Kef's or Q Acoustics
Discussion
I am looking for a set of speakers to use for both cinema and playing music.
After doing some research I have found that Q Acoustics and Kef seem to be quite highly regarded in the forums.
I have found the following 3 on richer sounds, looks are not too important but I don’t want huge bookshelf type speakers.
Question – are the KEF’s that much better than the Q Acoustics or is the pricing between the Q 2000 and the KEF 2005.3 down to styling.
Also are the Kef 3005SE that much better than the 2005. Reading around it seem that the 3005 are slightly larger and are better at filling a room rather than hitting a sweet spot.
Q Acoustics 2000 - £554.95
KEF KHT2005.3 - £799.95
KEF KHT3005SE - £994.95
Do any of you guys have any experience of these speakers? Can you recommend any others below £1000?
I know I need to get out and listen to some but am finding it hard to find places that demo them.
Thanks
After doing some research I have found that Q Acoustics and Kef seem to be quite highly regarded in the forums.
I have found the following 3 on richer sounds, looks are not too important but I don’t want huge bookshelf type speakers.
Question – are the KEF’s that much better than the Q Acoustics or is the pricing between the Q 2000 and the KEF 2005.3 down to styling.
Also are the Kef 3005SE that much better than the 2005. Reading around it seem that the 3005 are slightly larger and are better at filling a room rather than hitting a sweet spot.
Q Acoustics 2000 - £554.95
KEF KHT2005.3 - £799.95
KEF KHT3005SE - £994.95
Do any of you guys have any experience of these speakers? Can you recommend any others below £1000?
I know I need to get out and listen to some but am finding it hard to find places that demo them.
Thanks
I had the same budget and requirements and opted for this B&W MT-25 set they are not tiny but put out a nice rounded sound and I thought much better for music than the kefs (though the kefs had a marginal advantage on movies to my ears).
What amp are you using as that might make a difference.
What amp are you using as that might make a difference.
NEVER, EVER make a decision about hi-fi without listening to it.
Years ago I was lazy, and bought What Hi-fi Best In Breed(or whatever) amp, CD and speakers. I mean what can go wrong? Terrible result, sold the lot immediately, and found a decent supplier with my tail between my legs.
Speak to an expert, get some recommendations, and audition as much kit as is practical. It will pay dividends for years to come.
Good luck.
Years ago I was lazy, and bought What Hi-fi Best In Breed(or whatever) amp, CD and speakers. I mean what can go wrong? Terrible result, sold the lot immediately, and found a decent supplier with my tail between my legs.
Speak to an expert, get some recommendations, and audition as much kit as is practical. It will pay dividends for years to come.
Good luck.
I will take a wander down to Richer sounds, their used to be one by my office near Liverpool street but its moved somewhere else now.
I was looking at the Pioneer VSX-920 as it plugs into a network for internet radio, which seems like a useful feature.
The Gallo Micros look good. Will see if I can listen to them. I wonder if a speaker that small can compete when it comes to music.
The B&W look like a fine set of speakers, again I have to get out and listen to them all. I like the stands, although I would want to wall mount the rears and put the fronts on stands. I guess all these speakers can me mounted in all ways.
MaxAndRuby, as you say I was going down the lazy root of going for the best of what other people said, but I am going to get off my @ss and head to a few places. I work in the city so have a richer sounds and Tottenham court road down the road. Also have a place called Rayleigh HIFI nearby.
Cheers for all your responses.
I was looking at the Pioneer VSX-920 as it plugs into a network for internet radio, which seems like a useful feature.
The Gallo Micros look good. Will see if I can listen to them. I wonder if a speaker that small can compete when it comes to music.
The B&W look like a fine set of speakers, again I have to get out and listen to them all. I like the stands, although I would want to wall mount the rears and put the fronts on stands. I guess all these speakers can me mounted in all ways.
MaxAndRuby, as you say I was going down the lazy root of going for the best of what other people said, but I am going to get off my @ss and head to a few places. I work in the city so have a richer sounds and Tottenham court road down the road. Also have a place called Rayleigh HIFI nearby.
Cheers for all your responses.
MaxAndRuby said:
NEVER, EVER make a decision about hi-fi without listening to it.
Amen.If you are considering investing £1000 in something as to which there may be highly subjective opinions, also invest an afternoon testing some gear out.
Especially if you book ahead, a local shop will reserve the listening room for you to test out any combination you want and use their advice and experience.
If you go in with open ears and a budget, you have a much better chance of getting something you will still enjoy in years to come.
JustinP1 said:
MaxAndRuby said:
NEVER, EVER make a decision about hi-fi without listening to it.
Amen.If you are considering investing £1000 in something as to which there may be highly subjective opinions, also invest an afternoon testing some gear out.
Especially if you book ahead, a local shop will reserve the listening room for you to test out any combination you want and use their advice and experience.
If you go in with open ears and a budget, you have a much better chance of getting something you will still enjoy in years to come.
The sound is absolutely superb - for music too which was a big surprise - and they're tiny so don't dominate the room (The TV fulfils that role
). The big winner though is that they are far better looking than the B&Ws and KEFs - they always attract positive comments from everyone who sees them.You could probably get a set within budget if you went for a different Sub - a BK for example.
rhinochopig said:
The big winner though is that they are far better looking than the B&Ws and KEFs - they always attract positive comments from everyone who sees them.
I'd be more impressed if you'd said 'positive comments from everyone who hears them'. 
Maybe you were lucky, but speakers are the most personal of all hifi/AV items IMHO, so one man's meat and all that. Not unlike chosing which car you like to drive based on looking at a picture...you might be lucky, but equally you might find you won't fit in it or you don't like the way the controls feel, etc. I brought home quite a few demo speakers over the years that seemed like they'd fit the bill only to be disapointed once I started listening to them...thankfully they were all out against a credit card deposit, so I only ended up with the ones that I liked best (PMC in my case, but I know some people find them too dull sounding and prefer something like M&K for example for movies especially).
I agree with the BK comment re the sub...I've got 2 of their models (XLS200 and a Monolith) and only a posible SVS Ultra model purchase would usurp the Monolith from my living room.
I'm delighted with my Kef 2005.3's, powered by an Onkyo TX-SR876. Great system, never had a problem with the speakers, sub woofer isn't the most powerful in the World, but then it's included in an £800 system. Bear in mind the price of a very powerful subwoofer and I think it's great value for money. I've only had the subwoofer clip maybe 2 or 3 times in the 3 years I've owned the system.
GBSpeed said:
I will take a wander down to Richer sounds, their used to be one by my office near Liverpool street but its moved somewhere else now.
not far:http://www.richersounds.com/stores/london-city
OldSkoolRS said:
rhinochopig said:
The big winner though is that they are far better looking than the B&Ws and KEFs - they always attract positive comments from everyone who sees them.
I'd be more impressed if you'd said 'positive comments from everyone who hears them'. Maybe you were lucky, but speakers are the most personal of all hifi/AV items IMHO, so one man's meat and all that. Not unlike chosing which car you like to drive based on looking at a picture...you might be lucky, but equally you might find you won't fit in it or you don't like the way the controls feel, etc. I brought home quite a few demo speakers over the years that seemed like they'd fit the bill only to be disapointed once I started listening to them...thankfully they were all out against a credit card deposit, so I only ended up with the ones that I liked best (PMC in my case, but I know some people find them too dull sounding and prefer something like M&K for example for movies especially).
I agree with the BK comment re the sub...I've got 2 of their models (XLS200 and a Monolith) and only a posible SVS Ultra model purchase would usurp the Monolith from my living room.
My speakers are also fitted into a living room - perhaps the most acoustically unsound space to put a hi-fi system anyway. You can audition all you want at the dealers, but the massive sofa, and other furniture in a living room will make it sound totally different to how it sounded at the dealers anyway.
At the end of the day, what I have sounds better than what I had before so I'm happy.
- Trevor, the speakers are Gallo Micros bought from our very own Plotters. I opted for the Ti model as they're supposed to sound better. Whether they do I have no idea, but don't care as they sound great in isolation. If you want some, I'd recommend getting them from him. He's a nice chap to deal with and knows his onions.
rhinochopig said:
You can audition all you want at the dealers, but the massive sofa, and other furniture in a living room will make it sound totally different to how it sounded at the dealers anyway.
At the end of the day, what I have sounds better than what I had before so I'm happy.
That's why as I said in my posts above, that I brought the speakers home against a credit card deposit so I could demo them in my own living room. At the end of the day, what I have sounds better than what I had before so I'm happy.
The PMCs I ended up with weren't so impressive in the dealer's little demo room and I nearly walked away without buying them until he suggested a home demo. They actually sounded much better in my living room as they had some room to breathe.Anyway, as you say, you're happy, so who cares...it's just I reckon you were lucky on both counts: You picked a set that you liked the look of and you happen to like the sound, also you're lucky not to be such a fussy 'audiophile' as it's not a cheap affliction to have believe me.
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