Finally pulled the trigger and bought gloss black Kef R3 meta. Got approx. 10% offer from the dealer, which I think is great for now.
So replacing my Kef LS50 for the fronts with R3 meta . LS 50 will now moved as surround speakers.
Some initial thoughts about the R3 meta:
1. R3 meta is solid built and Gloss black means finger prints everywhere. I know this before buying, but to match all my black gears i chose gloss black.
2. However i think the build quality of LS50 is much better that R3 meta , as the finishing is not perfect in R3 meta. For example the shadow flare in the coaxial driver was not fixed properly. Top section of shadow flare is bit inside and bottom section of shadow flare is bit outside. Same for the woofer outside plastic. They are having gaps and uneven fixing. I'm bit surprised by that, as i expected better finishing with the speakers of this price.
3. But good thing is the sound quality. No cabinet resonances even if I put my ear in the cabinet during plying music, which is really good.
4. I have played almost approx. 30 hours now and slowly it is becoming smooth.
5. First impression after replacing my LS50, much fuller sound, more sound stage and vocals are having more presence. Now I can hear more time without any fatigue which is really good. I'm using without any EQ , so pure output from Ever solo DMP A6 to my NAD C298 XLR input.
6. I certainly hear very good improvement in Fuller sound, decent bass, and no distortion now. Only thing i miss from LS50 is the holographic sound.
7. In Kef R3 meta, the high end is really great and no harshness . There is difference with and without grill, so without grill bit better. All this are subjective listening and i have plans to use rew to see what measurements says in later stage. Now my plan is to just play music more than 100 hours to open up the speaker from the default manufacturer mode(static condition).
overall, I'm satisfied but still not able to digest the finishing quality of the R3 meta . I have wrote to the dealer about that already and will also write to KEF about this finishing issues. Will update some pictures later this week once I have some time.
