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KEF Blade 2 Meta review by Erin's Audio Corner

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While can appreciate the fun of giving a design team an open checkbook, struggle with the price. Are these really worth 4 times the R11 metas? Not end game for me, more like end of marriage! ;)
But how is that different from some guys buying a second, hobby car for $75k?
 
give healthy discounts to reviewers and influencers so they keep talking about them.

Industry insider discount is very very deep. Minimum 30% to up to 70%/80% off of MSRP. Speakers discounts are usually on the upper end of this scale for industry insider discounts. I know first hand because I used to work at a regional electronics giant as a teenager.
 
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Bass extension and horizontal contour as a result of the cardioid design.
Extension is just one part of the story, given the distortion and compression performance the Blade 2 might be much more capable at clean output.
 
But how is that different from some guys buying a second, hobby car for $75k?
She could show off the car; maybe even drive it. Admittedly, get at some income level, it matters less. :cool:
 
Industry insider discount is very very deep.

As a regular Joe working in a bike shop as a mechanic I used to get an easy 40% to 60% discount on retail for bikes and parts so that’s why I could afford to have very nice bikes with the best kit on them, I imagine those in the hifi trade get similar discounts. When I started mtb guiding/skills coach all over the UK and got a good name for myself I had manufactures trying to give me stuff for free - I could pick and choose the nicest kit I wanted and it’d get delivered , I imagine this also goes on in the hifi reviewers scene.
 
She could show off the car; maybe even drive it. Admittedly, get at some income level, it matters less. :cool:
I think our society has been brainwashed us where money spent on cars as a luxury is much more accepting than money spent on other luxury, irrespective of income level. I personally am no longer a car guy, so I talk about the phenomenon of our skewed social acceptance with my wife, and talked some sense into her that spending 30k on HiFi audio is the same thing as others spending $30k on a second car or $75k on one car, where they have to take out a loan for.
 
We are just completing a significant renovation of our apartment and, thanks to my wife, the Blade 2 Metas are the focal point of the living room.
You are using Blade 2 Metas as LCR, right?
How do you incorporate a TV in that setup with the Blade 2 being relatively tall? Or it is just a surround music setup?
 
I was lucky enough to get the Blade One Meta with the help of feedback from this forum. I am not surprised by the review as it echos a lot of our family experiences.

Fun story, I have been listening to a dedicated stereo setup for about 20 years (god I feel old just writing that) and while the rooms and every piece of equipments has changed the one constant has been my chair. After the Blades arrived, for the first time ever my wife started to listen to music with me. After 3 nights of joining me without a prompt, we moved the single chair out of the stereo room and swapped with the loveseat.

I am not sure that in my world, there is a better compliment. I get to share this hobby with my wife!

Itai

For most of us, spending $28,000 on a pair of speakers would clearly not draw the wife closer. More likely it would require agreement to a kitchen or bathroom remodel before the speakers would be grudgingly agreed too. And even then there may still be questions as to how they could possibly be worth 28K. The styling of the KEF Blade 2 Meta is not something you can sneak in the back door without anyone noticing. :D

It's possible you end up spending $56K for the Blade 2 Meta after you count the negotiations with your spouse. o_O:D:facepalm:
 
This cost more than a car and i still want one
But the car would be, as a car, not nearly as nice as this speaker is, as a speaker, we are not talking Porsche or Mercedes money here.
 
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.
First of all, it is not really valid to exclude esthetics, for many people speakers are central pieces in their living rooms. The Blades look awesome, the KH 310 fine, the 8361's interesting and polarising and the KH420 are very ugly to me. And from what I see, the Blades still measure better than the rest. Amazing speakers, starting saving.... (maybe only ending up with the promised KH 310 II's).
 
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For most of us, spending $28,000 on a pair of speakers would clearly not draw the wife closer. More likely it would require agreement to a kitchen or bathroom remodel before the speakers would be grudgingly agreed too. And even then there may still be questions as to how they could possibly be worth 28K. The styling of the KEF Blade 2 Meta is not something you can sneak in the back door without anyone noticing. :D

It's possible you end up spending $56k for the Blade 2 Meta after you count the negotiations with your spouse. o_O:D:facepalm:
But isn't this a great investment ? For $56k you get a new kitchen, a happy wife, great measuring, awsome looking speakers and a smile in your face for years to come....
 
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.
All it takes is a bit of tinkering, a DIY project for someone with deep pockets
 
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.
Not everyone is thrilled about the idea that the electronics is inside the speaker and if it dies, you have to pray the company is still either in business or still supporting the product with spare parts.
 
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