KEF Blade 2 Meta review by Erin's Audio Corner

[YSC]

this is really crazily good, combined with it's look I would say that will be everything I would ever want

 

[cavedriver]

Why is the distortion so high above 6k? Many high end tweeters manage better than 1% distortion in that range. I would probably find these speakers fatiguing.

 

[thewas]

Why is the distortion so high above 6k? Many high end tweeters manage better than 1% distortion in that range. I would probably find these speakers fatiguing.

It seems you are mixing up the multitone measurements I chose to post (as Erin and I find them better correlating to audibility) with the usual harmonic distortion measurements where the tweeter stays well below 1%:

 

[Matias]

Why is the distortion so high above 6k? Many high end tweeters manage better than 1% distortion in that range. I would probably find these speakers fatiguing.

Remember that those test levels are way higher than actual music content would have. Even if you listen loud, treble is lower than bass and mids. Especially high treble around 20 kHz. Just check the graph of some of your favourite songs, and see how many dBs down they are.

 

[Somafunk]

They’re nice looking, bet they sound fantastic but I couldn’t be bothered with using a separate amp, not after using active monitors for 20 years, make them active with dsp and I’d be happy with them.

 

[fredoamigo]

I didn't see the impedance mini with EPDR? is there a table?

 

[mj30250]

I didn't see the impedance mini with EPDR? is there a table?

16:08 in the video.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Why is the distortion so high above 6k? Many high end tweeters manage better than 1% distortion in that range. I would probably find these speakers fatiguing.

you're not reading the graph correctly


--
Excellent speaker, the blades one meta goes 20hz -20dB -> -10dB.
Thats huge with room gain.


In room response from this speaker should be easily flat 28hz~ in a mid room

 

[phoenixdogfan]

So what number do I call to sell a kidney?

 

[Ron Texas]

For a truckload of money it better be good. Someone tell me about towers for under $5k that don't need subs. That's what we really need to know about.

 

[Opal]

This cost more than a car and i still want one

 

[holbob]

I'm doing the muthering lottery tonight.

 

[Vacceo]

This cost more than a car and i still want one

For me, it's around a year and half of salary. And yes, I'd also get them if I could.

 

[Rodney Jones]

So other than esthetics, why would someone pick something like these obviously remarkable speakers over something like the Genelec 8361A (8351A for smaller space) or the Neumann Kh 420 (Kh 310 for smaller space)? Not a rhetorical question - I'm thinking of upgrading my family room (television and music listening) area (16'W x 20'L x 18'H) with a stereo speaker setup and just recently started shopping. Based on Amir's testing, I had pretty much narrowed down my choices to the flip of a coin/availability of the Genelec vs Neumann but these Kef's seem to be so good - maybe worth investigation. I guess back to my original question, are these speakers "that much" better than the other choices given the massive difference in price. BTW: Current setup is a pair of old Tannoy 10"/1" 2-way passive monitors (don't remember the model but from the 90s) attached to a Bryston 3B amp from the same period.

 

[juliangst]

It's definitely one of the best passive speakers in the world.
I'm not sure if I would get those at their current price though. The price is really similar to a Genelec W371 system or the Kii Three BXT and both of those feature cardiod bass down to ~50Hz and bass extension down to 20Hz

 

[mj30250]

For a truckload of money it better be good. Someone tell me about towers for under $5k that don't need subs. That's what we really need to know about.

Define "don't need subs".

Philharmonic BMR Tower: -3dB @25Hz
Philharmonic HT Tower: -3dB @38Hz
Ascend ELX Tower: -3dB @36Hz

The Phils are under $5k/pr, the Ascend is a bit over $5k w/ ribbon tweeters, well under w/ dome tweeters. All are reasonably neutral with good directivity (not as ridiculously good as the Blades, of course).

 

[Ron Texas]

Define "don't need subs".

Philharmonic BMR Tower: -3dB @25Hz
Philharmonic HT Tower: -3dB @38Hz
Ascend ELX Tower: -3dB @36Hz

The Phils are under $5k/pr, the Ascend is a bit over $5k w/ ribbon tweeters, well under w/ dome tweeters. All are reasonably neutral with good directivity (not as ridiculously good as the Blades, of course).

You don't have to be confrontational. The BMR tower definitely does not need subs. The other two, maybe, maybe not.

 

[mj30250]

You don't have to be confrontational. The BMR tower definitely does not need subs. The other two, maybe, maybe not.

How was that in any way confrontational? Everyone's definition of necessary bass extension will vary wildly based on preferences, listening habits, and environment. I was simply asking you to define yours.

 

[Blockader]

So other than esthetics, why would someone pick something like these obviously remarkable speakers over something like the Genelec 8361A (8351A for smaller space) or the Neumann Kh 420 (Kh 310 for smaller space)? Not a rhetorical question - I'm thinking of upgrading my family room (television and music listening) area (16'W x 20'L x 18'H) with a stereo speaker setup and just recently started shopping. Based on Amir's testing, I had pretty much narrowed down my choices to the flip of a coin/availability of the Genelec vs Neumann but these Kef's seem to be so good - maybe worth investigation. I guess back to my original question, are these speakers "that much" better than the other choices given the massive difference in price. BTW: Current setup is a pair of old Tannoy 10"/1" 2-way passive monitors (don't remember the model but from the 90s) attached to a Bryston 3B amp from the same period.

KEF Blade's just have slightly smoother directivity than 8361's. However KEF Blade 2's the transition from bass to mids in directivity is not as smooth as 8361's, you can see below:

This ''issue''(if one can call it that) commonly occurs with speakers that have side woofers. Because the woofers are on the side and not directed to the listener, the transition from omnidirectional dispersion of wide woofers to a directional midrange happens rapidly, which can lead to a sound that is slightly dominated by reflections around 200-300Hz, depending on the crossover frequency of the speaker.
For domestic listening this can result a better envelopment in low mids but for mixing/mastering, Genelec 8361's directivity in low mids can be considered as better.

8361 in comparison.

In my personal opinion, W371 + 8361s are significantly better than any KEF Blade's.

 

[Ron Texas]

How was that in any way confrontational? Everyone's definition of necessary bass extension will vary wildly based on preferences and environment, it was simply a question so as to determine yours.

It was confrontational, coming across as a challenge. Kindly don't do it again to me.