Kef Q100 vs Q1 Meta - has anyone compared?

[Roy_D]

Has anyone directly or indirectly compared these two?
I've had my Q100's for about 5 or 6 years now and that familiar itch that has been dormant for some time has come around again

 

[Roy_D]

https://www.spinorama.org/compare.h...F+Q1+Meta&origin1=Vendors-KEF&version1=vendor well, isn't this convenient! =)
The versus here overal the Q1 Meta seems to perform a little better in the low end and the mid and highs have smoothed out somewhat - wonder if that is as it is or an artefact of actual graph smoothing by Kef vs the ASR set though?

 

[kyuu]

Has anyone directly or indirectly compared these two?
I've had my Q100's for about 5 or 6 years now and that familiar itch that has been dormant for some time has come around again

I would say the difference is too minor to warrant bothering with what amounts to a sidegrade. If you're getting an itch, make sure you're getting a proper upgrade for your money. Moving to one of KEF's 3-ways with a dedicated woofer so you don't have the high IMD issues and unimpressive power handling of the lower-end 2-ways should be the goal, IMO, such as the Q Concerta Meta.

 

[staticV3]

wonder if that is as it is or an artefact of actual graph smoothing by Kef vs the ASR set though?

Smoothing and differences in measurement setup/methodology may account for small variations, but the overall trend holds true:

The Q1 Meta fixes the midrange and treble bumps of its predecessor and is a more neutral loudspeaker for it:


Though it may sound less detailed as a result.

 

[tw 2022]

i would also rec a "real" upgrade...q concerto level...

 

[Roy_D]

Smoothing and differences in measurement setup/methodology may account for small variations, but the overall trend holds true:

The Q1 Meta fixes the midrange and treble bumps of its predecessor and is a more neutral loudspeaker for it:
View attachment 449906

Though it may sound less detailed as a result.tgats

I would say the difference is too minor to warrant bothering with what amounts to a sidegrade. If you're getting an itch, make sure you're getting a proper upgrade for your money. Moving to one of KEF's 3-ways with a dedicated woofer so you don't have the high IMD issues and unimpressive power handling of the lower-end 2-ways should be the goal, IMO, such as the Q Concerta Meta

I would say the difference is too minor to warrant bothering with what amounts to a sidegrade. If you're getting an itch, make sure you're getting a proper upgrade for your money. Moving to one of KEF's 3-ways with a dedicated woofer so you don't have the high IMD issues and unimpressive power handling of the lower-end 2-ways should be the goal, IMO, such as the Q Concerta Meta.

I've read thoughts of people who know the Q100/150 and tried the Q Concerto and describe it as being much more linear but also dark as its frequency response falls off steadily in the highs which would not mesh with my ageing (but fussy) ears very well.
In the pricerange of the Q Concerto something like the Super Dentons from Wharfedale by accounts sound worth that extra expense but I have grown so accustomed to the coaxial thing I don't think I could

 

[kyuu]

I've read thoughts of people who know the Q100/150 and tried the Q Concerto and describe it as being much more linear but also dark as its frequency response falls off steadily in the highs which would not mesh with my ageing (but fussy) ears very well.

Sure I can see that. Do you have anything that can apply EQ? A simple high shelf of 2-3dB starting around 2kHz would address that no problem.

 

[Roy_D]

Sure I can see that. Do you have anything that can apply EQ? A simple high shelf of 2-3dB starting around 2kHz would address that no problem.

Recently updated our old pi2 with a pi4 to sit under the Allo Boss 1.2 dac hat but its already driving me up the wall trying to get hdmi cec working again on OSMC/kodi..

Any ready to go solutions with room eq you can recommend ? ^^

 

[kyuu]

Any ready to go solutions with room eq you can recommend ? ^^

Well the easy recommendation is any of Wiim's devices, which will get you 10-band PEQ among many other features. If you are using a PC as your sole source, then Equalizer APO is another easy recommendation.

 

[Roy_D]

Smoothing and differences in measurement setup/methodology may account for small variations, but the overall trend holds true:

The Q1 Meta fixes the midrange and treble bumps of its predecessor and is a more neutral loudspeaker for it:
View attachment 449906

Though it may sound less detailed as a result.

https://www.spinorama.org/compare.h...F+Q1+Meta&origin1=Vendors-KEF&version1=vendor eying this the Q1 Meta considering we have a fairly decent subwoofer ( Audio Pro b2.27 ) eying the high frequency responses of the Q1 vs the Q Concerto the Q1 Meta does not seem a bad proposition.

 

[Roy_D]

Well the easy recommendation is any of Wiim's devices, which will get you 10-band PEQ among many other features. If you are using a PC as your sole source, then Equalizer APO is another easy recommendation.

I've used equalizer apo when my kef q150s we're on desk duty but now on stands in living room what I have to work with is a raspberry pi 4 8gb with a decent dac addon https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...surements-of-allo-boss-raspberry-pi-dac.4529/

 

[staticV3]

I've used equalizer apo when my kef q150s we're on desk duty but now on stands in living room what I have to work with is a raspberry pi 4 8gb with a decent dac addon https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...surements-of-allo-boss-raspberry-pi-dac.4529/

Check this out:

RPi + CamillaDSP Tutorial

As of May 22, 2024, this tutorial has been migrated to GitHub to allow for better revision management and a more universal location, please see link below. https://github.com/mdsimon2/RPi-CamillaDSP In general the GitHub tutorial is the same as previous ASR tutorial but now covers the RPi5...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Roy_D]

Check this out:

RPi + CamillaDSP Tutorial

As of May 22, 2024, this tutorial has been migrated to GitHub to allow for better revision management and a more universal location, please see link below. https://github.com/mdsimon2/RPi-CamillaDSP In general the GitHub tutorial is the same as previous ASR tutorial but now covers the RPi5...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks I will give that a look! I use kodi osmc libreelec etc because it was more doable for the other members of my household to operate but the chromecast serves those needs mostly so I am free to run desktop os on the pi and get more flexible anyways I realize now..

https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/gp/product/B0B2DJZTSF this was a pleasant surprise find this afternoon. Using allo boss 1.2 dac here currently but this one with sabre ES9038Q2M dac seems a definate upgrade at a ridiculous price. https://archimago.blogspot.com/2023/04/as-we-hear-it-innomaker-hifi-dac-pro.html

 

[HeadDoc12]

Does everyone agree that the Q3 Meta is also too small an upgrade?

 

[tw 2022]

Does everyone agree that the Q3 Meta is also too small an upgrade?

Probably, but if a "bigger" sound is a preference they might fit the bill, I'm not familiar with any reliable measurements of that speaker ( q3 meta )...

 

[Roy_D]

Does everyone agree that the Q3 Meta is also too small an upgrade?

https://www.spinorama.org/compare.h...Q3+Meta&origin1=ErinsAudioCorner&version1=eac
To me the q1 meta vs q3 meta seems to present very similar to the q100 vs q300 : the q100 presented a more consistent response overall at a much better value proposition.

 

[kyuu]

https://www.spinorama.org/compare.h...Q3+Meta&origin1=ErinsAudioCorner&version1=eac
To me the q1 meta vs q3 meta seems to present very similar to the q100 vs q300 : the q100 presented a more consistent response overall at a much better value proposition.

View attachment 450264

You have to be careful with that. You're comparing an unsmoothed FR from a Erin's Klippel with a highly smoothed FR from KEF. I wouldn't trust any differences outside of the overall trends to be real. There's also more to a speaker than its FR.

 

[Roy_D]

You have to be careful with that. You're comparing an unsmoothed FR from a Erin's Klippel with a highly smoothed FR from KEF. I wouldn't trust any differences outside of the overall trends to be real. There's also more to a speaker than its FR.

Yes there is smoothing but the reported data is presented to suggest the sets both conform to the same measurement standards https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/cea/cea20342015ansi

I tried both the 300 and 100 at the time, as well as the 150's. The 100's given the presence of a subwoofer for movie and party nights here and the 300's being just a smidge less bass aenemic than the 100's and more boomy sounding at the same placement it was an easy choice to make given the difference in price also ^^

It has been a rocky road kind of year here and once some of that is resolved I am to refine 'the stack' here a little or a little more than a little depending on how much return on investment the options present ^^
To try the options in one go I would have to travel a fair bit to a dealer that has both Kef and Wharfedale models on my shortlist at the moment
( Kef Q1 Meta, Kef Q Concerto Meta, Wharfedale Super Denton, Wharfedale Linton )

 

[kyuu]

Yes there is smoothing but the reported data is presented to suggest the sets both conform to the same measurement standards https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/cea/cea20342015ansi

I tried both the 300 and 100 at the time, as well as the 150's. The 100's given the presence of a subwoofer for movie and party nights here and the 300's being just a smidge less bass aenemic than the 100's and more boomy sounding at the same placement it was an easy choice to make given the difference in price also ^^

Yeah, the only apparent difference between the two is going from a 5.25" woofer to a 6.5" and all the differences are what you'd expect as a consequence: slightly more bass extension, a smidge more sensitivity, a pinch of better power handling.

 

[Roy_D]

Yeah, the only apparent difference between the two is going from a 5.25" woofer to a 6.5" and all the differences are what you'd expect as a consequence: slightly more bass extension, a smidge more sensitivity, a pinch of better power handling.

mhm and don't drive them hard here - 85db tops on occasion, mostly <75 or lower. Placement wise they live at a foot off the back wall here minimum. Sometimes a little more for a while but then with cats and kids running around they get pushed back to 30cm or so and stay there and that seems to work fine for the Q100's I have now and I'd like that in any speaker that replaces it.