KEF Q7 Meta – Some Questions

[Goofy]

To all KEF Q7 Meta owners:
I’m considering purchasing these speakers. I’ve watched Erin’s review and examined the measurements of the Q11Ms , and I’m wondering whether the Q7Ms show a similar behavior in the mid-to-high frequencies. My main concern is a potentially dark tonal balance, based on the published response curves.
Another constraint is placement: I need to position the speakers no more than 30 cm from the rear wall. Under these conditions, would you expect the mid-to-low frequency response of the Q7Ms to be comparable to that of the Q11Ms, considering boundary reinforcement and port tuning? At the moment, I can’t or don’t want to apply EQ, and I don’t plan to use a subwoofer.
Listening takes place in a medium-sized, fairly reflective room, with typical SPLs not exceeding about 75 dB.
Thanks for your insights.

 

[Chagall]

Q7 M vs Q11 M have similar response. Go to spinorama.org.

Compared to R7M, both Q7M and Q11M are darker.

So if you think Q11 is too dark, Q7 will be the same. But if you really listen at only 75dB why don't you go with Q Concerto and put it 20 cm from the wall?

 

[Goofy]

So if you think Q11 is too dark, Q7 will be the same. But if you really listen at only 75dB why don't you go with Q Concerto and put it 20 cm from the wall?

Thanks for the reply and the advice. I’m not very keen on the idea of using stand-mount speakers in my new living room, mainly for aesthetic reasons. The Q Concerto stand is somewhat underwhelming aesthetically (light, poorly finished, and too tall) and, in my opinion, nothing like the S3 (R3 Meta stand).
I’m still unsure whether the Q11 Meta / Q7 Meta might sound too dark; at this point, I can only look at and try to interpret the graphs. Unfortunately, I have no way to audition them in my own room, and I don’t really trust subjective listening impressions in stores.
The alternative would be the R5 Metas, or possibly the R3 Metas with S3 stands, but that would push the cost well beyond what I had originally planned. Realistically, I guess I’m waiting for someone to tell me, “No, of course not — the Q7 Metas aren’t too dark. Go ahead and pull the trigger!”

 

[delta76]

Nothing a bit of EQ can't fix?

 

[Goofy]

Nothing a bit of EQ can't fix?

At the moment, I can’t apply any EQ in the living room, except using the tone control on my Sonos Amp.

 

[delta76]

At the moment, I can’t apply any EQ in the living room, except using the tone control on my Sonos Amp.

Maybe take that into consideration, no speaker will work perfect in your room without room correction. You will need something like Wiim Amp Ultra, or even better, an AVR with a full room correction suit.
You can always go with UMIK + REW but avr is the simplest solution and usually works very well. If you don't need a lot of channels, nor HDMI 2.1, an 5-6 years old like denon x3500h or x3600h could work wonder.

Just a suggestion .

 

[Chagall]

Realistically, I guess I’m waiting for someone to tell me, “No, of course not — the Q7 Metas aren’t too dark. Go ahead and pull the trigger!”

Yes, well that is the problem...because everyone else will have a different room, reflections, placement and/or preference to you.
For example I have the original Kef R3 (not meta) and objectively they measure bright, but to me, in my room they are not.

So, my guess is that in my room Q7M would be dark.

 

[Goofy]

Maybe take that into consideration, no speaker will work perfect in your room without room correction. You will need something like Wiim Amp Ultra, or even better, an AVR with a full room correction suit.
You can always go with UMIK + REW but avr is the simplest solution and usually works very well. If you don't need a lot of channels, nor HDMI 2.1, an 5-6 years old like denon x3500h or x3600h could work wonder.

Just a suggestion .

Thanks for your input. Yes, your approach makes sense, but it would complicate my life in terms of EQ and adjustments. For now, a decent pair of speakers is enough for me, and I can live with some speaker character and a bit of room coloration, as long as it’s not annoying.
Later on, I was thinking of switching to a more flexible streamer/amplifier and adding a Sonos Port to keep the Sonos ecosystem (I have several RJ-45 wired devices throughout the house). Possibly something like a Cambridge Evo 150 SE. I know the WiiM Amp Ultra offers excellent performance at a much lower price, but I’m particularly drawn to the Hypex-based amplification and the Evo’s ergonomics and feature set.

 

[Goofy]

Yes, well that is the problem...because everyone else will have a different room, reflections, placement and/or preference to you.
For example I have the original Kef R3 (not meta) and objectively they measure bright, but to me, in my room they are not.

So, my guess is that in my room Q7M would be dark.

Yes, that’s perfectly logical. I have to hope that, since my living room is quite minimalist and has plenty of French windows, it will help compensate for the character of the Q7 Metas. Maybe they were designed with this kind of room in mind

 

[Chagall]

Yes, that’s perfectly logical. I have to hope that, since my living room is quite minimalist and has plenty of French windows, it will help compensate for the character of the Q7 Metas. Maybe they were designed with this kind of room in mind

Toe them in to get more direct sound and more treble. Something like 5 - 10 degrees off axis is what Erin usually recommends with Kefs. Doing that, you will loose some stage width depending on how much space is to the side walls. Plug the ports if the speakers are too close to the back wall and by all means, play with tone controls on your amp.

 

[aarons915]

For what it's worth I wanted to try the new Q Metas and I personally thought the Q6 measures slightly better than the other models and I also wanted an MTM style hoping to retain more of the point source sound so I bought 3. I tried some PEQ to make the response not so tilted and I didn't really notice a difference with it on and off, they sound neutral to my ears so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

 

[Goofy]

tried some PEQ to make the response not so tilted and I didn't really notice a difference with it on and off, they sound neutral to my ears so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Sounds good!

 

[thewas]

In my acoustically treated room I add a small high shelving filter of +1,5 dB at 4500 Hz to my Q7 but the difference isn't huge:

 

[Chagall]

In my acoustically treated room I add a small high shelving filter of +1,5 dB at 4500 Hz to my Q7 but the difference isn't huge:

View attachment 504451

That response is incredible. Q7 + sub?

 

[thewas]

That response is incredible. Q7 + sub?

Thanks, just room gain thanks to placement close to the front wall.

 

[Chagall]

Thanks, just room gain thanks to placement close to the front wall.

Jeez! Looks better then Erin's estimated in-room. Very nice.