Kef Reference

I have Reference 1's. They float my boat! About 4 months into ownership and they continue to amaze. I had owned PMC GB1i's since 2008 and felt I had gone as far as I wanted to black box wise and now was the time for a speaker upgrade. Problem is that to go 'up market' with floors standers means bigger (than the GB1's at any rate) and I did not want more bass - though I did not want less either. I also wanted proper 3 way speakers. The Ref 1's ticked the boxes and sounded great when I auditioned them. There are quite a few press reviews of them and they are in the main spot on. I have the dedicated stands which make for an elegant package. Not cheap at £1k but worth the premium over non Kef alternatives. I went away from NAC5 cables - opting for Chord Epic Reference which I felt worked very well. Have a look at the system pics 2017 thread - I posted a photo on there just recently.

Thanks Allan, I can understand your liking for them. I wil check out the systems pick thread.

I heard ref 3's in a shop demo together with dynaudio c2 platinum and focal sopra 2. The demo was possibly not ideal with quite alot of activity and noice around but to me the ref 3 came across as unusually pure, as they had significantly lower distortion. If I were to chose new speakers based on this demo I think they would have been my choice. Surprised I have not seen more discussions about them here on the forum!?

Joppe posted:

Are there any Kef Reference (latest version) user on the forum? Or someone who made a serious audition, who would like to share their experiences?

I've had  Ref 205.2 for eight years now, so they are getting rather old.

They are very good I think, some people (on this forum) think they are too bright, but I believe this is a set-up problem. But they are very revealing so it's important that your system are well balanced. I have NDS,252,300 (DR).

KEF speakers are not very popular with Naim and I don't know why. They are fast, very detailed, very good midrange, lovely bass attack and play all sorts of music with ease.

I have listened to some Proacs and Neats, but I prefer KEF in my room.

I suppose the new Ref series are even better..

The 3's were something I resisted listening to even though they were sitting ready to go in the demo room. Just too large for where I wanted them in my room.

Kef do not get much of a mention on the forum which is odd given the company's heritage and undoubted technical excellence (big thumbs up also for the sheer quality of the finish, etc. on mine). Makes such as PMC, Neat, Kudos, Proactive and Focal seem to be the favourites and clearly they all have great offerings at various price points. I cannot comment how they compare to the Kef's as - typically for me - I sort of knew what I was after and they ticked the boxes. Job done. I did the same when I first went Naim. Didn't bother listening to Linn, Exposure, etc - the gear gave me what I was looking for.

I've heard the Ref 1s a number of times in different systems, all at hifi shows. They have been consistently good which, as we know, seems to be hard for many brands to (be bothered?) To achieve.

Also heard the Reference 5s on the end of about 10 different Linn systems of Akurate and Klimax, Exakt and non-Exakt and the Klimax non-Exakt with and without Katalyst. They were extremely good at revealling the changes made in the electronics. The seemed to sound very neutral. Somewhat lightweight for their size, I felt, but that might mean they work well in a wide variety of rooms.

My Naim dealer swears by KEF. My first Naim product was a UnitiQute 2. The dealer hooked that up to a pair of KEF R100s and compared them to the larger floor standing KEF R500s. I preferred the increased base detail from the R500 and bought them, in a very nice piano black finish. But before I did I wanted to see what the next step up would bring, so he hooked up a pair of REF 3s, first to the Qute and then to a 250DR / 272. The Qute was a bit lost I think but the 250DR made them sing. The R500s sounded good too on the end of the 250DR amp, but the demo did show the REF 3 had the edge, and so it should for the price.  

I replaced the Qute with a SuperUniti and kept the KEF R500 speakers. Nice improvement in sound ensued, wider, more detail. I now have a 250DR connected to the SuperUniti preamp. The KEF R500 speakers sound better again, as I had hoped considering the praise lavished on the 250DR.  Next step will be those Ref 3s I heard at the start of this journey.

Like Alan Willby, I too am at a loss as to why KEF don't get much of a mention on this forum.