KEF R11 Meta Tower Speaker Review

[dogmamann]

Despite I also find the R Meta the current sweet spot in the value for money I don't agree with above as each of those step up in series brings engineering improvements which show up in the measurements, I would rather agree with your statement for the Muon. Someone might say that measurements of the R meta are already so good that the improvement of the other series are not large enough for them but name them just designer items doesn't give justice the engineering behind them, especially of the Blades.

In a real room, it must be non audible after the eq, and without eq both speakers blades and the. R11 will be colored

 

[Vigovsky]

Good test and performance, @amirm.

I like coaxial acoustic systems with good sound coherence.

Some of my coaxial Dual Concentric Tannoy. These DC Tannoys have been updated and improved.

TANNOY 615
Peak Power channel = 300W
FR: +/-3dB = 41hz - 30kHz
Sensitivity (2,83V 1m) = 92dB

TANNOY 615 Frequency response test

 

[fordiebianco]

Sigh. Does that mean I have to upgrade my 105.1s? Great review, thanks @amirm (and thanks to KEF for taking this site seriously).

 

[beagleman]

@amirm
Great review, Great speaker, and even find the value to be fairly good for how great the performance is!

Only thing I found missing, was a comparison to your Revel speakers

 

[thewas]

In a real room, it must be non audible after the eq, and without eq both speakers blades and the. R11 will be colored

I don't agree as they have different directivities which cannot be changed by EQ.

 

[delta76]

I know I can't afford this, I don't want this, I don't have space for this.
I clicked regardless and read through the review - and that put a smile on my face

 

[DanielT]

Thanks for the test Amir! KEF R11 seem to be really nice speakers.

There is just no audible consequence as a result of going from 86 dBSPL all the way up to 102 dBSPL.

...

My experience with budget coaxial designs is that they give up power handling which to me is a poor trade off. Not here. The R11 Meta has excellent bass handling with very low distortion allowing me to EQ it with no degradation as far as distortion of playback ability.

Exactly what I can't do with my vintage Tannoy coax, play loud that is. My Tannoy T 225 Mayfair cannot handle a lot of power and probably start to distort at higher volumes. Normal, 65-70 dB listening volume, however, is really pleasant.

(not mine in the picture but the same model)

Of course, the KEF R11 plays in a completely different higher league than my Tannoy, both in terms of performance and price.But that being said, the price of the KEF R11 is good. Good performance for the money.

 

[FrantzM]

"Designed and engineered in the UK"

"Made in China"

Even KEF!!!

What's wrong with that? Why not?

Peace.

 

[MZKM]

Hi,
I suppose, the underlined numbers shouldn‘t be identical, right?

Frequency response: +/- 4.5dB 46Hz-20kHz ; +/- 4.5dB 80Hz-20kHz

Fixed.

 

[MZKM]

I wonder how much better KEF R11 meta is vs older "just" R11 model. In Europe KEF sells older model for 3998€ (some stores offer way under that) and meta is 6500€.

Is the difference worth 2500€ ?

A trend I notice in the measurements for the Meta variants is slightly wider dispersion, which has always been a negative for some people; not much wider but wider nonetheless.

 

[staticV3]

The differences in the bass region are for everybody to guess.

Could it be related to the low frequency optimization that Amir added to his tower measurements back in 2021?


E.g. one of these measurements was made with, the other without?

@amirm what do you think?

 

[Talisman]

What's wrong with that? Why not?

Peace.

From a strictly technical point of view, nothing.
There would be many things from the human/moral/political point of view but this is not the place for these discussions

 

[thewas]

If someone wants "Made in UK" (which I can understand) they can buy their higher series like Reference or Blades, one part of their significant price difference is due to that.

 

[Rja4000]

Looks great !
Nice speaker for a nice price.
Thanks for the review

 

[Sokel]

"Designed and engineered in the UK"

"Made in China"

Even KEF!!!

KEF is actually Chinese,at least the company that owns it (GP Acoustics) is,so no wonder.

To the review now,that's a nice one!
Nicely made down to the last detail (some mat color (?) I saw are beautiful).
Finally a high-ish output KEF reviewed and seems good at it.
I would not consider the 1.2Khz dip a flaw but I would prefer a little more oomph down low,even at the size of such a slim speaker.

Great overall,I would expect to fill a medium room placed near the wall with full sound.

Thanks Amir!

 

[Matias]

I really wished KEF did not tune the bass down, I know it is to compensate for room gain and placing near the front wall, but still. It is the only major negative, in my opinion. Notice how both Blades don't have this.

Other than that sure, great speaker.

 

[FrantzM]

From a strictly technical point of view, nothing.
There would be many things from the human/moral/political point of view but this is not the place for these discussions

True. I would surmise that, looking at History, no Country or Civilization, should claim the human/moral/political high ground ...

Peace.

 

[DSJR]

Sigh. Does that mean I have to upgrade my 105.1s? Great review, thanks @amirm (and thanks to KEF for taking this site seriously).

If you have original 105s, you could check and maybe replace crossover caps, which I gather could drift off over forty several years... (I think HiFi news tested a pair and discovered this).

Sure the 105's are bulky with their bass bin (proper sized bass driver ) and pods on top, but I'd continue with them assuming they're in good working order. Can't believe how speakers like this, which with inflation 'should' be around eight or nine grand, end up today selling for double this amount or more... The old codger growing in me puts it down to greed, but maybe there are hidden costs getting in the way now.

Some time back, Chinese production made for a VERY profitable product once priced for a UK or US market, but since 2008, this may not be quite the case these days..

KEFs these days under the very top models can be got through UK dealer chains I think and prices may be keen if you shop around.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I am impressed by this R11 Meta. How does it compare to the Revel F208? I think any of these 2 speakers, properly EQ/DSP and "helped by (at least ) a pair of properly setup (REW and MSO to the recourse ) subwoofers, in a small to medium large room (up to 40 square meters) would challenge the SOTA. The KEF with its coaxial main driver and superb vertical directivity is very compelling
.
I would like to see how close the previous, discontinued, non-meta R11 was to this iteration. It can be found , new, at around $3500/pair...

Peace.

 

[thewas]

I really wished KEF did not tune the bass down, I know it is to compensate for room gain and placing near the front wall, but still. It is the only major negative, in my opinion. Notice how both Blades don't have this.

The lower bass is also tuned down on the Blades, actually on the bigger One more than on the Twos.

https://assets.kef.com/documents/reference/KEF_Blade_Ref_Meta_Tech_Paper.pdf