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KEF LS50 Meta vs KEF R3

phoenixdogfan

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Looking forward to seeing and hearing the R Meta in 2023!
I seem to get all the volume I want with a pair of Meta and a single SB2000 crossed over at 100 HZ with LR 24 db octave on both high and low pass. I do have a small room. The main issue is finding and damping all the stuff rattling in the room with the sub.

I also think people don't talk enough about vertical directivity with the Metas which is virtually identical to its already sterling horizontal directivity. The Uni-Q controls floor and ceiling reflections better than any other speaker out there, bar none. I think that takes on added import when you are playing your system is a room with 8' ceilings like me, especially when the room is only 12' x 12'.
 
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Descartes

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.. I also think people don't talk enough about vertical directivity with the Metas which is virtually identical to its already sterling horizontal directivity. The Uni-Q controls floor and ceiling reflections better than any other speaker out there, bar none…..
So true that’s what I love about the Uni-Q driver you can sit lower, on axis or higher and always get good sound!
 

regan

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I've demo'd both Kef LS50 Meta vs Kef R3 last week, just not at the same time.
Both sound excellent, but once you start to turn up the volume, the LS50 Meta falls apart
Which one would you say sounds better at low and medium volumes? If there's any difference at all.
 

RiseFall

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The main issue is finding and damping all the stuff rattling in the room with the sub.
The main issue is finding and damping all the stuff rattling in the room with the sub.
a room with 8' ceilings like me, especially when the room is only 12' x 12'.

My room is 15x15x9, same square shape as yours.

How did you find that crossover setting? How do do you apply it?

Where the sub is put?

I have the Metas with dual KC62, nothing is rattling in the room but I find the mid-low punch fatiguing, my only complain of the setup, and I wrote some threads about it elsewhere. Do you find the "punch" to be good? What's your music?
 

Phayes

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Ls50 meta £1000, R3 £900, time to jump, but which way? How long might these prices hold?
 

harkpabst

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My LS50 Meta are crossed at 200 Hz to Lyngdorf stereo subwoofers. That's how they can shine over R3 and many others.
 

HarmonicTHD

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My LS50 Meta are crossed at 200 Hz to Lyngdorf stereo subwoofers. That's how they can shine over R3 and many others.
Yes subs of course make a big difference if you run the LS50 with subs against the R3 without, but that is comparing apples and oranges.
 

harkpabst

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Yes subs of course make a big difference if you run the LS50 with subs against the R3 without, but that is comparing apples and oranges.
Sure it's comparing apples and oranges, but above roughly 200 Hz LS50 Meta are better than R3 in pretty much every technical aspect. Putting it the other way around, R3 simply will not benefit nearly as much as LS50 Meta from stereo subs crossed rather high.

R3 are excellent speakers in my book. I prefer them even over R7 for their more balanced representation. There's nothing they do really wrong, they sound very pleasing, yet with good resolution. Many listeners will not ask for a sub at all in most listening situations. At the current discounted price they are a steal and absolute recommendation, no matter how.good an upcoming R3 Meta might be.

It's just when you are willing to burn that extra money for adding high quality stereo subs (and amplification that provides the necessary high pass filtering for the LS50 Meta) where in my personal view the extra effort put into the LS50 Meta over the R series pays out.

R3 is the better alrounder, but not strictly the superior speaker.
 

HarmonicTHD

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Sure it's comparing apples and oranges, but above roughly 200 Hz LS50 Meta are better than R3 in pretty much every technical aspect. Putting it the other way around, R3 simply will not benefit nearly as much as LS50 Meta from stereo subs crossed rather high.

R3 are excellent speakers in my book. I prefer them even over R7 for their more balanced representation. There's nothing they do really wrong, they sound very pleasing, yet with good resolution. Many listeners will not ask for a sub at all in most listening situations. At the current discounted price they are a steal and absolute recommendation, no matter how.good an upcoming R3 Meta might be.

It's just when you are willing to burn that extra money for adding high quality stereo subs (and amplification that provides the necessary high pass filtering for the LS50 Meta) where in my personal view the extra effort put into the LS50 Meta over the R series pays out.

R3 is the better alrounder, but not strictly the superior speaker.
Good point. Thanks for clarifying. Did you also look at SPL capability and distortion at 86, 96dB? I didn’t. Genuinely asking.
 

holbob

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Sure it's comparing apples and oranges, but above roughly 200 Hz LS50 Meta are better than R3 in pretty much every technical aspect. Putting it the other way around, R3 simply will not benefit nearly as much as LS50 Meta from stereo subs crossed rather high.

R3 are excellent speakers in my book. I prefer them even over R7 for their more balanced representation. There's nothing they do really wrong, they sound very pleasing, yet with good resolution. Many listeners will not ask for a sub at all in most listening situations. At the current discounted price they are a steal and absolute recommendation, no matter how.good an upcoming R3 Meta might be.

It's just when you are willing to burn that extra money for adding high quality stereo subs (and amplification that provides the necessary high pass filtering for the LS50 Meta) where in my personal view the extra effort put into the LS50 Meta over the R series pays out.

R3 is the better alrounder, but not strictly the superior speaker.
As soon as you add stereo subs that are linear to 200hz to the meta you can no longer compare it to the R3. We are talking double the cost - at least. Then it's in a different price point. For £900, nothing comes near the R3 currently.
 

f1shb0n3

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R3 near field on my desk calibrated with Dirac on MiniDSP SHD. I have stereo subs connected (used in home theater), but haven't felt the need to integrate them yet, R3 are great as is.
R3 near field on desk Dirac.png
 

dwkdnvr

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I'm not sure I'll do a direct comparison, but I moved my R3's over to my desk and have LS50 Meta's arriving tomorrow which will take up residence on top of the Rhythmik FM8's in the TV setup. The R3's have enough extension that I don't have to complicate the desktop setup with a sub, and the FM8's should easily play up high enough to offload the Metas, so I'm hoping for best of both worlds.
 

Harris48

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I already have two subs and I use my anthem ARC equalization software!
I could be off base here but I would not rely on room correction for the main-sub integration. At least audessy/denon have never spit out a descent setup for me.
 

Tokyo_John

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KEF could make some changes to the LS50 Meta or the R3 in order to eliminate the discrepancies between them, and solve these tradeoffs. Such as adding updated meta and tweeter modules to the R3, or simply making the LS50 Meta larger and beefing up its woofer a bit to run better down to 60 Hz. But they have to think about the entire series, they don't want to make any of their lineup obsolete, so the differences remain.

I'm very happy with my LS50 Meta + KC-62 sub crossed over at 60 Hz...running through a miniDSP SHD with Dirac Live room correction is probably the most important thing I've done to my system. I makes up for a lot of the other issues, and balances/blends the presentation amazingly well. Is it missing a little bit of beef in the 40-120 Hz range? Yes...and this is the range of the bass guitar (as a bass player, I really do enjoy hearing it well), however, it isn't so bad that I would change my setup at this point. Again, I would have bought R3s here in Japan back when I grabbed the LS50 Meta, except KEF had them priced wildly different than anywhere else in the world. So be it.
 

HooStat

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Sure it's comparing apples and oranges, but above roughly 200 Hz LS50 Meta are better than R3 in pretty much every technical aspect. Putting it the other way around, R3 simply will not benefit nearly as much as LS50 Meta from stereo subs crossed rather high.

R3 are excellent speakers in my book. I prefer them even over R7 for their more balanced representation. There's nothing they do really wrong, they sound very pleasing, yet with good resolution. Many listeners will not ask for a sub at all in most listening situations. At the current discounted price they are a steal and absolute recommendation, no matter how.good an upcoming R3 Meta might be.

It's just when you are willing to burn that extra money for adding high quality stereo subs (and amplification that provides the necessary high pass filtering for the LS50 Meta) where in my personal view the extra effort put into the LS50 Meta over the R series pays out.

R3 is the better alrounder, but not strictly the superior speaker.
I am not sure that this is true. Looking at the speaker comparator, people can judge for themselves though. https://www.spinorama.org/compare.h...er0=KEF+LS50+Meta&origin1=ASR&speaker1=KEF+R3
 

Alexx

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Hello lads.

I don't know if this is the correct section.

I bought the Kef R3 a few days ago (they are still within the deadline for the withdrawal) in promotion for 1450 euros.

This morning the dealer told me that the new R3 Meta series is coming in a few days...

I have no idea what improvements it can have in the mid-high range (for the bass I have a 25cm b&w active subwoofer).

I should add around 700 euros (series R3 Meta price list 2200 euros).

I'm confused, as another option I could buy the Bluos module for the Nad C399 for less money and keep the "old" R3s for a few years.

Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance.
 

bodhi

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Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance.

The difference is probably not night and day. But on the other hand you are purchasing endgame level speakers that you don't need to upgrade anytime soon.

I know if I took the old model I would ponder about the possible improvements forever, so I would absolutely pay up just for peace of mind.

So, it kind of depends how meaningful the extra money is to you.
 

Alexx

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Good morning.

You are absolutely right, even the old R3s are excellent speakers (I could also optimize them with Dirac).

But the thought of the new "Meta" model could stay with me and maybe over time I decide to change them (in theory they should have an even better and more controlled mid-high range) on the low frequencies it doesn't change much...

So if I now save a few bucks on the R3s I'll find myself losing several bucks from selling the R3s to buy the new model later on (the remission would be greater than the difference in cost of the new model).

Today they tell me the exact price of the R3 and R3 Meta so I decide with greater certainty.

I'll let you know as soon as possible.
A thousand thanks!!!
 

Sound23

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Hello! I received a great deal on these speakers ($700), but they're still returnable. I currently own 4 LS50s (non meta).

Does this tweeter damage look like it'll impact the sound quality? How should I test? I've listened for a little while and they sound good. I'll probably run them with the grills on.
20230428_150028.jpg
20230428_150022.jpg
 
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