KEF R3 meta Measurements

[symphara]

Reference still has port plugs if m not wrong on the top of this

I went to audition/buy the Refs 5 and they didn't have plugs, just different length tubes. But plugs you can just buy or even improvise, I guess?

 

[Nuyes]

Did you buy it after seeing Erin's review on Jan 2022?

Arendal 1961 Tower Speaker Review

Arendal 1961 Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Yes.
I came across Erin's review of the 1961 Bookshelf first, and measured the 1961 Center myself shortly thereafter (I didn't upload the review to ASR).

By then, my interest and trust in Arendal sound had already been established, and Erin's review of the Tower model cemented my intention to buy.

By the way, I'm still the only user of the 1961 Tower in the country.
(I'm lonely.)

 

[Nuyes]

Is it me looking at aesthetics or speakers from Perlisten, Arendal and KEF share a lot of elements?

To my eyes, it just looks beautiful.



These are my own photos.

 

[AM88]

Is it me looking at aesthetics or speakers from Perlisten, Arendal and KEF share a lot of elements?

Arendal and Perlisten have the same designer.

 

[thewas]

I'm simply pointing out what a uniform directivity actually is. There seems to be misunderstanding here. These are classical collapsing polars and which is not good. Price is irrelevant when we talk about objective performance.

I think two different things get mixed up here. There exist different approaches for loudspeaker directivity, one of them is constant directivity which is typically used in PA and there is also continuously rising directivity which is very common in home audio, also due to the different size of the baffles. Also according to Toole and documented blind comparisons like JBL M2 vs Revel Salon, the 2nd is not bad or inferior at typical home listening conditions.

 

[Nuyes]

Arendal and Perlisten have the same designer.

Wow, that's really interesting.
Thanks for the great information.

 

[Vacceo]

Arendal and Perlisten have the same designer.

Thanks! The narrow front and recessed angle of the tower seemed to follow the same objectives.

What I saw similar to KEF is the narrow front.

 

[hmt]

The port insert in the R series is the block the ports completely to make a closed tuning for even less bass , if your forced to place them very close to a boundary.

No, there is a foam ring that can be closed by a foam plug. You can also only insert the foam ring.

 

[exm]

Thoughts on the impedance dropping below 4ohms at around 42hz and again around 150hz? That region has a lot of information generally speaking and requires a lot of power already to play those notes. Should people cross over to subwoofers above that range to save their amps?

I wouldn’t have these run down to 42hz to begin with.

 

[exm]

Reference still has port plugs if m not wrong on the top of this

My Ref 5s and 4c don’t have these port plugs.

 

[uwotm8]

That color mismatch tho

While Uni-Q plastic ring color is almost perfect, same element on woofer is

 

[dogmamann]

That color mismatch tho
View attachment 266625
While Uni-Q plastic ring color is almost perfect, same element on woofer is

It’s just shadows as the woofer ring is concave.

 

[abdo123]

I wouldn’t have these run down to 42hz to begin with.

That’s the frequency at which the port is tuned so you’re missing out on clean output.

 

[dogmamann]

That’s the frequency at which the port is tuned so you’re missing out on clean output.

Clean output in which direction- higher freq or lower?

 

[uwotm8]

It’s just shadows

Nope

 

[JRS]

“Greatly” is a big word and very unspecific. Afterall you can’t cheat physics as the driver size is what it is.

Adding an active sub is probably easier anyway.

I know KEF does their drivers in house, but would have loved to see a Purifi 6.5 or "even" an SBA Satori or Scsn-Speak Revelator driver. Given what the BMR monitor can do in a similarly sized cabinet

Wondering how it would perform with a Purify 6.5" driver in it. Through I would imagine KEF would never use such a "weird" looking driver since they put too much emphasis on exterior design.

Wondered the same. Other issue is the vent required. All the Purified designs I've seen go with a PR. This would include the one done here by Rick and group, Jeff B's Helios znd Troels version. Granted those are in smaller czbs bit IIRC from messing around with some sims a few years back when they first czmd available, providing enough area to vent the back wave properly called for something like an 18 inch length. But one wonders about the phenon Purifi 6.5 mids and a pair of small subs-- I suspect that would be a damn fine set up.

Wondering how it would perform with a Purify 6.5" driver in it. Through I would imagine KEF would never use such a "weird" looking driver since they put too much emphasis on exterior design.

 

[JRS]

Actually they supply a port insert but I never really used it. Dont know what it changes. Yes the reason is to get a lower fs. 40Hz is pretty low for a bookshelf Speaker. Most bookshelf speakers don't have usable output below 60Hz. I suspect that active speakers like the KH 150 also use a similar tuning to extent the fs. You just don't see it in the Fr because they EQ it to be flat in the bass. With the R series connected to a proper amp and DSP pre you can also do this.

Perhaps. But I get the sense its close to maxed in this particular use case. Low volumes likely be very nice. But I suspect trying to push higher outputs in the 30's would cause a loss of composure.

 

[kipman725]

The single Woofer on r3 even on r7 distorts easily when pushed up in bass region. if they go for a completely different woofer with lower distortion, it can be achieved. Not with the current one. R11 on the other hand can be made active and the bass can be improved with reasonable amount of distortion. But if used passively, the bass region is less louder in amplitude without any boost therefore you won’t hear any distortion.

Dynamic EQ+missing fundamental processing is standard in smart speakers why not at the higher end

 

[abdo123]

I know KEF does their drivers in house, but would have loved to see a Purifi 6.5

the output and distortion levels are Purifi tear so i don't see the need.

 

[Dako]

The single Woofer on r3 even on r7 distorts easily when pushed up in bass region. if they go for a completely different woofer with lower distortion, it can be achieved. Not with the current one. R11 on the other hand can be made active and the bass can be improved with reasonable amount of distortion. But if used passively, the bass region is less louder in amplitude without any boost therefore you won’t hear any distortion.

i'm not sure thats KEF R7, if you check the graph, its written KEF R750. KEF 7 has less distortion in the bass. I think they mean, KEF Q750, which has higher distortion in the bass