Advice needed - Kef LS60 vs Kii vs D&D

[Vacceo]

I spent a day demoing the 8C and really liked it. Not a bookshelf IMO. The LS50 is what I would call a bookshelf sized speaker.

It replaced a couple passive ones on my house, so I agree with you.

 

[AudioJester]

You can treat a room without "treating it". Heavy curtains, bookshelves, upholstered furniture. I dont know of any pros getting the most out of their sound who don't treat. Same goes for basement ht.

Look up Amir's posts about room treatment for home audio. He has busted many of these myths.
But your right, typical furnishings, curtains, rugs etc. do the job.

 

[poopy]

Compared to Neumann KH420, ATC SCM 50/100/150, Geithain RL801K/901K, Sigberg Manta, etc, the 8C are….. bookshelf.

 

[prestigetone]

Dutch and Dutch is my pick. No real need for subs. The customer service is great, I only have good things to say about the owner and if you do run into problems with an amp, you can swap it out yourself in about 5 minutes. There's a reason they get talked about and praised so much. To me it's the best audio product in the last decade.

 

[prestigetone]

Look up Amir's posts about room treatment for home audio. He has busted many of these myths.
But your right, typical furnishings, curtains, rugs etc. do the job.

Yeah, it's not magic. Just tames some unwanted stuff imo but I am not an acoustician

 

[songOVERsound]

I asked them. According to the representative of Kii no bass module will be released for the Seven. There is no standard attachment slot either, the bottom is flat.

According to Kii they don’t want the Seven to become too similar to the Three. By releasing a bass module this will happen.

For people that are interested: I also asked if they release other colours besides white and grey. For now they won’t, if the Seven sells well they will.

My listening experience: for such a small speaker the Seven is quiet something. It sounds really clean (though the three sounded more neutral to me, but also more fatiguing, with very sharp treble -> could be the eq setting they used; in the setting of the listening room the Seven sounded somewhat warmer but also more likeable for me).

The bass is also very clean. I couldn’t compare the bass directly to that of the Kii Three because they only wanted to play the Three with the BXT module. Which was amazing to hear, but not something for a living room setup.

Wow thanks for asking and they answered transparently. I wonder what they would recommend for pairing a sub in this case

 

[poopy]

Mantas may take up a bit more area on your shelf, but they are not nearly as tall, and the more square footprint might be easier for lots of folks. Of course, they require at least one sub...

Mantas are 60cm high vs 48.5cm for the 8C. Agree though all examples I gave have a base nearly square-shape. Potentially easier to place, but much heavier (except Manta). Problem is more finding a sturdy stand, and if you do these stands are expensive.

 

[holdingpants01]

Didn't the the 8C used to cost around $12K?

there's a 8C Studio for around 13k€ and non-studio 8C for 15,5k€, that's a huge premium for MDF vs solid wood and streaming capabilities of home version and rather expensive overall, about 50% premium on top of the similar (as in full range active studio monitors, but both are 3 way which is preferable for some) Genelec 8361 or Neumann KH420 monitors compared to 8C Studio

 

[Pearljam5000]

+

there's a 8C Studio for around 13k€ and non-studio 8C for 15,5k€, that's a huge premium for MDF vs solid wood and streaming capabilities of home version and rather expensive overall, about 50% premium on top of the similar (as in full range active studio monitors, but both are 3 way which is preferable for some) Genelec 8361 or Neumann KH420 monitors compared to 8C Studio

So if the 8C is not a 3-way
Is it a 2-way?
2.5-way?

 

[poopy]

+

So if the 8C is not a 3-way
Is it a 2-way?
2.5-way?

It's 3 way

 

[holdingpants01]

+

So if the 8C is not a 3-way
Is it a 2-way?
2.5-way?

Ah ok it's 3 way, just funky

 

[DSJR]

Just a thought -

The OP has Lintons? if it's difficult to get home dems of all the speakers under discussion, would a friendly dealer be okay with taking the Lintons to their dem room. reason being that the OP could adjust to his existing speakers in the dem room as a reference and then 'judge' the others compared to it. This method's never ideal, but it CAN work prior to a weekend at home with a preferred model. You really don't need an all day session really, as one makes the decision in a very short time, the remaining just confirmation I'd suggest. Maybe in the case of these actives with eq adjustments, the extra time could be spent trying these, as Erin did with the LS60s in his room.

 

[Laagman]

Just a thought -

The OP has Lintons? if it's difficult to get home dems of all the speakers under discussion, would a friendly dealer be okay with taking the Lintons to their dem room. reason being that the OP could adjust to his existing speakers in the dem room as a reference and then 'judge' the others compared to it. This method's never ideal, but it CAN work prior to a weekend at home with a preferred model. You really don't need an all day session really, as one makes the decision in a very short time, the remaining just confirmation I'd suggest. Maybe in the case of these actives with eq adjustments, the extra time could be spent trying these, as Erin did with the LS60s in his room.

I think that’s a good method, cause I don’t know a dealer who carries the Lintons and one of the other speakers I managed.

Though where I’m from a big online electronics dealer is also selling the KEF LS60s. They are not hard on returns so could always order them there and return them if I don’t like them.

While a dealer location is not comparable to a home location, I’m always wondering: they are trying to sell me the speakers. So if they sound bad at the dealer, why would they sound good at home?

So I first want to make a shortlist by visiting dealers and later on I want to demo the models at home if possible.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I don't understand the dillema here
It all depends on your budget
Low: LS60
Middle: Kii 7
High: 8C

 

[Laagman]

I don't understand the dillema here
It all depends on your budget
Low: LS60
Middle: Kii 7
High: 8C

The dilemma is that even if one has the money for the 8cs. Is it worth to spend that much money on them? Even though finances allow it. I’m also conservative if it comes to money spending. I’m Dutch for a reason.

For example when I heard the Kii 7 in comparison tot the Kii 3, I found the Kii 3 not to be worth double the price. Even though my finances allow me the buy the 3.

 

[Kervel]

All these models have near-perfect measurements and will sound quite similarly. If you like the look of the Kefs, save yourself some cash and go for those. Their main limitation is SPL output, so just try and see if this is an issue in your listening position. Subs can mostly solve this in any case.

 

[kma100]

I don't understand the dillema here
It all depends on your budget
Low: LS60
Middle: Kii 7
High: 8C

I agree - just jump in and buy the speakers to enjoy music today, instead of waiting and waiting for that perfect "flagship" model.

Hmmm...

 

[Purité Audio]

The dilemma is that even if one has the money for the 8cs. Is it worth to spend that much money on them? Even though finances allow it. I’m also conservative if it comes to money spending. I’m Dutch for a reason.

For example when I heard the Kii 7 in comparison tot the Kii 3, I found the Kii 3 not to be worth double the price. Even though my finances allow me the buy the 3.

Value judgements are always down to the individual of course, the 8C is imho almost perfect for ‘most’ applications.
It is a complete solution, use it with Roon and it is a full-range system within itself, once you are used to full- range … ultimately depends upon what you predominantly listen to I suppose.
Keith

 

[HeadDoc12]

Mantas are 60cm high vs 48.5cm for the 8C. Agree though all examples I gave have a base nearly square-shape. Potentially easier to place, but much heavier (except Manta). Problem is more finding a sturdy stand, and if you do these stands are expensive.

Oops! Serves me right for doing math late at night! The more I learn about them, the more the 8C is at the top of my list.

 

[Laagman]

Value judgements are always down to the individual of course, the 8C is imho almost perfect for ‘most’ applications.
It is a complete solution, use it with Roon and it is a full-range system within itself, once you are used to full- range … ultimately depends upon what you predominantly listen to I suppose.
Keith

I got a weakness for them. Their (old?) factory was close to my old home. I heard of their hype but didn’t know they where produced so close to me. Once I was walking through a street I normally didn’t walk trough and I noticed the D&D boxes behind the windows. For a moment I thought: they wouldn’t miss one, would they.

So that’s also at play because support your locals I guess.