KEF Ci3160RLM-THX In-Wall Speaker Review

[Nightyard]

These speakers behave better in solid mdf enclosures at the optimal volume size listed by kef. The tightness of bass from these speakers is fantastic would built into proper rigid enclosures behind the plasterboard/drywall

 

[juliangst]

If the regular Ci3160 is already so good, then what's the point of the 8000€ reference version of that speaker?
Just even lower distortion?

 

[kyuu]

If the regular Ci3160 is already so good, then what's the point of the 8000€ reference version of that speaker?
Just even lower distortion?

Most likely, yes. Probably more bass extension as well.

 

[MatthewS]

If the regular Ci3160 is already so good, then what's the point of the 8000€ reference version of that speaker?
Just even lower distortion?

They come in black?

 

[Cadillacofminds]

Other speakers with 1in tweeters have such broad directivity in the higher treble? I see the Reference Meta 3's have narrower

 

[Rja4000]

Impressive !

Thanks for this review.

 

[Highvolt60]

Of course the room will mess up this good response most of the time !
Always wondered how something like this will "actually sound" ?
Will the soundstage be flat and will the wall rattle ?

 

[jimroge]

Thanks for the great review! I have in walls for my home theater so I am very interested in these reviews. These appear to be the best but would cost greater than 10,000 to replace 5

 

[kyuu]

Will the soundstage be flat and will the wall rattle ?

What? Why would the "soundstage" be "flat"? And unless the wall is not built to code, it will not rattle. Mine certainly don't. There may be resonances that cause small frequency aberrations like with any speaker enclosure. You can address them with the same sort of strategies one might use in a conventional speaker cabinet. Or not bother, since they're likely to be small.

 

[sam_adams]

using their mate materials.

Did you mean 'meta'?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

They do look like they would do it all for a mid level home theater install (up to $50-60k). Putting nine of them in a 9.1.6 Atmos layout would eat up a lot of cash pretty fast, but they are obviously sterling performers and would definitely give that built in look.

Guess they don't get a golfing panther, but they probably merit it. While Kef may not be for everyone, they consistently demonstrate superior engineering in their speakers.

Very fine review, thank you Amir.

 

[kyuu]

Guess they don't get a golfing panther, but they probably merit it. Very fine review, thank you Amir.

Amir can't do a proper listening test for in-walls so he doesn't provide a panther rating.

 

[sceptical1]

No sbir no room modes no positioning no problems. Perfect and the same price as the A6B .

 

[nick-v]

I run the big brother Ci5160RLM in my 2 channel living room system (with a miniDSP SHD and NAD C298) and they're excellent!!

 

[Hart]

The typical stud space contains 4,719 cubic inches, or 3.5" x 14.5" x 93". (2.7 cubic feet) Is this the optimum cabinet volume for this speaker, or should the stud space be blocked out to diminish this? I wonder if they call that out? I built a theater for someone using Polk in-wall speakers. I used 5/8" rock, caulked all the inside corners, insulated the space. Sounded surprisingly good. If you match the wall color to the grill color they all but disappear. ...Just went back, looks like they have "cabinet space" range in liters. The full stud space is too large so they do want you to block it out. They should give the optimum volume as well as a range.

 

[Cadillacofminds]

I guess I was mistaken, the directivity index starts at 90 degrees, that's why I was surprised how little the line rises?

 

[Waxx]

For that type of speaker (open back inwall) it's indeed exceptional good. Most are not good at all for critical listening, but these could, paired with a set of subwoofers, replace a top level hifi speaker without much quality loss. Most if not all others can't. But the best that i know are (custom) closed back speakers, soffit mounted in a wall.

But this is worth the money for those who need such a speaker. I would not use that kind altough. But it's a big market indeed, a lot of higher end houses have speakers mounted in the ceiling today and they don't sound good at all.

 

[ExUnoPlura]

I use the smaller cousins, the CI200RS-THX, for left, center (behind acoustically-transparent screen), and right in a 7.2.4 setup. Astonishingly good results after tuning with Audyssey (didn’t want to pay for a second DIRAC license!) for movie/video consumption. There are very interesting spatial audio tracks that make good use of multichannel speaker layouts, too. The in-wall profile lets them disappear and they come with paint guards to assist with matching the grills to the theater room paint profile.

 

[kyuu]

The typical stud space contains 4,719 cubic inches, or 3.5" x 14.5" x 93". (2.7 cubic feet) Is this the optimum cabinet volume for this speaker, or should the stud space be blocked out to diminish this?

Too large of a "cabinet" volume is typically not an issue. Too small a volume, as often happens when you get an in-wall with an attached back-box, does cause problems.

One would note that the response on the Klippel NFS setup is with an effectively infinite cabinet size, which is similar what most people will get with a standard wall cavity that is highly leaky.

 

[welwynnick]

Thanks Amir.
Never thought I'd ever say this, but Kef are killing it these days.
It's not just one or two standout models.