KEF Blade 2 Meta review by Erin's Audio Corner

[thewas]

The written review is now online too https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/kef_blade2_meta/

A quote from the conclusion:

"This is the best speaker I’ve heard to date. And it’s not even close. It’s far beyond any sonic experience I’ve had."

 

[terryforsythe]

There is an experiment done by a member (I can't remember who and where, but it was under either a Genelec or Neumann thread), that demonstrated for passive speakers, even with a very high SINAD, once you take away the xover (which in itself serves as a band filter), there is audible hissing.

I removed the passive crossovers from my Elac UBR62 bookshelf speakers and went all active. I cannot hear any hissing whatsoever, even putting my ear right next to the concentric driver, which I just did after reading the post.

I'm using a miniDSP Flex HTx for the crossovers and DSP. For amplification I am using a Hypex Nilai500DIY Stereo for the woofers and two Topping LA90 Discretes for the midranges and tweeters, one LA90D per speaker.

 

[StyxRogan]

As Hans Solo would say..it's all true

 

[ban25]

As Hans Solo would say..it's all true

Nice Mac Rack

 

[DMill]

As Hans Solo would say..it's all true

so What is your next upgrade?

 

[CleanSound]

I removed the passive crossovers from my Elac UBR62 bookshelf speakers and went all active. I cannot hear any hissing whatsoever, even putting my ear right next to the concentric driver, which I just did after reading the post.

I'm using a miniDSP Flex HTx for the crossovers and DSP. For amplification I am using a Hypex Nilai500DIY Stereo for the woofers and two Topping LA90 Discretes for the midranges and tweeters, one LA90D per speaker.

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?

 

[diddley]

Is Amir getting the blade as well or do you mean the R11M? Eitherway it's great to see them be more active on here and support both sites. Also gives a lot of credence to their own data.

i ment that they gave Amir the R11 to test and Erin the Blade 2.
Keeps those young people of the street.

 

[CleanSound]

I removed the passive crossovers from my Elac UBR62 bookshelf speakers and went all active. I cannot hear any hissing whatsoever, even putting my ear right next to the concentric driver, which I just did after reading the post.

I'm using a miniDSP Flex HTx for the crossovers and DSP. For amplification I am using a Hypex Nilai500DIY Stereo for the woofers and two Topping LA90 Discretes for the midranges and tweeters, one LA90D per speaker.

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...ire-audio-industry-a-fraud.40206/post-1868687

 

[terryforsythe]

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

Done. I cannot hear any hissing at all with my ear literally inside the midrange and less than 1/2" from the tweeter.

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

See the last paragraph of the first post here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-fi-reference-ubr62-bookshelf-speakers.51780/

 

[Jaxjax]

Exactly, most find it normal to spend over 40k for a car every some years while on the other hand find it strange to invest less for a hobby which lasts and can give them big pleasure a whole lifetime.

Thats why I drive my 1988 Toyota 4 runner to work. I can spend xtra $ on my hobbies. Wife likes new cars but I can just drop a motor in mine for 4k & go another 300-400k miles. Now tractors are another matter...

 

[amirm]

Is Amir getting the blade as well or do you mean the R11M? Eitherway it's great to see them be more active on here and support both sites. Also gives a lot of credence to their own data.

Actually, I did NOT request a sample of R11 Meta from KEF. A kind member drop shipped it to me initially. I measured it and found an odd peak in distortion. Ran it by KEF and they said that should not be there. They requested that I send the customer sample to them and they sent another unit to me. And that is what I tested. The owner also got a new speaker. So proactiveness has not happened in this case.

 

[ban25]

Actually, I did NOT request a sample of R11 Meta from KEF. A kind member drop shipped it to me initially. I measured it and found an odd peak in distortion. Ran it by KEF and they said that should not be there. They requested that I send the customer sample to them and they sent another unit to me. And that is what I tested. The owner also got a new speaker. So proactiveness has not happened in this case.

They investigated the issue you found, you got another unit to test, and the customer got a new speaker. That's customer service!

 

[amirm]

It looks like Amir has finally to replace his Salon 2´s .

Unless it sounds very different than Blade 1, that is not going to happen. We had that speaker at Madrona for a few months on loan so I listened to them fair bit next to our Salon 2. The dispersion pattern is narrower than Salon 2 so it is not my preference even though I think it is a gorgeous speaker.

 

[diddley]

Actually, I did NOT request a sample of R11 Meta from KEF. A kind member drop shipped it to me initially. I measured it and found an odd peak in distortion. Ran it by KEF and they said that should not be there. They requested that I send the customer sample to them and they sent another unit to me. And that is what I tested. The owner also got a new speaker. So proactiveness has not happened in this case.

Beyond every great review, there is a great story, it seems.
Thanks very much for the very kind member to send it in and you testing it Amir. Great review.

 

[amper42]

Actually, I did NOT request a sample of R11 Meta from KEF. A kind member drop shipped it to me initially. I measured it and found an odd peak in distortion. Ran it by KEF and they said that should not be there. They requested that I send the customer sample to them and they sent another unit to me. And that is what I tested. The owner also got a new speaker. So proactiveness has not happened in this case.

Which begs the question. What percentage of R11 Meta speakers are being shipped out of spec?

 

[Mr. Widget]

Which begs the question. What percentage of R11 Meta speakers are being shipped out of spec?

Shhh... It happens.
A dealer friend had to return a pair of Revel Salons back to Harman due to miswiring from the factory.

 

[Keith_W]

In the video, Erin talks about the advantage of point source coaxial drivers and briefly mentions that other coaxial drivers have issues.

As it turns out, I am interested in buying a pair of speakers with coaxial drivers. I have considered: Tannoy, Fyne, Genelec, and Lowther. There are some DIY coaxial drivers on the market. Tannoy and Lowther are out - I find Tannoys to be coloured, and I do not like the styling. Lowthers are also probably out, too much DIY for my liking.

So my question: what are issues typically faced by coaxial drivers?

 

[dfuller]

In the video, Erin talks about the advantage of point source coaxial drivers and briefly mentions that other coaxial drivers have issues.

As it turns out, I am interested in buying a pair of speakers with coaxial drivers. I have considered: Tannoy, Fyne, Genelec, and Lowther. There are some DIY coaxial drivers on the market. Tannoy and Lowther are out - I find Tannoys to be coloured, and I do not like the styling. Lowthers are also probably out, too much DIY for my liking.

So my question: what are issues typically faced by coaxial drivers?

The two big problems: distortion, especially IMD, and diffraction effects. These are lessened in 3 way designs. Genelec and KEF 3 way coaxials manage to work around them.

 

[CleanSound]

Done. I cannot hear any hissing at all with my ear literally inside the midrange and less than 1/2" from the tweeter.


See the last paragraph of the first post here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-fi-reference-ubr62-bookshelf-speakers.51780/

See post #208

@MAB

 

[analogonly]

How does the Kef Reference 1 Meta with subwoofers compare?