KEF Ci3160RLM-THX In-Wall Speaker Review

[lewdish]

Measures like how a THX speaker should measure. Esp coming from Kef i expected nothing less.

 

[No_hair_left]

Is the horizontal directivity on these, which looks to be about 20 degrees not considered bad? seeing as they will be firing straight out and cannot be toed in like regular speakers?

 

[juliangst]

Is the horizontal directivity on these, which looks to be about 20 degrees not considered bad? seeing as they will be firing straight out and cannot be toed in like regular speakers?

Horizontal dispersion is plus/minus 55 degrees. So it should cover any reasonable listening area width if they are mounted flat on the wall

 

[kyuu]

Is the horizontal directivity on these, which looks to be about 20 degrees not considered bad? seeing as they will be firing straight out and cannot be toed in like regular speakers?

Eh?

Depending on how you look at it, it's at least +/- 30-degrees, or as much as +/- 50-degrees. Either way, unless you're extremely near-field and have the speakers way too far apart, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[No_hair_left]

Horizontal dispersion is plus/minus 55 degrees. So it should cover any reasonable listening area width if they are mounted flat on the wall

But that's -6db right? I would say it needs to be within -3db when mounted flat otherwise the sound will be shifted too much to one side of the listening area if you sit closer to the left or right speaker(guess the distance applies here, further back the mlp is then less of a problem it is).
I tested this with the q4 metas firing straight out and then within 20 degrees of the entire mlp and the difference for all 3 seats was substantial when toed in as it effectively normalised the volume across the 3 seats. Firing out was very much one sided.

 

[No_hair_left]

Eh?

View attachment 476384

Depending on how you look at it, it's at least +/- 30-degrees, or as much as +/- 50-degrees. Either way, unless you're extremely near-field and have the speakers way too far apart, it shouldn't be an issue.

I was looking at the spl chart on page 3 unless Im reading it wrong? the 30 degrees shows a reasonable drop off when compared to the other 2/

 

[juliangst]

But that's -6db right? I would say it needs to be within -3db when mounted flat otherwise the sound will be shifted too much to one side of the listening area if you sit closer to the left or right speaker(guess the distance applies here, further back the mlp is then less of a problem it is).
I tested this with the q4 metas firing straight out and then within 20 degrees of the entire mlp and the difference for all 3 seats was substantial when toed in as it effectively normalised the volume across the 3 seats. Firing out was very much one sided.

It shouldn’t be that substantial.
If mounted flat then the main listening position is at 30 degree (because equilateral triangle).

Erin measured the old version of this speaker and also plotted that on-axis response for different angles, which shows that it really doesn’t sound any different at 30 degrees:

 

[kyuu]

I was looking at the spl chart on page 3 unless Im reading it wrong? the 30 degrees shows a reasonable drop off when compared to the other 2/

It's a mild, fairly uniform droop in the treble. Considering the PIR doesn't have a very steep downward tilt, I'm betting KEF is aware of the fact that most installs will have the MLP at roughly 30-degrees off-axis which will just result in the in-room response being a little less bright (or warmer/darker, if you prefer).

 

[nathan]

Is the horizontal directivity on these, which looks to be about 20 degrees not considered bad? seeing as they will be firing straight out and cannot be toed in like regular speakers?

It is important to be aware of the width of the dispersion, and to use it appropriately. The fact that the dispersion is so uniform means they will be very forgiving when off axis. Volume will be down but the sound will be consistent.

But yes, personally, in a dedicated theater room with multiple seats, I might try to build an angled baffle wall for the left and right from speaker in a home theater. This will be able to place every listening into the primary cone of dispersion, and in fact some cross firing (often called time-intensity trading) could be used to normalize the volume level across multiple seats.

In a two channel setup, as others have noted, they will be even less complicated to optimize. And in a lot of theater installations where you only seat perfection for the MLP, that will be easy to place, as well.

 

[hollis]

Sighted shootout vs SP8!

Both highpassed @ 100hz into quad subs.

 

[kyuu]

That looks to be way too small to be infinite baffle, so there's gonna be baffle step, and too small an enclosure on those.

 

[hollis]

That looks to be way too small to be infinite baffle, so there's gonna be baffle step, and too small an enclosure on those.

Yep, the box is 5” deep, designed to be on wall on a wall full of 4-5” acoustic treatment.
Volume is at the lower side of recommended, but that just means theres a bit of bass peak to eq down.
Everything is crossed over to subs 90-100hz anyway.

So far so good. Likeing the KEF (in the compromised box) more than the Mofi (as a fully designed speaker).

 

[da Choge]

Both highpassed @ 100hz into quad subs.

Am I going crazy, or were these KEFs pictured in silver several hours ago when I first saw this post?

 

[kyuu]

Am I going crazy, or were these KEFs pictured in silver several hours ago when I first saw this post?

They are silver. Bright light from windows in back results in dark foreground objects.

 

[Dj7675]

@amirm

Did you do an Impedance and Phase for this speaker?

 

[No_hair_left]

Yep, the box is 5” deep, designed to be on wall on a wall full of 4-5” acoustic treatment.
Volume is at the lower side of recommended, but that just means theres a bit of bass peak to eq down.
Everything is crossed over to subs 90-100hz anyway.

So far so good. Likeing the KEF (in the compromised box) more than the Mofi (as a fully designed speaker).

You got the dimensions of those boxes?

 

[thewas]

2 new THX models

Ci5120QLM-THX

KEF US

us.kef.com

Ci3120QLM-THX

KEF US

us.kef.com

 

[nick-v]

2 new THX models

Ci5120QLM-THX

KEF US

us.kef.com

Ci3120QLM-THX

KEF US

us.kef.com

The pricing seems a little goofy. At least in Canada, the Ci5120QLM-THX is currently 2x the price of the Q11 Meta.

Ci5160RLM-THX are the same price as the R11 Meta.

Ci5160REFM-THX are the same price as the Reference 5 Meta.

 

[kyuu]

The pricing seems a little goofy. At least in Canada, the Ci5120QLM-THX is currently 2x the price of the Q11 Meta.

Ci5120RLM-THX are the same price as the R11 Meta.

Ci5160REFM-THX are the same price as the Reference 5 Meta.

Ci5120QLM-THX looks basically equivalent to the R11 Meta, but at least here in the US it's about half the price.

Ci3120QLM-THX looks basically equivalent to the R6 Meta, but is about $900 cheaper.

 

[nick-v]

Ci5120QLM-THX looks basically equivalent to the R11 Meta, but at least here in the US it's about half the price.

Ci3120QLM-THX looks basically equivalent to the R6 Meta, but is about $900 cheaper.

These new in-wall models are Q Series, not R Series. Also strange that you edited what I wrote.