[neonwilderness]

I don't doubt they're amazing speakers, I was amazed by them just out of the box; I'm just not sure if they're the right speakers for my ears and (a big part of) my record collection. I'd love a more detailed and "refined" sound than that of my Boston A25s, but I also need warm/non-fatiguing/forgiving-with-cheap-recordings speakers too.

[charmerci]

I don't doubt they're amazing speakers, I was amazed by them just out of the box; I'm just not sure if they're the right speakers for my ears and (a big part of) my record collection. I'd love a more detailed and "refined" sound than that of my Boston A25s, but I also need warm/non-fatiguing/forgiving-with-cheap-recordings speakers too.

Having listened to low to mid to hi fi equipment (very rarely super expensive) for about 40 years now, I'm fairly sure that this is the trend today > super-detailed equipment, warts and all from the digital source onward.


My suspicion is that since most equipment is designed and manufactured by older males whose hearing is rolled off from listening to lots of loud music over the decades, their preference is for "highly detailed" high frequencies.

[OzarkTom]

I would send them back if I did not like them before the owner trial ends. But I have too many speakers that I like now, so I would never buy a pair of KEF's. Bright speakers sell better  in dealer showrooms, so manufactures tend to tilt the highs up a little too much.

A friend owned the LS50's, they were not bright when I listened to them, but sounded just OK.

[neonwilderness]

I'm going to return them. And then I'll wait to find the right speakers to upgrade my Bostons.

[maty]

..My setup is: Marantz PM6006 amp, Schiit Modi 2 DAC, Audioquest Big Sur signal cable.

KEF Q100 and LS50 love power. The true sensitivity of Q100 is between 84-85 dB. LS50 only 83 dB.

Marantz PM6006: (8 / 4 Ohm RMS)   45 W / 60 W

With this amp you need speakers with 88 dB or more.

[maty]

Now the speakers are longer sold. The alternative, but with rear bass-reflex, is the KEF Q150 (with grill -> more money) (maybe the speaker's suspension will also need a long "burnout" like its predecessor).


I have this VSTplugin: iZotope RX-7 De-Hum in foobar2000 (32 bits) and J River MC 24 (64 bits):

Before mass:




With more mass over the furniture:



https://s3.amazonaws.com/izotopedownloads/docs/rx6/25-de-hum/index.html


With ALL my tweaks the sound is much better than new. I have modified the front bass-reflex too, to reduce the peak to 1.2 kHz (black).

[RUS] http://www.salonav.com/arch/2012/09/016-7raz.htm

[maty]

The coaxial driver (woofer and tweeter) measurements made by medleymusings (site out):

KEF-Q100-drive-measurements-by-medleymusings.zip  740 KB


- THE END -

[maty]

Well, I am listening KEf Q150 and Q350 in Youtube and they sound very bad.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kef+q150

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kef+q350

Surely the same happens to them as in the previous generation: new sound very bad, bright because there are no bass.

The KEF Q100 need a very long burning, 200 hours or more.

KEf Q300, with 6.5" coaxial is worse than Q100 with 5.25" coaxial. KEF Q350? I do not know.

Remember, these speakers LOVES watts. Q100 and Q150 better with SS amps with 70-80 watts at 8 Ohms, 0.1% THD (more watts at 4 Ohms). More true with the LS50 (83 dB/W/m).

Nominal 8 Ohms but I think is more true: nominal 4 Ohms. At least nominal 6 Ohms.

[maty]

About the power we need with speakers with 85 dB/W/m and minimum 3.9 Ohms, I just read:

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/system-one/1237-nads-d3045-a-d3020v2-on-steroids

New speakers from a new amp?

Although the D 3045’s new feature set is significant, for me the biggest benefit is the power output from the D 3045’s class-D power-amp section. The change from 30Wpc to 60Wpc shouldn’t have amounted to a hill of beans -- no surprise to those who know that every doubling of power results in a volume increase of only 3dB from the speakers. That difference in SPL is only just noticeable, even if achieving it requires substantial upsizing of an amplifier’s power supply, output transistors, etc. Nonetheless, the differences I heard were dramatic -- far more than just being able to play music louder.

The night before I unboxed the D 3045, the D 3020 V2 was still in my system, hooked up to the Paradigm Monitor SE Atom speakers ($300/pair) I wrote about in my first two columns. When fellow writer Philip Beaudette came over, wanting to hear the system he’d been reading about, I played him some tracks. He agreed that it sounded really good -- then said, “What more would most people ask for?”

The next morning, I unboxed the D 3045, swapped out the D 3020 V2, and put on the same track. I got a jolt as if I’d been shocked with 500V. “Rockin’ in the Free World” now thundered with dynamics that simply hadn’t been there the day before. Chad Cromwell’s bass drum hit like a punch in the stomach, the entire audioband was reproduced with much more clarity -- and I could turn it up louder. It was as if I were hearing a different pair of speakers.

https://www.soundstage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1968:nrc-measurements-paradigm-monitor-se-atom-loudspeakers&catid=77&Itemid=153

83.9dB and about minimum 6 Ohms -> they need similar watts than Q100/Q150, something less.

Note: I do not like Total harmonic distortion + noise graph.

[maty]

https://nadelectronics.com/product/d-3045-hybrid-digital-dac-amplifier/

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS LINE INPUT/SPEAKER OUT

    Continuous output power into 4 and 8 Ohms
    60W (ref. 20Hz-20kHz at 0.03% THD, both channels driven)
    THD (20Hz – 20kHz) <0.005% (at 1W, 4 and 8 ohms)
    Signal-to-Noise Ratio >98dB (A-weighted, 500mV input, ref. 2.828V out in 4 Ohms)
    Clipping power >80W (at 1kHz 4 Ohms 0.1% THD)
    ...

[maty]

KEF Q150 for $300 - kefdirect.com and Amazon.com

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=161371.0

[fredgarvin]

I wonder how they stack up with these HSU CCB-8, a bit more expensive




Product At a Glance
Frequency response
50Hz – 20kHz +/- 2 dB at 15 degrees off axis
Sensitivity   94 dB / 1m / 2.83V in Half Space
Recommended Amplifier Power   10-400 W RMS Per Channel
Woofer   8 Inch
Enclosure Type   Vented ; 3⁄4” MDF
Recommended Impedance setting   8 ohms
Enclosure Dimensions   15” H x 10 1⁄2” W x 12” D
Dimensions with Grill   15” H x 10 1⁄2” W x 121⁄2” D
Weight   22 lbs
Warranty   7-years
Designed and Engineered in the U.S.A.

[wushuliu]

I wonder how they stack up with these HSU CCB-8, a bit more expensive




Product At a Glance
Frequency response
50Hz – 20kHz +/- 2 dB at 15 degrees off axis
Sensitivity   94 dB / 1m / 2.83V in Half Space
Recommended Amplifier Power   10-400 W RMS Per Channel
Woofer   8 Inch
Enclosure Type   Vented ; 3⁄4” MDF
Recommended Impedance setting   8 ohms
Enclosure Dimensions   15” H x 10 1⁄2” W x 12” D
Dimensions with Grill   15” H x 10 1⁄2” W x 121⁄2” D
Weight   22 lbs
Warranty   7-years
Designed and Engineered in the U.S.A.

94db from an 8in woofer in such a small enclosure that hits 50 hz? I'm a little skeptical. I think there's some fine print missing from those specs.

[fredgarvin]

Audioholics reviewed and measured them

Hsu reports the CCB-8 sensitivity in half-space at 94 dB at 1 meter for 2.83v, and our measurement of 93.8 dB largely agrees with their specification. Of course, half-space sensitivity converted to full-space sensitivity means a drop of 6 dB, which puts the CCB-8 at 88 dB sensitive full-space by their own specifications. That is above average for a bookshelf speaker, but do not mistake its half-space spec to mean it is a high-powered speaker that can handle THX Reference levels in a large room. The half-space sensitivity specification is simply the result of the setting it was measured in. In a medium-sized room, the CCB-8s can get louder than most people would ever want, but those who like loud-listening in a large room are going to need some much larger speakers.

https://www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/ccb-8-bookshelf/measurements

It sounds like they may be imaging champs.

[wushuliu]

Ah, 88db in full space. That makes more sense though the 50hz still sounds optimistic. The 94db makes them seem more efficient than they really are. The 1500khz crossover and coax would give them an edge in imaging for sure.

[maty]

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/337420-kef-ls50-playground-measurements-raw-drivers-factory-cabinets-simulations-post5780644.html

Original KEF Q100 crossover



http://maty.galeon.com/WP-imagenes/kef-q100/KEF-Q100-fabricka-zvu.png


Modified KEF Q100 crossover by Zvu



http://maty.galeon.com/WP-imagenes/kef-q100/KEF-Q100-modifikovana-zvu.png

Add four cheap components but it seems to work quite well. Point of crossing over and slopes remain virtually the same. You can buy resistors say 1R, 1R5, 2R2 and 3R3. Given the tolerances in LS50 drivers i don't expect anything less in Q100. Additional benefit is that you can set the level of the tweeter per your liking.

[sresener]

I don't know how everyone is using there q-100s I have 3 pairs. My local hifi shop was blowing them out for 179.00 cdn.
The smallest amp I have powering them is a onkyo txnr 838. And you would swear I have a small subwoofer in the system (there isn't).