KEF R3 Speaker Review

[Steve Dallas]

They are asking $1,150 right now, but sure I can get tham a bit lower

They are excellent speakers. I have a pair in a small room that does not work well with wide dispersion speakers. They are the perfect antidote. I am impressed every time I turn them up. I think I paid $1700 plus tax for mine and do not regret it.

Here are some in-room measurements with and without DRC:

 

[fbirch]

Nice corrections!

 

[enio nery]

i tried very hard to like these Speakers. its just that they can't touch my m16s in actual, subjective comparison . clearly one of those cases where good objective performance does not translate to positive subjective experience. for me at least.

 

[nathan]

They are both pretty much within the margin of error for preference ranking.

And a sighted test could sway even the most conscientious of us.

 

[Steve Dallas]

They are both pretty much within the margin of error for preference ranking.

And a sighted test could sway even the most conscientious of us.

They are quite different in horizontal and vertical directivity, with the Revels having some 30 degrees total wider dispersion. My R3s work well in a small room with sidewalls I cannot treat. I have Revels in bigger room with lightly treated sidewalls. Different patterns for different room layouts. Swapping the speakers does not yield the best results in either room.

 

[nathan]

I am not sure why you quoted my comment. I did not say they sound the same.

 

[dshreter]

These seem to be one of the least “liked” speakers that measures so well. I’m curious what accounts for that - the narrower directivity?

 

[Marc v E]

Lack of bass, is my best guess. Pair them with a sub. And eq that treble a bit.

 

[Talisman]

Lack of bass, is my best guess. Pair them with a sub. And eq that treble a bit.

I wouldn't say it lacks bass at all, that being said I've owned it and resold it without regrets, I've never fallen in love with that sound.

 

[Marc v E]

I wouldn't say it lacks bass at all, that being said I've owned it and resold it without regrets, I've never fallen in love with that sound.

Ymmv. What I mean is that ime with a bookshelf speaker they are subjectively better to me if they have some excess bass in the 100 hz region. I've experienced it with Genelec vs Neumann, Kef vs Elac; apparently the Revel m16 has it too.

Ime it gives that extra warmth, oomph and pushing the music along. Having said that, it's only a feature that makes up for something else: the actual cause ime is that the 30-100 hz region has not enough presence.

When I add a sub and eq, all previous subjective dislike disappears.

The 100 hz bass hump imo is a way to disguise the shortcomings of the complete picture. But it works.

 

[Ellebob]

We often mention that research has shown that a neutral response is preferred which isn't always true. We also know from research that we prefer a bass boost at lower to mid volumes as we we don't hear bass as well at those frequencies. Nothing wrong with that being baked into the speaker design especially for those that will likely never use EQ or reach for a bass control and listen at more moderate levels. The trick is not to use too much boost as that will drown out other frequencies decreasing dialogue intelligibility.

 

[MbphotoX]

well, neutral response stops being neutral as soon as you put those speakers in a "normal" room.. asymmetrical furniture placement, windows, curtains, carpets, tables, shelves, etc.
in the end, the only thing that really counts is the "response" at your ear.

that aside, research has also shown that people prefer "louder"... comparisons fall aparat if you do not volume match to 0.5 dB or closer.
And research also has shown many decades ago, that the hearing sensitivity changes with loudness of the sounds.

if you listen at 60 dB, you basically want your bass lifted by 10-20 dB in order for it to sound "equally loud"..
Whereas, when you turn it up to 100dB, a lift by 10dB would be enough.
(but at that volume, you'd also want a dip in the mids for them to not sound shrill, etc. )

 

[Mort]

well, neutral response stops being neutral as soon as you put those speakers in a "normal" room.. asymmetrical furniture placement, windows, curtains, carpets, tables, shelves, etc.
in the end, the only thing that really counts is the "response" at your ear.

that aside, research has also shown that people prefer "louder"... comparisons fall aparat if you do not volume match to 0.5 dB or closer.
And research also has shown many decades ago, that the hearing sensitivity changes with loudness of the sounds.
View attachment 538738

if you listen at 60 dB, you basically want your bass lifted by 10-20 dB in order for it to sound "equally loud"..
Whereas, when you turn it up to 100dB, a lift by 10dB would be enough.
(but at that volume, you'd also want a dip in the mids for them to not sound shrill, etc. )

Great graph. Where's it from?

 

[Ellebob]

Very few processors follow equal loudness contours, so if raising the bass be judicial. For example let's say 20hz needs to be raised 20db to hear it at relatively the same volume as mids. Raising overall bass that much would make dialogue tough to hear. It would be the equivalent of trying to hear a conversation while riding a Harley. As a generalization, most men will raise bass too much.

 

[MbphotoX]

Great graph. Where's it from?

Understanding the Ear’s Sensitivity and Loudness Perception

ateliercrescendo.ac

if you dig a little deeper, you get to the Fletcher Munson curves.. and I suppose that's where the whole "bass shelf" has originated in..

Listening and Hearing

 

[enio nery]

I wouldn't say it lacks bass at all, that being said I've owned it and resold it without regrets, I've never fallen in love with that sound.

just sold mine as well. zero regrets. i tried everything from adding a sub to applying PEQ to copy the FR of the Meta Version. while it made a difference. i still didn't like the overall presentation.

 

[Nathalie Merchant]

i still didn't like the overall presentation.

Which speakers do you like instead?