KEF KC92 and Kube MIE subwoofers

[Leon7791]

Yep, I should be able to A/B them precisely in-room with REW since they are exactly the same physical dimensions. I'm very curious to see if there's any significant bass extension relative to the KF92 and I will also check distortion graphs (though I have no idea how precise they are in REW).

Are you going to buy the kc92 too?

 

[beagleman]

Anecdotal claims like 'not being good for music' or not being 'fast' are as unscientific as it gets.
The only thing that could be related to 'speed' is the group delay which is higher on the SVS but should still be inaudible.
The Arendal 1961 1s is a lot better in that regard and still half the price of the KEF.
The room, placement and room correction will have a significantly higher impact on sound than having a few milliseconds less group delay or a few percent less distortion.

I'm a KEF fanboy but from a consumer perspective I don't really see the point in getting any of those overpriced micro subs when you can get better performance and more features for significantly less money (and the same box size in the case of the SB1000).

The MIE subs looks interesting though if they can deliver similar performance to the competition.

I do sound for my HUGE church auditorium, we have subs that literally use (2) 21" Pro sound subs on each side of the stage. And an additional 2 more flying above the stage on each side. For a total of (8) 21" subs.

With only a couple hundred watts, it makes far more bass than ANY SVS sub out of their line up. You can FEEL the bass clear down into the 25hz range, at levels FAR above any SVS sub. The ENTIRE room is pressurized and you can FEEL the bass so strong that it is nearly scary. Not a fair comparison? Of course not, but..............

I think there is simply a usage for all subs, and not everyone NEEDS super loud and so on. The goal is not to get the loudest, but to use what one needs.

 

[Vacceo]

Part of what makes some genres what they are is the physicality of the sound. If you listen to The Prodigy and other Electronic artists, that "thump" on the guts due to low frequencies is as necessary as the pressure on Bach.

The requirements to get that are not the same in a massive space or a living room, logically.

 

[PetaBass]

Could someone tell me if there is a fuse in the amplifier section of the Kube models? There are few pictures of them, and it seemed to me that they do not have a fuse.

 

[ban25]

Are you going to buy the kc92 too?

Yes. I have the KF92 currently in the back of the room. I will add the KC92 up front. However I am still waiting for the Blades to be built and shipped from England. Hopefully they will be delivered within the next two weeks (build time was estimated at 4-8 weeks).

 

[Vacceo]

Yes. I have the KF92 currently in the back of the room. I will add the KC92 up front. However I am still waiting for the Blades to be built and shipped from England. Hopefully they will be delivered within the next two weeks (build time was estimated at 4-8 weeks).

You know we want pics and review, right?

 

[ban25]

You know we want pics and review, right?

Getting close...I am told I will have the Blades by the end of the month. KC92 at the same time. Just picked up a lightly used MC302 to drive the Blades.

 

[ban25]

You know we want pics and review, right?

Update: KC92 will be here no later than Tuesday.

 

[Vacceo]

Update: KC92 will be here no later than Tuesday.

Since you have the KS too, it should be interesting to check the differences given the same parameters and location in the room.

 

[ban25]

The day has arrived! I have the KC92 in house and fully set up.

Design

As you can see, they are visually identical, except of course for color. That is not the only similarity as we will soon see. One small gripe: The included power cable is black, so now I have to order a white one. I also don't particularly care for the prominent, raised KEF logo on the front, but then again, the KF92 is exactly the same there too.

Note: this photo is merely showing the two subs side-by-side. They were measured from where the black KF92 is positioned, using painter's tape to ensure consistent placement.

Test Setup

The microphone was left in-place for all sweeps. All settings on the subs themselves were matched (gain knob, xo knob, phase, room mode, LFE mode). Dirac Live was set to OFF and the AVR itself was set to Direct.

Results

And now for the results:

There you have it. Consistent with KEF's own published specifications, the KF92 and KC92 essentially have identical performance. If you're interested in this subwoofer, I highly recommend you take advantage of KEF's current $600 discount on new stock KF92 subwoofers ($1400 vs $2000)!

As for final placement, I am running both subs front and back with DLBC multi-sub and I am getting very smooth and even bass response across the room, but I'll leave that for another thread.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

thats a huge roll off at 50hz even at 85dB
20hz are only 60dB, and this is with in room
Gain right?, im lost o-O

 

[ban25]

thats a huge roll off at 50hz even at 85dB

I'm taking several measurements with different EQ, will see if I can get better performance in the 20-50 hz range. But this is how it performs out-of-the-box...

 

[Mnyb]

It’s very room and placement dependent I got good 17-20 Hz out of my KC92‘s in room. And the sub itself has several eq settings to pick from . I’m using “wall“ . These settings are really when you want it to start taper of to meet room gain ,they could have just called them 1,2,3,4 .
where ”room” is the most unrestricted .

yes our different in room measurements would be very dissimilar, that’s just how it works in room.

So if I would publish my amateurish measurements it would look in one way . Just so the readers can now that sub in room is mostly room

for the subs raw performance we can vist Erin audio corner or someone else that done product measurements .

 

[Leon7791]

The day has arrived! I have the KC92 in house and fully set up.

Design

View attachment 370971
As you can see, they are visually identical, except of course for color. That is not the only similarity as we will soon see. One small gripe: The included power cable is black, so now I have to order a white one. I also don't particularly care for the prominent, raised KEF logo on the front, but then again, the KF92 is exactly the same there too.

Note: this photo is merely showing the two subs side-by-side. They were measured from where the black KF92 is positioned, using painter's tape to ensure consistent placement.

Test Setup

View attachment 370972
The microphone was left in-place for all sweeps. All settings on the subs themselves were matched (gain knob, xo knob, phase, room mode, LFE mode). Dirac Live was set to OFF and the AVR itself was set to Direct.

Results

And now for the results:
View attachment 370974

There you have it. Consistent with KEF's own published specifications, the KF92 and KC92 essentially have identical performance. If you're interested in this subwoofer, I highly recommend you take advantage of KEF's current $600 discount on new stock KF92 subwoofers ($1400 vs $2000)!

As for final placement, I am running both subs front and back with DLBC multi-sub and I am getting very smooth and even bass response across the room, but I'll leave that for another thread.

Thank you very much for this Review

But on Joe n teils video, the spezial about the kc92 was that iff you choose only for example 20hz. It was able to pusch much more SPL. Here his video:

Can you check it if its true or if the ks92 behave the same?

End please check up distortion

 

[ban25]

Thank you very much for this Review

But on Joe n teils video, the spezial about the kc92 was that iff you choose only for example 20hz. It was able to pusch much more SPL. Here his video:

Can you check it if its true or if the ks92 behave the same?

End please check up distortion

I'll check. Distortion was also basically identical between the KC92 and KF92.

 

[ban25]

It’s very room and placement dependent I got good 17-20 Hz out of my KC92‘s in room. And the sub itself has several eq settings to pick from . I’m using “wall“ . These settings are really when you want it to start taper of to meet room gain ,they could have just called them 1,2,3,4 .
where ”room” is the most unrestricted .

yes our different in room measurements would be very dissimilar, that’s just how it works in room.

So if I would publish my amateurish measurements it would look in one way . Just so the readers can now that sub in room is mostly room

for the subs raw performance we can vist Erin audio corner or someone else that done product measurements .

The important point of this comparison is the relative performance between KF92 and KC92. IIRC, neither Erin, nor anyone else has reviewed the KC92. If I'm incorrect on that, please post links as I'd like to see. My conclusion based on having both products in my house is that they look and perform the same, and so you might as well save the money while KF92 supplies last.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

The important point of this comparison is the relative performance between KF92 and KC92. IIRC, neither Erin, nor anyone else has reviewed the KC92. If I'm incorrect on that, please post links as I'd like to see. My conclusion based on having both products in my house is that they look and perform the same, and so you might as well save the money while KF92 supplies last.

so the p flex surround do nothing? not more LFE or cleaner bass? or somethin' ?

 

[ban25]

so the p flex surround do nothing? not more LFE or cleaner bass? or somethin' ?

Indeed. Absolutely nothing. Which makes sense if you think about it. If it was a real difference maker, the difference would've been seen in KEF's published specs.

 

[Leon7791]

I can give you a Tipp to try the kube 12b/mie i have them and try the kf92 but the kubes Was much more powerfull. From 18hz-40hz its 3-6db stronger at max volumes. I needed two kf92 to match one kube

 

[Vacceo]

I can give you a Tipp to try the kube 12b/mie i have them and try the kf92 but the kubes Was much more powerfull. From 18hz-40hz its 3-6db stronger at max volumes. I needed two kf92 to match one kube

Some people around here had considered that KEF should go for a bigger KC driver setup, something akin to Arendal with dual 12's. It would definetly be interesting.

At any rate, even if the new subwoofer feels quite underwhelming, I wonder how much further the original design could be pushed.

@ban25 , thanks for he information! Now that you're using two subs, how was the improvement on the overall sound? More even response? Also, for reference, what is the area of your listening space? And as purely personal curiosity, how are infrasonics in the whole pack? I can guess they can be measured but not really punching (thinking of Edge of Tomorrow intro).