BoredErica
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Interesting. Did they change the warranty on powered speakers? IIRC it's 2 years for electronics right now. Or maybe they decided to be generous?
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Kef to announce new products?
- Thread starter Jukebox
- Start date
tecnogadget
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Thats great. Kef has offers an amazing support of 5 years.
bo_knows
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I'm sorry but no, they don't (not in my case with LS50W). I think it's 2 years on electronics (which was faulty in my case and clearly out of the warranty period). Regular/passive speakers yes, a 5-year warranty.
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It was 10 years warranty on speakers at one time... Very easy selling them with a 10 year warranty.
bo_knows
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I can only assume they knew (KEF) that there was a hardware issue with the original design and it was probably widespread (assuming they rush to market). The best way to remedy this situation is to fix it without too many questions.
BoredErica
Addicted to Fun and Learning
It's 2 years for electronics and 5 years for the driver.
us.kef.com
Warranty Info
us.kef.com
I could really buy with confidence with that type of warranty. Especially for an expensive product. I figure Kef would be able to fix it out of warranty with a fee though. Wonder how that fee scales with expensive items.It was 10 years warranty on speakers at one time... Very easy selling them with a 10 year warranty.
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When I provided KEF warranty service for some years I replaced many burned and blown drivers. With KEF the issue was owners destroying gear and with other speaker manufacturers there was manyyy warranty claims that where defects in the product. So anyway... KEF drivers where the most reasonably priced drivers of them all. $7500/pair speakers would have $140 tweeters and $200 woofers and such... very reasonable pricing.It's 2 years for electronics and 5 years for the driver.
Warranty Info
I could really buy with confidence with that type of warranty. Especially for an expensive product. I figure Kef would be able to fix it out of warranty with a fee though. Wonder how that fee scales with expensive items.
BoredErica
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Very cool, nice to hear. Since I went with the Metas, I don't have to worry about the amp on Kef's side, so it's just crossover + driver/surrounds. I think it should last a very long time.
It's nice to meet a company that cares about measurements, makes good speakers, and also puts a lot of effort into aesthetics.
If there will be new Reference series, I hope for their white version they ditch the blue coaxial driver (which I think they will).
I kinda like those colored KEF speakers.
BoredErica
Addicted to Fun and Learning
For R3, I like the piano white and black. Somebody mentioned with a bright TV, the gloss finish can reflect the light coming off the display though! Maybe better positioning can fix that if space permits. The wood grain is okay, not my favorite. Piano black is a little off imo since the Shadow Flare is a bit too light grey for me and doesn't contrast like the R1 or blend in entirely with the dark piano black. The white version is a real whiteout of a speaker. To me it's nice starting to be a bit too white and clinical looking. Still good though.I kinda like those colored KEF speakers.
Before I bought the Metas, I polled multiple people (almost all aren't audiophiles) on whether they thought white R3 or Metas looked better. R3 won by a small margin.
For Reference, black with the copper or silver satin+walnut in back are cool. The latter is maybe a bit harsh and clinical looking at the front only though. I just don't think the blue fits the white though!
For meta, black and copper and white and copper look fantastic. The rounded edges of the Metas give it a softer look while still looking great in the front. Crazy thing is, in my room with my cr95 5000k led light, the Meta actually has a little magenta hue in the white in the front, and in some cases even a greenish hue, like when viewed from the front looking at the top of the speakers at an angle.
They hide the screws which is such a good idea. Why in the world do I want to see screws in the front of the speaker?
The blue and grey are just okay imo. Getting too out there for me. The original LS50 didn't look as good. The front had matte front with glossy ring. And while most of front is matte, the back is glossy which felt weird. Port also didn't have as pleasant a shape in the back.
Original LS50/Wireless had some CRAZY color schemes...
What in TARNATION was this?????
And the Q series just feel like baby R3 series. Still good looking. And there the wood grain version looks better than on R3 imo. Q150 in walnut looks rustic and would look nice on a wooden table with some plants maybe.
The white and black look good still. White is very R3-esque. Maybe the Q series aren't as good as Metas, but they look good, sound pretty good, and don't cost as much.
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I think the blue ones look nice as well. I have been itching to get LS50 Metas in white but not a fan of the copper drivers so I keep hesitating. I know I am of the minority and everyone raves about how nice the LS50 Metas look (white and copper or gold seems to also align with current trends in furniture) but not a fan of yellowish tones personally. Ever since those teasers started coming out and since KEF started the year with "New Year, New Gear", I decided to just wait a few more months (even though I already moved my old Q100s off my desk and back to the living room to make room so we will see how long I can hold out).I can see the blue ones sitting on my desktop
The yellow is so 1970's. Perhaps that's the regurgitated style these days.
I know this quite well and agree... and KEF's product portfolio on the shelf today is such that anything new they put will be merely be an incremental improvement and subject to the laws of diminishing returns.
My comment was not meant as a critique to their product update cycle or availability, but squarely a take on their marketing communication. These are independent. Look at CES, product pre-announcements with availability throughout 2022 are the norm. You can't build up an expectation and not follow up, in some way. You can and should share details, and there is the whole spectrum of choice from gradual unveil (look at how they do it in automotive) to build up anticipation and demand, to an outright product introduction roadmap.
bo_knows
Addicted to Fun and Learning
KEF just released another YouTube video. It's more of the same...
It looks to me like they are showing bits and pieces of some upcoming documentary film.
They have a really nice listening room. Those larger diffusers are $$$!
It looks to me like they are showing bits and pieces of some upcoming documentary film.
They have a really nice listening room.
Those larger diffusers are $$$!Thanks, I was looking for any Easter eggs (after all, Easter will soon be upon us), alas, could not spot any...
I gave up on waiting and ended up buying Metas. Very happy with them so far. Heard they are updating the R series for meta material as well so that would be my guess on what the next release will be (just a guess and hoping in the next year or two, I will be able to buy some R5 Metas for my living room). In my case, for use as computer speakers, the LS50 Metas made sense. I was hoping to see whether there would be a new LSX II or maybe some new LS50 Meta colors but after moving my Q100s back to the living room and being speaker-less for a few months at my desk, I got tired of waiting. Who knows when new products will be released with these global supply shortages.
bo_knows
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Here is another shot of the KEF Blade uni-q. The whole assembly is self closed in so holes on the black plastic piece are probably to let the back wave bleed out to the rest of the chamber where it's absorbed. Nothing new here.
P.S. Depending on the size of the chamber, absorbing material, and the length of the back wave, I would think this solution may achieve 98% reduction vs 100% with metamaterial. I don't think Blade will be "saved" by implementing the metamaterial. Time will tell...
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It would not hurt and would update the drivers to version 13 of the UNIQ
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