KEF R3 Speaker Review

[bo_knows]

I have bought a pair of R3 to complement my two Arendal subs. I've read about EQ the speakers and want to try this.
Can someone, please advice me some EQ settings in my Denon amp?

I have the next options:

63 Hz / 125 Hz / 250 Hz / 500 Hz / 1 kHz / 2 kHz / 4 kHz / 8 kHz / 16 kHz

Which should I up or down, and how much?

Thank you for the time.

I recommend getting the Audyssey phone app and run it with the included microphone.
Set the crossover point to at 80Hz to start and set the MultEQ filter frequency range at 400-500Hz. This is slightly above Schroeder's frequency. I wouldn't bother with some -2 dB adjustments on the upper-frequency range. If speakers are bright, use toe-in, toe-out to adjust the FR response, sit further or add some acoustic panels.

 

[SlowCar]

@Martist what are your thoughts on R3 plus x3700?

 

[eyes-on-you]

R3 has an upward shelving treble in the PIR that starts at 2-3 kHz. It can be countered with a -2 dB high shelf filter @ 2.5 kHz. The settings I recommended in my first post serve the same purpose.

R7 has a bit of a dip from 2 to 3 kHz. The measurements I have access to aren't high quality enough for me to be comfortable making any EQ recommendations. Your friend should instead perform in-room measurements and EQ the bass range if he hasn't already.

Here is the R7 measurements.

Where is the dip from 2-3khz that you mention?

 

[Toni71]

Thanks again for your advice. I have set the adjustments after your advice. I am giving it some time to listen to. With and without these settings. When I have some silence around me, I will also install XT32. For now, I want to listen to the speakers without these corrections.

My friend is reading this also. He has played with rew in the past. He should do that again.
Now, I am going to listen some more to the speaker. For now I am not sure, if its a keeper.

 

[Toni71]

More advice noted. Thanks.

I have the Denon Auddyssey app and will try those 400/500 settings when installing XT32. Now I need some silence around me for measurements.

And for the question, the x3700H with the speakers. The r3 are working just fine, with that amp. With and without the subs. I also tried my Emotiva Xpa-5-2 poweramp with it, and a Iota poweramp. With two speakers overkill. Not needed.

My friend who has had more audio equipment (serial swapper) then some audiostore sells in a year, has the R7 in house, with a Marantz SR7015.

Two speakers, one sub. No problem driving the R700 with or without sub.
He also tried a poweramp. The Rotel RMB1582. But it is for sale now. Not needed. Although it looks great in his rack.

With more speakers attached, it will be a different story, I think.

But for me now. The big question. Should I keep the R3? I like the ribbon tweeter on my XTZ speakers more. But I'll give it some time and try the advice from the members of this nice forum.

 

[flipflop]

Here is the R7 measurements.

Where is the dip from 2-3khz that you mention?

View attachment 133285

He's a larger picture of the same spin:

Using the tonality baseline of 200 Hz, the dip is about 2-3 dB deep. Compared to the rest of the response from 1 to 10 kHz, it's ~1 dB. So not a big deal and not something I would advise anyone to correct based on this data.

 

[rdenney]

Here is the R7 measurements.

Where is the dip from 2-3khz that you mention?

View attachment 133285

That dip is clearly visible in the axial response on that graph. The EQ suggested was only 1.5 dB as I recall, and that’s just a tiny nudge at the vertical scale of that graph.

But I would EQ above the bass region only on the basis of anechoic response data.

Rick “scaling is important” Denney

 

[eyes-on-you]

He's a larger picture of the same spin:
View attachment 133381
Using the tonality baseline of 200 Hz, the dip is about 2-3 dB deep. Compared to the rest of the response from 1 to 10 kHz, it's ~1 dB. So not a big deal and not something I would advise anyone to correct based on this data.

Could you share the larger picture source link?

I want to take a look.

 

[flipflop]

Could you share the larger picture source link?

I want to take a look.

Here you go: https://pierreaubert.github.io/spinorama/KEF R7/Misc/index_misc-speakerdata2034.html
It's the same data as you posted, it has just been digitized.

This is the original source: https://assets.kef.com/uploads/cm/r2018_whitepaper_en.pdf
page 20

 

[eyes-on-you]

Here you go: https://pierreaubert.github.io/spinorama/KEF R7/Misc/index_misc-speakerdata2034.html
It's the same data as you posted, it has just been digitized.

This is the original source: https://assets.kef.com/uploads/cm/r2018_whitepaper_en.pdf
page 20

thanks,

Do you have some eq recommendation according to link?

suitable as below?

2 & 3 khz +1.5 db
280hz -1 db
5 & 6 khz -1.5 db

my only possibility to apply eq is audirvana.

via apple plug in mac os

Is it okay if I enter these values into the parametric eq?

 

[pierre]

thanks,

Do you have some eq recommendation according to link?

suitable as below?

2 & 3 khz +1.5 db
280hz -1 db
5 & 6 khz -1.5 db

my only possibility to apply eq is audirvana.

via apple plug in mac os

Is it okay if I enter these values into the parametric eq?

View attachment 133474

take the AUparametricEQ. AU means Audio Unit and is the Apple name for audio plugin (usually called VST or AAX or other platform). You can use any of the EQ provided in this thread.

 

[eyes-on-you]

take the AUparametricEQ. AU means Audio Unit and is the Apple name for audio plugin (usually called VST or AAX or other platform). You can use any of the EQ provided in this thread.

I need to do just to raise these frequencies, right?

any distortion occur?

 

[eyes-on-you]

Today, I tried the parametric equalizer on Audirvana without much success.

After choosing parametric equalizer from the settings on Audirvana, I made the following eq.

It only allowed me to set a single frequency on a single plugin, I couldn't figure it out.

I also chose 3 parametric equalizer plugins at the same time.

1. plugin 2 khz +1.5 db q3
2. plugin 3 khz +1.5 db q3
3. plugin 900hz +1 db q3

After these settings, I hear clipping in vocals in some songs. (not every song)

What am I doing wrong?

I will be very happy if someone can help me for the eq.

 

[voodooless]

You’ll need to lower the gain by about 1.5dB
Also you should not need three of those. There are AU components that let you do all EQ at once (and also set propper bandwidth or Q).

 

[eyes-on-you]

You’ll need to lower the gain by about 1.5dB
Also you should not need three of those. There are AU components that let you do all EQ at once (and also set propper bandwidth or Q).

Hi, thanks for the revert.

What are the AU components name?

How can i lower the gain? Via Audirvana?

 

[aarons915]

Today, I tried the parametric equalizer on Audirvana without much success.

After choosing parametric equalizer from the settings on Audirvana, I made the following eq.

It only allowed me to set a single frequency on a single plugin, I couldn't figure it out.

I also chose 3 parametric equalizer plugins at the same time.

1. plugin 2 khz +1.5 db q3
2. plugin 3 khz +1.5 db q3
3. plugin 900hz +1 db q3

After these settings, I hear clipping in vocals in some songs. (not every song)

What am I doing wrong?

I will be very happy if someone can help me for the eq.

I haven't had the R3 for a bit but I still have my PEQ filters that were tweaked over months of actual listening and tweaking so I personally think they are better than the automated filters that are going around. I use Equalizer APO with the Peace addon so can't help with the audionirvana settings. Those filters aren't going to be any good though, you don't want to boost around 3k, that is actually right around the area where there is some harshness as also confirmed by Erin during his review. Once you figure out how to apply the PEQ I would try these filters, it makes the R3 sound very smooth and much better than in original form.

 

[voodooless]

What are the AU components name?

Try AUBandEQ. You can find some online tool to convert Q to bandwidth.

Note that these settings have no relation to the Kef R3.

How can i lower the gain? Via Audirvana?

Above AUBandEQ has a global gain setting. set that to - the highest gain for starters.

 

[eyes-on-you]

I haven't had the R3 for a bit but I still have my PEQ filters that were tweaked over months of actual listening and tweaking so I personally think they are better than the automated filters that are going around. I use Equalizer APO with the Peace addon so can't help with the audionirvana settings. Those filters aren't going to be any good though, you don't want to boost around 3k, that is actually right around the area where there is some harshness as also confirmed by Erin during his review. Once you figure out how to apply the PEQ I would try these filters, it makes the R3 sound very smooth and much better than in original form.

View attachment 133589

My speaker is R7.

R7 has some dips around 2-3 khz.

I can’t find general R7 thread on the forum so i wrote here to get some help.

 

[eyes-on-you]

Try AUBandEQ. You can find some online tool to convert Q to bandwidth.

View attachment 133590
Note that these settings have no relation to the Kef R3.


Above AUBandEQ has a global gain setting. set that to - the highest gain for starters.

Is it work with Audirvana?

In addition, i have DAC2 HGC, gain setting is 0 db.

If i change to -10db, is it help clipping issue?

 

[voodooless]

Is it work with Audirvana?

Probably, it's standard AU functionality.

In addition, i have DAC2 HGC, gain setting is 0 db.

If i change to -10db, is it help clipping issue?

No, that won't work