KEF R3 Speaker Review

[Descartes]

These replaced a pair of Dr. Hsu's CCB-8 coaxials paired with one of his subwoofers. I've never spoken an ill word of the CCB-8's before and I won't start now. They're competent as hell for the money, forgiving of poor sources and defining with better sources, worth every_single_penny of their price. At that number (in only my experience) I will recommend them above all else, because their quality is what taught me to appreciate what the R3's actually are.

If the KEF's blow up tonight I'll switch back to the CCB's and not regret what I'm hearing. They're that good. But I just went from a speaker which performs well above its' price at $800 to a speaker which performs well above its' price at $2000, and the difference is stark.

I have a difficult listening room, very crowded and exactly square at the 80Hz wavelength. The Hsus are a bit dependent on placement, I couldn't achieve their best placement in this room, and on occasion they sound less than their best as a result, losing soundstage. The KEFs simply don't care. I can't sit equilaterally with them. They don't care. One is further away from me than the other. They don't care.

They still vanish. There are no speakers, just music, and those sources which can define a soundstage still define that soundstage with sufficient accuracy that there's no doubt I'll be able to tweak speaker placement to correct the soundstage for my awkward circumstances. Because the R3's don't care. And I think that's their true value. They're good enough to overcome difficult circumstances and still be better than what preceded them.

Holy crap these R3's are good. I'm in my 60's, and obviously factor my known age-related hearing loss into my evaluations. These things make me think I haven't lost as much as I previously believed, they're that good.

Did you try the LS50 meta?

 

[SuperDave]

Did you try the LS50 meta?

No. I don't have the financial wherewithal to indiscriminately "try" speakers like this, and the most fundamental understanding of the underlying physics indicates that the Metas - of which I would never express disapproval - couldn't keep up with a speaker offering all that plus a dedicated third-way sub. It's not like KEF's upper end exactly sucked before. Yes, if I could have had a pair of R3 Metas, for the $1700 I paid for mine, I'd have jumped.

But they don't exist, and I doubt I could hear the difference given who I am, and at least in my own life you gotta live with who you are and what you can do. I'm listening to David Gilmour's cut of "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" from his live concert at Pompeii as I type this - yeah, I paused it to type - and don't feel particularly deprived.

 

[krabapple]

They failed it due to a room mode, this was specified in a subsequent review. Unfortunately it keeps coming up because a correction was never added to this review. This is at least the 5th time I've seen it come up. Perhaps @amirm would consider adding the below quote to this review's listening test section:

Where is the subsequent review (link please)? I see the added text in the original review.

 

[testp]

Where is the subsequent review (link please)? I see the added text in the original review.

if you mean, where was the initial discovery, then i think it was in here (at listening test):

Revel F35 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Revel F35 floor-standing speaker. I purchased this through my company because there are external anechoic measurements available so we can compare. The F35 costs US $1,600 for a pair (sold each at US $800 in case you want a center speaker). It...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[krabapple]

if you mean, where was the initial discovery, then i think it was in here (at listening test):

Revel F35 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Revel F35 floor-standing speaker. I purchased this through my company because there are external anechoic measurements available so we can compare. The F35 costs US $1,600 for a pair (sold each at US $800 in case you want a center speaker). It...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks. Do you mean this?:

My location for speaker testing is in one corner of my room. That is emphasizing bass modes. When Harman tests speakers, they place them in the center of the room and likely have worked to optimize the listening distance to reduce room modes. As it is, speakers with more bass get penalized. With my Revel Salon 2 tested the same way, the peak at 102 Hz was even higher requiring more gain reduction.

 

[Sancus]

Thanks. Do you mean this?:

It's the whole speaker listening test section where Amir was surprised that the F35 was as muddy as the R3 he had just tested, then discovered it was due to a room mode, and after correcting that room mode with EQ both the F35 and the R3 sounded much better. Since then he uses that filter for all listening tests.

 

[MCH]

Very unespecific and preliminary question: Starting to consider the possibility of a bookshelf in the future... maybe... And have no idea where to start looking... Are the r3 still the way to go without sub nowadays in EU at 1600eur/pair? Any hints that a new model might be in the make, or any other worth looking at? Thanks

 

[diddley]

Very unespecific and preliminary question: Starting to consider the possibility of a bookshelf in the future... maybe... And have no idea where to start looking... Are the r3 still the way to go without sub nowadays in EU at 1600eur/pair? Any hints that a new model might be in the make, or any other worth looking at? Thanks

I have th R3's for two weeks now and they are good.I am a happy customer and getting happier everyday!

 

[gaburko]

Very unespecific and preliminary question: Starting to consider the possibility of a bookshelf in the future... maybe... And have no idea where to start looking... Are the r3 still the way to go without sub nowadays in EU at 1600eur/pair? Any hints that a new model might be in the make, or any other worth looking at? Thanks

To be honest with you, I really started to appreciate my R3 only once I paired them with an SVS SB2000 PRO with a Low Pass Filter setting at 60 Hz. Yes, you can play with placement closer to the wall, yes you can get an amp with "powerful bass" (whatever that means), but in the end, adding a sub is the way to go with bookshelf speakers, imho

 

[Steve Dallas]

To be honest with you, I really started to appreciate my R3 only once I paired them with an SVS SB2000 PRO with a Low Pass Filter setting at 60 Hz. Yes, you can play with placement closer to the wall, yes you can get an amp with "powerful bass" (whatever that means), but in the end, adding a sub is the way to go with bookshelf speakers, imho

I will have in-room measurements to post soon to help me visualize this, but in preliminary comparisons between BMRs and R3s, the bass is considerably lighter in SPL with the R3s. This may or may not be a bad thing, because I use DSP to pull the BMR's peaks down, so it may be a simple matter of doing less of that. (DRC is required in my room to listen to the BMRs; it is very much optional with the R3s.) Bass extension is lower with the BMRs. Of course, we have seen all of this in the spins.

 

[Kachda]

I will have in-room measurements to post soon to help me visualize this, but in preliminary comparisons between BMRs and R3s, the bass is considerably lighter in SPL with the R3s. This may or may not be a bad thing, because I use DSP to pull the BMR's peaks down, so it may be a simple matter of doing less of that. (DRC is required in my room to listen to the BMRs; it is very much optional with the R3s.) Bass extension is lower with the BMRs. Of course, we have seen all of this in the spins.

I noticed the same when I compared them side by side.

 

[diddley]

I listen to Massive attack's Teardrop and Unfinished Sympathy and ANGEL and there is alot of bass.
The R3 is very unforgiven, what's in the record it will show even the bits that are not recorded/mastered well. I listen via Qobuz

 

[fieldcar]

what's in the record it will show even the bits that are not recorded/mastered well.

I wouldn't call these tracks from massive attack poorly recorded/mastered. It has intentional lo-fi elements that contrast the dry vocals and clean instrumentals. Though, they aren't exactly the best I've heard, so you aren't necessarily wrong.

If you want an example of a poorly mastered song, listen to imagine dragons - Radioactive

 

[diddley]

I wouldn't call these tracks from massive attack poorly recorded/mastered. It has intentional lo-fi elements that contrast the dry vocals and clean instrumentals. Though, they aren't exactly the best I've heard, so you aren't necessarily wrong.

If you want an example of a poorly mastered song, listen to imagine dragons - Radioactive

No I ment in general, Massive attack ones stick out,they are very good.

 

[fieldcar]

No I ment in general, Massive attack ones stick out,they are very good.

Oh. I gotcha.

Check out:
grandson - blood water
Really nice bass.

 

[Smokingace]

Oh. I gotcha.

Check out:
grandson - blood water
Really nice bass.

Does anyone has more ideas for good songs to listen to with the kef R3’s?

Melanie Martinez - Carousel
Florence and the Machine - Seven devils
Malia (Boris Blank) - Celestial echo
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Tin pan alley
Agnes Obel - it’s happening again

(audiophiles don't use their equipment to listen to music, but use music to listen to their equipment )

 

[amansangar]

I'm thinking about getting KEF R11 but how different are they to the R3 in terms of sound quality?

 

[tifune]

I'm thinking about getting KEF R11 but how different are they to the R3 in terms of sound quality?

I have both; they're basically the same but the R11 extends much lower *if you supply adequate power* which, in the audiophile colloquial, gives them a sense of authority, body, "meat.".

If you have good subs and master the art of bass management, IMO there would be no difference unless you need to play LOUD. I have decent subs and have not mastered EQ in any way, shape or form, so R11's sound better in my room.

I also have R5's, I probably wouldn't recommend them given, for the price, you could buy R3's and a decent sub.

 

[Skyro]

How have folks ended up positioning these speakers? I've actual found them sounding best pointed straight ahead but closer together than prescribed by the "equilateral triangle" theory about 6' apart and 9' to the LP which is ~10 degree off axis.

 

[fun]

Noticed a slight dent in the woofer of one of my R3. In the process of exchanging it. I'm curious about the effect of such dent in sound quality. Any thought?