KEF Blade 2 Meta review by Erin's Audio Corner

[terryforsythe]

See post #208

@MAB

I surmise that my electronics have lower noise than the equipment used in the test. On that note, I specifically chose amplifiers Amir tested, confirmed stellar SINAD performance and recommended.

Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping LA90 Discrete balanced stereo amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $799. The case is the same as the IC-based Topping LA90 which is fine with me given its high quality look and feel. The power switch doubles as input...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Hypex Nilai500DIY Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Hypex Nilai500DIY class D amplifier module with PS500DIY power supply. Parts were provided by the company and member @Rick Sykora was kind enough to assemble it: As indicated, the single channel amplifier is on the left and the power supply on...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Out of curiosity I put my KEF LS60s at maximum volume (music not playing) and checked those. On the LS60s I could hear a very slight hiss with my ear right up to the concentric drivers, but nothing I would be able to hear at 1m away. They are in a relatively small room and the I never play them anywhere close to maximum volume, so completely a non-issue.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I'd still take active studio monitors over the Blade 2 Meta
Active crossover vs passive , no need for amps , reliability is high as it's a pro audio product ,built in room correction (most of the time ), probably cheaper as well.

 

[Mnyb]

KEF seems to have no serious hiss issues with thier actives anecdotally, I have LSXII and LS60 .

Used Adam and Fostex for computer monitors they hissed somewhat.

Caveat you will have more hiss if you use an analog input on your active speakers, using a digital input, in many designs it means the same hiss regardless of volume level

 

[CleanSound]

I surmise that my electronics have lower noise than the equipment used in the test. On that note, I specifically chose amplifiers Amir tested, confirmed stellar SINAD performance and recommended.

Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping LA90 Discrete balanced stereo amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $799. The case is the same as the IC-based Topping LA90 which is fine with me given its high quality look and feel. The power switch doubles as input...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Hypex Nilai500DIY Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Hypex Nilai500DIY class D amplifier module with PS500DIY power supply. Parts were provided by the company and member @Rick Sykora was kind enough to assemble it: As indicated, the single channel amplifier is on the left and the power supply on...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Out of curiosity I put my KEF LS60s at maximum volume (music not playing) and checked those. On the LS60s I could hear a very slight hiss with my ear right up to the concentric drivers, but nothing I would be able to hear at 1m away. They are in a relatively small room and the I never play them anywhere close to maximum volume, so completely a non-issue.

I can't say for sure since I did not do the test. I have two Hypex amps myself. Connected to passive speakers, also zero hiss, but there are passive xover in there.

I also have an Neumann active, that has hiss.

EDIT: Oh, @MAB used a Purifi.

 

[terryforsythe]

I can't say for sure since I did not do the test. I have two Hypex amps myself. Connected to passive speakers, also zero hiss, but there are passive xover in there.

I also have an Neumann active, that has hiss.

EDIT: Oh, @MAB used a Purifi.

Passive filters will reduce noise somewhat, frequency dependent of course. But, with amplifiers (e.g., LA90 and Nilai) that are state of the art with regard to noise, the noise level of active speakers can be completely inaudible, as are my modified Elacs. KEF, and probably Neumann, are using very good amplifiers, but not state of the art with regard to noise.

 

[Mnyb]

Passive filters will reduce noise somewhat, frequency dependent of course. But, with amplifiers (e.g., LA90 and Nilai) that are state of the art with regard to noise, the noise level of active speakers can be completely inaudible, as are my modified Elacs. KEF, and probably Neumann, are using very good amplifiers, but not state of the art with regard to noise.

+1 this can be the tweeters they usually have higher sensitivity than the bass drivers so in passive speakers you end up with L-pads or series resistors in the tweeters crossover and possibly also the midrange in some multi-way designs.

 

[CleanSound]

Passive filters will reduce noise somewhat, frequency dependent of course. But, with amplifiers (e.g., LA90 and Nilai) that are state of the art with regard to noise, the noise level of active speakers can be completely inaudible, as are my modified Elacs. KEF, and probably Neumann, are using very good amplifiers, but not state of the art with regard to noise.

Again, the member who did this experiment used a Purifi amp as I mentioned. Which measures just as clean as Hypex and also SOTA, Bruno designed Hypex then moved on to start Purifi.

If you didn't hear anything and you in fact cranked your volume completely up and the DSP didn't gate any silence passage, then it is what it is. I'm not going to dispute that nor am I going to dispute @MAB experiment.

 

[terryforsythe]

Again, the member who did this experiment used a Purifi amp as I mentioned.

Which model? Not all models measure the same. E.g., the Hypex Nilia's SINAD is quite a bit better than the NCore's. I assume Purify also has different levels of performance.

 

[Pearljam5000]

What is the woofer made of?

 

[MAB]

Again, the member who did this experiment used a Purifi amp as I mentioned.

Hey, I don't want to get in the way of an argument.

The post I made was to answer a question you asked about padding down tweeter noise. I used a really sensitive JBL D2 compression driver so careful generalizing to all designs. And the noise on that high efficiency driver was eliminated by a simple filter capacitor or resistive pad.

I also measured the noise with and without the passive network among several amps: PurFi, Hypex, Marantz, Bryston, and Aiwa in a different thread. I made some comments on the audible results with that high efficiency driver D2, but I didn't measure the full range of driver sensitivity vs. amplifier noise... To be complete need to swizzle the noise into the preamp and gain too.

If you didn't hear anything and you in fact cranked your volume completely up and the DSP didn't gate any silence passage, then it is what it is. I'm not going to dispute that nor am I going to dispute @MAB experiment.

The noise is typically independent of volume unless you have a noisy preamp or source.

Cheers.

 

[Opal]

How does the Kef Reference 1 Meta with subwoofers compare?

Would like to know as well. It is 2 years since Erin reviewed the Ref1M, he mentioned he couldnt really recall vs the blades (mid/tweeter/dispersion?). He will also most likely has recency bias towards the blades. Hope the KEF sends him the Ref3 or Ref5 Meta for review

 

[Waxx]

Shut off the source, crank the volume ALL the way up and try again. Be careful don't blow anything up.

And please tell me why in the world did you decided to make such modification? Why not just buy an active speaker?

I did that with my diy speakers and Ncore amps and minidsp flex (my active setup) and i hear no hissing at all. My diy speakers are 88-89db sensitive and have no passive filter parts in the path. It's direct amp to driver, with all filtering done in the minidsp. I have a variety of amps, and only the tube amp (very lightly) and a cheap class D chipamp hiss, my class A transistor, class AB transistor and higher quality class D (Ncore, SMSL) amps don't hiss at all.

 

[sigbergaudio]

Again, the member who did this experiment used a Purifi amp as I mentioned. Which measures just as clean as Hypex and also SOTA, Bruno designed Hypex then moved on to start Purifi.

If you didn't hear anything and you in fact cranked your volume completely up and the DSP didn't gate any silence passage, then it is what it is. I'm not going to dispute that nor am I going to dispute @MAB experiment.

Which model? Not all models measure the same. E.g., the Hypex Nilia's SINAD is quite a bit better than the NCore's. I assume Purify also has different levels of performance.

Our current nCore based designs have inaudible hiss 1 feet / 30cm away from the tweeter, so active speakers without hiss is possible.

Even our upcoming speaker with a high sensitivity compression driver has inaudible hiss at about 3 feet / 1m, so completely inaudible at a typical listening position.

 

[Rick Sykora]

Would like to know as well. It is 2 years since Erin reviewed the Ref1M, he mentioned he couldnt really recall vs the blades (mid/tweeter/dispersion?). He will also most likely has recency bias towards the blades. Hope the KEF sends him the Ref3 or Ref5 Meta for review

Yes, exactly the reason I do not give much weight to his (or many other) subjective reviews. Love the measurements, but call it recency bias or whatever, but every good speaker is the “best” until the next one comes along to (a bit too conveniently imo) dethrone it.

 

[napfkuchen]

I'd still take active studio monitors over the Blade 2 Meta
Active crossover vs passive , no need for amps , reliability is high as it's a pro audio product ,built in room correction (most of the time ), probably cheaper as well.

I chose actives for my main HT speakers because space in my living room is limited and they have to be placed near the back wall. But owners of these Kefs will most likely have a large room for these beauties. Adding appropriate class D amps and a room correction preamp should not be a problem once you have spent 20.000 Eur on a pair of speakers ... Also, reducing the comparison to audio performance is not fair IMHO. The Kefs are more than just speakers, almost like beautiful sculptures with different color choices.

 

[MKR]

Yes, exactly the reason I do not give much weight to his (or many other) subjective reviews. Love the measurements, but call it recency bias or whatever, but every good speaker is the “best” until the next one comes along to dethrone it.

This review was definitely a bit over the top, more Stereophile-like than what I have come to expect from Erin, a bit disappointed. And indeed, what happened to the other “best ever” speakers Erin has reviewed? They must be feeling quite betrayed right now … not taking anything away from KEF though, they are clearly well engineered designs.

I also really do wonder if Erin had heard something like the 8C (that I believe he also gushed over) same time as the Blades, if he would have had same opinion? As I have come to experience in my end game journey, acoustic memory fades very quickly.

 

[Sokel]

This review was definitely a bit over the top, more Stereophile-like than what I have come to expect from Erin, a bit disappointed. And indeed, what happened to the other “best ever” speakers Erin has reviewed? They must be feeling quite betrayed right now … not taking anything away from KEF though, they are clearly well engineered designs.

I also really do wonder if Erin had heard something like the 8C (that I believe he also gushed over) same time as the Blades, if he would have had same opinion? As I have come to experience in my end game journey, acoustic memory fades very quickly.

That's a little controversial as it has to balanced to the intended customer pool.
High-end audio apart from some strange esoteric stuff is about room filling,wide dispersion,high output speakers with all details in check,rich mid-bass and shelved but also rich lows,not down to 20's though.

Blades being at an entry-level speaker in that area (in terms of price) have to use all traditional tricks to convince such clients as much as the nice performance that a lot of them are searching for medium rooms.

Can't blame them for that.

 

[fredoamigo]

This review was definitely a bit over the top, more Stereophile-like than what I have come to expect from Erin, a bit disappointed. And indeed, what happened to the other “best ever” speakers Erin has reviewed? They must be feeling quite betrayed right now … not taking anything away from KEF though, they are clearly well engineered designs.

I also really do wonder if Erin had heard something like the 8C (that I believe he also gushed over) same time as the Blades, if he would have had same opinion? As I have come to experience in my end game journey, acoustic memory fades very quickly.

Why sue Erin for betraying subjectivity? Which of us, even among the worst fundamentalist Objectivists, hasn't confessed his subjective preference for this or that speaker? And why not say so publicly? We must have the same subjective tastes, because before the Blades "dethroned" all the others, the 8C and the 4367 also had my subjective preference" (among all those I've listened to) and don't tell me stories, it's always those that make the difference when it's time to write the cheque, even if, of course, the objective data are primordial.

 

[dfuller]

What is the woofer made of?

Anodized aluminum.

 

[MKR]

Why sue Erin for betraying subjectivity? Which of us, even among the worst fundamentalist Objectivists, hasn't confessed his subjective preference for this or that speaker? And why not say so publicly? We must have the same subjective tastes, because before the Blades "dethroned" all the others, the 8C and the 4367 also had my subjective preference" (among all those I've listened to) and don't tell me stories, it's always those that make the difference when it's time to write the cheque, even if, of course, the objective data are primordial.

Yup, I can be just as subjective as anyone else, but you are missing the main point of my comment … acoustic memory