KEF R3 META or KEF R11 NON META?

[Ruben93]

Hey Guys,

I am Ruben from Germany and i Love my Kef r3 non Metas. I have the oppurtunity to get the non Meta r11 for a good price or the r3 Meta for a good price. Which should i choose? I would Take the new speaker at the Front and the normal R3s in the Back. Thank you for your Response.

 

[Crosstalk]

Hey Guys,

I am Ruben from Germany and i Love my Kef r3 non Metas. I have the oppurtunity to get the non Meta r11 for a good price or the r3 Meta for a good price. Which should i choose? I would Take the new speaker at the Front and the normal R3s in the Back. Thank you for your Response.
View attachment 491793

R11 can be eqed to sound like r3 metas as per this forum. Advantage is enormous amount of bass extension, that can be achieved with eq as r11 is one of the lowest distorting floorstander a when it comes to baaass

 

[Beave]

I'd say a lot depends on the size of your room, and whether or not you are using subwoofers, and how loud you like it to get.

If the room isn't too big, and you don't turn it up crazy loud, and you use subwoofers, the R3 Meta is good.

If you don't use subwoofers, or you do but you have a really big room and you like to play it loud, the R11 has a significant advantage in bass capability at high volume.

 

[nerdstrike]

Tweeter height might matter to you! The R11 tweeter is in the middle, not at the top as with the R3. Your stands don't look particularly tall, but lower tweeters might bother you, even if the vertical dispersion of the R-series is probably good enough to hide the change.

 

[Ruben93]

R11 can be eqed to sound like r3 metas as per this forum. Advantage is enormous amount of bass extension, that can be achieved with eq as r11 is one of the lowest distorting floorstander a when it comes to baaass

That Sounds very very good

 

[Ruben93]

I'd say a lot depends on the size of your room, and whether or not you are using subwoofers, and how loud you like it to get.

If the room isn't too big, and you don't turn it up crazy loud, and you use subwoofers, the R3 Meta is good.

If you don't use subwoofers, or you do but you have a really big room and you like to play it loud, the R11 has a significant advantage in bass capability at high volume.

I have a pretty average room but we will get the House from my parents in law in the next years where i can get Bigger rooms for my Hobby and i wanna use the speakers for years.

 

[Ruben93]

Tweeter height might matter to you! The R11 tweeter is in the middle, not at the top as with the R3. Your stands don't look particularly tall, but lower tweeters might bother you, even if the vertical dispersion of the R-series is probably good enough to hide the change.

My Stands are Not tall but the uni q is at ear Level because our Couch is Low. The Uni q from the r11 ist 3 to 4cm lower

 

[Digital_Thor]

I made a DIY copy of the KEF R900 with the coax from a R3 non Meta, and to me the distribution of bass by having more than one bass driver, seems to be an advantage to slightly mask the typical bass issues in most rooms between 100 and 400Hz. Below 100Hz the room dominates, so here most speakers have the same problem.
I know it's specific for my room and setup, but I generally need to EQ less with these speakers than with other types - IME.
So I would take the R11 and worry less about the nice-to-have Meta, and then EQ, since the R11 has lots of headroom to spare.
Only EQ above 400Hz with anechoic data - IMO.
Below 400Hz you have much more freedom to EQ without making potential trouble for yourself.
In my experience, larger speakers are typically more engaging and immersive, especially because they have way surface area in the lower region, making able to ad a bit of realisme to the sound, at all volumes.
Small speakers can sound like they have bass, but to me, they can never sound physical like bigger speakers can.
I owned LS50Meta, and one of my friends have R3 Meta + I've listened to all the small and expensive speakers out there. But no matter how impressive they are, non have the presence of this big and immersive physical sound scape that large speakers can present.
Though, I know I'm biased and have a certain preference, so definitely consult yourself and consider your actual needs, for optimum owner enjoyment

 

[Rzezniq]

Hi, happy R11 non meta owner here. I like it so much that I have purchased 2 pairs as people always chase the new next best thing and these are cheap now.

The bass that these can achieve eqed is great. You can really play them at unsafe levels with no distortion.

Things to note. They are almost 40kg each. You really have to know what you are doing with it. 2 or 3 people preferred for handling.

Inspect woofers very carefully before purchase. They are super easy to damage.

DO NOT touch the woofers when handling the speakers! Never put your hand anywhere near it and be mindful of their location.

Use padding like blankets to lay the speakers for assembly.

Put grilles on and never take them off.

Then enjoy your favourite tracks one after another at unsafe volume levels.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi, happy R11 non meta owner here. I like it so much that I have purchased 2 pairs as people always chase the new next best thing and these are cheap now.

The bass that these can achieve eqed is great. You can really play them at unsafe levels with no distortion.

Things to note. They are almost 40kg each. You really have to know what you are doing with it. 2 or 3 people preferred for handling.

Inspect woofers very carefully before purchase. They are super easy to damage.

DO NOT touch the woofers when handling the speakers! Never put your hand anywhere near it and be mindful of their location.

Use padding like blankets to lay the speakers for assembly.

Put grilles on and never take them off.

Then enjoy your favourite tracks one after another at unsafe volume levels.

I see the R11-non Meta on the 2nd hand market quite often.. What would you consider a good price (including shipping) for a pair?

 

[Ruben93]

Hi, happy R11 non meta owner here. I like it so much that I have purchased 2 pairs as people always chase the new next best thing and these are cheap now.

The bass that these can achieve eqed is great. You can really play them at unsafe levels with no distortion.

Things to note. They are almost 40kg each. You really have to know what you are doing with it. 2 or 3 people preferred for handling.

Inspect woofers very carefully before purchase. They are super easy to damage.

DO NOT touch the woofers when handling the speakers! Never put your hand anywhere near it and be mindful of their location.

Use padding like blankets to lay the speakers for assembly.

Put grilles on and never take them off.

Then enjoy your favourite tracks one after another at unsafe volume levels.

Thank you very much. I get the r11 for 2300 Euros a pair. Perfekt conditions. That's exactly that what a r3 Meta pair cost Here without the Stands. I know that you shouldn't Touch the drivers and i will be careful. I find those speakers so sexy and appealing. They are a real eyecatcher

 

[Ruben93]

I made a DIY copy of the KEF R900 with the coax from a R3 non Meta, and to me the distribution of bass by having more than one bass driver, seems to be an advantage to slightly mask the typical bass issues in most rooms between 100 and 400Hz. Below 100Hz the room dominates, so here most speakers have the same problem.
I know it's specific for my room and setup, but I generally need to EQ less with these speakers than with other types - IME.
So I would take the R11 and worry less about the nice-to-have Meta, and then EQ, since the R11 has lots of headroom to spare.
Only EQ above 400Hz with anechoic data - IMO.
Below 400Hz you have much more freedom to EQ without making potential trouble for yourself.
In my experience, larger speakers are typically more engaging and immersive, especially because they have way surface area in the lower region, making able to ad a bit of realisme to the sound, at all volumes.
Small speakers can sound like they have bass, but to me, they can never sound physical like bigger speakers can.
I owned LS50Meta, and one of my friends have R3 Meta + I've listened to all the small and expensive speakers out there. But no matter how impressive they are, non have the presence of this big and immersive physical sound scape that large speakers can present.
Though, I know I'm biased and have a certain preference, so definitely consult yourself and consider your actual needs, for optimum owner enjoyment

I don't EQ much. I only EQ from 20hz to 400hz because of the schrödinger Frequenz. I will get the r11 and i think that i will be Happy Thank you!

 

[Rzezniq]

I see the R11-non Meta on the 2nd hand market quite often.. What would you consider a good price (including shipping) for a pair?

Around £2000 here in the UK. Difficult to buy as on average you get 1 or 2 pairs for sale per month. I haven't seen white ones for sale yet.

 

[Rzezniq]

Thank you very much. I get the r11 for 2300 Euros a pair. Perfekt conditions. That's exactly that what a r3 Meta pair cost Here without the Stands. I know that you shouldn't Touch the drivers and i will be careful. I find those speakers so sexy and appealing. They are a real eyecatcher

They look great and are very wife friendly. Walnut looks surprisingly much better than in the photos. Black ones are very nice as well but scratch when you look at them the wrong way!

 

[Ruben93]

They look great and are very wife friendly. Walnut looks surprisingly much better than in the photos. Black ones are very nice as well but scratch when you look at them the wrong way!

I will get the black one and the r3 are then my surrounds and i have the LS50 as atmos speakers at the ceiling. The r11 with the r2c at the Front and i think that's a pretty decent Home Cinema

 

[Rzezniq]

I will get the black one and the r3 are then my surrounds and i have the LS50 as atmos speakers at the ceiling. The r11 with the r2c at the Front and i think that's a pretty decent Home Cinema

That's actually an amazing setup. You can really hammer the r11 and it won't distort. Once you get them let me know your impressions.

 

[Ruben93]

That's actually an amazing setup. You can really hammer the r11 and it won't distort. Once you get them let me know your impressions.

Thank you!
Do you think the normal r11 is better than the r3 Meta? There are people that say that the difference is maybe 5 percent and there are people who say that its way better. I will Not use EQ for the mods and highs. Only until maybe 400hz.

 

[Digital_Thor]

With no EQ, you might find the Meta better. But with proper EQ, you just have way more volume with the R11, and potentially much less of a difference.

 

[Ruben93]

With no EQ, you might find the Meta better. But with proper EQ, you just have way more volume with the R11, and potentially much less of a difference.

But how do you EQ zlthem? I am using the Denon x4700h and i would need a minidsp or Rew right? Because i don't have a Computer

 

[Digital_Thor]

But how do you EQ zlthem? I am using the Denon x4700h and i would need a minidsp or Rew right? Because i don't have a Computer

Well... I do see an obstacle. You Denon only EQ at 4 or 8 kHz, so since I would EQ it maybe 1 dB at 6kHz, maybe the R3 Meta would be best, if you do not wish to add too much technical hassle.
Since you use it as home cinema anyway - the R3 Meta with well integrated subwoofers - which I assume you already have - should be plenty.
It's just me who like tower speakers, and I have dedicated stereo with 4 subwoofers and fully digital 10 channel pre-amp.
KEF R3 Meta is a very good speaker and the most neutral of both
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...eview-measurements-by-erin.45726/post-1630154