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KEF Q Meta is Coming

kyuu said:
Quite a bit lower in the bass and mids, though the Concerto actually does a bit better in the treble.
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I guess though the small advantage in the treble is more a measurement, level and/or tuning "artefact" as they use the same driver.
 
thewas said:
I guess though the small advantage in the treble is more a measurement, level and/or tuning "artefact" as they use the same driver.
Click to expand...
Q11 crosses over at 2.7kHz, while Concerto crosses at 2.9kHz according to spec sheets. Perhaps the lower crossover is causing the higher distortion? Just throwing out a wild guess.
 
kyuu said:
Q11 crosses over at 2.7kHz, while Concerto crosses at 2.9kHz according to spec sheets. Perhaps the lower crossover is causing the higher distortion? Just throwing out a wild guess.
Click to expand...
I strongly doubt it would have a significant impact on HD measurements above, if, rather on multitone measurements but due to the small difference even there not really.
 
I'll chime in here. I got Q11 Metas a couple of weeks ago and I really like them. Replaced a pair of 15 year old Paradigm Monitor 9 floor speakers that were almost exactly the same size. I listened to a lot of speakers before settling on these and ultimately did because the price difference between them and the R series and the SVS alternative I was looking at was too much. In the showroom at Best Buy the R11 metas were what everybody is saying - brighter than the Q11 metas. So much so that I felt like Best Buy's demo machine was using some DSP to manipulate them. I still don't know if that is true but wouldn't surprise me. I listened to the R3 Metas and they were very good but not better than the Q11 Meta to my ear. The R5 metas actually sounded worse to me than the R3 and the Q11 Meta. The SVS alternatives sounded OK but overdone somehow and knowing how they measure I couldn't bring myself to go there.

My home theater is basically the perfect setup for the Q11 meta with the spacing from the walls and the distance between them. On first listen they seemed to be too muffled for my taste. Once I started messing with my Denon AVR-X4800's settings they started sounding better. Once I got the time I ran them through a full Dirac correction and wow, that made all the difference on the higher frequency issues I thought I had. Also, the bass is great alone, but paired with my older Paradigm Reference Studio Sub 15 the bass is outstanding.

I am not missing any treble, in fact I notice that where before I would get a little listening fatigue with the Paradigms I can just sit and listen and the music actually sounds better the more I listen. An hour into a listening session I am still enjoying the sudtle details of the sound stage and the balance of the overall presentation.

I am very pleased with what I got, especially for the price. I am sure the R11 metas would sound better in my room but I will never know:)
 
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jeffgarret said:
I'll chime in here. I got Q11 Metas a couple of weeks ago and I really like them. Replaced a pair of 15 year old Paradigm Monitor 9 floor speakers that were almost exactly the same size. I listened to a lot of speakers before settling on these and ultimately did because the price difference between them and the R series and the SVS alternative I was looking at was too much. In the showroom at Best Buy the R11 metas were what everybody is saying - brighter than the Q11' metas. So much so that I felt like Best Buy's demo machine was using some DSP to manipulate them. I still don't know if that is true but wouldn't surprise me. I listened to the R3 Metas and they were very good but not better than the Q11 Meta to my ear. The R5 metas actually sounded worse to me than the R3 and the Q11 Meta. The SVS alternatives sounded OK but overdone somehow and knowing how they measure I couldn't bring myself to go there.

My home theater is basically the perfect setup for the Q11 meta with the spacing from the walls and the distance between them. On first listen they seemed to be too muffled for my taste. Once I started messing with my Denon AVR-X4800's settings they started sounding better. Once I got the time I ran them through a full Dirac correction and wow, that made all the difference on the higher frequency issues I thought I had. Also, the bass is great alone, but paired with my older Paradigm Reference Studio Sub 15 the bass is outstanding.

I am not missing any treble, in fact I notice that where before I would get a little listening fatigue with the Paradigms I can just sit and listen and the music actually sounds better the more I listen. An hour into a listening session I am still enjoying the sudtle details of the sound stage and the balance of the overall presentation.

I am very pleased with what I got, especially for the price. I am sure the R11 metas would sound better in my room but I will never know:)
Click to expand...
Nice post.
For sure the Q range are very low fatigue and are very detailed sounding in a non-hifi way. Just linear and non-showy.
 
holbob said:
I've added a peq of 1.5db boost at 9100hz with a q of 0.5. Still doesn't sound remotely fatiguing.
Click to expand...
As we know, DSP active speakers, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Ascilab), produce the most linear frequency responses. Next down the list would be a passive speaker with DSP applied upstream. So now that powerful DSP is so readily available (e.g. Wiim), will a speaker manufacturer be brave enough to publish a suggested set of filters that finesses their passive speaker beyond what was achievable with passive filters? Or even different filter sets for different preferences, e.g. added “air” or warmer vocals, etc.
 
Matt_Holland said:
As we know, DSP active speakers, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Ascilab), produce the most linear frequency responses. Next down the list would be a passive speaker with DSP applied upstream. So now that powerful DSP is so readily available (e.g. Wiim), will a speaker manufacturer be brave enough to publish a suggested set of filters that finesses their passive speaker beyond what was achievable with passive filters? Or even different filter sets for different preferences, e.g. added “air” or warmer vocals, etc.
Click to expand...
I like that idea, "manufacturers suggested dsp ".... Maybe ascend or Harman might pioneer that concept...
 
I'll be redoing the living room furniture soon and I'm starting to get the Q bug... They measure and sound good, aren't too expensive, and come in white with some black details, which will be a mandatory aesthetic requirement.

Won't be doing any surround, don't require loudness and high volumes. I never thought about doing this but... I'm now looking towards a 3.0 setup that may get a .1 eventually.

So, Concerto Q Meta + Q6 Meta for the center. That should work well for TV and kid's upcoming Xbox, correct?

(I shall now cast a curse upon AVR manufacturers and their lack of white devices.)
 
rsc1 said:
Watching movies in 2025

Step 1: turn up the volume because you can't hear anything anyone is saying
Step 2: blow out your eardrums because of an explosion and immediately turn down the volume
Step 3: repeat
Click to expand...

I don't get why movies are mixed like this when nobody likes it.
 
Could the Q4 Metas work as on ceiling Atmos speakers, or is that a stupid idea?
 
somebodyelse said:
They have wall mounts on the back. It doesn't look like much of a challenge to mount them safely on a ceiling.
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Yeah but they're keyhole mounts. It's possible to ceiling mount that way, but I dunno how secure it would be. Typically you're relying on gravity to keep the keyhole engaged on the screw with those.
 
kyuu said:
Yeah but they're keyhole mounts. It's possible to ceiling mount that way, but I dunno how secure it would be. Typically you're relying on gravity to keep the keyhole engaged on the screw with those.
Click to expand...
Not if you use a spring clip to prevent it disengaging. I'd probably screw a foam padded safety wire to the back too. I can think of a few more bracket options - like I said not much of a challenge.
 
somebodyelse said:
Not if you use a spring clip to prevent it disengaging. I'd probably screw a foam padded safety wire to the back too. I can think of a few more bracket options - like I said not much of a challenge.
Click to expand...
Don't be shy, share these options as its something I would still possibly consider, can't really find any other coaxial on ceiling speakers that are white and not disgustingly overpriced like procella p1.

This way I can consider a 8 speaker q4 meta setup and have my receiver melt.
 
No_hair_left said:
Don't be shy, share these options as its something I would still possibly consider, can't really find any other coaxial on ceiling speakers that are white and not disgustingly overpriced like procella p1.

This way I can consider a 8 speaker q4 meta setup and have my receiver melt.
Click to expand...
For reference so we know what we're talking about:
kef_q4_meta.jpg

So we have 4 small standoffs incorporating 4-way keyhole mounts. This gives us two basic approaches (assuming we're not going to just screw a separate mount to the back or sides of the cabinet):
  1. 4 fixed screws, all keyholes used in the same direction, and something to keep them from releasing.
  2. 2 fixed screws and 2 that can be moved, engaging pairs of keyholes in opposite directions.
For 1 the 'something' could be a spring clip like I mentioned, a spring or elastic that pulls the speaker in the desired direction, or something you screw in to block movement after the speaker is in place. It could be as simple as a block of wood screwed to the ceiling just inside from one of the mounting screws as in the sketch below, viewed looking up or down. Once the speaker has been positioned with the mounting screws in the keyholes and slid to the right to locate it, use a screw to prevent the speaker sliding to the left again. It would probably be easier to have the screw screwed all the way into the block to start with, then back it out far enough to lock the speaker.
q4_meta_lock_sketch.png


Or you could use trim to cover the gap between speaker and ceiling, fixed on 3 sides and removable on the 4th. When the speaker is in place on the keyhole mounts, fix the 4th to the ceiling to keep the speaker from moving.

Is that enough to get you started?
 
Bucking said:
These aren't as slim as the Q4 Metas sadly
Click to expand...
Yes, quite slim but not as slim. I think I could find them acceptable if the ceiling isn't too low. The Q4 metas are very good though but ceiling mounting them seems like a bit of a faff!
 
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