KEF R3 woofer or trim ring not centered : (

[chuckcintron]

First time posting, long time reading - and for better/worse I decided that the KEF R3 was a good choice for my room, placement, size and financial constraints. So I pulled the trigger and a pair arrived today.

I immediately noticed that one of the woofer trim rings, or the woofer itself is misaligned. I'm pretty sure this is aesthetic only, but after spending weeks researching and paying a fairly hefty amount for a discretionary expense item like this...I'm a bit disappointed. Two photos attached. You can see that one is perfectly centered and the other is approx. 1mm shifted toward the 4 o'clock position.

Advice would be appreciated. I hate to have to exchange these so I was thinking of carefully removing the trim ring, and seeing if I can loosen the woofer itself and attempt to center it better. I am a woodworker and engine builder so I am pretty confident I can fix an alignment problem...but also don't want to do anything dumb. I also don't need my friends/family pointing out that my new expensive speakers look like they were made in China (which of course, they were...but I was hoping they were built accurately, not like this).

 

[Soniclife]

In Erin's review the position of the ring was shown to impact the sound, so I'd try and get it sorted.

Kef R3 Bookshelf Speaker Review

Kef R3 Bookshelf Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

 

[Everett T]

First time posting, long time reading - and for better/worse I decided that the KEF R3 was a good choice for my room, placement, size and financial constraints. So I pulled the trigger and a pair arrived today.

I immediately noticed that one of the woofer trim rings, or the woofer itself is misaligned. I'm pretty sure this is aesthetic only, but after spending weeks researching and paying a fairly hefty amount for a discretionary expense item like this...I'm a bit disappointed. Two photos attached. You can see that one is perfectly centered and the other is approx. 1mm shifted toward the 4 o'clock position.

Advice would be appreciated. I hate to have to exchange these so I was thinking of carefully removing the trim ring, and seeing if I can loosen the woofer itself and attempt to center it better. I am a woodworker and engine builder so I am pretty confident I can fix an alignment problem...but also don't want to do anything dumb. I also don't need my friends/family pointing out that my new expensive speakers look like they were made in China (which of course, they were...but I was hoping they were built accurately, not like this).

View attachment 256479 View attachment 256478

I'm OCD about stuff like this but I probably wouldn't consider returning it. Did you contact KEF tech and ask from the instructions before posting here? I'd just fix but that's me as have no qualms about diving into things.

Edit: @Soniclife noted the simple fix right as I posted.

 

[Tangband]

First time posting, long time reading - and for better/worse I decided that the KEF R3 was a good choice for my room, placement, size and financial constraints. So I pulled the trigger and a pair arrived today.

I immediately noticed that one of the woofer trim rings, or the woofer itself is misaligned. I'm pretty sure this is aesthetic only, but after spending weeks researching and paying a fairly hefty amount for a discretionary expense item like this...I'm a bit disappointed. Two photos attached. You can see that one is perfectly centered and the other is approx. 1mm shifted toward the 4 o'clock position.

Advice would be appreciated. I hate to have to exchange these so I was thinking of carefully removing the trim ring, and seeing if I can loosen the woofer itself and attempt to center it better. I am a woodworker and engine builder so I am pretty confident I can fix an alignment problem...but also don't want to do anything dumb. I also don't need my friends/family pointing out that my new expensive speakers look like they were made in China (which of course, they were...but I was hoping they were built accurately, not like this).

View attachment 256479 View attachment 256478

This have NO negative impact on the sound .
So dont worry, I would guess that everything is perfectly ok from the Kef factory.

What you can do, is what everyone should do with a new speaker - put away the trim ring carefully and use a screwdriver and carefully tighten all screws. Its very common with slightly loose screws in any speakers coming from the retailer or factory.

And dont loosen the woofer because then you will need a new sealing strip.

 

[chuckcintron]

Thanks for the quick responses. Right, I thought that the trim ring on the concentric driver was important (per Erin's measurements) but the woofer ring is merely a decoration. However, his misalignment is going to bother me so I'm going to pull the ring and see if I can get the alignment where it should be. Will report back : )

My only other 'complaint' so far is that for a speaker at this price point, you are going to put a cheap clear label with "KEF" at the top of the speaker? Already starting to peel off.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Thanks for the quick responses. Right, I thought that the trim ring on the concentric driver was important (per Erin's measurements) but the woofer ring is merely a decoration. However, his misalignment is going to bother me so I'm going to pull the ring and see if I can get the alignment where it should be. Will report back : )

My only other 'complaint' so far is that for a speaker at this price point, you are going to put a cheap clear label with "KEF" at the top of the speaker? Already starting to peel off.

Can’t you sent them back and ask to get new ones? That is what I would do, regardless of it matters or not. You are not happy period.

 

[chuckcintron]

Can’t use sent them back and ask to get new ones? That is what I would do, regardless of it matters or not. You are not happy period.

Sure, I could but it's more time/effort on my part - and there's no guarantee I'd find a similar (or worse) issue with the next set. So I'm inclined to first try to re-align the ring myself first, and if that fails then yes...return.

 

[Benedium]

Mistake to try anything yourself. Return it.

 

[dshreter]

In Erin's review the position of the ring was shown to impact the sound, so I'd try and get it sorted.

Kef R3 Bookshelf Speaker Review

Kef R3 Bookshelf Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

That was actually the position of the mid-tweeter wave guide, not the bass driver surround.

 

[dshreter]

My only other 'complaint' so far is that for a speaker at this price point, you are going to put a cheap clear label with "KEF" at the top of the speaker? Already starting to peel off.

You should post a photo, but I'm pretty sure that clear label is actually plastic to protect the appearance of the KEF logo in packaging and shipment. It is meant to be peeled off.

 

[usersky]

I guess I am so lucky with black on black, i cannot see any excentricities so I like the way mine sound

 

[chuckcintron]

You should post a photo, but I'm pretty sure that clear label is actually plastic to protect the appearance of the KEF logo in packaging and shipment. It is meant to be peeled off.

ha - you are right! I failed the first IQ test. Now let's see if I fail the second one, as I attempt to re-align this woofer/ring ensemble....

 

[Soniclife]

That was actually the position of the mid-tweeter wave guide, not the bass driver surround.

Ah yes, I knew I was tired today, I need more coffee.

 

[Sokel]

If it was me i would already be packed and traveling back for replacement.
It doesn't seem to be the ring as it's boundaries seems fixed.

I would suspect everyone,factory,post service,etc and I wouldn't be in peace.
I would also not tough it,that's someone else's job and should do it right in the first place.

 

[Chrispy]

Hmmm I'd probably fix it if just an adjustment simply made. OTOH if I didn't feel like doing that I'd have exchanged them for a proper pair from the start....

 

[chuckcintron]

Well, I fixed it. In fact it ended up being simple enough that I adjusted both speakers to be visually concentric with the rings. The one speaker that was noticeably misaligned, had a speaker-edge to MDF-edge gap of .3525" (8.95mm) on one side and .3122" (7.93mm) on the other side. So my guess of about 1mm was nearly correct. With CNC manufacturing, that amount of error is unacceptable. Also, if these drivers are being hand-installed into the cabinet at the factory, they should be using a jig to align the speaker. Maybe someone came to work that day and lost their jig. Or were behind on their quota.

After adjustment, one side is now .3350" and the other is .3370", and within that same tolerance at all points around the circumference. Close enough for my eye to not see any symmetry problem.

The trim rings came off easily, and all I had to do was slightly loosen the screws holding the speaker in, and then nudge in the direction needed with a simple kitchen knife. Note the photo of the finished result will look 'off' a little, but that's due to camera angle and my decade-old iPhone.

 

[dshreter]

Well, I fixed it. In fact it ended up being simple enough that I adjusted both speakers to be visually concentric with the rings. The one speaker that was noticeably misaligned, had a speaker-edge to MDF-edge gap of .3525" (8.95mm) on one side and .3122" (7.93mm) on the other side. So my guess of about 1mm was nearly correct. With CNC manufacturing, that amount of error is unacceptable. Also, if these drivers are being hand-installed into the cabinet at the factory, they should be using a jig to align the speaker. Maybe someone came to work that day and lost their jig. Or were behind on their quota.

After adjustment, one side is now .3350" and the other is .3370", and within that same tolerance at all points around the circumference. Close enough for my eye to not see any symmetry problem.

The trim rings came off easily, and all I had to do was slightly loosen the screws holding the speaker in, and then nudge in the direction needed with a simple kitchen knife. Note the photo of the finished result will look 'off' a little, but that's due to camera angle and my decade-old iPhone.

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You're a gentleman and a scholar. You came to ASR for advice and took care of business instead of filling 30 pages with complaining and flinging poop at the manufacturer.

 

[Chrispy]

Well, I fixed it. In fact it ended up being simple enough that I adjusted both speakers to be visually concentric with the rings. The one speaker that was noticeably misaligned, had a speaker-edge to MDF-edge gap of .3525" (8.95mm) on one side and .3122" (7.93mm) on the other side. So my guess of about 1mm was nearly correct. With CNC manufacturing, that amount of error is unacceptable. Also, if these drivers are being hand-installed into the cabinet at the factory, they should be using a jig to align the speaker. Maybe someone came to work that day and lost their jig. Or were behind on their quota.

After adjustment, one side is now .3350" and the other is .3370", and within that same tolerance at all points around the circumference. Close enough for my eye to not see any symmetry problem.

The trim rings came off easily, and all I had to do was slightly loosen the screws holding the speaker in, and then nudge in the direction needed with a simple kitchen knife. Note the photo of the finished result will look 'off' a little, but that's due to camera angle and my decade-old iPhone.

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Nice work. Not sure I'd ever bother with these speakers, but good to know.

 

[BoycottHiFiScam]

Well, I fixed it. In fact it ended up being simple enough that I adjusted both speakers to be visually concentric with the rings. The one speaker that was noticeably misaligned, had a speaker-edge to MDF-edge gap of .3525" (8.95mm) on one side and .3122" (7.93mm) on the other side. So my guess of about 1mm was nearly correct. With CNC manufacturing, that amount of error is unacceptable. Also, if these drivers are being hand-installed into the cabinet at the factory, they should be using a jig to align the speaker. Maybe someone came to work that day and lost their jig. Or were behind on their quota.

After adjustment, one side is now .3350" and the other is .3370", and within that same tolerance at all points around the circumference. Close enough for my eye to not see any symmetry problem.

The trim rings came off easily, and all I had to do was slightly loosen the screws holding the speaker in, and then nudge in the direction needed with a simple kitchen knife. Note the photo of the finished result will look 'off' a little, but that's due to camera angle and my decade-old iPhone.

View attachment 256577 View attachment 256578 View attachment 256576

Randomly ended up here and found that the top woofers on both my R7s have the same misalignment. Do you mind share how you take off the trim rings? I am not sure if it is a good idea to insert a trim removal tools into the gap.

 

[exm]

I don't think it matters, but go ahead and exchange it for a new pair.