Well done!

I suggest you add a comment that explains that in your post with graphs so it is clear what you did.

Done.

Interestingly enough. If we take the Kali IN (ex Harman employees) and apply the same logic, we get a DI that's closer to the what the Harman products end up being than most other products. So perhaps not as farfetched after all.

 

[QMuse]

Done.

Interestingly enough. If we take the Kali IN (ex Harman employees) and apply the same logic, we get a DI that's closer to the what the Harman products end up being than most other products. So perhaps not as farfetched after all.

View attachment 54213

Very interesting. IMO opinion those 2 curves are too similar for it to be a coincidence - obviously same school of development.

 

[TimVG]

Overlay of JBL 705p (liked), Revel M16 (liked), and Kali IN8 (liked when not broken?) directivity as calculated by Listening window over sidewall reflection average

For 3 very different speakers, very similar.

Now let's do the M16 vs the KEF R3

M16 vs Ascend Sierra2

 

[QMuse]

Can you plz do M16 vs Harbeth?

 

[QMuse]

Overlay of JBL 705p (liked), Revel M16 (liked), and Kali IN8 (liked when not broken?) directivity as calculated by Listening window over sidewall reflection average

View attachment 54214

For 3 very different speakers, very similar.

Now let's do the M16 vs the KEF R3

View attachment 54215

M16 vs Ascend Sierra2

View attachment 54216

Interesting result for Ascend..

 

[TimVG]

Can you plz do M16 vs Harbeth?

 

[TimVG]

Kevin Voecks:

"The second-loudest sound, after the direct sound, is the first reflected sound from the loudspeakers. In fact, Harman research has discovered that the first reflection from side walls, both from the wall adjacent as well as the opposite side wall are critically important. The acoustic output of a loudspeaker far off-axis horizontally is very significant, and should match the response of the Listening Window as much as possible. This goal is technically challenging, but is essential for optimum timbre, as well as to provide a sense of seamless coherency"

 

[QMuse]

View attachment 54217

Interesting.. better than I expected. Harbeth is obviouly spreading horizontal reflections wide and, barring that peak 2400Hz, in a pretty uniform way.

Maybe it would actually perform well in accordance to it's score in a listening test.

 

[tuga]

Kevin Voecks:

Shouldn't the predicted as well as the actual room response reflect this?

 

[QMuse]

Kevin Voecks:
"The second-loudest sound, after the direct sound, is the first reflected sound from the loudspeakers. In fact, Harman research has discovered that the first reflection from side walls, both from the wall adjacent as well as the opposite side wall are critically important. The acoustic output of a loudspeaker far off-axis horizontally is very significant, and should match the response of the Listening Window as much as possible. This goal is technically challenging, but is essential for optimum timbre, as well as to provide a sense of seamless coherency"

One has to ask a question why that finding is not reflected in a scoring system.

 

[thewas]

Overlay of JBL 705p (liked), Revel M16 (liked), and Kali IN8 (liked when not broken?) directivity as calculated by Listening window over sidewall reflection average

View attachment 54214

For 3 very different speakers, very similar.

Now let's do the M16 vs the KEF R3

View attachment 54215

M16 vs Ascend Sierra2

View attachment 54216

Interesting that the Kali IN-8 is more similar there to the oval waveguide Harman loudspeakers than to the also 5" coaxial KEF, maybe the price to be paid for the smoother on axis behaviour and dispersion in the higher frequencies of the KEF tangerine waveguide?

 

[tuga]

Interesting.. better than I expected. Harbeth is obviouly spreading horizontal reflections wide and, barring that peak 2400Hz, in a pretty uniform way.

Maybe it would actually perform well in accordance to it's score in a listening test.

The current model is practically flat on-axis and would perform better.

 

[QMuse]

.. maybe the price to be paid for the smoother on axis behaviour and dispersion in the higher frequencies of the KEF tangerine waveguide?

I'm sure Maty knows the answer.

 

[thewas]

One has to ask a question why that finding is not reflected in a scoring system.

The same reason that it doesn't reflect problems in the on-axis and directivity smoothness but just considers the smoothness of the listening window, due to the relatively small loudspeaker sample and regression model only 4 parameters could be chosen to avoid underfitting and possibly not the best ones.