Kef R3 keep or return?

[archerious]

Hi ASR,

I ordered a pair of Kef r3 new from their site for a good price $1399.

However, UPS tore the side of the box and caused some minor cosmetic wear.

Would you keep or return them?

This isn't the first time I've had speakers arrive like this, I suspect it's because UPS is using a crane or dolly that digs into the side of the box.

Just like last time the speakers arrived with some wear.

Would you keep or return them?

 

[Chrispy]

I'd be using them to test them out while I either negotiated a suitable discount to keep 'em as-is, or even decide to keep 'em....but those blemishes wouldn't particularly bother me as much as the white finish

 

[Chrispy]

Oh, and the ways damage can be inflicted on a box by a carrier....best you can do is have stellar packaging really and even then that may not be enough. Speaking from a lifetime in logistics...

 

[archerious]

Listening from 10 1/2 feet away, speakers are 2 feet from the wall on each side.

Had to move my F226Be to test these. Wow. Very good imaging/instrument separation. Smaller Soundstage but accurate. Impressive for the price that's for sure.

 

[Soria Moria]

Listening from 10 1/2 feet away, speakers are 2 feet from the wall on each side.

Had to move my F226Be to test these. Wow. Very good imaging/instrument separation. Smaller Soundstage but accurate. Impressive for the price that's for sure.

View attachment 318008

Soundstage depends on the placing and direction of the speakers as well. I remember in the R3 Meta review that Erin recommended not pointing the tweeter directly at you since that can make it slightly bright and instead recommended pointing it about 10 degrees off-axis or something along the lines of that.

 

[archerious]

Soundstage depends on the placing and direction of the speakers as well. I remember in the R3 Meta review that Erin recommended not pointing the tweeter directly at you since that can make it slightly bright and instead recommended pointing it about 10 degrees off-axis or something along the lines of that.

Interesting. Room might be the factor but they don't sound bright to me, the F226Be are slightly brighter to me so I usually don't toe them into me but for now I do have them that way since I had to move them to fit the r3 in there.

Are the graphs out from Erin comparing r3 and r3 meta? I went for the OG R3 due to pricing being better.

Nice profile pic BTW.

 

[NTK]

Soundstage depends on the placing and direction of the speakers as well. I remember in the R3 Meta review that Erin recommended not pointing the tweeter directly at you since that can make it slightly bright and instead recommended pointing it about 10 degrees off-axis or something along the lines of that.

Interesting. Room might be the factor but they don't sound bright to me, the F226Be are slightly brighter to me so I usually don't toe them into me but for now I do have them that way since I had to move them to fit the r3 in there.

Are the graphs out from Erin comparing r3 and r3 meta? I went for the OG R3 due to pricing being better.

Nice profile pic BTW.

The recommendation to listen to KEF's slightly off-axis came from Dr Jack Oclee-Brown.

Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 Review (bookshelf speaker)

My guess is really the midrange is rubbing on the tweeter since there's very little tolerance and a bump in shipping could dislodge it just enough. Try playing a test tone at the resonant frequency and then put your hand on the tweeter and gently push it in different directions to see if that's...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[GD Fan]

UPS is easily the worst company, they've hosed me many times over the past 18+ years. Cream reunion tickets thrown in a puddle, refused to deliver a desktop computer for unknown reasons, fake delivery attempts in NYC... easily the worst major company in the US. If it were me I'd return those speakers and demand something flawless which is what a new buyer should always get.

 

[Chrispy]

UPS is easily the worst company, they've hosed me many times over the past 18+ years. Cream reunion tickets thrown in a puddle, refused to deliver a desktop computer for unknown reasons, fake delivery attempts in NYC... easily the worst major company in the US. If it were me I'd return those speakers and demand something flawless which is what a new buyer should always get.

Oh I'd put Fedex right there....and our local UPS guys are much better. It varies by locale largely. Both suck in many ways. Not a lot of competition.

 

[archerious]

UPS is easily the worst company, they've hosed me many times over the past 18+ years. Cream reunion tickets thrown in a puddle, refused to deliver a desktop computer for unknown reasons, fake delivery attempts in NYC... easily the worst major company in the US. If it were me I'd return those speakers and demand something flawless which is what a new buyer should always get.

So I spoke to Kef and they offered me a partial refund of $200 after seeing the pictures of the scratches or an RMA and a brand new pair.

I decided to take the partial refund as I highly suspect UPS will do the same to another pair.

From what I can see UPS in my area is using a crane or dolly that is tearing the side of the box.

Unfortunately, that is touching and scuffing the speakers.

 

[GD Fan]

$200 total or per speaker?

 

[archerious]

$200 total or per speaker?

Total

 

[Ciobi69]

I have bought the R3 time ago, there was an hole in the box something like that and 1 kef had his corner destroyed, luckily this vendor sent me a new pair, the awesome thing is that I had ordered an ex -demo and came damaged and they sent me new ones...awesome shop

 

[Chrispy]

So I spoke to Kef and they offered me a partial refund of $200 after seeing the pictures of the scratches or an RMA and a brand new pair.

I decided to take the partial refund as I highly suspect UPS will do the same to another pair.

From what I can see UPS in my area is using a crane or dolly that is tearing the side of the box.

Unfortunately, that is touching and scuffing the speakers.

Sounds like a reasonable price to live with a blem to me....

Cranes would be pretty unusual in freight world.....usually its the forklift cowboys ya gotta watch for....or just the old box toss....

(ps of course cranes are used on containers when they originally import them)

 

[rynberg]

Soundstage depends on the placing and direction of the speakers as well. I remember in the R3 Meta review that Erin recommended not pointing the tweeter directly at you since that can make it slightly bright and instead recommended pointing it about 10 degrees off-axis or something along the lines of that.

The soundstage is narrower with R3 in comparison to the F226Be, period, it doesn't matter how you aim or place them. The radiation pattern is significantly narrower than the Revels and there is no getting around that. This was clearly audible in my in-home audition between R3 and M206. I personally otherwise loved the sound of the R3, but as I prefer a wider soundstage, I went with Revel instead.

 

[archerious]

The soundstage is narrower with R3 in comparison to the F226Be, period, it doesn't matter how you aim or place them. The radiation pattern is significantly narrower than the Revels and there is no getting around that. This was clearly audible in my in-home audition between R3 and M206. I personally otherwise loved the sound of the R3, but as I prefer a wider soundstage, I went with Revel instead.

Yeah I understand that. Some songs benefit from the wider soundstage, sometimes I don’t want to have to sit in the sweetspot and the Revels have that advantage too with its noticeably better off axis performance.

However the detail and imagining on the R3 is really special, it outclasses a lot of the other speakers I’ve heard under $4000.

 

[digitalfrost]

So I spoke to Kef and they offered me a partial refund of $200 after seeing the pictures of the scratches or an RMA and a brand new pair.

I'd take that. You can barely see it in the pics and certainly not from some meters away. They save on the return shipping and you get your speakers cheaper. It's win/win.

 

[muslhead]

Oh I'd put Fedex right there....and our local UPS guys are much better. It varies by locale largely. Both suck in many ways. Not a lot of competition.

Statistically, they are pretty even when comparing filed claims. Of course, it varies by area but overall, one is not better than the other

 

[ozzy9832001]

I worked for UPS for a number of years and they don't use cranes or anything like that. Everything is loaded on the trucks by hand, even odd shapes and packages over 75LB. The packages go through a massive conveyor system and come flying down a cute and roller system as they are loaded and scanned onto the truck.

It looks like your package was part of a jam in the system and another packages corner was smashed into it. Very common as people can't possible load the packages fast enough as they come down the chute. You'd also be surprised on things are loaded onto the truck.

It's unfortunately, very, very common for this to happen.

 

[Digby]

To be fair to UPS (someone has to be, right?), I tend to think relatively thin corrugated cardboard with an air gap inside is just asking to be damaged. These are $1400 speakers, would it hurt to improve the packaging somewhat by making it more rigid and less easily pierced? Leaving an air gap like that is just asking for trouble.