KEF R3 meta Measurements

[SacreDro]

The R3 Meta si twice the price of the LS50, 1200 Euro vs 800 Euro for the LS50, so is the R3 Meta 30% better than the LS50, I guess not, so I am not sure about if the price gap is worth the extra cash.
I saw some Cabbase Minorca MC40 for sale at around 600 Euro and Monitor Audio Gold 100 5G at 1000 Euro, the guy from the store told me that all of them are good, the LS50 may have less resonance than the R3 Meta and that the R3 is more suitable for a bigger room.
In terms of sound the LS50<R3 Meta<MA Gold 100 5G and Cabasse MC40 in the middle.

I did not saw any measurements for the Monitor Audio, since the guy told me that he had the Kef R3 Meta, but went to Monitor Audio as his main speakers, the tweeter makes a little difference that's why he bought them, the MA are are sale 50% since the new ones arrived, so I am not sure if he was just trying to sell me them go get rid of the speakers.

 

[ehabheikal]

The R3 Meta si twice the price of the LS50, 1200 Euro vs 800 Euro for the LS50, so is the R3 Meta 30% better than the LS50, I guess not, so I am not sure about if the price gap is worth the extra cash.
I saw some Cabbase Minorca MC40 for sale at around 600 Euro and Monitor Audio Gold 100 5G at 1000 Euro, the guy from the store told me that all of them are good, the LS50 may have less resonance than the R3 Meta and that the R3 is more suitable for a bigger room.
In terms of sound the LS50<R3 Meta<MA Gold 100 5G and Cabasse MC40 in the middle.

I did not saw any measurements for the Monitor Audio, since the guy told me that he had the Kef R3 Meta, but went to Monitor Audio as his main speakers, the tweeter makes a little difference that's why he bought them, the MA are are sale 50% since the new ones arrived, so I am not sure if he was just trying to sell me them go get rid of the speakers.

Never trust a sales man.

 

[Punter16]

The MA Gold will be more detailed and more "accurate" or lively. You will probably get more "WOW" from them. The R3 Metas will provide a wider sound and the sound is much more neutral and subdued. In my experience, you need a lot more amplifier and a good DAC to make the R3s come alive...not as much with the MA.

 

[SacreDro]

The MA Gold will be more detailed and more "accurate" or lively. You will probably get more "WOW" from them. The R3 Metas will provide a wider sound and the sound is much more neutral and subdued. In my experience, you need a lot more amplifier and a good DAC to make the R3s come alive...not as much with the MA.

At a high price, I was talking to a friend that has studio equipment, the R3 Meta are nice, but for the money being a consumer grade he told me to go with Yamaha HS8 and I would not be worried about sound quality, amplification etc.
These guys from the dealers are just salesman that do not recommemd the right prodcuts for the right price, just what they want to sale or need to sale.

 

[Count Dacula]

I'd say, not really. The only drawback is that the LS50 might fail sooner because of active elecronics, but still they're great speakers as long as they aren't run very loud and get a graciously high subwoofer crossover frequency.

If the electrics failed i'm sure any member here could "hot wire" them.... oh, "bypass" would be the correct term.

 

[Count Dacula]

I just dropped in....

 

[Count Dacula]

and made a meem.

 

[levanter]

Hi!
I bought the KEF R3 Meta (Blue) during Christmas and I have really enjoyed it.
I know the science of break-in is really questionable, but subjectively I really did not enjoy them for two weeks. (Very lacking bass and harsh highs)
After that I think they have become better and better and now I absolutely love how they sound! (At least one of them, more later)
And the bass must have improved! It feels so much looser and deeper.

And I know, this is prob. just my ears getting used to their sound, but still. That was my experience.

(I've been in pro-audio for many years and have also been a producer where we recorded things with questionable everything only to to later see hifi people fantasise on how perfect our studio-env. must have been to build that sound..).

I did however want to share an experience on what happened with one of my speakers:
My son was sick. He had a glas of Orange Juice on the floor, next to the speaker, I came in a hurry and kicked that
glas so that the Juice went flying and hit the speaker. The grill was on but the Juice penetrated the holes in the grill and went STRAIGHT
into the tweeter.

The high-PH fluid was quickly wiped away as best as I could, but it had pulps. And I could see those trapped between the tweeter dome and the
small star-shaped plastic cover for the tweeter. I listened to them and they sounded fine... until a song with Piano, with strong 4-6k details came on.
Then the distortion became apparent. I tried most things: Blow gently into the tweeter (release pulp) and waited 4 weeks.
But the distortion is still apparent. If anyone has any other tips, please let me know.

However. I decided to replace the Uni-Q driver. And I really did not want to ship the thing back to the dealer.
It's half across the country. So I contacted KEF directly. But they sent me right back to the dealer.

As I said I have a long background in Audio and in Engineering so I told the dealer that I'm happy to replace the driver myself.
So now I've ordered a new Uni-Q driver. And this is one of the reasons I'm writing this. Two pieces of information that I could not find online and that I've so far have learned about this speaker:

1. The driver for mid/tweet on the R3 Meta is SP1814GA (Bronze color. I think the last two letters indicate color, AA is black for instance).
2. The Plastic ring around the Uni-Q driver is not easy to remove! I had to stick a flat metal tool (I tried with all plastic tools I have first) from the inside (Very close to the driver) and pull it towards me while trying to grab it from the outside with my nails to slowly remove it. It is however just friction-fitted and has no clips.
It did not leave any marks and all went well. But go slowly and gental. And try with a plastic tool first!
My replacement driver is arriving any day now and changing it after the ring is removed will be trivial. It's just two sets of cable with clips on there.

I'll let you know how it all went.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have a question though..

I'm also trying to remove the plastic ring around the Uni-Q driver of my R5 meta, but I'm not sure how I can do that from the inside. The ring mounting holes don't seem to be through holes, by guessing from the R11 unboxing video from Youtube(attached a screenshot)..

So could you explain a bit further how I could pull or push from inside? Your help will be much appreciated!

 

[exm]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have a question though..

I'm also trying to remove the plastic ring around the Uni-Q driver of my R5 meta, but I'm not sure how I can do that from the inside. The ring mounting holes don't seem to be through holes, by guessing from the R11 unboxing video from Youtube(attached a screenshot)..

So could you explain a bit further how I could pull or push from inside? Your help will be much appreciated!

It's very simple. Use a pry tool on the outside. Gently insert the tool between the speaker cabinet and the plastic ring and pop it out.

 

[levanter]

It's very simple. Use a pry tool on the outside. Gently insert the tool between the speaker cabinet and the plastic ring and pop it out.

Thank you for your response. However a plastic pry tool is a bit too thick to insert, and I don't want to use a steel watch driver like the picture, which will make some scratches.
So I was wondering what objectivecoder did from the inside..
Thanks again anyways, have a great day!

 

[renkitch]

For a lot of people, this with a sub could truly be endgame. And they're probably gonna go on sale from time to time, just like their predecessor. Wow.

It won't be the endgame you hope for with a resonant sub. The timing will be awful.

 

[exm]

Thank you for your response. However a plastic pry tool is a bit too thick to insert, and I don't want to use a steel watch driver like the picture, which will make some scratches.
So I was wondering what objectivecoder did from the inside..
Thanks again anyways, have a great day!

Put some soft (maybe a kitchen towel?) against the wood, and use a small screwdriver in that case. It will pop right out.

 

[LionIT]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have a question though..

I'm also trying to remove the plastic ring around the Uni-Q driver of my R5 meta, but I'm not sure how I can do that from the inside. The ring mounting holes don't seem to be through holes, by guessing from the R11 unboxing video from Youtube(attached a screenshot)..

So could you explain a bit further how I could pull or push from inside? Your help will be much appreciated!

Same doubt to remove the shadow flare of my R3 Meta.
I found on a well-known Chinese store some mini suction cups with threaded stud on the back that can be pulled with pliers.
Zero risks to damage the flare.

 

[levanter]

Put some soft (maybe a kitchen towel?) against the wood, and use a small screwdriver in that case. It will pop right out.

Got it, and I'm glad to get some answers to my trivial questions. Thanks a lot.

 

[levanter]

Same doubt to remove the shadow flare of my R3 Meta.
I found on a well-known Chinese store some mini suction cups with threaded stud on the back that can be pulled with pliers.
Zero risks to damage the flare.

I thought about adhesive tape but suction cups seem much better. Thanks for the tip!