KEF R3 Meta woofer slightly damaged

[Taralius]

Hello,

Long time lurker firs time poster, unfortunately not for a good reason.

The woofer of my Kef R3 Meta had a little accident(see attached photo).

It is a tiny dot which does not bother me aesthetically and also does not seem to have an effect on my sound.

I consider sending the speaker to Kef for a replacement of the part though, and I would like your feedback on something.

As I already said, I can fully tolerate the aesthetic damage, but I do not want to tolerate even a 0,01% negative impact on the performance of the speaker.



Do you think this tiny dot can have even the minimum negative an impact on sound reproduction? Or the damage is only aesthetic?



ps: this was caused by the very lightweight metal frame of my glasses slightly pending on my neck and touching(not hitting) the woofer

 

[AOR]

Hi Taralius

This is purely aesthetic and has no negative impact on the sound of the speaker.

 

[BelgianJoey]

As the wavelength of the highest sound the woofer produces is much longer than the size of the dent, the effect should be minimal but 0.01% is minimal too.

 

[Rednaxela]

The difference between left and right without dent is probably bigger than any change caused by the accident.

 

[Penelinfi]

You sitting back down in a slightly different position on your couch after taking a photo is a bigger difference than that dent will make.
That difference of sitting position is also bigger than 0.01% just so you know ;-)

 

[Taralius]

Thank you all for your feedback.

Following your answers and my usage experience, it is clear to me that this little dent does not have any impact on sound reproduction.

I still investigated the possibility to have it replaced by opening a ticket with KEF who headed me to their closest to me authorized repair center.

The cost will be 320 euros if I do the repair myself, and approximately 500 euros if I send the speaker to them.

You need to note that I investigated the replacement possibility cause my main concern was the loss of after selling value of my speakers.

Given the above amounts though, I completely abandoned the idea to have the woofer replaced as I don't think this little mark will make me loose 500 euros if/when I will decide to sell the speakers.

ps: I am terrible in DIY so replacing the woofer myself would not be an option. Apart the fact that 320 euros are a lot of money for something that does not affect speaker's performance so I still think the cost is not justified.

 

[MCH]

The cost will be 320 euros if I do the repair myself, and approximately 500 euros if I send the speaker to them.

Do the 500 eur include shipping, at least the way back? 500-320=180 eur for swapping a driver, on top of the margin of the driver itself, looks a bit excessive to me.

 

[Ciobi69]

Thank you all for your feedback.

Following your answers and my usage experience, it is clear to me that this little dent does not have any impact on sound reproduction.

I still investigated the possibility to have it replaced by opening a ticket with KEF who headed me to their closest to me authorized repair center.

The cost will be 320 euros if I do the repair myself, and approximately 500 euros if I send the speaker to them.

You need to note that I investigated the replacement possibility cause my main concern was the loss of after selling value of my speakers.

Given the above amounts though, I completely abandoned the idea to have the woofer replaced as I don't think this little mark will make me loose 500 euros if/when I will decide to sell the speakers.

ps: I am terrible in DIY so replacing the woofer myself would not be an option. Apart the fact that 320 euros are a lot of money for something that does not affect speaker's performance so I still think the cost is not justified.

You got unlucky I had the r3 too, my suggestion? Put the grill on if bothers you and live with it , sometimes they Could be buyed For 900€ new its not that worth it

 

[Taralius]

Do the 500 eur include shipping, at least the way back? 500-320=180 eur for swapping a driver, on top of the margin of the driver itself, looks a bit excessive to me.

They said they charge 50euros per labour hour and that their estimation is the repair will take them from 1 to 2 hours.
Shipping the woofer to them will cost me 40euros.
Count another 40euros for shipping the speaker back to me and you arrive to 500 hundred.
Best case scenario will be 450...