Hi, again. This time, it's KEF's R6 meta.
Impedance
Frequency Response
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
Directivity
Overall, it's a very smooth and well-controlled Directivity.
Beamwidth
Narrowest around 5 kHz.
However, this is only a marginal difference that only appears when strictly compared to Reference 2 meta.
Polar plot
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.
Beautiful attenuation all around, and uniformly controlled HF directivity.
Total Harmonic Distortion
Very POWERFUL and CLEAN!
EHID
(If you're curious about EHID, here's a link to learn more.)
www.audiosciencereview.com
Again, this shows very clean THD measurement data.
95dB SPL@1m
EHID
WHAT!!?
I'm honestly a little shocked by this one.
Prepare to be amazed.
Let me make it clear again.
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
Again, very clean.
Compared to the Reference 2 meta, it is slightly higher around 1 kHz.
80Hz~
Multitone test(with multiple output levels)
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
We do see some weakness between 100 and 200Hz, but overall it's a strong performer.
This speaker was specifically tested to 102dB SPL.
Grill test
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.
Impedance
Frequency Response
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
Directivity
Overall, it's a very smooth and well-controlled Directivity.
Beamwidth
Narrowest around 5 kHz.
However, this is only a marginal difference that only appears when strictly compared to Reference 2 meta.
Polar plot
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.
Beautiful attenuation all around, and uniformly controlled HF directivity.
Total Harmonic Distortion
Very POWERFUL and CLEAN!
EHID
(If you're curious about EHID, here's a link to learn more.)
KEF Reference 2 meta Measurements and Review.
Hello, long time no see! I'm back with a center speaker from the KEF's Reference Series. I took pictures when I was measuring it, but the pictures provided by the manufacturer are cleaner, so I'm posting it here. Impedance Along with a smooth phase response, the linearity is...
www.audiosciencereview.com
Again, this shows very clean THD measurement data.
95dB SPL@1m
EHID
WHAT!!?
I'm honestly a little shocked by this one.
Prepare to be amazed.
Let me make it clear again.
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
Again, very clean.
Compared to the Reference 2 meta, it is slightly higher around 1 kHz.
80Hz~
Multitone test(with multiple output levels)
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
We do see some weakness between 100 and 200Hz, but overall it's a strong performer.
This speaker was specifically tested to 102dB SPL.
Grill test
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.
