KEF Q350 Speaker Review

[VladimirJ]

You need to disable "Direct mode" in order to one be able to adjust EQ. It's explicitly stated in their manual. I'd probably stay away from the Web settings and us the MusicCast mobile app which is much more intuitive. That web settings is one of the ugliest interface I've seen comparable to some cheap Wireless router you get off eBay!

As I stated even EQ adjustments on WXA-50, the bass (low) isn't good. As mentioned you have limited EQ adjustability Low/Mid/High. Whereas the WiiM amp, your have Graphic EQ and Parametric EQ (for the pros. with proper tools like Amir and they know what they're doing).

• The WiiM sounded much better overall for my listening taste as I can tweak around the Graphic EQ to suit me and the EQ have already been changed again since my original post. Again "muddy" is when WiiM amp + Q350 when you leave all EQ to default. This can also be attributed purely to Q350 rather the WiiM amp itself. Even Amir did mentioned he had to make Parametric EQ to correct some of the issues. So it might be just the inherited issue of the speakers rather than the amp.
• WiiM is definitely loud enough for me (I even set a Volume limit to 90% in the app). I do like cranking up volume when listening to music. Loud enough for my listening distance at least.
• I don't think the WXA-50 is anaemic or lack of power overall. It's just the bass/low-end frequencies possibly only with Q350 but that's very much a Yamaha sound signature
• I still think WXA-50 still sounded a bit clearer (maybe more separation or 'timbre" if I understand the term correctly) in the mid-upper-to-high. Female vocals and string instruments sound much better than WiiM amp with the Q350. As I've been using WXA-50 with the Q350 for over 6 years, I might have become used to brighter sound. I do remember that I did felt fatigued initially listening to Q350 + WXA-50 and which the sound was a bit warmer in the mids all those years ago.

Again, my experience and comments are highly subjective and very likely to be very wrong. My listening distance, room makeup, speaker placements, individual listening preference, etc. can affect the sound characteristics. I'd suggest you wait for WiiM amp arrive to determine yourself. No measurements or comments from anyone (inc. experts) except yourself to determine if the sound is better in your scenario. I'd love to hear back from you though once you got it!

No buyer's remorse. I'm happy to have replaced my WXA-50 with WiiM amp with Q350s for my use case. The features available on WiiM app comparing with MusicCast is much better from my perspective for what I needed. I'm happy with my overall setup and package (Q350 + WiiM amp).

Thank you very much for this detailed information.
My experience with WXA wasn't a bad one, on the contrary, but I did feel that it's tad underpowered and couldn't play as loud as I would like with my old Monitor Audio Bronze 4 floorstanders.
But, as you rightfully said, it is all subjective and depends on a variety of factors, different for each user. I gave the WXA to my son, together with a pair of Triangle BR03s, and he is very happy with the combination.
I guess I just need to wait out for the WiiM to arrive and decide for myself whether it was a good purchase. Here's hoping...
PS: also hoping there won't be any of the issues mentioned on forums (hum, hiss, static, HDMI issues, etc...)

 

[soulfresh]

Thank you very much for this detailed information.
My experience with WXA wasn't a bad one, on the contrary, but I did feel that it's tad underpowered and couldn't play as loud as I would like with my old Monitor Audio Bronze 4 floorstanders.
But, as you rightfully said, it is all subjective and depends on a variety of factors, different for each user. I gave the WXA to my son, together with a pair of Triangle BR03s, and he is very happy with the combination.
I guess I just need to wait out for the WiiM to arrive and decide for myself whether it was a good purchase. Here's hoping...
PS: also hoping there won't be any of the issues mentioned on forums (hum, hiss, static, HDMI issues, etc...)

I doubt the WiiM amp will have enough power for your floorstanders consider the WXA-50 isn't enough which both are quite similar. You might consider buying one more WiiM amp in mono mode for each speaker.

Other people can chime in but I think you're looking at the wrong product to drive your Monitor Audio Bronze 4 floorstanders!

 

[VladimirJ]

I doubt the WiiM amp will have enough power for your floorstanders consider the WXA-50 isn't enough which both are quite similar. You might consider buying one more WiiM amp in mono mode for each speaker.

Other people can chime in but I think you're looking at the wrong product to drive your Monitor Audio Bronze 4 floorstanders!

Thanks!
I won't be driving the MAs with WiiM - I have a pair of QA 3020i's ready for the WiiM. I used those with WXA as well, and it was a good match.
QAs are quite versatile in my view and I enjoyed them with several different low-power amps (both class D and class AB). I expect/hope they will also be a good match for the WiiM.

 

[soulfresh]

Thanks!
I won't be driving the MAs with WiiM - I have a pair of QA 3020i's ready for the WiiM. I used those with WXA as well, and it was a good match.
QAs are quite versatile in my view and I enjoyed them with several different low-power amps (both class D and class AB). I expect/hope they will also be a good match for the WiiM.

QA was on my shopping before I settled with my KEF Q350. If I recall correctly, I think the none 'i' QA 3020 was around back then. Even that one was well regarded by reviewers and publications.

If I don't already own Airpulse A100 in the office, I'd definitely go with a QA setup!

 

[VladimirJ]

The 3020i's were in competition with the PSB Alpha P5 when I chose speakers for my office. I liked the QAs more, so I bought them and didn't regret it.

 

[Bucking]

I currently have 3 of these in my home theatre setup (L C R) and use them with the port plugs, since they are relatively close to the wall.
But do the port plugs even do anything if I have my crossover set at 80HZ?

 

[radix]

I currently have 3 of these in my home theatre setup (L C R) and use them with the port plugs, since they are relatively close to the wall.
But do the port plugs even do anything if I have my crossover set at 80HZ?

From Amir's review (on p. 1) the port plug barely did anything. So they don't really matter whatever the crossover.

If you look at the distortion graphs, I'd probably cross them at 100Hz.

 

[Bucking]

From Amir's review (on p. 1) the port plug barely did anything. So they don't really matter whatever the crossover.

If you look at the distortion graphs, I'd probably cross them at 100Hz.

Would that port plugs also do nothing if I have the speaker very close to the wall (About 15cm)

 

[Tio]

anyone ever compare q350 with the older model q300?

 

[Bucking]

So KEF recommends to not toe these speakers in by much or even at all. What is the consensus here with other Q350 users?

 

[thewas]

Some fresh detailed measurements and review

KEF Q350 리뷰 - Audio-re

2way ported, 38.3 Hz (-6dB)

audiore.kr

 

[Randolf]

I just purchased a pair of Q350 for a ridiculous low price of 289 Euro as "damaged B-Stock". The "damage" is just a tiny little scratch on the veneer. Although the recommended retail price is 599 Euro, you can easily find it for 400-450 Euro. To me this is a real bargain. It is hard to find anything similar in that price range, even as DIY project. It shares many of the typical KEF UNI-Q qualities with the much higher priced models. Basically KEF was able to reduce the price by using a rather lightweight cabinet, basic veneer, simple 6db crossover design and low quality crossover parts. I plan to test some improvements for this little speaker in the next month just for fun. After listening to it for just 3 days I am pretty impressed but it needs more comparison for a final conclusion. There is nothing obviously very wrong with it except the bass response in my room. With the port closed it is ok but lacks deep bass, with the port half or fully open is is far to boomy (although the 45Hz room mode of my room is already treated pretty well using Helmholtz resonator). Fortunately I was able to fix that with a little port tuning, which might be of interest for others having similar problems.

The Q350 comes with 2 plugs to a) reduce the port diameter (to lower the tuning frequency) or b) close the port entirely. By adding bass reflex tube extension of a about 14 cm with reduced diameter and finally a little bit damping on the tube end one can lower the tuning frequency and output:

This results in the following in room response (the 3 upper graphs show the original KEF tuning (closed, reduced diameter and open port). The lower 2 graphs show the result for 14cm tube extension with and without damping:

The impedance sweep shows the port tuning frequency for the 2 KEF tunings and the extended tube:

A near field measurement of the port output shows the effect:

The summation of of nearfield measurement of driver and port (please ignore high frequency part) for the open port and the extended port looks like this (hopefully I calculated the correction factor correctly, 6dB):

So the original KEF tuning doesn't look bad, it is a classical bassreflex tuning, but it simply doesn't work well in my room. The extended tube results in a shelved bass response which works much better for me.

For this quick and ugly trick I used a 19cm peace of slotted pipe isolation from the hardware store (outer diameter ~6cm, inner diameter ~4.2cm) fixed with some duct tape and plugged it into the port about 5cm deep (which reduced the inner diameter a bit). To fine tune it I added a little bit polyester wool on the outlet of the tube and fixed with a rubber band.

 

[crappypanther]

I’m also happy with my q350, and also bought it at a discount, for 500$. I bought stands, damped the cabinet, and recently made quality room correction eq. These are one of the few 6 inch speakers that don't need a subwoofer, 40 hertz is decent

 

[Telefunk]

They are on sale for $500 on Amazon now. I'm wondering if there is a bookshelf much better for $500 at the moment.

 

[staticV3]

I'm wondering if there is a bookshelf much better for $500 at the moment.

There are other bookshelf models with comparable performance at that price, but the Q350 is very competitive:

A collection of loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org

 

[ABAstroUK]

There are other bookshelf models with comparable performance at that price, but the Q350 is very competitive:

A collection of loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org

I just picked up a pair of Q350s from Peter Tyson for £299, couldn't miss out on that deal. They will be used as L+R channels in my HT setup to replace my old B&W DM 603 S2 floorstanders which have finally given up after 20 years. Hopefully they will do the job nicely.

 

[panblue43]

Hello!Personally I like warm sounding ls,my favourite was the wharfedale diamond 11.2.
But after a while I had two problems with them: power handling highlight the low bass,and at movies the dialogues sinked into the bass so became muddy,unarticulated but the well known actor's voice were thin.
So I looked after another ls: I tried on the q350s but I was very disappointed.The sound at low levels was very faded,not dynamic or good detailed how I like.
Tested Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the moon..at the beginning I missed the deep and spacious heart-beat...Then the vocals were faded,trebles almost missed.
I do not know it was the 350s fault or the system (marantz pm8005) or room acoustics..
I moved on..next ls was the polk es20.I known in the first minute I need them.The bass is meaty,it has body,the vocals forwarded,enjoyable,the trebles sometimes little bit sparkling but in my room it is Ok,a lot of furnitures etc "eats" treble.
At movies the dialogues are clear,good detailed,and I hear back the good old-well known actors voices.
If I could do: I should mix the diamond's beautiful shaped body with the slot loaded port and the polk's power handling with its midrange clarity.
But forget the q350s.

 

[Count Dacula]

KEFs are dry, like a studio monitor. It depends on what you're used to, a sweet(end) sound or a dry one.

 

[panblue43]

Champagne or desert could be dry..but the music never Maybe you think about flat or liveless.
I got some 2-way ls for example the marantz ld50 ,it was flat but sounded great,enjoyable.
I belive that a good ls (while playing or sounding)is that when your toes starts to move,you not just listen the music - feels it - and the listening makes you happy.Yes I like dynamic ls what fill the room,has wide sweet point,and sound good with several genres of music.And do not like subs - they are for movies...

 

[Descartes]

KEFs are dry, like a studio monitor. It depends on what you're used to, a sweet(end) sound or a dry one.

Dry?

It depends where you listen to them when I listen to them in the pool they sound damp!