Endgame passive bookshelf shootout: KEF Reference 1 Meta vs. Ascilab S6B

[Goldhamster916]

interesting. I am currently debating between a 6.1.4 all KEF system with the Reference 1 as mains or replacing them with the S6B and getting F6Bs for surrounds. Only problem is AsciLab currently doesn’t offer dedicated height speakers.

 

[AsciLab]

AsciLab currently doesn’t offer dedicated height speakers.

The F6Bs is designed to allow installation of a VESA 100 bracket on the rear, enabling it to be mounted on the ceiling or wall, and making it suitable for use as a height speaker.

 

[Goldhamster916]

That’s really good to know thank you. Do the grills for the C6B also fit on the S6B? Would be nice to have the black driver covered in front of my white wall to make them less distracting.

If not are grills in general rather not viable to make for the purify drivers because of the purify surround and high Xmax?

I appreciate any reply

 

[Chromatischism]

If not are grills in general rather not viable to make for the purify drivers because of the purify surround and high Xmax?

Nope

E50

E50 Passive Loudspeakers featuring custom made Purifi

buchardtaudio.com

 

[Purité Audio]

That’s really good to know thank you. Do the grills for the C6B also fit on the S6B? Would be nice to have the black driver covered in front of my white wall to make them less distracting.

If not are grills in general rather not viable to make for the purify drivers because of the purify surround and high Xmax?

I appreciate any reply

The S6B is an all Purifi design, I am pretty sure the C6B’s grills will not fit on the Purifi drivers because of their crenelated surrounds.
Keith

 

[Goldhamster916]

The S6B is an all Purifi design, I am pretty sure the C6B’s grills will not fit on the Purifi drivers because of their crenelated surrounds.
Keith

Thank you. Yes AsciLab confirmed that. Looks like the Burchardt grills are an option.

 

[AsciLab]

Do the grills for the C6B also fit on the S6B?

The C6B grille is different in size from the S6B and A6B grilles.
The A6B has a dedicated grille, while the S6B only has a grille for the front 6.5-inch unit. This grille is the same as the A6B grille.

 

[Newman]

I considered the Genelecs too and would be fine with the active nature given Genelecs reliability, but the look of it somehow bugs me too much.

Neumann then.

KH150

Looks

cheers

 

[Descartes]

Ästhetically I definetely prefer the KEF‘s. I agree you can’t really go wrong with either.

I am maybe a bit conservative, but I just don’t like the active concept for expensive speakers I intend to keep for life.

I have compared the Reference 1 and R3 in two different rooms. expecting not much of a difference and was suprised that I liked the reference 1 way more.

Thanks for finding that!

You mean the R3 meta or the Reference 3 meta

 

[PristineSound]

Can't go wrong with either. But I personally would go with the KEF due to the lower distortion level. Also, while I like big soundstage, I'm ok with a narrower soundstage in trade for a better phantom center imaging. I believe the reference is matched to .5dB to the factory reference, if I am not mistaken.

KEF is point source due to the concentric drivers, but the Ascilab essentially achieved point source based on their amazing design.

Ascilab get dig a little bit deeper, but I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of bass for a lower distortion profile.

 

[PGansz]

Hello everyone,

which one, is in your opinion, the overall better speaker and why? Which one would you pick?



KEF Reference 1 Meta: ported 3 way design (coaxial plus woofer)
dimensions: 44x20x42cm

Ascilab S6B: 2 way using purify woofer and tweeter plus passive radiators
dimensions: 40x22x30cm

---->Reference 1 is quite a bit larger


I could not find any compression data for the S6B.

Unfortunately there is currently no option to demo the S6B in europe. I heard the reference 1 multiple times and it sounded great to me.
Since i intend to keep these for life (fingers crossed) and will probably move a lot in the future i make the decision quite independent of the room. I value engeenering and performance even beyond audible benefits.
Money is not a concern, i just want the best passive bookshelf i can find. if you can think of any better passive bookshelfs let me know.

I am curious about your input.

thanks in advance for taking your time to respond!View attachment 509937View attachment 509938View attachment 509939View attachment 509940View attachment 509941View attachment 509942View attachment 509943View attachment 509944View attachment 509946

You may be missing a trick not including Arendal. They have astonishingly low distortion and also produce solid bass extension.

 

[Goldhamster916]

Neumann then.

KH150

Looks

cheers

interesting, hjavent considered these yet. Will do some research, thanks.

You mean the R3 meta or the Reference 3 meta

i compared them to both at multiple occasions and diferrent rooms. Looking at the measurements i thought apart from the bass extension the Ref 1 would sound similar to the R3 meta, so i was suprised that the Ref 1 sounded better in every regard to my ears. I also prefered them compared to the reference 3 metas. They had more midbass output but i subjectively found the reference 1 more ,,coherent'' and ,,transparent'' for a lack of a better word. I am not sure why that is. Maybe the reference 1 has less issues vertically because there is no driver above the uni-q but i am really not sure. I cant really find any explanation in the measurements. might have also been the rooms.

 

[Goldhamster916]

You may be missing a trick not including Arendal. They have astonishingly low distortion and also produce solid bass extension.

true but they are a bit too wide for my set up and also arent quite as good dispersion wise.

Can't go wrong with either. But I personally would go with the KEF due to the lower distortion level. Also, while I like big soundstage, I'm ok with a narrower soundstage in trade for a better phantom center imaging. I believe the reference is matched to .5dB to the factory reference, if I am not mistaken.

KEF is point source due to the concentric drivers, but the Ascilab essentially achieved point source based on their amazing design.

Ascilab get dig a little bit deeper, but I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of bass for a lower distortion profile.

Where exactly do you see lower distortion on the KEF? the only distortion issues that might arise with either of these speakers is in the bass and the ascilab is quite abit more composed there.