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KEF R6 meta Measurements and Review

Nuyes

Active Member
Reviewer
Joined
Jun 8, 2022
Messages
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Location
South Korea
Hi, again. This time, it's KEF's R6 meta.
R6meta.jpg




Impedance
00.png
01.png



Frequency Response
02_1.png

It's pretty flat except for some of the HF above 10 kHz.
The bass extension is 70.7 Hz (-6 dB) with -14dB/oct slope.

Nearfield Measurements


02_2.png





Directivity
03.png
04.png
05.png

06.png

Overall, it's a very smooth and well-controlled Directivity.


Beamwidth



07.png
08.png




Narrowest around 5 kHz.
However, this is only a marginal difference that only appears when strictly compared to Reference 2 meta.

Polar plot

09.png

Due to the chunky mass of these speakers and the horizontally placed units, you can see that most of the sound is only radiating forward.





10.png

Beautiful attenuation all around, and uniformly controlled HF directivity.


Total Harmonic Distortion

11.png
12_1.png

Very POWERFUL and CLEAN!



EHID

12_2.png

(If you're curious about EHID, here's a link to learn more.)




Again, this shows very clean THD measurement data.

95dB SPL@1m

13.png
14_1.png



EHID
14_2.png


WHAT!!?

I'm honestly a little shocked by this one.


Prepare to be amazed.
Let me make it clear again.

14_3.png


I can't believe this..

95dB SPL....!

I opened the Klippel project file to double-check that the measurements were done correctly.
And soon, I had no choice but to accept the reality.


This is the insane Loudspeaker...


Multitone test

15.png
16.png


Again, very clean.
Compared to the Reference 2 meta, it is slightly higher around 1 kHz.

80Hz~
17.png




Multitone test(with multiple output levels)

18.png
19.png


I don't know what the hell is going on with this.

The output has increased to 96dB, but the percentage of MDs within 100-300Hz is still the same.
It hasn't increased at all.

What a beast the 6.5" woofer in the R6 meta is...

Compression test
20.png

We do see some weakness between 100 and 200Hz, but overall it's a strong performer.




21.png

This speaker was specifically tested to 102dB SPL.


Grill test


22.png









My personal opinion.


Without a doubt, one of the best speakers out there.
Due to its size and weight class, comparisons to the Reference 2 meta are inevitable, and LF and Directivity are clear wins for the Reference 2 meta.

But if you're willing to compromise with your wallet, you'll be hard pressed to find a center speaker as good as this one.


Now, let's talk about something non-performance related.

I measured both R3 meta and R6 meta.
The owners of these speakers sent them to my studio via pre-order from a distributor.
However, I have returned and exchanged them three times: twice for the R3 meta and once for the R6 meta.

This was due to poor cosmetics.

It was a combination of bad paint and dented units.

There's no denying KEF's design capabilities and that the design is great.
However, having experienced everything from the LS50 to the Reference series, the failure rate of this meta-series is a far cry from what KEF has done in the past.

I don't know if there has been a change in process, but I fervently hope that this has improved.
 
Gif comparison between Kef Reference 2 Meta and R6 Meta (data provided by @Nuyes):


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EDIT: Added the rest of the graphs
 
Last edited:
Gif comparison between Kef Reference 2 Meta and R6 Meta (data provided by @Nuyes):

It's late and I need to sleep now, so apologies if I missed a few graphs. Will double check tomorrow.
Fantastic and nice work! Thank you ;) and good night~!
 
Gif comparison between Kef R6 Meta and R3 Meta (data provided by @Nuyes):

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Last edited:
I measured both R3 meta and R6 meta.
The owners of these speakers sent them to my studio via pre-order from a distributor.
However, I have returned and exchanged them three times: twice for the R3 meta and once for the R6 meta.

This was due to poor cosmetics.

It was a combination of bad paint and dented units.

There's no denying KEF's design capabilities and that the design is great.
However, having experienced everything from the LS50 to the Reference series, the failure rate of this meta-series is a far cry from what KEF has done in the past.

I don't know if there has been a change in process, but I fervently hope that this has improved.
Thanks for yet another awesome review!

This last part is really bad news... Packaging and shipping must improve immediately as this is an unacceptable defect rate.
 
Best center speaker tested so far I believe. Looking at KEF website it can be set up as LCR. Are there feet included in the box to allow you to sit it up vertically for use as LR channel?
 
Best center speaker tested so far I believe. Looking at KEF website it can be set up as LCR. Are there feet included in the box to allow you to sit it up vertically for use as LR channel?
Yes.
1689621751085.png



You can see how big these rubber feet are by watching this unboxing video (skip to 2min mark).
 
Last edited:
Yep, I can definitely see how this would be an excellent centre speaker, and centre speakers are normally rubbish!
 
Excellent. This makes the Reference 2 Meta a pretty tough sell at 3(!) times the cost. Going by the measurements alone, I don't see many differences that would be clearly audible beyond bass extension. For the cost savings, you could grab a pair a quality subs and still have a bunch of cash left over.
 
@Nuyes

Is a review KEF R2 meta coming anytime soon? I want to see if the directivity trade off is worth it.

Thank you so much for your work and effort!
 
@davidbosch @jackocleebrown

Hello gentlemen, If you could kindly entertain this small question I have over this design I would really appreciate it.

Is there a reason why you guys didn’t go for a higher crossover between the uni-q and the midwoofers? An amateur like me is under the impression that a crossover at 700Hz instead of 500Hz would yield a smoother horizontal directivity. Thank you!
 
Thanks for the review! I am happy that you are happy with the product's performance. The cosmetic issue is a shame... I should report about this.
 
Great measurements ! Thank you
Killer value but I still think having another R3 as centre speaker in vertical is a better deal
 
Kef continues to demonstrate its chops. I know $2k is not cheap, but if you want a high quality, good looking center for you home theater this is very hard to beat.
 
Hi, again.

This time, it's KEF's R6 meta.


View attachment 299594









Impedance
View attachment 299595View attachment 299596











Frequency Response
View attachment 299597
It's pretty flat except for some of the HF above 10 kHz.
The bass extension is 70.7 Hz (-6 dB) with -14dB/oct slope.









Nearfield Measurements


View attachment 299598













Directivity
View attachment 299599View attachment 299600View attachment 299601
View attachment 299602
Overall, it's a very smooth and well-controlled Directivity.










Beamwidth



View attachment 299603View attachment 299604



Narrowest around 5 kHz.
However, this is only a marginal difference that only appears when strictly compared to Reference 2 meta.












Polar plot

View attachment 299605
Due to the chunky mass of these speakers and the horizontally placed units, you can see that most of the sound is only radiating forward.





View attachment 299606
Beautiful attenuation all around, and uniformly controlled HF directivity.








Total Harmonic Distortion

View attachment 299607View attachment 299608
Very POWERFUL and CLEAN!















EHID

View attachment 299609
(If you're curious about EHID, here's a link to learn more.)




Again, this shows very clean THD measurement data.








95dB SPL@1m

View attachment 299610View attachment 299611


EHID
View attachment 299612

WHAT!!?

I'm honestly a little shocked by this one.


Prepare to be amazed.
Let me make it clear again.

View attachment 299621

I can't believe this..

95dB SPL....!

I opened the Klippel project file to double-check that the measurements were done correctly.
And soon, I had no choice but to accept the reality.


This is the insane Loudspeaker...





Multitone test

View attachment 299613View attachment 299614

Again, very clean.
Compared to the Reference 2 meta, it is slightly higher around 1 kHz.












80Hz~
View attachment 299615













Multitone test(with multiple output levels)

View attachment 299616View attachment 299617

I don't know what the hell is going on with this.

The output has increased to 96dB, but the percentage of MDs within 100-300Hz is still the same.
It hasn't increased at all.

What a beast the 6.5" woofer in the R6 meta is...









Compression test
View attachment 299618
We do see some weakness between 100 and 200Hz, but overall it's a strong performer.









View attachment 299619
This speaker was specifically tested to 102dB SPL.









Grill test


View attachment 299620








My personal opinion.


Without a doubt, one of the best speakers out there.
Due to its size and weight class, comparisons to the Reference 2 meta are inevitable, and LF and Directivity are clear wins for the Reference 2 meta.

But if you're willing to compromise with your wallet, you'll be hard pressed to find a center speaker as good as this one.





Now, let's talk about something non-performance related.

I measured both R3 meta and R6 meta.
The owners of these speakers sent them to my studio via pre-order from a distributor.
However, I have returned and exchanged them three times: twice for the R3 meta and once for the R6 meta.

This was due to poor cosmetics.

It was a combination of bad paint and dented units.

There's no denying KEF's design capabilities and that the design is great.
However, having experienced everything from the LS50 to the Reference series, the failure rate of this meta-series is a far cry from what KEF has done in the past.

I don't know if there has been a change in process, but I fervently hope that this has improved.
Holy schmoly guacamole! As an owner of the KEF R500 and Reference 3, these make me want to take out a second mortgage… were it not for the eventual divorce and homelessness… damn that is some amazing engineering and it goes without saying but thank you for your work and time!
 
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